Ten Days

As of today, we have been back in the states for ten days. These have been some of the fastest days of my life as I have worked to readjust to Central time, re-enter my daily life here in the states, finish final projects for Nadezhda Ukraine, complete post-internship reports for my fellowships, and prepare for the fast approaching semester. It has been wonderful and exhilerating to become reacquainted with life here. Though I was only gone for 11.5 weeks, my life in Ukraine was vastly different from my life here. Life here is much easier - clean water is readily accessible, electricity is reliable, transportation is safer and more comfortable, and I can communicate with ease. But life is also much busier. Already, my calendar has filled and my 'to-do' list of significant, time consuming tasks has stretched into the double digits. Already I feel that I'm falling behind... that there are not enough hours in the day and that I'll fall back into the chronic keep-up with life game so familiar to me before I left for Ukraine. When will I finish the reports? When will I have time for the profiles I've promised? When will I complete the PhD applications?



In the midst of all these questions, there are times when I wonder how I can so easily forget what I learned across this summer. Part of what this summer taught me was of the importance of setting and acknowledging true priorities. It is not that reports, profiles, and applications are unimportant - it's just that true priorities in my life are overlooked when the daily to-do lists run my life. Finishing the reports tomorrow versus today will not break any deadlines - nor will taking one more day have any lasting impact. But running life at breakneak speed will because I'll continue then to overlook what matters, and I'll continue to push to the side what I've learned and experienced this summer for finishing that report, profile, or application one day sooner. This is just one of the small lessons I'm taking with me...



A bigger question that has led Trav's and my conversations these past ten days is "what now"? We've been asked that question more times than I can count - in debriefing interviews and meetings, from our parents, from our family, from our friends... from one another. I've said this so many times across this blog, but it remains true: this summer has transformed us, both individually and as a couple. Though it's easy to get caught up in the daily routine of our lives (already even!), we are fundamentally changed. Our perspectives, our priorities, and our goals have changed - undoubtedly, this changes our future. So many doors have been flung open before us, from Africa to Central America to here in the Twin Cities. And all seem to be equally amazing opportunities to pursue. We know that this next year (at least) will be spent in the Twin Cities as I finish my master's program and Travis continues building his position at work and his ministry among men, but what the next five and ten years and beyond will bring is something we cannot yet see. Will we enter a PhD program? Will we move overseas? We know that our work will remain the same in nature and now more than ever, we have a heart and passion for global ministries that focus on sustainable poverty alleviation - in both temporal and eternal forms. And now more than ever, we have a desire to fight for human rights - those that are temporal and those that are eternal. What form that will take for us, and where it will occur are questions that remain before us. It is an exciting and challenging place to be. Exciting because we can see glimpses of amazing things before us. Challenging because it takes a lot of faith to walk forward toward the unknown. But for now, we are enjoying where we are at and making the most of the opportunities we have.



I'm planning to keep this blog going. It's been wonderful sharing what we have learned and experienced across this summer with friends, family, and others who share our interests and passions. Our journey is certainly not over - it is just beginning. So if you're interested in hearing, we'd love to share where our lives go from here... stay tuned.

The Journey Home

The journey from Zaporozhye, Ukraine to Minneapolis, Minnesota is not the easiest one. Nor is it the shortest. But it is beautiful and exhilerating. When I made the journey to Ukraine in May, I was full of excitement, anticipation, and questions about what the summer would bring. When I made the opposite journey home, I was full of excitement, anticipation, and questions about what this incredible summer would mean for the rest of our lives. I know that our lives have changed and that we as individuals and a couple have changed. Our perspective, our hopes, our dreams, our faith - every part of us has changed in ways we never would have or could have expected. What exactly that means for our future, we do not know at this point, but we are excited and eager to see...

