3 weeks down- one to go!

I'm always amazed at how fast the summer goes by when these kiddos from Ukraine are here in the US.  The past 2 years the Window to Hope project only hosted the kids for 3 weeks, which felt a bit short- so we opted for a week longer program this year.- So now we are at the beginning of August- 3 weeks are down and one week remains!  Where did all the time go?  We've been busy though...no doubt. And the kids have been doing great.

Here is some of what we've been up to during our stay in the beautiful Pacific Northwest...

One week to go!

Homeward bound...with 9 little friends :)

This year marks the 3rd year of helping to organize a hosting trip in partnership with Window to Hope- a hosting program a friend of mine and I started at my home church in Washington.

This year we will be bringing 9 kids-- all of who arrived in Kiev today!  We head to Seattle tomorrow where we will be for the next 4 weeks staying in host families.  (My host family just happens to me named 'mom and dad' :))  It is truly a privileged to get to bring these kids home with me as it is not only a chance for the kids to experience another culture and the love of a family, but it exposes these families to the needs of orphans world wide.   God has done some amazing things through this program already and I can't wait to see what He will do this year.

From the moment the kids got off the train today they were a buzz with more questions about what America will be like. 

My favorite conversation of the morning was with our youngest traveler, Pasha:

Pasha:  So you'll be with us on the plane tomorrow, right?
Me:  Yes, Of course
Pasha:  So you know how to speak American?
Me:  Yes, Of course I do.
Pasha: Wow! So you know a lot of words then?
Me:  Yes...a lot of words....
Pasha:  Wow...

I found it very endearing that he was surprised that the American spoke 'American' :)  It seemed like I may have earned some points for being 'smart!' :)

We had fun exploring the city center, playing in the fountains and visiting a children's museum.  And then where better to finish the day???

McDonalds.

They're choice.

So I guess their first McDonald's experience won't have to be in America afterall! :)

Stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks! 

Special guests

3 weeks ago we had a special group of CBN donors descend on Ukraine.  I say descend, because when a group of 40 people arrive as your 'guests' it can feel like quite the entourage of people! :)

I was privileged to help coordinate this trip that was organized to show some of our top donors the projects they are helping to support in Ukraine.  This was my first experience organizing such a large event--and a traveling one at that!  The trip was a mixture of touring and service projects and a chance for our partners to learn more about the work of CBN and Orphan's Promise in Ukraine.

exploring the beauty of Kiev.

It was a FULL 10 days too! While our special guests were in Ukraine we were able to dedicate a water well at a Kiev Children's Home (Father's House), host a children's festival at our medical clinic that services the poor of Kiev, travel to Western Ukraine and help construct a children's play ground at one of the gypsy camps we work in, and meet and pray with numerous families. 

well dedication at Father's House

face-painting at the children's medical clinic

food distribution in one of the communities

The poverty in these gypsy camps never ceases to astound me.  Though this group of partners only spent one day doing physical labor and meeting with families, I am comforted in knowing that our team on the ground remains-- daily meeting needs in this community.   We have a school that is teaching 180 kids- who prior to attending these classes couldn't even read or write!  And the kids are getting lunch provided 5 days a week!!  This is HUGE for this community- where many struggle to feed their children each day.

Children's program in another gypsy community

Please continue to pray-- we still need funds to expand and grow--- one of the biggest needs being the building of a new school facility which will allow us to educate more kiddos.

Anticipation!

This weekend I traveled to the Eastern part of the country to visit the kids that I'll be bringing to the Seattle area for our summer hosting program Window to Hope. 

Nothing like spending 2 nights back to back on the Ukrainian train!  (Even if the visual of seeing the train tracks with the evening sunset give you the feeling of a romantic European adventure....the smells and heat of the inside of the train will convince you otherwise!)  Ahh the joy of sleeping in a moving room with 50 other people in the heat of the summer. It is something to be experienced. 

My friend Bekah joined me on this weekend getaway -- because if you are going to spend two 13 hour trips on the train-- you'd better do it with good company!

After arriving by train, we met up with my friend Natasha who drove us the hour and half (2 hours if you happen to get lost) to the orphanage where the kids live.  I briefly had met all these kids in the fall when the director selected the kids for travel- but I figured if I was going to be traveling across the ocean with these sweet ones then I had better spend a bit more time getting to know their personalities and see what challenges I might be up against.  I've dealt with few airport melt downs in the past....so it is good to be prepared.

