This is my sweet new friend Dana. Oh Dana! So many fun sweet memories with you! “What are the odds”, trust falls, tag, you throwing water on Vania, Uno till the sunrise, etc. So much fun together!
I know nobody is perfect but wow has God showed me a lot through the way Dana lives her life.
She is absolutely so selfless, always helping others before herself. Her quickness to help anyway she can.
Some people who help others, can have an underlining motive. But it is so clear that Dana helps people with such a pure heart. A very altruistic person. Our entire time in Ukraine, she has spent her time with us, translating and leading camps! She also is a teacher for special needs kids! She definitely is a leader for her generation and the people that are around her. It reminds me of how Jesus literally came not to be served but to serve and Dana lives that out so eloquently.
I bet if she was around when the Bible was being written, she would be one of the inspiring women written about in the Bible.
Things I have seen Dana live out:
1. She handles herself gracefully (Proverbs 11:16)
2. She loves and embraces children (Psalm 113:9, Titus 2:4)
3. She speaks with wisdom (Proverbs 31:26)
4. She has discretion (Proverbs 11:22) 5. She has a humble spirit (1 Peter 3:4) 6. She has a kind and helpful attitude (Prov. 31:26-27) 7. She is prudent: intelligent, productive, skillful, wise and has understanding (Prov. 19:24)
She is living a life that truly models what a Christian life should look like. To see a young person like Dana truly help others so selflessly the way she does.
I know I have only known her for about a month but I just can see that by the way Dana lives her life, so many people will want to follow Jesus because of the example she leads. There is a lot I can learn from the way she lives her life.
So much of the person I pray to be and to grow in, Dana lives out and so it’s an inspiration for me. To see the things I want to grow in, to see it practically lived out. And I think that was why I was so drawn to be her friend because I knew there was so much I could learn from her. Here is one of the main things: Selflessness
How could I be selfish when I am giving up a year of my life to go and help others? Oh it’s possible. God has been showing me I have more selfish tendencies that I wasn’t really aware of. Subconsciously wanting my needs met first at times, which is not how I want to live. I want to be able to serve & love others freely and selflessly. And Dana was such a great example of that for me and I am so thankful.
Dana’s actual name means : gift from God.
One day me and her were just sitting on the steps outside our hostel. It was on my heart to ask her what her story was but I didn’t know how because of the simple fact that I didn’t know her story so I didn’t know how she would feel with me asking that. And this was the first time we just really got to sat down and truly talk. So I just started by asking fun questions which then led to her getting to share with me her story and how her mother had a miscarriage before she had Dana. Then she was able to have Dana and named her “Gift from God” and prayed while Dana was still in her mothers womb, that she would be able to sing and do art. Before I even knew that, I got to see some of the paintings she did and WOW she is an absolutely AMAZING artist, evident that it’s a gift from God. She also can sing wonderfully! – but she is really humble about it haha.
I think her name goes farther than just the fact that her mom named her Dana because she was able to have her after a miscarriage. I think that anyone who gets to meet Dana will know that she truly is a gift from God by the way she lives her life and loves people.I know I am thankful to have met her in Ukraine and I will continue to be impacted by her friendship.
After learning all she does, I told her she does a lot with the time she has and stewards it so well. She responded saying she wants to do more and do all God has called her to do. What an example of how to use the time we have been given with such intentionality.
So I just wanted to share a little bit of who Dana is because I think there’s something we all can learn from her: when you selflessly & purely use your life to help & serve others for Jesus, it inspires others to want to do the same. The Bible says to give honor where honor is due. So yeah 🙂
It was hard to say bye to you after spending every day together. But I am so incredibly thankful to have gained your friendship and I pray God gives you all those desires in your heart. Your future is so bright and I can’t wait to see how God uses you in Ukraine and in life! Never settle for anything less than what God has for you, because He has amazing things for you!
Much love, T.