We started the journey home with a fourteen hour train ride. It was the first time on a train for both of us, so on top of the excitement to be home together again was the excitement of seeing the beautiful Ukrainian countryside from a traditional Soviet train. Train robbers are extremely common - something we had be warned of all summer long, so we ended up getting a private cabin on the overnight train. The cabin was small and hot, but still comfortable. The ride, unlike the bus, was smooth and so while longer, we were grateful for the change in transportation. I think we will forever now prefer trains to busses in Ukraine! It was a wonderful ride - for hours we cherished the last glimpses of a country that's now embedded in our hearts and lives and we talked about the summer and the future. Like all travel in Ukraine, it was a challenge to have limited language skills, and we relied as always on broken Russian and non-verbal communication to get us through the necessary stops, ticketing, and boarding/departure procedures. Thankfully, John had taken the time to walk us through the basics so we weren't completely lost!

We arrived in Kyiv on Friday with a flight scheduled out on Saturday. Travel logistics were a bit frustrating between plane ticket issues and language barriers, but we managed to finalize my ticket home and were able to secure seats together on the plane. Left with one final day in Kyiv, we set out to enjoy our last day in Ukraine. Across the day, we ran several times into an issue I faced throughout the summer. Often, Americans are seen as fitting a single mold: wealthy, greedy, and yet a bit naieve when it comes to money. As such, we're often targeted for being robbed, being cheated, or being charged over twice the actual cost for something. The first taste of the day was at a coffee shop. We ordered coffee and about fell over when we received the bill - we had been charged nearly ten times what a normal cup of coffee costs in a similar coffee house. We knew we were being cheated, but with limited language and really no other option, what could be done? I told the man that he was cheating us and that we knew it. His response? A smirk and a shrug. Later at a market, we started purchasing a Ukrainian soccer shirt for Travis, one of less than a handful of personal purchases I made this summer (my goal was to live as cheaply as possible, in the same lifestyle as those I was living and serving among). When given the price, I knew that we were being charged double the actual cost, and a price that was too much for us. We declined to purchase the shirt and the kiosk owner grew angry, shouting, "You're wealthy Americans... what difference does it make to you?" It wouldn't have mattered if I had explained to him that I was a student, that we had been living on one income all summer (and me overseas!), that being there would have been impossible without the support of two fellowships... what he was was an American, and what he held in his mind as American followed one standard: someone who was wealthy and with money to burn. Stereotypes are not a one sided phenomenon.

Saturday morning we woke up, exhausted from the train ride the day before but excited and anticipating to step foot in our home yet that day. Our three hour flight from Kyiv to Amsterdam was fairly uneventful, but we arrived in Amsterdam to learn that we would be delayed for an entire day. My heart fell a little when I realized it would be one more day before I saw home, but what could be done? We spent the night in Amsterdam trying to enjoy the layover and rest, preparing for the final leg of the journey home. On Sunday, we woke for an early flight. The eight and a half hour flight was a bit nerve racking. Three hundred disgruntled passengers faced a long flight with malfunctioning screens and seat equipment. The man sitting in front of us yelled at a stewardess for ten minutes almost every hour. By the end of the flight, everyone was cramming against the doors, impatient to get off the plane. I felt like I was in a dream. Half awake and half asleep from the long flight that crossed into sleeping hours of at least one time zone we were trying to function in, I was mystified to see English print on the signs outside the plane and the familiar landmarks as we descended into the Twin Cities.

As we drove home that afternoon, I fluctuated between confusion that I was actually home, exhileration that I was HOME!, and heartbreak as it finally hit me that I had left Ukraine for who knows how long. As I opened the door to my home though for the first time in almost three months, all I felt was joy that I had finally come home and gratitude for all that the past three months had taught me.

