Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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I know it has been a while since I last blogged…BUT just in case you were concerned, I am alive & well and we made it safely to Ukraine!
 
We arrived in the small town of Lugansk (the most Eastern region of Ukraine..near the Russian border) a little over a week ago..May 3rd to be exact. We took an over night train ride from Kiev, Ukraine and arrived the following morning to be greeted by the most loving family ever!

The MacDonald family is from the United States and they have been living here for about 8 years now. Papa Bruce and Pia have twelve children in total (four who are currently living at home)..it is a full house to say the least! They also have another missionary living with them this month, Dorothea from Chattanooga, Tennesee. She knows just how to lighten up the mood. She also knows people from the Alpharetta area, my home town…Such a small world!

God really does know our wants and needs and has blessed my team more than words can express this month. It has been really hard for me these past few weeks as I am starting to miss my family and friends and the comforts of home…so this is just what I needed..a loving family. And not only that…they speak English! Although we are living in an apartment across the dirt road from the MacDonald’s, they have welcomed us into their family and made us feel right at home!


                    
      Three of the four MacDonald children (Toby, Karianne, Teammate Cassie, and Mercy is on my lap!) 

 
This past weekend we went on a camping trip with some of the MacDonald’s church members. There were about 25 people who stayed over night and actually camped out in the freezing cold. The rest of the group came the following day. There were 7 different nationalities including: South Korea, Nigeria, Kenya, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. Talk about diversity…

                               
                                               (Hanging by the campfire before everyone arrived.)
                                       
                                      (Celebrating Karianne's Birthday after a long night of camping!)

                                        


                         
Right before we left to go camping out in the Ukrainian wilderness…I asked Mercy, the youngest of the twelve MacDonald children, if she wanted to be my camping buddy for the night. From that moment on, we were glued to hip for the rest of the day. We did everything together..from story telling to bathroom time…what an experience! 

As Mercy and I were talking in our tent that night, she asked me to tell her a story. So I started re-telling her the story of the Disney movie, Tangled, about the Princess Rapunzel. She ended up correcting me after every sentence, so I agreed to just let her tell me the story. After watching Mercy reenact the movie..I kept thinking about how this movie related to my life…like I tend to do with everything I experience on the race. And since I love poems, I decided to write about it.

 
Tangled
A story of a girl who was captured by evil but always knew there was light.
She had been trapped for so long but never lost sight.
 
When she was a little girl she stood out with her golden glow 
and because of it, she was captured and taken to a far away place..
where no one would know.
 
The evil witch was selfish, so she let no one see
She wanted the magical cure all for herself so she ran away and she fleed.
 
Until one day, the beautiful princess realized the truth and found out she was living a lie
She knew she had to escape before more time passed her by.
 
She saw the floating lanterns in the sky, the lights were calling her name
At first she didn’t realize they were for her and every year it was the same.
 
Every year on her birthday she was curious as she saw the beautiful glow
its crazy how she didn’t realize this and she didn’t know.
 
She was tangled and trapped in the evil lies.
She was stuck inside and no one could hear her cries.
 
When your tangled up in the lies its sometimes hard to see life as its meant to be 
Because of this selfish witch, she was unable to explore and could not see.
 
She was told that it was a scary world out there, filled with danger and crime.
But instead of listening to her evil ways, she did not listen this time.
 
So she went out, she escaped, and dared to explore
and realized all that she was missing and so much more.
 
She found out how much she was loved, and about her magical hair
She realized the lights were made for her and that someone actually cared.
 
She had been trapped, but now she was free
She is now a beautiful princess and as happy as can be.

Don't ever let the evil in this world keep you from going out and exploring God's creation.
You never know what is waiting for you.
Don't let someone bring you down or trap your light.
Shine so the world can see.


Not what you expected from a camping trip blog?…just go with it 🙂

“Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
–Matthew 18:4

God is good…enjoy the video!