We started out this month living with a very large and amazing family. Andre and Anna own a quaint little beach cottage, which they built, in the southern peninsula of the Ukraine ,called Crimea. It was here that we quickly became part of their ever-growing family since they lovingly continue to adopt more and more children. It was a busy house, which seemed to have children eating, sleeping, or playing around every corner you turned as well as numerous family pets.
They were also a family of many gifts and talents, which included sewing, beat-boxing, drawing, bracelet making, gardening, construction, and basically playing any sort of instrument at any time. As Tricia and I departed half-way through the month, they even accompanied us to the bus station where the family gathered around us to sing a farewell song. They reminded me of a mix between the Von Trap Family and the Brady Bunch, which was probably a reason why it seemed like such a fairy-tale month.
Just a couple days into the month Tricia and I had to make an emergency trip to the hospital about 2 hours away. Our only married couple, Stefan & Christina, were rushed there for Christina to find out that she had malaria and needed her appendix removed. With much confusion due to language barriers, immoral business practices, and poor facilities, which reminded us of the genocide museum we visited in Cambodia, Stefan & Christina were put into tough situation. However, without time to waste they decided to get the surgery done in the Ukraine (rather than flying back home), ultimately trusting God with their dilema. Thankfully, all turned out well and Christina has been healing!
God always provides brothers for me wherever I go, especially when I am with an all-girls team.
While with our first contact for the month, we were responsible for “giving a word� during church services, singing worship songs, gardening, teaching English at local schools, visiting rehabilitation centers, and helping incapable people with errands around their houses. Overall it was an amazing start to the month before Tricia and I moved onto another team in a different part of the Ukraine.
Nikki’s Team – Part II of month, camp begins…
As I mentioned in my last blog, I had the opportunity to participate in two church camps this month. Above, is a picture of Christina helping out during arts & crafts as well as me playing a role in a skit we did for the kids).
Stefan, Silas, and I were able to baptize Brian in The Black Sea. Following this we celebrated by worshiping on a random dock underneath a Lunar Eclipse. God is good!
Lunch with the campers
For the second camp we headed to the outdoors, surrounded by mountains, green valleys, rivers, and lakes. I’ve realized that camp is fun, so naturally being a camp counselor has also been a blast. We hiked, swam, played games, taught English, shared about the World Race with the campers, listened to worship and preaching around a campfire, bathed in rivers, provided security for the campers at night, made amazing relationships with the other counselors, and enjoyed the peace of being away from civilization.
Campfire Worship
Lying under the stars was like being at an IMAX Theater. We saw tons of shooting stars and felt like we could reach out and grab them. Stefan & Christina also surprised us with a firework show!
We hiked with all the kids to the top of a mountain, which was funny because all the young girls would dress up and walk around with their cell phones, even while hiking. We have felt quite ragged and under dressed during most of our time in this fashionable country ha!
We made it to the top
Overall, this month was a ton of fun and has been sad to leave. I am currently on a train headed for Bucharest, Romania for our last month. It is a strange feeling to realize that The Race is almost over and a year of my life has just flown by…
