Fall 2011

	A letter from the kids

 Dear Friends,

 Hello! How have you been? We’ve been good. Too bad summer was so short.

 Not all of the kids are at the orphanage right now. Sasha Z., Ilia Sh., Andrey Sh., Vova B., and Daniel K. are gone to a health center /resort. (It’s a place where kids are medically checked and treated if needed. The course of treatment lasts 21 days. We also call it a resting place). In a few days, some other kids are going there.

 Artiom B. has started his school year at a cadet / military school. He was chosen to study there. He stays there 5 days a week and comes home on weekends. Artiom said it had taken him a while to get used to living there. He misses his home.

 We’ve made new friends this summer. Some students from Slovakia stayed with us in August. They practiced their Russian language. They will become translators from Russian into the Slovak language. We think they were good at speaking Russian! They made a performance for us. They sang Russian songs and recited poems.

 We’ve hiked three times this summer. Unfortunately, not all of us could go hiking at the same time. Some of us had to stay at home to work on a farm.We enjoyed outdoor life. It was fun to swim, and play ball and other games. Even Rodion K, who was only 4, went hiking with us once! He did rather well. He didn’t complain about anything.

 As usually we worked in our vegetable gardens. (There was a garden for each family.) Two weeks ago we harvested potatoes. Beetroots and carrots were harvested a little bit later.

 Do you have dolphins in the USA? We’ve recently been to a dolphin show. They were very smart. They could understand all the commands of their trainer! Maxim V. though liked fur seals most of all.

We are excited to receive your letters!

Your friends from Kovalyo orphanage.

	Discipler’s note

 Dear Friends,

 Hello! This is Lena. I hope your summer was great. The kids’ summer sounded great for sure!

 The boys were happy to see me again. Guess what was their first question? ‘Are there any letters for me???’ It always makes me wish I had more letters! (Let me thank those people who had written them!)…

 The kids get so excited to see letters… Once again I encourage you to write letters to the kids!!!

 Some of the kids have new subjects this year. Aliosha V., Sasha B., and Roma B. started studying English. I helped them (and few older boys) with their homework. The language doesn’t come easy to them.

Lena, the discipler

	Caregiver’s note

 Hello dear Friends. This is Ludmila. We were so excited to see you in November. We are always so happy to see you! Please remember that we treasure your friendship and you are always welcome to our home.

Ludmila, the caregiver.

	Photos