quarter-way check up!

Dobre-Dyn (Good day!) from Ukraine!

The first piece of good news is that we are all here and we are all safe with all our luggage! (and the team has also avoided illness thus far). After a long, exhausting, and uneventful journey across the Atlantic, we finally arrived in Ukraine at around 11pm on Tuesday night (May 15th).

We spent the remainder of our days last week participating in various home visits with elderly nationals who were home-bound for one reason or another. We accompanied a doctor and nurse as they worked with stroke victims and also helped the organization "God's Hidden Treasures" with their wheelchair-delivery ministry.

On saturday, we traveled to Kiev (the capital city) to embrace our inner-tourists and immerse ourselves in the culture of the bustling Ukrainian city. We went to a Ukrainian World War 2 museum, toured three different orthodox cathedrals, wandered around a street market, and visited the site where the orange revolution began.

Sunday morning we went to a church service with our American host and interacted with the members of the congregation after the service. This week we are running a vacation bible school in the mornings for kids at a "Boy's Home" in Bila Tserkva (where we are staying). All of these boys have been institutionalized because of physical or mental handicaps. Sadly, most of them are shunned by their parents and by society for one reason or another...and it is obvious to our team that a lot of them were misdiagnosed and are actually just regular kids who are trapped in an unfortunate situation within a system that doesn't make much sense to us. The boys are great and we fell in love with them quickly. They are hungry for attention and approval and love and our team has been generous with all of those things. Working at the boy's home has been a transformational experience for all of us...so be sure to ask your son/daughter, brother/sister, or friend about it when we return.

On monday afternoon we visited an orphanage in Ukraine and had our hearts broken by the sweet little children we met there. Most of the children who are living in this particular orphanage are children who were taken away from their parents who were alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, or were taken to prison. Our time at this facility was limited and it was a struggle for all of us to leave these little ones.

We spent yesterday afternoon at a Cerebral Palsy center playing with the kids and talking to them about Bible stories. Unlike the children at the boy's home and the orphanage, the kids at the CP center actually have parents and just come to the center in the afternoons to connect with other kids who have CP.Our time in Bila Tserkva is rapidly coming to an end. Tomorrow evening we will head back to Kiev to hop on an overnight train bound for the coast to continue our adventure!Thank you for your love and support!

love,
Karen, Arthur, Tommy, Jimmy, Sean, Justin, Jessica, Bonnie, Brittany, Sarah, Mandy, and Abby


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