Watch Out World!

  We had a great day today! (Even though we overslept and didn't make it to church, AGAIN! We just can't seem to get on Ukrainian time!) Thank goodness for Hope's podcasts!  Our driver picked us up early and we went to the harbor, which was a nice change of scenery.  We got to see some memorials, and also the water. There were people fishing off the concrete pier, and a few people (braver than I) who were swimming.

We walked past the "Sanitorium" which to me sounds like a mental hospital.  I asked our driver if it was like a hospital, but he speaks very little English and said, "No,no...prophylactic"....well we had no idea what that meant! So I looked it up on Wikipedia, and it said this: "....for most Eastern Europeans including Russians, Ukrainians, Czechs, and other national cultures sanatorium mostly means kind of a hotel with health resort facilities and various available services (such as massage, pool, sauna, aroma, oxygenotherapy, etc.) not covered by medical insurance. It is mostly without any double connotation is a spa resort where relatively healthy business people can rest and recuperate well-being during a regular job vacation."  Very interesting.

After visiting D'nistrovsky Liman (the harbor!) we drove the long way back to the orphanage.  Our driver brought us by the army base, and then past where there were large cranes and various ports along the harbor.

When we got to the orphanage, Ruslan's group was already outside. He was sitting at a table coloring with some of the other orphanage children.  He was so excited to see us, we told him we would wait until he finished but he insisted on coming with us.  He brought one of the coloring books and a few crayons with him.  So we sat down together, and he soon found a lego firetruck that we picked up for him in our bag of activities.  He was so excited, I wish we could have captured his face on camera. He looked at his coloring book and crayons and said, "No Mama!" meaning he didn't want to do that anymore! He ran like the wind to bring the coloring book and crayons back to the kids at the table, and get back to us to start building! His hands were shaking with excitement when he started building it! When it's finished it will be a great addition to his bedroom.  He worked on that firetruck for the entire two hours we were there.  He was so concentrated, and carefully organized and sorted all the parts.  He interpreted the directions so well, and he was able to build the entire thing himself, except for help with a few pieces that needed lots of muscle to click in to place!  He got it all assembled just as our driver was walking up to pick us up.  It was perfect timing! It is a great little firetruck, with working doors and a working ladder that swivels around and can be raised and lowered.  Tomorrow he will be adding the decals to it, and it will be complete!  (In fact, he asked if we could please leave his other activities at home tomorrow, and just bring his banana, juice, and the firetruck! He is so excited about it!) I guess legos will be a hit with him!                                                                             

Yana came over to us today (the little girl who gave me the Barbie necklace) and she was so delighted to see that I was wearing it.  I wasn't sure if she would have regrets in having given it to me, so I asked her if she wanted it back, but she spoke in Russian and gestured that she wanted me to have it.  So sweet, and I am glad she saw me wearing it today. 

Several of the children were interested in Ruslan's legos, and it is amazing to see how much he has grown in comfort knowing that they are only curious but that they won't (and we won't let them!) steal, ruin or destroy his things.  He is not so defensive, and he even chats with some of the children when they come over.  It is amazing what a little bit of scaffolding has done for his social development and his comfort level and sense of security.

When it was time to for us to go, Ruslan very carefully packed the assembled truck back in to the box.  He said goodbye to us with big hugs, and asked Bill to lift him in the air once before we left.  (This has kind of become a routine for them!)  He also gave our driver "five".  Yesterday when we were leaving, he gave the driver a hug, then a handshake, and then he kissed the back of his hand.  Ruslan has such a sweet heart, and he really responds to those who show him kindness.  (I think it helps that there was a time this week when our driver and facilitator were both advocates for Ruslan in a big way.) 

When we got back in the car I said to our driver, "Ruslan loves Sergei!".....and then he responded in his broken Russian, "Ruslan is good boy."  Such a short sentence, but that really warmed our hearts, and meant so much.  We are glad someone else has been able to see him in his true element, when he is free to be himself and not in defensive mode.  It's true...this boy is kinder, gentler, brighter and more intelligent, and funnier than he has ever been given credit for.  Watch out world....here comes Ruslan!