Saying Goodbye to Zaporozhye

Our final week in Zaporozhye was a blur. Our trip from Knyajzicki to Zaporozhye was the most painful journey I've ever been on in my life. I had been feeling somewhat sick in the village but had no idea just how sick I was until the trip back. For the longest eight and a half hours of my life to date, we traveled by bus across bumpy, rutty roads. With only three scheduled stops and no alternative options of crossing half the country that night, I was trapped on a bus feeling more pain and sickness than I had for as long as I can remember. We arrived in Zaporozhye on Sunday morning to learn that the I35 bridge had collapsed in Minneapolis (in the village, we had heard vague reports of a bridge collapse in California - something was lost there between the news's journey overseas and between languages), that our ministry country directors had to leave the country immediately and unexpectedly, and that my brother in law had been in a severe accident where his vehicle had flipped and ignited with him still in it. All the news at once combined with being sick was a little overwhelming, but we had commitments to fulfill and only a week to fulfill them in.

After just a few hours of sleep between the early morning arrival and Sunday morning, we got up to go to Calvary Chapel, the church I'd been attending in Zaporozhye all summer. It was a good morning - a chance for Travis to meet people I'd been working, serving, and ministering alongside throughout the summer (through there's no official partnership, many of Nadezhda Ukraine's staff attend Calvary Chapel, and many who attend Calvary Chapel participate in Nadezhda's ministries). Sunday afternoon we spent with my girls from the July children's camp. Aside from being sick, it was the perfect day. Travis finally met some of the girls whom I had become so close to across the summer and who had changed my life. It was amazing to him building relationships with these girls and having fun with them. One of the greatest blessings was the fact that he was able to meet Olga, my best friend and a stronghold of sorts for me across the summer. Each moment was one I was grateful for, knowing that at the end of our time together that day, I would be saying goodbye to these amazing girls and women for an indefinite period of time. Each goodbye was bittersweet - it was hard to let them go, but I was grateful for the opportunity of a lifetime to meet them, know them, live alongside them, and love them. They are amazing girls.

They day also brought what turned out to be an unexpected goodbye. We had planned to see Olga the next day (Monday) for lunch, after which she was leaving for a missions trip in Central Asia. But an extended visit to the clinic the next morning ended up covering the last time we had planned together. We said goodbye to Olga that night on the marshutka with short "Patka's" and kisses to the cheek. I'll never forget watching her wave goodbye as the marshutka pulled away thinking, "I'm glad this isn't the last time I'll see her this summer," and for an instant, wondering if I would really see her again. Somehow, I don't regret our goodbye. I miss her incredibly, but goodbyes are hard enough. We had a wonderful day together and a friendly goodbye with every expectation to see one another again. I know I'll see her again.

Monday brought an experience I will never forget! Without access to clinics and translators across the weekend, I dealt with being sick and in pain the best I could. Monday morning, we headed into one of the clinics in Zaporozhye. Using outdated equipment and a blend of Western medicine, Eastern holistic healing, and wives tales, the doctor diagnosed me with an internal infection. I was told I became sick by coming into contact with something cold (in Ukraine, cold objects, beverages, and breezes are thought by many to cause every disease and disorder from colds to sore throats, so contact is avoided with all of the above). I was given Russian antibiotics and pain killers to last me through the week until I returned to the states. Additionally, I was told to stay away from cold objects, tomatoes, and hot foods. At that point, I was willing to try anything and everything! I paid literally with a box of chocolates and was on my way. My brother, a doctor in the making, emailed me promptly with other home remedies and a mixture of accessible medications that would help to alleviate the symptoms until I got back in the states.

The rest of the week was filled with fast introductions as Travis met the staff of Nadezhda Ukraine and the many friends I'd made across the summer, followed almost immediately by heartfelt goodbyes on Thursday. For four short days, we enjoyed the city I'd spent the summer in and cherished the people who have changed our lives together. Though I was homesick and ready to see home and family again, our time together in Ukraine seemed to go by too quickly. We spent Wednesday night with John and Karen, the pastor of Calvary Chapel and his wife, and their children John and Esther. It was an incredible night. We spent hours talking about the summer, about our lives and marriages, and about what God may bring us in the future. Like us, John and Karen have a heart for global ministry in poverty, and like us, their future stands before them wide open. So many options seem to present themselves - so many directions are available that seem equally good. So we are all relying on glimpses of His plan and are praying for responsive hearts. It's an exciting place to be in life, but one that carries much uncertainty and challenges as well. After hours of talking and praying together, a storm came in that forced us back to our flat. It was an awesome summer storm that carried much needed rain for the drought filled region. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful summer in Zaporozhye.

