The latest news

Here are Marjorie Martin's reflections for you.

Hello to everyone. I see 27 happy children here who are being given a chance to make or have a better life. They live in a family environment. Five of the boys have been chosen to go to a camp in Lichtenstein. The requirement is they be thirteen. They will be there three weeks. A young man who is working here for the summer will be going as an interpreter and chaperone. His name is Dommick and he has taken a year away from college to work with the children. There are two college students here doing this work as well. What a wonderful thing to do.

More news from Lana,

Thursday we went to L'viv and met with the Rotary Club who worked with the Upper Sandusky Rotary Club to buy a van for the second house here in Rát. They were able to purchase a very nice used van. The parents are thrilled as it will make it easier to get the children to doctor appointments, music lessons, church camps, vacations and all sorts of other activities.

The Rotary Club arranged a tour of L'viv for us and it was quite informative. L'viv has a long and rich history, spanning many centuries. The city has also experienced conflict and turmoil throughout the years. There have been many other countries and empires that have ruled the city. For a time the city was part of Poland, then Russia. The Nazis moved in during World War II, then the Soviets. Finally the people of L'viv are able to live in relative freedom and with a sense of security.

Just to keep you up to date it is now Saturday morning and the kids are at home. Right now the boys are busily playing with bionicals that Mutsumi and Nicky brought with them. The boys are really excited and having a blast.

Our group will be going to Uzhgorod   for lunch today. We will be celebrating Arpod's birthday. After we return, the children will be presenting a program for us with music and singing. Tomorrow seven of the children will have their First Communion. The worship service sounds as though it will be very lovely. A party will follow with lots of great food and cake of course.

Following the party we will be leaving St. Michaels. It will be difficult to say goodbye to everyone, but we are looking forward to more adventures next week in  Mukachevo.

I'll try to send you all some photos when I have the chance.

We hope all is going well for you back home.

Diane Thomas