Where did the Summer go?

It seems like the summer was a whirlwind!  We welcomed Sasha and Veranika on June 25th and they left on August 8th.

It was a busy time.  We had doctor's appointments, dentist appointments, and eye doctor appointments.  And more eye doctor appointments. And eye surgery.    Veranika was able to have eye surgery while she was here for her strabismus.  Let's just say its a little nerve wracking to take a child in for surgery who is not your own.  Dr Hidagi of Duke Eye Center in Winston-Salem arranged the entire thing for us.  What a blessing!  Because she had a cataract in that eye, she still does not see properly out of the eye, BUT she  have partial vision. And she doesn't have a disfigurement that will lead to teasing and bullying. 

We also had tons of fun.   We were able to go to Tweetsie in Blowing Rock and had a wonderful time, even though it was raining.  Those girls LOVE amusement rides!!

We were also able to go to Lazy 5 Ranch.  This is an exotic animal park.  The girls got to see all sorts of animals and feed them too.  We were a little disappointed that the giraffes did not come out to see us, but we still had a great time.

We swam a lot and went to the park, and we ate a TON of ice cream.  That is another favorite.

We sent them home with gifts for their families, school supplies, clothes and basic toiletries.  In a country where the average income is less than $500 per month, their needs are real.

For those of you who supported us financially - THANK YOU so much!  You helped us change these girl's lives in dramatic ways.  Just getting them out of the radiation in Belarus helps them to be healthier for the rest of their lives.  Correcting an crossed eye gives a girl new hope for her future and encourages her parents.

We are planning on hosting both girls next summer and have already starting raising support.  If you would like to help, you can make a donation here:  Nowotny ABRO Page

God's Blessings to you All!

Dave & Carolyn

Our Summer Adventure - Update #1

Many of you know that we invited our friend Sasha to return this summer for a visit from Belarus.  We also invited another girl, Veranika.

We invite these children to get them out of the radiation that still plagues Belarus from the Chernobyl Disaster in 1986.  These kids live in radiation levels much higher than would be deemed safe in the U.S.  While they are here, we have a medical screening, eye appointments, and dentist appointments. 

Sasha is 12 this year, and is still as spunky as she was last year.  She loves to play outside and she is very helpful! 

Veranika is 7 and is a sweet little thing.  Veranika has a strabismus of her right eye.  We have worked with a wonderful optometrist, Dr. Van Teague, in Winston-Salem who was able to get us in touch with Dr. Hidagi at the Duke Eye Center in Winston.  Dr. Hidagi has jumped through many hoops so that Veranika can have her eye surgically corrected.  We are praying that she will have full use of the eye when the surgery is complete.  But at the very least, her eye will not wander.  This will be a great help to her in her culture. 

In addition to all of this serious stuff, we do fun things as well.  Last Saturday, Tweetsie Part hosted our entire group for a day of fun.  We rode the train, rode amusement rides, and had a great time.  We have also been to the Tanglewood Water Park.

I have been on several short term mission trips.  This is a challenge that is in many ways the same.  Instead of being immersed in another culture, we are helping someone else who is being immersed in ours.  These girls do not speak English, so we use signs and Google translate.  We do have a translator available if we need it too.  But, most short term mission trips are for a week or two.  We have the children here for 6 weeks.  Having guests, who are not really guests, in your home for that length of time has a certain 'refining' affect on the entire family.   Especially when you have 3 teen girls involved. :)  The 'catch phrase' for the American Belarussian Relief Organization (ABRO) is "Bringing Missions Home".  And that is exactly what it feels like - a short term mission at home.

If you would like to know more about ABRO, please contact me.  I would love to tell you more.  There are many different groups and our director is always happy to talk to people about starting new ones.  Every year, there are children on the waiting list that are not able to come to the US.