Post Christmas update

Seems like we had many tasks to finish and just in time. We put the living room together in one day to have a Christmas party. Then we had one day to get another room ready for our son. The house is now in basic order. We can proceed with the downstairs remodeling for the international students. Today I worked on small tasks such as using carpet tape to keep various carpets from sliding around, putting sliders on the closet doors so they have tracks and not bounce around, and finally repairing a leaky faucet.

I reconciled an issue with God and put it in His hands. This morning when I saw the mountains from the bedroom window it just reaffirmed how blessing we are. We have the Spirit of God. Sveta and I have each other. We have a wonderful house that we can eventually use to disciple the nations.

The Development of Russia’s Child Protection and Welfare System Part 6

The issue of identifying child neglect varies by region in Russia. Due to financial and administrative practices, there is not a national standard. Probably the same is true for the United States since we have 50 states that govern the situation of children. Also the Russians are more strict regarding physical punishment so the line between discipline and abuse is blurred. Physical abuse is easier to define than emotional abuse. I would say the emotional impact has far greater effects on the orphans. Finding the research would be helpful, but perhaps not so important as finding solutions. Most of the research identifies the problem, my objective leans more towards the successful leadership models.

International Student party

Last night, Saturday, we had our annual Christmas party for international students. I always enjoy meeting foreigners from many countries.I happened to chat with a lady from Kenya. She actually worked for Compassion International. I asked how the situation with orphans is in Kenya. She said that the younger generation is accepting the challenge and trying to change the situation. Every child needs a proper family environment.

A couple of pictures: the first involves singing Christmas carols weaved into a nativity skit-about 1/3 of the participants (from this angle). We found out we had 19 countries represented.  The second is my lovely Svetlana watching students make Christmas cookies.

The Development of Russia’s Child Protection and Welfare System Part 5

Rudnicki cites the common statistic for Russian orphans. "Youth graduating from Russian orphanages experience high rates of crime (40 percent of graduates), drug addiction (40 percent) and/or suicide (10 percent)." The source was a new one for me. It comes from a Russian Site translated as "Big Change." The NGO started in 2002 to help orphan graduates further their education and find jobs. It appears to be a charity supported by Russians and other Europeans. They are located in Moscow.  Looks like I will need to do some research on this organization.

Rudnicki, A. A. (2013). The Development of Russia's Child Protection and Welfare System. Demokratizatsiya, 21(1), 29.

Romania?

Well, it appears the Spirit of God is taking me to Romania in January. I received a call from our Global Missions office a couple of weeks ago about a trip to Romania. I cleared the time with my manager and my class schedule is doable for the time frame. My understanding is that we will pass out food and clothing to gypsies and share the good news of Christ. For 8 days I will journey to a country that I longed to return to. I studied Romanian for about 6 months back in 1999. Of course I forgot most of it, but will work on the fundamental phrases. How does this fit into the objective to care for orphans it their distress, stay tuned as the plot unfolds. In other words, at this point I have no clue. 

The Development of Russia’s Child Protection and Welfare System Part 4

As we continue the journey of Russian orphans, the Russian Federation has made many positive steps to help orphans. Funding for programs and support have appeared over the years. More protection of children has come in the legal system. Much of the support focuses on the younger children.

As the economy drops in Russia, one would wonder how social programs will fare. I am not a proponent of economic sanctions as it tends to hurt the common people more. It also causes isolation and in the case of Russia could leave the leadership open to military options. I read one study in which nations that have major economic ties rarely go to war, then the risk increases as countries are less economically integrated. anyway, the price of oil has also impacted the economy of Russia. Will the State have to cut social programs in order to improve the economy. Hard to say, but Russians can be very patient to ride out the storms of life.

Finally moved in -twists and turns

What an adventure, but very tiring. I just realized the past two weeks went by quite quickly as we tried to prepare the house as much as possible before moving in. We painted almost the entire house sans the family room and two bathrooms. We had had to install new locks and door handles. We pulled up about 2,000 square feet of carpet and the wood tack holders-that was the most time consuming. We have nice red oak floors, but could not manage to schedule a crew to sand and finish. One vendor told me everything is unusually busy for this time of year. Anyway, still much work to do. I also need to get back on the orphan trail....