The trip was an extremely positive one in as much as we did not see too much that was upsetting or very sick children. We did hear some very sad tales and it was clear that all the premises that we visited were in dire need. All the buildings were in a poor state and there were few resources for the children, toilets and bathrooms were in an unbelievably dilapidated and smelly state.

The distributions all took the same format. Our hosts Russia Inland had worked extremely hard organising the trip and we were given full information about where we were going and a little bit about each district. The team were from all over the UK and all of them had special talents and gifts which seemed to come into play at just the right time to give the Russian children an unforgettable experience. Wherever we went we were made to feel very welcome with handshakes, hugs, concerts and singing and special traditional meals. There was no time for sightseeing, but it was a wonderful way to see how Russians really live and get an idea of the way things really are for the people. We travelled by coach to orphanages and in one case a hospital and as we entered shook hands and greeted everyone we saw from little ones to the staff. We started off singing silly, easy to follow action songs with the children. Carrying on with the assumption that all children like to see adults act the fool; we then acted out and narrated a story (which was translated) about friendship among animals in the jungle. Some of the team took on the roles as elephants and giraffes as their own and the children watched in fits of laughter as Jimmy the giraffe ate the tinsel hanging from the wall. The message of the story is that Jesus Christ is a true friend to us all.

Then the shoe boxes were given out and the team moved amongst the children to play with them and in some cases show them what things were for. The excitement of the children as they opened the boxes in every place that we went was very clear. Time and time again they would pull on your arm and gaze into your eyes and say ‘thank you', really meaning what they said. We all had our favourite children and in each place we each connected with yet another sad pair of eyes and the clutch of a tiny hand. It is indeed a worthwhile and fitting end to all the months of hard work.

Here are some of the highlights:

January 7 th (Christmas Day)
The orphans from the Dedovsk home had been brought to the Circus by Russia Inland and were to be our guests for the day. I spotted Golez as soon as I sat in the seats specially reserved for us at the Moscow State Circus. He was smart and aware and his strange slanted eyes were alive as he watched the glittering performance going on in the circus ring. The children were from a large orphanage which normally housed around 150 children, but most of them had at least someone to offer them a place on this most special of all days, apart that is from our small group of 30 or so. No one in the world loved them enough to give them a hug on Christmas Day. That was where we came in - and love them we did.

After the Circus they were given their shoe boxes and taken to a fast food restaurant for their lunch. Although we all felt a bit strange at first, it's amazing how much fun can be had with sign language and pulling funny faces and very soon we all felt ourselves drawn to one child or another. With me it was Golez, he was the one who seemed to know everyone's business and also loved to take pictures with our cameras. Digital cameras are great because of the instant feedback that they give. When we took the children back to their orphanage I think it hit me how little the children had. Although they were well cared for and the place was warm, the carers told us that they had very few toys. How wonderfully the shoe boxes fit into such situations! The warm hug and whispered “Spa SI ba” from Golez will stay with me for a long time.

January 8 th
At the Kosterevo we were ushered into a tiny room where the children were very tiny – about 3 – 4 years old. It is difficult to tell how old they are really as many of them have had such a poor start in life – even within the womb - that it is common to see children who appear far younger than their actual age.

On the way in we all did our usual greeting of the children, shaking their hands or stroking the faces of those to young to shake a proffered hand. Ivan was one such child. He was very quiet and unsmiling. He was dressed in red and seemed like the other children. But even a shoe box did not bring a smile to his face. I looked enquiringly at the Mama who looked after him and was told that he did not smile or talk. We were later told that young Ivan had been left outside the orphanage with his hands tied with a note attached to his jumper saying that they could take him as his mother could not cope with him any more. No wonder he does not smile.

January 9 th
Laura Cooke was a tiny baby when her Dad, Dave Cooke, began Operation Christmas Child. She has never known a time when OCC did not exist or known a Christmas when she has not been praying that her Daddy will make it home for Christmas from some foreign land. This Christmas it was Laura's turn to be in a strange land. She saved and raised the money for her trip and decided that rather than make a shoe box she would give her favourite toy, which had been given to her on her 10 th birthday, to a child that she met. The large pink beanie pig called Squealer was carted around in a bag until she met little Anya at the Sunday School. For Laura, the shoe box baby, it was a rite of passage as she handed over her special toy and faces her future as a real grown up!

Report by Ruth Jones

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