To my Kremenets Family,
I miss you already and it’s only been a few hours.
I miss laughing with y’all, hanging out with your children, teaching English, and just getting to spend time with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Saying goodbye to you was perhaps the hardest goodbye I’ve faced over the course of these nine months.
You know why? Because you accepted me, loved me, and invited me not only into your lives, but into your hearts for this past month. You saw me, not as a foreigner or a visitor, but as a fellow sister in Christ. In just one month, you took in our team and together, we became family.
Our differences didn’t matter because we were united by something much bigger than ourselves- a shared love for Jesus. A lot of us couldn’t even speak the same language but we got really good at smiling, laughing, pointing, and Google translating our way through conversations.
The funny thing is, I thought I was coming to Ukraine to teach but instead, I learned. You taught me about genuine love, joyful giving, and personal sacrifice.
You showed me how to love even when you only plants seeds and don’t see fruit.
You reminded me to never give up because no one is beyond saving- every heart is capable of being changed.
You are a community that is striving to look more and more like Jesus every single day and I pray so many blessings over each and every one of you. I pray that you continue to be a light to people surrounded by darkness.
I pray that every child who goes to camp this summer will experience the love of God through your example.
It is impossible to find words to adequately thank y’all for everything this month has meant to me (a simple ????? will not suffice). I don’t think I’ve ever felt so loved and cared for away from home. You allowed me to become a part of your family and embraced me with open arms.
I left a part of my heart behind and I know that one day, I’ll be back- not to reclaim that piece, but to pour even more of myself into your incredible community that I have come to love.
It’s not goodbye, but see you later. And if not on this Earth, then in Heaven.
With all my love,
Kaitlyn
P.S. Someone please tell Elijah, Dima, and Lyodik that I still don’t need them to find me a Ukrainian husband. Thanks.
