Before I really get started with this blog, I want to say thanks to everyone that prayed for us as our team journeyed from Brasov, Romania to Odessa, Ukraine! Nothing but smoothness in our travels and crossing of the Ukranian border. God has been so good!
Ok, now for the blog…
Since the moment we were dropped off at a bus station in Odessa, Ukraine, our team has been treated amazingly. We had plopped ourselves and our gear on the ground to wait for someone to take us to a place where we could rest for a little bit. Then the Lord sent an angel our way. Her name was Ann. She even looked like an angel with natural blond hair, blue eyes, and a face of innocence. She was waiting herself for a bus to take her to another location for a friend’s wedding. Ann greeted us so warmly and in English. (By this point we hadn’t fully come to the realization just what a blessing it was for a Ukranian to want to speak to Americans in English.) She was very kind and we chatted about various things. This woman whom we had just only met, gave us her cell number in case we should ever need help getting around the city or for help in translation. Before we parted ways, she even bought us all a box of chocolate as a gift because she said that she liked us so much.
As we were saying our goodbye’s to Ann, we were saying hello to Natasha and Kasusha. These two fantastic young women have been taking such great care of us ever since. After a long night and day of travel from Romania, they took us to a nice little restaurant for our first real meal of the day. We then all crashed at Kasusha’s flat (or apartment) for the night. The next day, Kasusha and her mom began making calls to help us find our own flat to live in for the duration that we are in Odessa. With an appointment setup with a landlord, we grabbed all our gear once again and headed out. Needless to say, we tried a few different flats in the city center, but none seemed to work out for one reason or another. Then Natasha called and said that she had received word on an available flat that would meet our needs and our budget. I need to mention here, that while Natasha was helping us locate a place to dwell, she was also moving from one flat to another that same day. This girl is amazing and selfless. She found the jackpot and within a matter of hours we were resting comfortably in our new space.
We have met a few more people that are much the same in how they just go out of their way to show us where the cheap places to eat are located or where to get our groceries. With only being here a couple days, God has shown us tremendous favor in every area. I know that I haven’t really said much about the city of Odessa itself… Although the city seems incredible and has a lot of things that we hope to check out, it’s the people that we’ve met thus far that have made this city so great. Unexpectedly, this could very well be one of my favorite places that we’ve been to while on the Race.
