Jean Mueller, of Bettendorf, does not have enough arms to hold all the children who want her attention. Mrs. Mueller spent a week at a temporary orphanage in Oryol, Russia, giving the children much needed love.

FRIAZINO, Russia -- Joyce Haskins wrapped a green and white quilt around 1-year-old Sasha. She buried her white head in Sasha's neck, inhaling the delicate, sweet scent that all babies seem to have, then pulled the quilt more snugly around him.

``It's been very emotional,'' Mrs. Haskins said, wiping away tears behind her glasses. ``It was definitely worth the trip.''

Tears came easily to 20 Quad-Citians in Russia with Quad-Cities-based Christian charity ChildLife International. The volunteers spent a week at orphanges, hospitals and elderly homes in Moscow suburbs and Oryol, a regional capital 230 miles southwest of Moscow.

They went armed with toys, clothes, medicine and money donated by Quad-Citians. They wanted to ease physical suffering and bring some measure of hope to a few of the 620,000 Russian children without families.

Many volunteers had prepared themselves for physically appalling circumstances. They imagined naked children in dirty institutions with no food.

None of the children's homes they visited came close to those conditions, although economic needs were obvious. Most institutions rely on donations, so the children's clothes, shoes, boots and coats often are inappropriate, ill-fitting or of low quality.

However, the overwhelming need confronting the Quad-Cities volunteers was one that will never be sated -- the need for love.

``The infants in the cribs seemed like they were reaching out toward the sound of the human voice before they even saw you,'' Rob Richardson, of Matherville, said of his visit to a home for unwanted babies. ``The older kids just ran toward the affection. You didn't have to pick them up because they were crawling up you.''

Confronting that emotional need and realizing how little they could do to alleviate it in the long run was difficult for many volunteers. They found they couldn't just give out a toy and make things all better. A new pair of warm mittens was needed and welcomed, but would not erase the pain and trauma in the children's lives.

``It's such a drop in the bucket, what we can do,'' Mrs. Haskins said after returning to her East Moline home. ``We did as much as we could with what we had, but there's so much to be done. I really felt inadequate because the problem is so great. They need so much and they have so little.''

Terri Gleize, of Donahue, and Karen Paytash, of East Moline, saw need everywhere they looked at the Regional Center for Social Rehabilitation of Minors outside Oryol.

The communal shower room stank of urine and mildew, and slime coated the undersides of wooden pallets on which the children stood. When the director opened the door to show the room to the journalists, something the size of a human fist hurried away from the light.

The beds in the dormitory-style combination classroom/bedroom also reeked of urine. The center houses children ages 2 to 10, but most of them are younger than 6.

``When they've got that many little kids, of course they're going to pee the bed,'' Ms. Gleize said.

The problem is compounded by the fact that Russian orphanages cannot afford disposable diapers and rarely have enough cloth diapers, according to Christian World Adoption representative Kerry Marks.

Elsewhere in Oryol, team members Kathy Johnson, of Taylor Ridge, and Jean Mueller, of Bettendorf, were pleasantly surprised by conditions at the temporary shelter they visited. The building was old but clean, and the walls were decorated with colorful murals. The air was rich with delicious smells at lunch time.

The Moscow team discovered the orphanage at which they were scheduled to spend the week was as well-equiped as most U.S. institutions, so they altered their course.

``Our hearts led us to reach out to others, to go deeper, to reach out to where the need was,'' said Mr. Richardson, Moscow team leader.

Through a translator's contact, the group instead visited needier orphanages and an institution for disabled children under age 5. They also visited the elderly and got to meet families who chose to raise their disabled children at home, a tough task in Russia.

On every visit the Quad-Cities volunteers discovered lonely children who needed hugs, financially struggling elderly who needed money and respect, and exhausted caregivers who needed a rest and some hope that things would get better.