We spent our tenth month in Ukraine with a team in Saky near
the Black Sea. It was so beautiful and
the family we stayed with was absolutely amazing. Straight off of a bus after a long flight from
spending three months in Africa, macaroni and cheese awaited us cooked up by
the lovely Luda and our Ukrainian Mama!
After three months of eating rice, I bet you can imagine our expressions
to see cheese on the table.
Alicia and I had the blessing of staying in one spot for the
whole month, so we had the opportunity to really build relationships with the
family and helped with their ministry for the month. The first two weeks, we worked at a school
and led a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the kids. We sang songs, acted out Bible stories,
taught English and played games. We even
had the opportunity to take them to the beach on the Sea for a couple of
days! It was so much fun!
The third week, we traveled to a small village every morning
to lead a VBS on an abandoned stage of a building.
The fourth week we were in Saky, we had the opportunity to
work with youth from the church we were partnered with for the month and helped
them out at the biggest VBS we had the chance to be a part of. This particular group of kids were members of
the Tatars, an ethnic group originally from Russia, whom are considered to be unreached people. The experience was amazing and it was an
honor to work with the youth and the missionaries of that area.
I fell in love with many of the children. It was SO hard to leave them!
Every evening we taught English at a local library close to
where we lived. The majority of the time,
I taught two students who were cousins from Russia. It was interesting to hear about their
experiences of living in both Russia and Ukraine and have the opportunity to
help them learn how to communicate verbally with their English!
Along with teaching VBS and English, we did other things a
couple of the nights. A couple of the
nights, we had the chance to serenade elderly people at a home and people with
disabilities in the park one evening. We
were also asked to make an appearance and cheer on people at a race, which
ended in quite an adventure of running home in the torrential downpour, leaving
us as drenched as we would have been if we had just jumped into a pool.
During the month, we built amazing relationships with the
family that housed us and took care of us for the month. It was extremely hard to leave them and I
must admit, it was the second month I cried leaving a contact. I have high hopes that I will someday have
the chance to return to Ukraine to visit!
After Ukraine, we were able to split as a squad and
participate in men and womens retreats.
It was quite a relaxing and exciting time together! At the end of the retreat, we traveled
through Moldova and made it to Pitesti, Romania for our eleventh and final
month of our World Race adventure!
Bittersweet, thats for sure.
For
the first five days, Tommy, Alicia and I are staying with two teams for the
first five days, and after some team time, will then be headed off towards
another team to end our time with. I
cant believe that the end is so near, but I know that there is so much left
for me to learn in these next 24 days before I return to the States!
