Taking the girls to church was just as difficult at first as it was last year. Eric and I look forward to going to church because of the impact Jesus has made in our lives, but Masha and Dasha dread church. When the girls first arrived this year they "put up a fight" about going to church. This year we were able to get them Russian Bibles from an organization in Texas, so that helped tremendously. Having a Bible in their own language allowed them to better understand what is going on. Once the girls reunited with some friends from last year and met some new ones, they slowly began to look forward to attending church. Since Eric "works" at church, we often wondered if they did not like church because that is where Eric had to go every day. Of course, by the last Sunday the girls willingly got up, got ready, got to church early, and seemed to enjoy themselves. One of the highlights for me was the girls having the opportunity to see Eric preach one Sunday while our pastor was away. Church is important to us, so I wanted them to have a clear picture of what we are involved in on a regular basis. A mixture of church, nightly Bible reading, and God at work seemed to spark an interest in Dasha to read more of the Bible. Before they left, we gave Dasha the full Bible (the other Bibles were childrens Bibles and teen Bibles). The girls told us that their "teachers" would not like them taking back a Bible, but we sent one with them anyways. At least they hopefully had time on the long plane ride to read some more of God's Word! Please pray that God will increase their hunger for God and the Bible. It changed my life, I know it will change theirs!
In the pictures above you can see Masha helping Eric in his office. The girls liked going to see Eric at church. On Wednesday nights we would arrive at church early to see Eric, because he stays at church all day on Wednesdays. Masha loved helping Eric with his college Bible study slide show. The top right picture was taken at Moe's. Almost every Sunday night, Eric and I eat at Moe's with our college students after church. The girls were able to go with us while they were here. They loved spending time with George! The water fountain picture is cute because Dasha was amazed with it. She said that she does not have a water fountain where she lives. The bottom left picture is of the girls and some church friends playing the wii. Thank you Whisonants for having us over to play and for being friends to the girls!
The pictures above were taken at the Frix house. Masha and Dasha had so much fun playing with the Frix girls! They decorated cookies and played for hours. That visit was fun for us, too, because we got to spend time with some of our church friends while the girls played. Masha, Dasha, and the Frix girls had so much fun together, that we had to meet up again. Below are pictures taken at our Chuck-e-cheese visit with them. We are so thankful that the girls were able to bond with church friends! Thank you to the Frix family for sharing the love of Christ with these girls and helping them like church.
Below are pictures from when some other church friends came over to our house. We had dinner together, and then the girls played while the adults had some hang-out time of our own. At the end of the visit, the girls performed a dance for us - it was too cute!!! Thank you, Dyals, for loving on our Christmas girls and for being such good friends!
***More pictures coming soon!***
Taking the girls to church was just as difficult at first as it was last year. Eric and I look forward to going to church because of the impact Jesus has made in our lives, but Masha and Dasha dread church. When the girls first arrived this year they "put up a fight" about going to church. This year we were able to get them Russian Bibles from an organization in Texas, so that helped tremendously. Having a Bible in their own language allowed them to better understand what is going on. Once the girls reunited with some friends from last year and met some new ones, they slowly began to look forward to attending church. Since Eric "works" at church, we often wondered if they did not like church because that is where Eric had to go every day. Of course, by the last Sunday the girls willingly got up, got ready, got to church early, and seemed to enjoy themselves. One of the highlights for me was the girls having the opportunity to see Eric preach one Sunday while our pastor was away. Church is important to us, so I wanted them to have a clear picture of what we are involved in on a regular basis. A mixture of church, nightly Bible reading, and God at work seemed to spark an interest in Dasha to read more of the Bible. Before they left, we gave Dasha the full Bible (the other Bibles were childrens Bibles and teen Bibles). The girls told us that their "teachers" would not like them taking back a Bible, but we sent one with them anyways. At least they hopefully had time on the long plane ride to read some more of God's Word! Please pray that God will increase their hunger for God and the Bible. It changed my life, I know it will change theirs!
In the pictures above you can see Masha helping Eric in his office. The girls liked going to see Eric at church. On Wednesday nights we would arrive at church early to see Eric, because he stays at church all day on Wednesdays. Masha loved helping Eric with his college Bible study slide show. The top right picture was taken at Moe's. Almost every Sunday night, Eric and I eat at Moe's with our college students after church. The girls were able to go with us while they were here. They loved spending time with George! The water fountain picture is cute because Dasha was amazed with it. She said that she does not have a water fountain where she lives. The bottom left picture is of the girls and some church friends playing the wii. Thank you Whisonants for having us over to play and for being friends to the girls!
The pictures above were taken at the Frix house. Masha and Dasha had so much fun playing with the Frix girls! They decorated cookies and played for hours. That visit was fun for us, too, because we got to spend time with some of our church friends while the girls played. Masha, Dasha, and the Frix girls had so much fun together, that we had to meet up again. Below are pictures taken at our Chuck-e-cheese visit with them. We are so thankful that the girls were able to bond with church friends! Thank you to the Frix family for sharing the love of Christ with these girls and helping them like church.
Below are pictures from when some other church friends came over to our house. We had dinner together, and then the girls played while the adults had some hang-out time of our own. At the end of the visit, the girls performed a dance for us - it was too cute!!! Thank you, Dyals, for loving on our Christmas girls and for being such good friends!
***More pictures coming soon!***
