So this is Christmas . . .

A Very Merry Christmas! Orthodox Christmas is upon us. While most of us are putting away ornaments and lights, our Russian friends are getting ready for church, feasting, and family. You can read more about Russian Christmas here.
Another year over, a new one just begun. Last year was hard for a lot of people, for a lot of reasons. We lost a lot of financial support for Sovietsk in 2009, but we gained priceless enthusiasm and commitment from a new group of supporters. Yay! I have been thinking a lot about 2010 and how to make our service less about cash and more about connections. Some ideas:

-Increase frequency of communication between Russian and American friends. Fund Nadezhda/Children's HopeChest has committed to coaxing more letters out of the children--some of you experienced the joy of receiving letters for the first time! I hope each of us can recommit to sending letters more regularly. If you're interested in writing to one of our children, drop me a note.

-Increase quality of communication in those letters. Ben and I want to help our sponsors be more purposeful in the letters, using approaches known to work with children who have experienced great loss or trauma. For example, simply prompting the child to remember a funny memory can trigger the brain to release more happy hormones, resulting in a calmer mood or even a smile or a laugh. The more this happens, the healthier. So, I wrote Katya with a funny story about myself and asked her to share one with me. We are planning to share more letter-writing tips with each of you.

-Meet some additional material needs. For example, the orphanage needs a medical sterilizer. We know they could benefit from Vitamin D. The list goes on. I know there are gifts in kind out there somewhere. If you can help us out, let us know!

-Mobilize our supporters. A core group of us got together last fall to brainstorm ways to increase support and funds for Sovietsk. We are planning to get together soon, and it seems like an event may be in the works. More to come on that--we'd love to have each of you involved!

-Find a clever way to supplement traveler expenses (so we can have more travelers!).

-Find a way to continue to pay for the crucial extracurricular activities.

-Extend our support for our youth who have graduated.

-Visit again!

So how are we going to do all of this? Maximize partnership. Rely on supporters' creativity and connections. Keep an open mind. Work our tails off! Ask for feedback and suggestions. And pray a LOT.

So please, stay tuned. Tomorrow, when in celebration of Christmas in Russia we pack away our tree and our memories of 2009, our hearts will be with our children and our minds will be in full gear. We are hoping and trusting 2010 to be the best year of sponsorship yet!