Grandfather Frost!

While we've been focusing on stepping up sponsorship for our kids, we understand that $408 is a big commitment for many people. But because sponsorship funds are low, New Years funds are low for our kids this year. In Russia, New Years brings a party, gifts, and Grandfather Frost with Sneguruchka, his granddaughter snow princess. (Christmas is reserved for religious festivities.)

Would you please consider contributing towards New Years celebrations this year? You can donate either through the tab on the right, or at www.hopechest.org. (Click Give, then enter RU0506 Grandfather Frost in the notes.) Or, you can give Ben or I a check payable to Children's HopeChest. Remember, letters are always welcome!

Please remember the sting of winter is even colder for children who have been abandoned by their families. We want them to feel our warmth and love. We want to remind them that they are not alone, but they have friends around the world who think of them and care for them. Will you consider helping? Blessings to all of you!

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!

Happy Holidays

I love Thanksgiving. It's a great opportunity spend time with family and eat delicious food. Christmas is great for many of the same reasons, plus we get to sing some really good songs at church on Christmas Eve. And then we wake up the next morning and spend a relaxing day with family. The holidays are a always a great opportunity to spend time with the people you love. Unfortunately for our friends at Sovietsk, they don't always have this opportunity. We're asking everyone to chip in and write some holiday cards to the kids and let them know that we're thinking about them during the holidays.

The biggest holiday of the season in Russia is New Year's. (They place the same level of importance on New Year's that we place on Christmas). The Russian Orthodox church celebrates Christmas on January 7.

If you're interested in sending a card, please contact us and we'll let you know how. Happy holidays to you and yours.

Christmastime is Here

Yes, our Russian Orthodox friends are just preparing for Christmas. Here is what Lena shares about Christmas in Russia:

Christmas has an interesting history in Russia. After the 1917 Revolution, Christmas was banned throughout Russia, along with other religious celebrations. It wasn't until 75 years later, in 1992, that the holiday was openly observed. Today, it's once again celebrated in grand fashion, with the faithful participating in an all-night Mass in incense-filled cathedrals and churches.

Christmas in Russia is celebrated on January 7th in accordance with the old Julian calendar. A 40 day Nativity Fast (no meat, no dairy, no sweets) accompanies the preparation for this joyous event. On the Eve of Christmas, it is traditional for all family members to gather to share a special meal to honor the coming of Christ. However, the festivities only begin with the first star appearing in the sky. A lot of the kids from the orphanages go to the Christmas Liturgy service at an Orthodox church on the morning of the 7th. In preparation for Christmas disciplers do a lot of lessons with the kids focused on the meaning and significance of Christmas.

To say “Merry Christmas” in Russian you say “S Rozhdestvom!”

So, we will be feasting in our home next week, in honor of our Russian friends. Please remember the children of Sovietsk this week, when the loss of family can feel especially painful. If you haven't already, you could send a letter. You could donate to keep them warm (see Sock and Glove Drive on the right). You could become a sponsor, the person who sees that he or she is not forgotten. You can pray for their hearts to be warm and light with the love of Christmas Day.

S Rozhdestvom to you and yours!

If you turn your volume up, you will hear Rachmaninoff's Bogoroditse Dievo, a Russian Ave Maria from his Choral Vespers.

Photo Credit: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/39/83066493_d1232b9371.jpg?v=0

A Christmas Prayer

Artwork by Maria' s Children, orphaned and abandoned children in Russia who take part in an art therapy program. You can order prints and cards from them!

Merry Christmas!

We wish you all a wonderful day of love, laughter, and celebration with the people you cherish.

Our hearts are with those around the world who are separated from light and warmth this Christmas.

This prayer by Daniel Lee came from Lutheran World Relief and is based on Isaiah 9:2-7:

God of light, who illumines the night,

Come to those now in darkness.

God of plenty, who multiplies joy,

Come to those now in sorrow.

God of promise, who creates the harvest,

Come to those now who hunger.

This Christmas and always,

We trust in your light, your plenty and your promises.

Teach us again, through Word and deed,

of the Christ child made flesh among us:

Who breaks the rod of oppression,

That we might work for justice;

Who removes the yoke of burden

That our neighbor might walk with dignity;

Who sets the tools of war afire,

That all creation might live in peace.

Amen.

May peace, love, joy, and hope be with us all at Christmas time and always.

Russian Christmas

The Russian Orthodox Church, and to a degree, Russian culture itself, gets it right when it comes to the difference between Christmas and New Year. The New Year holiday comes first with a big party, complete with gifts and jumping in the snow. Christmas comes January 7 and is more solemn, and certainly less commercial, than what we're used to. For them, the holiday is about faith and family and the seriousness of the moment that the holiday represents.

Even when moving away from commercialism, it's easy to get carried away. We are the sort who want to do EVERYTHING at Christmas. We shop for the Sharing Place, where people who are struggling financially can come and 'shop' for presents for their family. We donate special food to a local pantry so people can celebrate with a meal. You can send gifts to military men and women, pack shoeboxes for children around the world, visit nursing homes and hospitals with smiles and songs. There is really no end to the need for love and joy for those who are especially lonely this time of year.

(For more ideas, visit Sojourner's Peace and Justice Christmas at
http://go.sojo.net/campaign/peace_justice_christmas. There is so much more to Christmas than bargains and cookies!)

While I would do everything if I could, I am trying to prioritize wisely because despite my denial, I can't do everything. I'm trying to prioritize what only I can do. While I can (and will) share some gifts and food and Christmas smiles with others this holiday, others can do that as well (and I hope they do!). But I'm the only wife to my husband and the only daughter to my parents, the only aunt Sarah and sister Sarah and daughter-in-law Sarah and granddaughter Sarah, the only one who can continue the relationships I've started at Sovietsk, with Katya, Sergey, Galina, and the rest.

I am going to continue to do as much as I can, but I've learned to start with what only I can do first.

We encourage you to use the whole time up to Orthodox Christmas (January 7th) to focus on sharing love and light, peace and justice with the world around you--in the spirit of the baby we celebrate. And we encourage you to do what only you can do--enjoy and invest in the relationships you have been given. And please remember to let that special child know you are STILL thinking of him, or start that letter just from you especially to her.

(photo credit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7174794.stm)