I can’t believe it! I’m actually officially on the World Race. This is the most surreal feeling- months of preparation and it’s finally here. After a full two days of traveling, I find myself at a quaint, cozy hostel in Kiev, Ukraine. I’ve had very little sleep in the past couple of days, but I am so excited to be here in Ukraine. I had absolutely no idea what to expect flying into a country that I know so little about. So far, though, what I have seen has been beautiful! The weather is incredible and the city is bright and alive, and also fairly clean. Its only been a few hours, but I definitely like my Ukrainian experience so far!
Tomorrow afternoon, my team and I will take a VERY long train ride (I’ve heard possibly 19 hours) to a town in Ukraine which is close to the Russian border. There we will be working with our ministry contacts, an American couple, who are running a summer camp for Russian orphans. We will work with other teams of believers from the states to essentially be camp counselors for these orphans- providing entertainment, sports, activities, and biblical teachings. To my understanding, I will be at this camp for about 3 weeks. I’m prepared for changes, though, because I know that plans change frequently on the World Race!
I continue to ask for intense prayer in this journey. Please pray that the Lord will strengthen my spirit, along with strengthening me emotionally and physically. Pray that these next few weeks, as my team ministers to these children, that the Spirit would fall on us and speak through us. Pray for unity in my team and pray that the Lord would form us into a family that encourages and edifies each other constantly. Pray that the Lord would keep me focused and fully present where I am at and protect me from homesickness. More than anything, pray that I would continue to experience God in a new way and I would know Him more intimately than ever before- at the end of the day, that’s really all I want.
I don’t know if I will have access to the internet at the camp these next few weeks, but I will post more updates from Ukraine as soon as I am able!
My first Ukrainian beer!