The Villages

Each week of this journey has brought into my life a person, an experience, a task that has transformed me. The week that Travis and I spent in the villages of Knyajzicki, Toulin, and Bouzivka were no exception. We had the privilege to work with over one hundred children, and though there were many, their faces, names, personalities, and lives are distinct and memorable to us. Some, like Sasha (crippled and nearly blind, without access to adequate healthcare to treat his physical challenges), have overcome incredible battles - ones we could never imagine - and yet retain a hope and heart of courage that are beyond the grasp and understanding of most adults. These children of rural Ukraine are a world apart from us, but have taught us about endurance, hope, and faith in a way I am confident we could never have known otherwise.





Nadia, our translator for the week, met us in Kyiv on Sunday afternoon and traveled with us to the village of Knyajzicki. She is an absolute beauty - full of joy, peace, and an unending patience with our ongoing struggle with the Russian and Ukrainian languages and culture. We loved her instantly. Throughout the week, she was a constant help to us, not only as a translator, but also as a fellow leader in the camp. She was tremendous with the children, who flocked to her and adored her instantly. We miss her tremendously!

Our time in the camp and village was a wonderful whirlwind. The week was filled with games, crafts, evening community activities, and endless meetings with families of the villages. Though fast and filled with much to do, the week was also one of the most restful and refreshing I have experienced in a long time. The lives of these people appear 'simple' to 'outsiders', but they are not. They are complex, busy, and filled with struggles that are hard to put words to. But their priorities are different as well. Money does not take a place of utmost priority in their lives: faith, family, stewardship, and provision do. They are incredible stewards of the land and what they have. Though poor, the village was beautiful and the surrounding farmlands were home to some of the richest and best cared for soil I have ever seen. The people of Knyajzicki have so little, but they are grateful for what they have, and they are proud in every good sense of the word - living with hope and dignity despite their poverty.

It would be impossible to communicate all that happened and all that we learned across the week, but there are some incredible people we met who are unforgettable. Early in the week, we met Igor. Igor is a twenty-eight year old whose limbs stopped growing when he was still a youth. Eventually, his legs had to be amputated. Without any means to purchase a wheelchair, or any local systems to accomodate it (from the rudimentary roads to the simplistic structures of all buildings - elevators, lifts, and ramps are unheard of in villages), Igor has been largely confined to his home. But he has such a heart of joy and a strong desire to minister however he can from wherever he is. He has no sense of regret for the circumstances of his life - he is a man of faith, grateful for the love he knows and a God who has been good to him. He has endured endless taunting and the frustrations of knowing his opportunities and options are limited. Yet he takes joy in the fact that he has a home, has access to food, has a family who loves him, and has opportunity to share his faith with anyone who will listen.

Bobushka Mary and Bobushka Vera were two women who insisted that we spend time in their homes. Bobushka Mary is the epitome of Ukrainian bobushkas. She is hardworking, stern, but with a heart of hospitality and love that cannot be put to words. For nearly fifty years, she has been married to her husband. Several years ago, she became a believer and has become firm in her faith. He has remained an athiest - yet they live and love in a marriage that is patient and supportive. She continues to pray for him and for her entire family, he supports her faith and encourages her in it, but has chosen for himself to not be a believer. I was amazed by their story and how candidly they spoke together with us about their differences in faith. In the US, discussions on faith are so often taboo, and regretabbly, people with different beliefs and in different places in faith seldom are able to have a civil discussion. That these two could live with such transparency and an ongoing desire to engage in discussions on faith with one another and with others is truly a testimony. I wish that we could also be so open and eager to talk about our beliefs with one another.

