First let me tell you about today. Irina picked Krystina, Olya and I up at 9:30 this morning. We had some shopping to finish. Irina took us to what they call the bazaar. It is an outdoor market where all the vendors are set up in little tents. I have no problem with that, except it was 2 degrees this morning.
The first thing the girls needed was jeans. So, here we are standing outside in 2 degree temperature and the girls are trying on jeans. Thank goodness they were wearing long tights, but they still must have been freezing. The cold weather was all the encouragement for the girls to make a quick decision. It only took a couple of minutes for them to find something they liked. Most consumer goods are generally cheaper here in Belarus, jeans and boots do not fall into that category. The jeans are more expensive here and came to about $40 for one pair. Good thing one pair each was all they needed.
A couple of other quick stops to put the finishing touches on the shopping. I'm very glad to have completed all the shopping I will do for the year. One last stop at Lenin Square for the girls to go down the death slide one more time....
Once the girls successfully navigated the ice on the slide we headed to the Deaf Society to meet Frank and Joe. The Deaf Society is a factory that employees over 150 deaf people. The factory makes door handles and window hinges and a few similar items. If they work in the factory they are allowed to live in the apartment building next door. It kind of reminds me of indentured servants. Next to that is a community center. In Belarus if you are different in any way or have any type of disability you are shunned by society. There are very few places that would hire a deaf person, so they have little choice. Not exactly the EEOC around here.
Frank and Joe went on a tour of the factory and I stayed with the children. I took the tour last year and I didn't want the children walking around in there. It is a very dangerous place, lots of machinery with very little safety. Not to mention the fumes and other chemicals floating around in the air. In any event, it was not a place for children, as a matter of fact it was no place for humans. I guess the deaf in Belarus don't need a safe place to work, at least that's what it appears the governments opinion is.
Here are a couple of pictures from last year:
After the factory tour Frank came up to me and said that he would rather be unemployed than work in a place like that.
A short walk and we were in the apartment building next to the factory. We visited a couple of different floors than last year. The smell was so bad last year I could hardly stand it. This year, it wasn't quite as bad. The building was set up kind of like a dorm, except whole families lived there. Each family had a one room apartment and it didn't matter how large or small the family was. The room was no bigger than 10x12. Eight families shared one bathroom, one kitchen and one laundry room....that's right, I said EIGHT.
There weren't a lot of children their today as the parents had to work and the children were off of school. They told me that most of the children were sent to grandparents or a friends house as they don't have any other kind of child care available. I did meet a nice boy named Nikita and it would be great if we could find a host family for next summer.
Back to the ARK house to start the process of packing and making sure Krystina and Olya get enough hugs. Please pray for these children and the people of Belarus. I have hope that these children can have a better life. All things are possible through God. (I need to keep reminding myself sometimes)
It was hard work but, I have enjoyed the experience and know that this kind of trip can change a persons perspective.
I am looking forward to seeing all of my family and friends again soon. By this time tomorrow with any luck I will be in Frankfurt. Thank you so much for following along.
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