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Well, Hello from Ukraine!


I trust everything is going just fine wherever you are.  I have, literally, no complaints at the moment.  I am sitting in my bedroom (that’s right, I am fortunate enough to have MY OWN BEDROOM this month…first time on anyone’s World Race, I’m sure) and I’m sitting here on our free wi-fi and about to take a nice hot shower.  If any World Racer’s are reading this blog, disregard prior text, as I’m sure you have forgotten what any of those things are.

It’s Autumn in Lugansk, which I am personally stoked about because I thought I was going to miss it this year.  Autumn is one of my favorite things about Ohio…and on top of ‘fall’ smelling candles and my mom’s cooking, the changing leaves are something I did not want to give up this year.  But God has blessed us with an exquisite city.

This month we have two main ministries.  We play in an orphanage on Saturdays and during the week we practice speaking with college-age students who are learning English.  Native English speakers never come to Lugansk, let alone volunteer at local schools.  We are the first Americans many of the students have ever met.  The classes are in the evening and we basically talk about ourselves and America for four hours.  It’s fun.  Also, my opinion is gold to them.  They have no reference for anything American, so when the teacher asks me to explain American politics, I can get all bleeding heart liberal on them and they cheer and say ‘Yes!!  You are exactly what Ukraine needs!!”.  😀  Allllll in good fun, people.


This is Vira and I playing Jenga at the orphanage.  Steady hands of a surgeon…I won that epic game!


Worshiping at our contact’s church.


I like our college ministry so much this month because it is relational.  There probably won’t be a time when I pull out my Bible and start preaching.  Since the church in Ukraine is Orthodox, they have a very casual and distant relationship with God.  They know nothing of His power and the transformations He loves to do in your heart.  So when we come in and talk about God and all the miracles he’s performed in the past 10 months, it kind of blows them away.  In my very first class I astounded them with stories of India and exorcisms! 

We also make ourselves available for one on one times with the classes.  We went bowling with a class this past week.  It was so much fun and it gave them a chance to practice their English outside of school.


I think this is the second time in my life I’ve bowled.  I got 2 strikes, but was otherwise terrible.  I’m not sure, but I think this is horrible form.

Check out these Russian beauties 🙂  I kept joking that ‘one of these things is not like the other’ because in a sea of Russian/Ukrainian lookalike models, I am insanely hippy and granola looking.

Great students!  Such a wonderful way to spend the month – making friends during the week and playing with awesome kids on the weekend.


Today, we had a mini photo shoot at the orphanage.  It was in the mid 70’s today and we went to an old amusement park from probably 60 years ago.  It was a perfect ending to a perfect week.

THIS is ministry??!