Bobushka Vera welcomed us into her home on our second to last day in the village. I was tired and feeling very sick (it turned out later that I was much sicker than I thought!). I wasn't sure I had the energy for afternoon tea between our daily activities and meetings. I thought at one point about going home and letting the others go on without me, but I will forever be grateful that I pulled together all my resolve and went on with the rest. The story of her life is unlike anything I've ever heard before. As a teenager, Bobushka Vera was forcefully taken from Knyajzicki, Ukraine to Germany to work in the labor camps of World War II. In fact, nearly all the youth of Knyajzicki, men and women alike, were forcefully taken from the village to work in the labor camps (as an aside, Ukraine was a country incredibly impacted by WWII - the country was occupied by Nazi forces for a large portion of the war, Ukrainian youth were taken to Germany in forced labor, and nearly all Ukrainian Jews were swiftly destroyed in the Holocaust). While in the labor camp, Bobushka Vera met a young German woman (I wish I had blogged this earlier! I've forgotten her name!) who was a believer. The Ukranian women, forced away from their home, were comforted every night by this woman who shared with them stories from the Bible, the gospel, and her faith. Each day, the women would take turns sneaking into German villages near their camp to beg for food and water. Whatever they received from the day they would share with each other - in this way, they formed a sort of sisterhood. One night, their camp came under fire and bombs began to fall. The German woman called out to others, "Sisters, we're being bombed! We must run!" The women began running, but the explosion of one bomb took the leg of the German woman. The rest went back to help her, not wanting to abandon the woman who had been such a source of hope and comfort for them. Bobushka Vera said that at that point, a man appeared from seemingly no where (likely a village nearby) and, upon seeing their friend's injuries, said they must leave her - that she would not live five minutes. The women left her and ran for their lives. At the end of the war, Bobushka Vera returned to Ukraine and to the village of Knyazjicki. She assumed that the German woman was dead. She tried to put together some sort of a life after the destitution of the war. She married and started a family, but threw herself into a life of addictions, and especially alcohol. Years after the war, she received a letter. The German woman had survived, was living in Germany, and wanted to visit her in Ukraine. Bobushka Vera was stunned, utterly at a loss for how this woman, whom she'd abandoned amdist falling bombs, could have any desire to come and see her. Bobushka Vera wrote back and the woman came. Not wanting to offend, the woman would step outside to pray. Bobushka Vera went out to her one night and said that she didn't need to worry about offending them - she was welcome to pray in their home. The woman came in to join them at dinner. They asked her to pray before the meal and when she did, she prayed for their home, for their family, and for their children. At this point in telling us the story, the intermittent tears Bobushka Vera had been crying became full sobs that broke up her words. She told us how at that moment, her heart became soft and she realized that there was something deep and real about faith in Christ. That someone could love her and wish the best for her, even after she had left her to die - that she could want to be her friend and that she sought her out for years after the war - was a testimony to Bobushka Vera about the depth of grace and forgiveness that runs through the hearts of believers who strive to take on the character and attitude of Christ. It was then that she gave her life to Christ. The women stayed in touch and remained friends until the German woman passed away. Bobushka Vera's husband, a staunch member of the communist party, remained an atheist through his life, but supported his wife's faith. A picture of him hangs in Bobushka Vera's home, and she talks of him with tears. The struggles of this woman's life - the incredible things she has been through, the pain she's endured, and the struggle she's had since then to make a life with so little cannot but touch the core of you. When she finished, everyone was in tears. At different points in the translation, Nadia was in tears and had to pause to regain her composure. She is such a woman of strength and faith - she is amazing.

There were so many more stories, so many more people. There was Viscili, who pastored three churches without pay and ran a struggling general store to try and support his family. He was an amazing man who seemed to run on endless energy between four full time jobs, happy to do each and grateful for what he had. He absolutely lit up around the children and loved to lead them in teaching, in songs, and of course in sports. He and Travis seemed cut from the same cloth. Quiet at first glance, but hardworking, dedicated to family, and absolutely the life of the party when put into their element. There was Rousslan, who was always the first to arrive and the last to leave at any community event. He was one of the few men his age who remained in the village, and he has such a heart of service and giving. In Ukraine, there is a huge exodus of the men of our generation. Without work or opportunity throughout most of the country, the men have left for either Kyiv, Odessa, or (as most have) for other countries altogether to find work. It is a national struggle. The wealth of the nation is quickly being depleted by foreign chain stores and as the nation struggles to adjust to a changing political and economic structure, an entire generation is faced with a crisis of work and even citizenship. Families are being torn apart as individuals go abroad and send money home.