After a geography lesson of playing 'let's find Washington on a map' we settled in to playing games involving the knowledge of random English words (of which they know quite a few I might add). Then the kids became comfortable asking dozens of questions about their host families and where they'd be staying.

Do they live in a house?
How old are they?
Do they speak Russian?
Do they have a dog?
Will we still see our friends?
Will we see the ocean?

I had the joy of being able to pass out letters from their host families, which answered some of these questions.   The kids were glued to their letters and then quickly comparing who would have cats and dogs and the most kids in their family for the summer!  It was very sweet.  The older girls probably read their letters 3 or 4 times-- asking how to pronounce the names and wanting to know all the details about everything!

They are counting down the days until we travel....34 to go! 

I'm very excited about this group of kids, they are a really sweet group and are so grateful for this opportunity to travel. They even promised they'd be working on their English over the next month.  We'll see if that happens!

If you are in the Seattle area this summer and want to join in the activities we will be doing with the kids, you can email me or visit our website at www.windowtohope.com

The Diary of Anne Frank

So I think it's official.  I am a really lame blogger!!  I can never seem to make the time to write and post-- there is always the next pressing thing to do.  So, if anyone is still out there--here is a little update!

May has been, as it always is, a CRAZY month!! I direct the school play every year at Kiev Christian Academy and the show runs the second weekend of the month.  So with 2 weeks of solid rehearsals and then all the graduation celebrations and goodbyes that quickly follow the play, May has this way of being a month where I burn the candle at both ends.

This year I directed "The Diary of Anne Frank"-- and wow, what an amazing experience it was. I was very tentative to take on this weighty piece, as I've generally stuck to light romantic comedies in the past (that and the set intimidated me!). But I decided to try something different this year, and the result was fantastic.  This is one very proud director of her students.  These kids always have a way of pulling it together at the last minute and wowing me and the entire audience.  We had 3 full nights and 3 standing ovations.  Not too bad I'd say!  It was clear that people were moved by the story and the performances.

Rumor has it that this may have been our best production yet!  Here is a little peak and what we were up to:

yes, we even worked with a live cat--a first for me on stage!

my lovely cast!

 

Service Projects & Life Skills

Aren't these faces adorable?  Every time I'm in the gypsy communities in Western Ukraine I meet these darling faces-- kids that we have a team regularly serving through the work of Orphan's Promise.

Mukachevo is one of the locations in Ukraine where OP is doing the greatest amount of practical ministry.  Primarily we are working with the Gypsy (Roma) people to bring education, programs and assistance to their communities.  We have an amazing team on the ground regularly working with the children teaching them Life Skills, Reading, writing and Ukrainian language skills they lack and providing lunches 3 times a week for hungry kids.

I was blessed to bring a team from my Kiev church's youth group. I serve as a youth leader for our gathering of young people called 'The City' (primarily ex-pat kids) and was honored to be a part of a group of about 30 youth spending their spring break serving in a variety of facets in west Ukraine. My group consisted of about 8 young people and we served in one of the gypsy communities were OP is working.  The kids did crafts, a lesson and games and then we went to another location and spoke with youth studying English in Mukachevo.

Having visited this community several times it was a privilege to get to see it through the eyes of these youth as they were faced with the poverty and the need and asking themselves the same hard questions I have often asked-- 'What can I do to help?'  

Our team with the English club

All our youth at the Uzhgorod Castle. We were all divided into various ministry projects throughout the week.

Tonight I'm headed back to Mukachevo again. (Oh the joys of being on a train for 14 hours!)  I'll be traveling with two co-workers to bring our Life Skills Training and Curriculum to the staff we have working in Mukachevo so that they will be able to have more resources as they work with their youth.

Our training in Kiev last week

We held a training just a week ago in Kiev for another group of volunteers and I'm continually amazed by the need for this material.  We've been doing training for nearly 7 years now and have trained close to 1,000 people to work with teens.  Each time we put the training and resources into the hands of people working with at risk orphans and youth we are overwhelmed with the response.  Gratitude. 
 Always gratitude for being given new information and new strategies for working with youth.  It is very humbling to be a part of this work and to know that even 7 years later it is still so needed.


Please pray for our team as we'll be training about 30 staff and local people in Mukachevo to use this curriculum!  And pray I can get some sleep on the train and arrive ready to teach!