Dinner guests

The girls told me lots of stories, over the last few years, about three special people that loved them and helped them when they were orphans. I wished a hundred times I could tell these people thank you and give them a hug.

Over the last few weeks I got my wish. We had them all over for dinner on different nights, gave them a gift, a big hug and a thank you. How fun it was to meet them and see how much they really do love my kids.

The first was Sara's teacher. She took extra good care of Sara, often taking her to her own house on weekends, buying her stuff on her birthday and making sure she had everything she needed. She is the teacher that burst into tears when she first saw Sara at the orphanage, she hugged and kissed her to death. We loved spending time with her and getting to know her and her daughter Victoria. I also helped her translate some documents at the orphanage last week, that was a laugh, but she was grateful for my help.

The next is Sasha and his wife. They didn't work at the orphanage, but took an interest in the kids. They gave them money for things like razors, hairspray, cell phones, and stuff the orphanage didn't provide. They spent lots of time playing with the kids at the orphanage and also taking them places, like checkers tournaments, the beach and summer camps. Lena has been raving about how nice they are for years.
He gave us copies of movies he had of the kids. One is the last day of school, kind of like graduation day. It is hilarious. Alex, Katya, and both Julia's are in it. What a hoot to see them back in orphanage days. We will have to have a reunion night and watch them. We asked them why they spend so much time helping the kids and they told us they can't have kids of their own, so they decided to spend the extra money they have each month helping the orphans. They said they keep in touch with them long after they are out of the orphanage and continue to help them.

This turned out to be true, because the second time they came over they called the day of and said they would have to cancel because two girls that used to be in the orphanage came to visit for the weekend. We told them to bring them. The girls are roommates at college. The heat broke in the dorm, so they told everyone to find a place to stay for three days. The girls had nowhere to go but Sasha's. The one girl is 17 and pregnant, father unknown. She said she is going to have to quit college and get a job, because she wants to keep her baby. Sad!


The last is Babushka Luiba. Sara has endless stories about going to stay with grandma Luiba. She fed her, took care of her, made her birthday cakes and gave Sara lots of love. When she walked in the door and saw Sara she cried and cried, and hugged and kissed Sara over and over. She brought us tons of gifts and hugged and kissed me over and over too. She is an adorable woman.


Lena has been an awesome translator and helped us have conversations with our dinner guests. Alina has been a quiet, but good sport.


These folks touched my heart. In a world full of problems, it is comforting to know there are people in all countries willing to sacrifice of themselves and make a difference. I told my kids to remember how much their lives have been blessed by these people who chose to love and help them, even when they didn't have to. I asked them to please grow up to be the kind of people that solve problems and help those in need. They promised they would. My hope is, they will.