My daughter Lydia Charlotte is giving up her spring break to go to Belarus with me.
We’ll leave on the 14th of April.
Lydia Charlotte, now 15, has been visiting Belarus since she was 7 months old; this will be her 18th trip.
(She has been designated as an “ambassador to Belarus” by the Director of the Belarusian Dept. of Humanitarian Affairs.)
She’ll visit her godmother Lydia Danielevna (second in command with our “Response of the Heart” team).
She also hopes to visit her childhood friend Alina, whom she first played with a decade ago (that’s them in the photo) when Alina was at the Zhodino shelter for abused and abandoned children. (Today, Alina is a successful young woman, a testament to the beautiful value of your support for New Thing.)
We’ll visit our soup kitchen for the homeless — especially our friend Valentina, who carries a collection of Lydia Charlotte’s school photos from over the years.
And Lydia will present “an evening of music and laughter” as a gift to a number of our longtime friends.
Of course I’ll bring you all of these adventures in photo and video reports.
Lydia Charlotte’s air fare has been covered by a friend, but if you’d like to be part of this unusual journey personally, we still need support to provide care for children and adults in need all over Belarus — so please feel free to make a donation to New Thing before our departure.
Thanks for journeying with us!
Much love,
Doug Brendel