On the morning of the departure of our trip we walked down a full 3 flights of stairs, luggage in hand, not wanting to leave. As we came down those last 4 steps we were greeted by the campers, their mothers, and the ukrainian volenteers. The amount of thank you's and we love you's was overwhelming and wonderful at the same time. Campers and mothers that we thought we didnt even impact were hugging us and crying. One of the campers, Oksana, who has mental disabilities and was in me and Natalie's group was among the people who we thought did not understand why we had come in the first place. But oh my goodness, we were so wrong about her. I will never forget the feeling of her sobbing on my shoulder. The one thing that she said to Natalie and I was "Thank you for coming all the way to Ukraine just to be my friend. I love you." That is exactly why we went to Ukraine... was to show them what it means to love them as a friend, as family. But that was not the only beautiful thing that happened as we left. As we loaded the bus to leave, the oldest grandmother at the camp waved with wet eyes and when we pulled around the corner we saw the beautiful image of everyone gathered outside the camp gates waving to us. This beautiful image is not one that i can even begin to paint for you with words...... I guess the best way to describe it is that at that moment i knew that when my time is over here on earth and I die and go to heaven, I will see those same smiling faces welcoming me into the gates.
Now, it has been a full month since our trip to Ukraine. After such a powerful trip it takes a long time to process everything that happened. However, like most trips, the buzz of the experience is starting to wear off and I am finding it more and more difficult to remember details, names, and activities from the trip. Although this is starting to take place, I know that the most important things that I learned and experienced will stay with me forever.
There is so much that I wish I could tell you about this trip, but there are no words to describe the works of God that we saw. However, I can tell you how this trip has impacted me. In the last post I talked about giving my voice away and in the past few weeks I have been using my voice to glorify God. I am happy to tell you that I have not been taking my gifts for granted and i will continue to look for more opportunities to use them. For those of you who do not know, I want to become a teacher. Over this past year I have really struggled with exactly what I want to teach (as college is drawing near i need to be thinking about these things). But I think that struggle is over as I have possibly come to a conclusion. I want to be a special education teacher. However, I am still keeping my eyes, ears, and heart open to what God wants me to do. And who knows... maybe He wants me to get into the "Mission to Ukraine" ministry!
Anyway, I hope that through this blog I have communicated to you just a small amount of the glory and love of God that I experienced in Ukraine. Thank you for all of your prayers, love, and support. Each one of you has been a blessing.
-Ashley (:
Monday, August 23, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Wanting To Give My Voice!
Good morning!
After a relaxing night at the bonya and not getting our usual amount of sleep this week, waking up for another day (Thursday) was difficult. However, being the last day of camp we tried to make the best out of the situation. Natalie had to take care of Sasha in the morning and she taught him how to blow bubbles. Meanwhile in small group I gave out gifts to the kids. They were really happy to receive the gifts from us and Yaslav said thank you to me with his picture book. We even had time to fly a kite in the afternoon! In the afternoon Nat and I taught Oleg how to say "holy poop" which was highly entertaining for a good 45 minutes! Oleg is a really smart kid and it was awesome to get to know him this week.
AS a goodbye from the camp we all got "passports" to the camp. It was touching to hear them say thank you to us and I am sure that I was not the only one thinking that that we should be the ones thanking them. The moms gave us all flowers made out of beads. These moms are so incredible and it was amazing to see how they have been impacted this week! Soon after, many of the campers sang songs with their small group. Some of them who can barely talk were singing with all of their strength to muster just a small sound. These people had to try so hard just to sing. Then I looked at myself.... I love to sing and it comes so easy for me. I am so blessed to be able to sing with ease and yet I take this gift for granted. I soon found myself wanting to give my voice away, and give it to these people because I know they would not take it for granted. They would give anything to be able to speak, to sing and to praise God with the sound of their voices. I didn't want my voice anymore. I wanted them to have it... But then I realized that God is pleased to see them praise Him without a voice. He smiles down on them despite their lack of voice. I was blessed with this gift and I realized that I need to use it for God's glory.
After being with the campers this week how can I not want to praise God with hands that I can move, legs that I can walk with, eyes that I can see with, a face that I can smile with, a mind that I can think with and a voice that I can sing with. After all, none of it is mine... It's all Gods! I will not be taking these things for granted anymore. This week God has opened my eyes to see his glory, his blessings, his power, his love and his forgiveness in ways I could not have imagined. Slava Bogu!
Blessings to all of you,
Ashley
After a relaxing night at the bonya and not getting our usual amount of sleep this week, waking up for another day (Thursday) was difficult. However, being the last day of camp we tried to make the best out of the situation. Natalie had to take care of Sasha in the morning and she taught him how to blow bubbles. Meanwhile in small group I gave out gifts to the kids. They were really happy to receive the gifts from us and Yaslav said thank you to me with his picture book. We even had time to fly a kite in the afternoon! In the afternoon Nat and I taught Oleg how to say "holy poop" which was highly entertaining for a good 45 minutes! Oleg is a really smart kid and it was awesome to get to know him this week.
AS a goodbye from the camp we all got "passports" to the camp. It was touching to hear them say thank you to us and I am sure that I was not the only one thinking that that we should be the ones thanking them. The moms gave us all flowers made out of beads. These moms are so incredible and it was amazing to see how they have been impacted this week! Soon after, many of the campers sang songs with their small group. Some of them who can barely talk were singing with all of their strength to muster just a small sound. These people had to try so hard just to sing. Then I looked at myself.... I love to sing and it comes so easy for me. I am so blessed to be able to sing with ease and yet I take this gift for granted. I soon found myself wanting to give my voice away, and give it to these people because I know they would not take it for granted. They would give anything to be able to speak, to sing and to praise God with the sound of their voices. I didn't want my voice anymore. I wanted them to have it... But then I realized that God is pleased to see them praise Him without a voice. He smiles down on them despite their lack of voice. I was blessed with this gift and I realized that I need to use it for God's glory.
