Day 10 – Timberline

“My favorite part of today was to have a family for the afternoon!” says Anna. This feeling was shared by many of the kids who were able to spend several hours “buddied-up” with a family on Saturday afternoon while at Timberline Church. Each family brought several kids to keep things fun, and to guide them through the many activities that were planned for this annual orphan birthday party. There was cotton candy, custom photographs, balloon characters, lots of games, lots of gifts, face painting, and hot dogs. Most importantly though, was a special connection time that made the kids feel special. The Children’s program at church was filled with high energy, and captivated Americans and Ukrainians alike with the story of the Good Samaritan, played by our own Vlad. After the lesson by pastor Mark, Vlad came to me and proclaimed, “If this were real, I really will stop and help!”

Thank you so much Tiffany, Sean, and all of Timberline for all of your wonderful help in such a meaningful day for the children!

– Clarke

Day 9 – Miller Farms, Playing in the Park, and a Little Science

We had such a great, fun-filled day on Friday! We started at Miller Farms, with Andrew driving us around and letting us pick lots and lots of vegetables for Sunday’s Community Dinner. The kids found carrots, radishes, and sweet peas and filled bags and bags full of their treasures. Of course, a few were eaten along the way, and everyone tried something fresh from the farm. We had a terrific crew of volunteers working with the kids the entire time! We couldn’t have done it without them. Miller Farms would not have been complete without lots of dogs, a few frogs, several caterpillars, hungry goats, more snakes than I care to count, and everyone having a go at the go-karts (which the adults swore were not bumper cars, but the kids did not believe us). Thanks so much to the Miller Farms family for allowing us to have such a great experience!

Lunch was a picnic at Willow Farms Park in Longmont. Because it was hot, many of the kids headed for the creek. Splashing around certainly helped cool things off! After lunch, we headed to my workplace in Boulder – the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, for short) to cool off even more – a few hundred degrees below zero that is! The kids were treated to a fantastic display of cryogenics – they learned that molecules shrink when cold and watched balloon after balloon after balloon disappear into a small cooler – only to reappear later when they warmed up. They also learned about magnetic levitation, which makes trains go very fast in Japan. If only the boys could have had this technology with the Miller Farms go-karts!

The kids ended their day with separate (girls/boys) slumber parties. We were so glad to host the girls at our house and had a fantastic time watching chick-flicks, eating strawberry ice cream, and getting and giving manicures. My favorite moment was when Oksana looked at me so seriously and said with a pout “I do not like strawberry ice cream”, only to give me the biggest smile two seconds later and shout “I LOVE strawberry ice cream!”.

- Stephanie Hooker

Boys’ Sleepover

We were blessed with the opportunity to host a slumber party for the camp boys. They stayed very busy with exploring a different house, a different neighborhood and different toys. The boys were excited to play with our dog, cat and bird.  They enjoyed spending time with our kids and eating shish kabobs that Dave made for dinner. Valera found Caroline’s karaoke machine and made beautiful music for us. Sasha T spent some good quality time playing with our old Hotwheels. Vlad had fun making Caroline a new necklace. Sasha V liked blaring tunes on the CD player for the whole neighborhood to enjoy! I think a highlight for them (and us) was when our neighbor, Eric, took the boys on a motorcycle ride on his big Harley. They gobbled up a chocolate chip pancake breakfast before heading back to the Stoesz house.

I don’t know who had more fun, the kids or us. Praise God for UOO’s awesome ministry!

– Heather Stokes

Day 8 – Swimming, Dentists, Eye Doctors

At first I thought the overcast weather was going to ruin our pool plans for the day, but it actually turned into a blessing! No one else was at the pool, so we were able to enjoy the whole pool not once, but twice. The water was warm enough, so the kids swam before lunch and then we took them to the eye doctor. The appointments went very smoothly. We had almost a one translator to one child ratio! It’s such a blessing to have local doctors and dentists willing to give their time and talents! We let the kids’ dilated eyes rest at the Gazdik’s home where the kids had fun making jewelry with beads, playing pool, ping pong, and playing with the race track. Vicki’s home provided much entertainment for the kids! Then we took them swimming one more time before heading off to Berthoud. It was a very fun filled day!

– Cindy Houghton

Thursday evening was exactly what the kids ordered. We had a healthy dose of pizza, lemonade, and ice cream bars to share by all. We spent the evening at 5-Stones Youth center of Grace Place church in Berthoud. Besides all of the wonderful activities like play station, basketball, ping pong, foosball, and balloon games, they were challenged by a game of sucking jelly beans through straws. The Chaos was a perfect fit. The kids were so energized, that we could hardly get them to settle down once they got home. Thanks Pastor David for welcoming us all into 5-Stones and providing the fun teaching. The kids also wrote personal prayer requests and turned them into David. I cannot breach their privacy with specifics, but their prayers are extremely moving and heart felt. Please pray for these children today and everyday.

– Clarke Stoesz