Since
arriving in Ukraine I have been in a bit of a culture shock. In many ways, I
feel like I am back in America with many of the comforts I haven’t experienced
in a LONG time. We have hot water, a western toilet, and mattresses to sleep
on…not to mention amazing food prepared by our wonderful host family. I am so
thankful to have been placed with this amazing family. They are all musically talented
and it feels like we are at a family reunion everyday.
We
are staying in a village, that is only about a 2 mile walk to the Black Sea.
There are beautiful flowers that line the green fields as you walk to the
beach. The house has a garden in the front, and chickens in the back. They rarely need to buy items at the store, as you can find most of what you need in their backyard. The mother Anya, has five children of her own,
and has adopted six. There seems to be something that we all love here. Katie
has not one, but two pianos to play, Andrew and Amber have multiple guitars,
and Tiff and I have plenty of animals to play with.
Tiff and I and our new friend we made at the hospital
Ministry
has been interesting but fun. It seems as though everyday will look a bit
different. Tuesday we helped an older woman clear up her garden, yesterday we
prayed for people in wheelchairs at a hospital, and today we
went to a nursing home. We get around town in a huge van that the Dad drives.
The children are always singing songs and we feel like we are riding around
with the Ukrainian Von Trapp family. They are on summer break right now so we
will have a lot of time to spend with them. They seem to either be playing
instruments, doing chores, making crafts, or playing with their cousins.
I feel like
spending our last two months in eastern Europe will make transitioning back to
the states a bit easier. At least I am hoping this will be so. All I know is that this feels
worlds away from Nepal. I am thankful for all of our blessings here and that
this will end up being one of our longer months. We just finished another delicious
dinner and now I’m just looking forward to what this next week will bring. I’ll keep you posted. Much love from Ukraine!
