Доченька , or "little daughter" as I like to call Rimma and Zina, is an endearing term letting them know that I consider them my children. It's English spelling is dochenka. My youngest dochenka has to go back to the sanitorium and cannot attend summer camp with Zina. Rimma will spend all summer somewhere on the other side of Kiev in a place alien and lonely. For the time being, she is isolated at her internat and sees her sister, Zina sporadically. Zina leaves soon for summer camp on the Black Sea.
We asked both girls if they needed anything and we got the typical, "No, but Rimma may need something, I'm ok" from Zina. So we asked Rimma. She also never asks for anything, so it was with pleasant surprise when she asked for a cheap cell phone to be able to talk with us and Zina when she leaves. Heidi sprang into action and over the course of Monday night she 1.) contacted Sergie, our translator friend in Kherson, 2.) arranged to have him pick up a $100 she Western Union'ed, 3.) got the phone to Rimma, 4.) talked to Rimma on her new phone (albeit, just a few words). It was so funny to watch, well, sleep through. She started around 11pm (8 am, Ukraine time) and finished about 6 am. Every two hours or so her phone would ring and she would coordinate the next move, sleeping between each call. I would wake up and listen to her directing Sergie, so I too, was awake. I was utterly amazed at the Lord's work ongoing in the hands of friends in a foreign country we just only met in April. It was comical and divine, all at the same time. Yes, we do trust these people with our (God's) money and our children. Rimma was ecstatic and Zina was pleased that she would be able to check on her little sister when possible.
Cell phones are extremely cheap and easily re-charged with $ via the internet. We text both girls each morning via the internet for free and they receive all calls for free. It costs us just $20 a month per phone and we pay MTC via the Internet. Ask us about it if you want to do the same for a child in Ukraine. Of course, snail-mail is about 9-14 days service, too. We write the girls and send clothes through the mail routinely. I'm not bragging, just telling you all how easy it is to correspond with a child who needs to know that someone, somewhere cares. We have it down to a science, it's easy. Just ask us for help if you need it.
Remember the whole "science" and "receive all calls for free" thing. The girls never call us, we call them. They know how to "drop" a call if they need to talk to us, which usually, is never. However, we got a drop call from Rimma yesterday morning after we sent our morning text message. We called her and she answered. She wanted to say "Thank you for telephone". How sweet! She then put Zina on and she told us that she received the package that had their shirts. She also said that she received the pictures we sent of our house and her room. She said, "My new house, I like" and "My room, I like".
That phone call and the fact that Jordan is here for the summer makes me feel better. We received news from our facilitator this week that we are, again, not not on the submission list, this time for July.She also said that the SDA will only be accepting dossiers for two weeks in July, so half the people that expected July will not get in. Lord, grace me with patience as I try to live with and understand your plan.
