Here are some UKRAINIAN
AdVeNtUrEs for your reading pleasure!
1. I MILKED A COW! It has been one of my life goals
for I don’t know how long and I’m SO STOKED that I got to do it in Ukraine! One
of the men who helped build the camp and continues to volunteer with the kids,
Sergei, lives in the village and knows almost everyone there. He totally hooked
us up by asking one of the village women if we could come to her house and
fulfill one of our life dreams. So we did… and it was amazing. (Tracy, Brittany
and I all got to partake in the adventure.) I have a ten-minute long video of
the experience but it will probably be awhile before I’m able to upload it, so
some pictures will just have to suffice. P.S. We named our cow big Bertha… she
was beautiful and provided a hefty amount of milk. 🙂
2.
Only a couple days after arriving at camp I got
woken up by being puked on by a 9-year old. Yup, it was awesome. I was on a
sleeping pad on the floor of a room full of bunk beds and one of the girls got
sick; she was on the top bunk above where I was sleeping and simply leaned over
the side and began throwing up at 6:15am. Luckily, Tracy woke up first because
she heard the splashing, saw what was going on, and calmly yet firmly said,
“Jenny, wake up. You’re being puked on.� (It’s become a common phrase now among
our team and never ceases to crack me up… we can’t let this experience die!)
The little girl felt better after empting the contents of her stomach and so
did I after some thorough cleaning/ disinfecting of my pillow, sleeping bag,
sleeping pad, and self. Hey, it makes for a good story!
3.
We got a ride into the nearest town one day (Ivankiv),
chilled there for a bit, and four of us (Tracy, Carin, Aly and myself)decided
to walk home instead of taxi it back. Six miles and two hours later, along with
some adventures along the road, we made it back home. Good times indeed.
4.
We went to a pond in the village almost daily so
the kids could get out and cool off by taking a swim. However, the kids were
not the only occupants of this body of water; there would often be cows swimming
alongside the rest of us. Stepping on the “cow patties� at the bottom of the
pond added a whole new dimension to the swimming experience. Welcome to Ukraine!
5.
We had multiple skit nights at camp and I was
therefore able to play some interesting roles; I got my face smothered in blue
face paint, I was the arms on another person’s body and got to perform multiple
hilarious tasks, I was able to try out one of the many “uses� of jello by
applying it as perfume, and I played a demon-possessed man with a donkey
head-covering who was later healed by Jesus.
6.
Fly-killing became a new sport during our time
at camp; they were everywhere! Tracy was pretty ruthless when it came to
knocken em dead… she got up to killing two or three at a time! We were all in
awe of her skills and vengeance… and we thanked her later.
7.
There was a hail storm in Ukraine. Yup, hail. It
was madness (especially since it was at least 80 degrees outside when it
happened). After the hail calmed down it just began down-pouring and the winds got
intense – they said it was a Ukrainian hurricane. Without thinking properly,
Carin and I scampered outside to play in the beauty and power of God’s
Creation. We got on the huge trampoline (yea, there was a big trampoline there…
amazing) and starting jumping, playing and praising God in the storm. It was
exhilarating, refreshing, and enlightening to say the least. We ended up
getting rebuked because of safety precautions and because the kids were
watching us set a bad example and wondering why they couldn’t do the same… so
we learned our lesson. But we definitely enjoyed our spontaneous act of freedom
while it lasted. 🙂
8.
Lightning storms occurred almost every night and
illuminated the heavens with brilliant colors that flashed across the whole sky
in rhythmic patterns. God truly is an amazing artist. 🙂
9.
The laundry room is a good place for devious
eating adventures. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. 🙂 (Picture below of Mika, Carin and I being mischievous… as always!)
10.
The Hinson family (Mika, Josh, Levi, and Noah)
from Oklahoma are simply amazing and just had to be mentioned here; Mika was in
charge of making food for the whole camp the last week we were there and I had
the privilege of helping out with dinner prep every night. The stories, adventures,
and laughs were abounding… thanks for all the good times. You guys are a
BLESSING! 🙂
11.
We played VOLLEYBALL almost daily while I was
there… SO MUCH FUN! They had a beach court (the whole camp was covered in sand)
and the kids were pretty good so the level of play wasn’t bad at all. Before
coming on the race I was debating about bringing a ball and a pump and trying
to deflate it after each country, but decided against it at the last minute. I
realized this month how GOOD GOD HAS BEEN TO ME by providing volleyball courts
and players in EACH country I’ve been to so far! It’s been incredible. Thank
you, Jesus!
