June14, 2008

Julia has an infection. Periodically it makes her feel terrible. She was feeling so bad that night.

We had followed the kids from the nightly “disco” to their lodge. Late nights at Camp Satera were very special. This year we were able to spend all day, every day with our kids…all 36 of them. At the end of the day there was always a disco. They are sort of like a school dance every evening. Ukrainians are a very active nation. They don’t spend hours and hours watching TV or playing video games. The nightly gathering is a celebration of the passing of the day and a way to burn off what’s left of their energy.

Another nightly event was the blessing of spending the last minutes of each day in the kid’s rooms just talking about the day, listening to Chuck tell hunting stories, or just having a few more minutes of fun. One evening we were blessed with hearing a duet sung by Helen and her daughter.

As the kids made for their rooms our team would break up into small groups. Each group was usually a couple of Americans and a mentor to translate. Groups would circulate from room to room.

The best part was hearing their good night prayers. Sometimes they would request prayers, volunteer to pray, or sometimes we would just pray over them.

This was a particularly tough night because it was the last evening we would spend with them. Team members and mentors alike emerged from rooms into the hallway with tear-filled eyes. Each group dreaded their visit to the last room and then hated to leave it. In one room I visited, Ola was sobbing as I finished praying over the girls in her room. She had the covers over her head. I leaned over her and pulled the covers down to whisper a special prayer in her ear in my own language without translation. As soon as I had finished her crying began to cease.

As we came out of the dorm we made our way back to our lodging. I heard lots of laughter coming from the mentor’s room. I climbed the steps and opened the door to see our entire team along with Peter, Peter, Oksana, Maryna, and Julia (some of our older kids) all scattered around the room.

It was a midnight tea party!

Helen, Eugene and their 15 year old daughter Julia (not to be confused with the Julia mentioned above) had spirited the kids out of the dorm. The Strakhov’s had sprung the kids for a midnight tea party and a moonlight walk. You might not think that this is very special. But this is a very rare thing to stay up past curfew. Much less, go for a walk under the stars. This is something they almost NEVER get to do at the orphanage.

Helen invited Chuck and me to join them. We walked along the lane beside the sea. Oksana and Julia were on each of my arms as we strolled. Helen and Eugene were walking and chatting with 1st and 2nd Peter (as I called them). Maryna and Julia (Strakhov) were walking arm-in-arm with Chuck. It was a perfect night. Stars were shining brightly as they peeked between scattered puffy clouds and the moon was nearly finished waxing.

We walked by a cafe around midnight and it was still open. Helen talked the owner into a deal on some ice cream for Julia’s 15th birthday. Then they opened the dance floor for us.

I was watching the festivities when Julia slipped up beside me and slid her arms around me. We stood there for long moments. We began to rock slowly back and forth. I looked down at her to see that she had closed her eyes. She felt so bad. But she looked as though she was savoring the moment of comfort.

The party swelled around us and our moment was over. We rejoined the rest in celebration. On our stroll back to camp the kids had decided to stay up to watch the sun rise. Poor Eugene volunteered to stay up with tem.

The memory of just standing and holding Julia lingered as I fell asleep around 3:30 a.m. It is the one I cherish most. I have tucked that one away neatly and carefully to carry with me for the rest of my journey.