So many things about this experience have changed my life and perspective. Among those changes is a greater gratitude for the things I have available to me that I have done nothing in particular to deserve - and a greater gratitude for the things that went beyond my notice before this summer. I tend to be hard on America. We are a wealthy nation and as Americans, we tend to be spoiled, to take everything for granted, and to be caught in and endless game of greed, wanting more, and comparing ourselves to other Americans (keeping up with the Jones's) rather than being grateful for how much we have compared to the rest of the world. I realized this summer that yes, those things should change, but I am still grateful that I am an American, simply for the blessings that that citizenship comes with. I did nothing to deserve the education I have, the home I have, consistent access to clean drinking water, plenty of food, and reliable access to electricity (heat, cleaning) and city maintenance systems (clean streets, public sanitation systems, etc.). Not to mention the technology available or the advanced stages of health systems here. I did nothing to deserve, but I appreciate it, and I see the responsibility of being born into this with a new perspective now. It is one thing to read, to learn, and to know that we as wealthy Americans have a responsibility to give and to help others who, though no less deserving, have less wealth and opportunity than what we've been giving. And it should not be done with any sort of condensention, hero attitude, or savior complex - no one is any more deserving than the next of wealth. But all are designed to have access to the basic necessities of life - food, water, shelter, education, health care, and economic opportunity. So to those of us who've been given much, not for anything we deserve, much is expected of us - we have that responsibility. And now rather than just knowing this, I've seen it in a new light. These people are not statistics, numbers, or a faceless multitude of those who lack access to the basic necessities... they are friends, brothers, sisters... people I know and understand now. I've seen their struggles, their courage, their dignity, and it's given me every reason to renew my commitment to the struggle for human rights - both temporal and eternal.

Kyiv

Kyiv... Kiev... Kiyev. After this summer, I'm completely at a loss as to how to pronounce the name of this incredible city. It's pronounced differently in English, Russian, and Ukrainian. At any rate, it will forever be a city I love because it is the place Travis and I spent our first few days back together and preparing for the weeks of ministry before us. For a wonderful two and a half days, we were free to explore the city and take in the richness of its history. I have far too many pictures to post here, but I must say that it's a city full of some of the most beautiful cathedrals, parks, museums, and architecture that I have ever seen.

On our first day in the city, we walked to Independence Square. I literally had chills standing in this historical place - the site of the Orange Revolution and the demonstrations earlier this year when President Yuschenko dissolved the parliament. It is a site of Ukraine's ongoing struggle for democracy, freedom, and progress. It took me back immediately to my first night in Ukraine, when the bus I was traveling to Zaporozhye from Kyiv on was passed by four busses of orange clad demonstrators led by police escorts. After two months in this country, Ukraine's struggle is one that is close to my heart. I have seen how the country's policies impact people at an individual level, and I have come to love these people. I have learned how fiercely Ukrainians love their country, and how much they yearn for just development and growth. Standing in Independence Square, I was reminded of how far this country has come, and how important the future is to those I lived and served among this summer.

