Report #18

Report # 18 for Tuesday April 15, 2009

We had a long day planned to go to Lopartin Internat (Orphanage).We have had a lot to do with this orphanage for many years. You may remember that we financed a shower room for the 120 children, as they only had one tub and no shower.

We waited for Timothy and Rhoda Sloan to arrive, with another Irish brother Edmund Johnson, who is visiting Lutsk for a week. Also Jeanette and Anatoli came along as well. We had planned to all go in our vehicle but we discovered that Edmund suffers from car sickness and so we decided to take the two vehicles, just in case they had to stop suddenly. Thankfully, Edmund traveled without incident.

Our first visit, of course, was to the grocery store to get some supplies. Timothy and their group decided to buy the children a treat, so they bought 120 bags of corn puffs. You should have seen the load. One cart piled high and three people carrying large plastic bags. Well Flo was not too long and we got on our way. It was a lovely drive through the country for about the hour and a half.

We drove round the back of the nice new living accommodation the government built, but to our surprise, no children greeted us, as at other times. There was not a child on the premises! They had managed to find them all homes for the Easter season and they had all gone!

Usually, we will phone ahead but the phone number had been changed as well as a new administrator so Flo had no number to phone. I will say that we have been there numerous times and the children are always there, but not this time.

Well we gave what product we had brought as well as the corn puffs to the assistant administrator and headed home. We would have stopped at some school on the way home but we had no New Testaments with us.

When we got to Lviv, Timothy took his van load to see the centre of Lviv, while Flo got a 5-Star roast beef dinner ready. We ate at 5-30 and then got ready for meeting at 7pm.

A good number arrived, 18 in all and Timothy and Edmund spoke to us all.

We all felt very frustrated about the wasted trip but at least we all had a tour of the orphanage and met some of the staff.

The visitors left after a snack to head back to Lutsk, one and a half hours away.

One more report and that will be it for this trip.

Good night and God bless you all.

Malcolm and Louis.