Every international traveler or overseas worker has at some point been warned of or taught about reverse culture shock. We go through culture shock when we first move to and learn to live in a culture and country vastly different from our native one. We go through a sort of reverse shock when we are reintroduced to our native culture. Across my time in Ukraine, I have lived and worked in the poorest areas of the country. While Zaporozhye is fairly modernized, its systems and access to external products and technology are very different from the culture I was raised in. The way of life is different - values are different - priorities are different. I spent much time in some of the poorest villages I have ever seen (compared to impoverished areas of Turkey and countries in Latin America). I expected to go through reverse culture shock when I returned to the states - not in Kyiv. Kyiv is a Westernized city of wealth. It is so different from the Ukraine I have seen and known. I was astounded at how such wealth can be concentrated into one area of the country. And I began to understand why the population of the rest of Ukraine is concentrating into Kyiv or leaving the country entirely. Wealth and opportunities for employment are being depleted in villages and poorer regions of Ukraine. Yet Kyiv offers wealth, opportunity, employment, and all the trappings of a Westernized culture. It is a beautiful and wonderful city, but it was difficult to process that I was in the same country...

On Sunday, we continued our journey through the city, taking in cathedrals and resting in the beauty of this place. Our time was short as we were leaving for the village of Knyajzicki, where we would spend next week in a children's camp with our sister church (Knyajzicki's village church is the sister church to our home church, Grace Fellowship, in Brooklyn Park). I don't think I've ever covered such a distance in such a short period of time, but we were motivated! We left exhausted but exhilerated by two days of rest and exploration - ready for the weeks of ministry ahead.

A Long Awaited Arrival

When Travis and I accepted the internship with HOPE International, we knew that it would mean several weeks of separation. At the time, we anticipated around nine weeks, but realized later we had miscalculated the time (my graduate program calls for a ten week internship but HOPE designs internships to be eleven and a half weeks). After some travel and logistical gymnastics, we managed to get the time we would spend apart back down to between nine and ten weeks. I cannot tell you how many times we heard people say, "you must be crazy," or, "are you sure about that?" or, "I can't imagine - I could never do that." To be honest, there were a times when I questioned whether I could endure such a long separation, but a basic truth sustained us both. We knew that while we would be apart, the cause for our separation was something we believed in, were committed to, and felt called to. Since we became engaged, we have prayed for an opportunity to be involved in an international ministry committed to holistic, sustainable poverty alleviation and children. This summer provided that opportunity, and while it meant a long separation, the end of that separation brought a chance to do something we have prepared and waited for for years.

I traveled from Zaporozhye to Kyiv (halfway across the largest country in Eastern Europe) alone by bus. The journey was not particularly a pleasant one - an 8.5 hour trip by bus over poorly built and maintained roads (my dad, a civil engineer, would be fascinated by the Ukrainian transportation system!). Having picked up only basic Russian and Ukrainian, I was a little unsure as to how well I would fare alone on the long trip. However, I arrived at the airport in Kyiv without incident and EXCITED, knowing Trav's flight would arrive at any moment. His plane was delayed, so I waited for nearly two hours among a pushy, irritated, and impatient crowd. But finally, the doors opened to Travis walking through, weighed down by bags filled with supplies for children's camps, clothes and reminders of home for me, gifts for our Ukrainian friends and 'family', and a few clothes to get him through the next two weeks.

Travis arrived to what appeared to be a Ukrainian bride. It is no exaggeration to say that online marriages and 'mail order' brides (and grooms, in fact) are common in Ukraine. There is a shortage of jobs and opportunity for the youth of Ukraine, and many are extremely eager to gain citizenship in other nations with more wealth and opportunity. I personally met at least two women who had met and married men online and then immigrated to another nation, and Ashley and I met several men who asked us to marry them and take them with us to the states. It is heartbreaking - Ukraine is a beautiful nation with much promise, but certainly with problems in policy and economic development. It becomes all to easy at times for youth to focus on their country's challenges rather than the incredible potential and resources lying somewhat dormant but ready to be tapped into. At any rate, clad in the traditional Ukrainian blue and carrying flags (Ukrainian and American) and a poster with "Welcome to Ukraine" written in Russian, I looked every bit the Ukrainian bride. I didn't care...

We gathered his bags and sped off to drop the bags at our hotel. Then it was off to see the sights of Kyiv - our only 'tourism' of our time in Ukraine. It was a priceless and long awaited arrival!

Cascade

Life and work with an international Christian NGO are fundamentally different than my life in the states. Flexibility and responsiveness to opportunities that arise are major lessons I have learned from working with Nadezhda Ukraine/HOPE International this summer - lessons I am incredibly grateful for. When Travis and I first met with Paul and Cindy Marty this past Spring, they emphasized the importance of flexibility. I knew from graduate coursework in NGO management and leadership that work with NGO's and non-profits is often fluid and requires flexibility. Having an awareness of this and living it out in practice are vastly different however - the gap between theory and practice is ever present! It has been an especially valuable lesson for me, as I tend to be highly structured and at times, rigidly fixed on whatever original plan I oriented myself toward.

Last week, I learned that two of the three surveys I had been working on were cancelled. We learned that trying to complete the three surveys within the time I was here was creating a burden not only for staff, but for clients as well. We want, as both an organization and a ministry, to be intentional about meeting the needs of clients. While the surveys were valuable, in the end, it was clear that plans for implementing them needed to flex. At first, I was a little discouraged, but my thoughts kept returning to the emphasis that has so often been placed on flexibility and responsiveness. So I quickly reorganized my efforts and began work on a project that I'm even more thrilled about: a year long plan for implementing the Spiritual Integration Project. Across the course of a year, this project will help brach offices to be even more intentional about integrating temporal and eternal efforts at alleviating by physical and spiritual poverty. It's an exciting project - one that allows me to use what I have learned through the past year of graduate school to be effective in a global faith-based NGO. It's a project that truly encorporates my passions and skills!

The ebbs and flows of work across the summer have been met this week by a full on cascade! I've learned across the summer as well that part of flexibility and responsiveness means being ready to work at whatever pace projects are running at. With only two working weeks left (and one in between for another children's camp in Kyiv), projects are in full bloom! There is much work to do this week, and much to be a part of. In addition to finishing out the Spiritual Integration Project plan, I have begun completing the Social Performance Indicators Surveys. This involves travel to several brach offices in the Zaporozhye region. Alongside of this plan and the surveys, I have Kiva profiles to complete and the Zaporozhye Moybutna Club English Camp to attend in the evenings. Ashley and Emily (who just arrived in Zaporozhye yesterday!) will be leading this camp across the evenings. They're holding lessons, bible studies, games, crafts, and just about everything else that can be packed into two hours! I'm excited for them - it promises to be a wonderful week with the girls of Zaporozhye!!

I am grateful for the abundance of work at the moment. At times, it does feel a little overwhelming! I tend to pace myself, so to feel the pressure of multiple projects mounting is unsettling at some points in the day. But, with three days remaining until Travis arrives in Ukraine, the business provides occupation and a healthy distraction. I have to admit that at nine weeks apart, I'm starting to feel the toll of the time we have spent apart. This summer has in so many ways been a blessing and a renewal for us - mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually - but we are beyond ready to see one another again!

This will likely be the last post I make before traveling to Kyiv early Friday morning. We will spend the week following in a children's camp held in a small village south of Kyiv. While details of our time there are still coming into place, we are thrilled about what the time holds for us! Each camp that I have served in this summer has been unique and rewarding in its own - and it has provided so many opportunities to get into the lives of those we are serving here, to live alongside of them, to serve them, and to learn from them. I know that next week holds so many opportunities to learn and to serve. I'm looking forward to sharing each!

It seems that as soon as we return from the camp, we will be in a fast whirlwind of completing projects before leaving for the states on August 10th. My eagerness for returning 'home' is growing. I am excited to see my family, friends, and communities, and to share this life-changing summer with them. I am still torn - ready to return home and share this but not ready to leave the relationships and work established here - but am becoming more at peace with the fact that the end of this internship is nearing. I know that two weeks will not bring the end of our work and partnership with HOPE - this is only the beginning for us. We hope that we are able to return here again in the future and work alongside these dear friends and family again. Until then, we are excited to employ the lessons we have learned in our lives and work - and share the overflow of this summer with those we know and love.