After being with the campers this week how can I not want to praise God with hands that I can move, legs that I can walk with, eyes that I can see with, a face that I can smile with, a mind that I can think with and a voice that I can sing with. After all, none of it is mine... It's all Gods! I will not be taking these things for granted anymore. This week God has opened my eyes to see his glory, his blessings, his power, his love and his forgiveness in ways I could not have imagined. Slava Bogu!
Blessings to all of you,
Ashley
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Try It Sometime!
Yesterday, Wednesday was one of the best days of this past week. The boys and leaders plus Natalie went to a home this morning to chop wood for a family of 12. That meant they were not home all morning... Haha, this week the camp has become our home!
During small group time I had the opportunity to talk with one of our leaders, Nadia, through translation. She told me about the boy who she has been teaching all week. His name is Yaslav. This boy is completely nonverbal but very high functioning. So this week Nadia was teaching him how to use a picture book. His mom said it was no use because they had a picture book at home but he did not want to use it. But Nadia quickly realized that it wasn't that he didn't want to use it, it was that he did not know how to use it. So from just 8 days of working with him, Yaslav learned how to use it. I could tell that he was so happy to be able to communicate. It was cool to see this unfold in such a short time! It continues to amaze us what God can do!
Yesterday was also our camper Demas birthday. He is probably the biggest guy you have ever seen but his mind is that of a 11 year old. So after dinner his mom brought our small group a whole platter of food to celebrate. She had all kids of chocolate, cookies, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes and fruit juice. Sasha went nuts and started eating and soon chocolate was all over his face and he was the happiest I have seen him all week! It was super fun to see that and it was fun to eat good food too.
One of our leaders, Anton has gotten really close to Sasha. Nat and me have been talking about how close they have been talking about this and how Anton has been Sasha;s "father' all week. So after session Sasha came up to Anton and gave him a huge hug. Then Anton looked at me and Nat and said, "he is like a son to me". Right when he said this we broke down. It was so touching to see Anton love Sasha like the father that Sasha never and will ever have.
It was a great day and we ended it by going to the bonya!!! Soooo relaxing! The bonya is like a sauna that gets really hot and then there is a freezing cold pool that you jump into when you are too hot. Then you get hit by beech branches! It is the most relaxing thing in the world! You will all have to try it sometime!
Such a good day! (: God is good! Thinking of all of you back home, my family, friends and all of you who have supported me and are praying for all of us here.
Love,
Ashley
During small group time I had the opportunity to talk with one of our leaders, Nadia, through translation. She told me about the boy who she has been teaching all week. His name is Yaslav. This boy is completely nonverbal but very high functioning. So this week Nadia was teaching him how to use a picture book. His mom said it was no use because they had a picture book at home but he did not want to use it. But Nadia quickly realized that it wasn't that he didn't want to use it, it was that he did not know how to use it. So from just 8 days of working with him, Yaslav learned how to use it. I could tell that he was so happy to be able to communicate. It was cool to see this unfold in such a short time! It continues to amaze us what God can do!
Yesterday was also our camper Demas birthday. He is probably the biggest guy you have ever seen but his mind is that of a 11 year old. So after dinner his mom brought our small group a whole platter of food to celebrate. She had all kids of chocolate, cookies, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes and fruit juice. Sasha went nuts and started eating and soon chocolate was all over his face and he was the happiest I have seen him all week! It was super fun to see that and it was fun to eat good food too.
One of our leaders, Anton has gotten really close to Sasha. Nat and me have been talking about how close they have been talking about this and how Anton has been Sasha;s "father' all week. So after session Sasha came up to Anton and gave him a huge hug. Then Anton looked at me and Nat and said, "he is like a son to me". Right when he said this we broke down. It was so touching to see Anton love Sasha like the father that Sasha never and will ever have.
It was a great day and we ended it by going to the bonya!!! Soooo relaxing! The bonya is like a sauna that gets really hot and then there is a freezing cold pool that you jump into when you are too hot. Then you get hit by beech branches! It is the most relaxing thing in the world! You will all have to try it sometime!
Such a good day! (: God is good! Thinking of all of you back home, my family, friends and all of you who have supported me and are praying for all of us here.
Love,
Ashley
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Mom's Spa Day!
Yesterday was a frustrating day for me. The kids in my group had a lot of energy and must have decided that that it was a "lets bug Ashley day"! Haha! Plus, I was dehydrated so that made me even more irritable. I managed to make it through the day and it actually turned out to be good overall.
We had the "Camp Special Olympics" and it was cool to see the kids get called up one by one to get a medal and some other prizes. It was so good to see all of them with smiles on their faces. It was the happiest that I have seen all these kids!!
Yesterday, I also got to help with the moms. The moms had "spa day" where they get massages and their hair and nails done. Most of these moms have never been pampered in this way. They were so excited to get their manipedis! I helped give them hand massages before their manicure. I was only there for an hour but it was cool to see how this camp is working in the lives of the moms too. Often I get so caught up in seeing how we are impacting the kids and I completely forgot how it is impacting the moms. These women are learning so much and I have no doubt that almost all of them will be be able to take what they have learned to become better moms to their kids and be able to teach them more about life and how to love.
I ask for your prayers for health because some of our group are not feeling up to par.
Love,
Ashley
We had the "Camp Special Olympics" and it was cool to see the kids get called up one by one to get a medal and some other prizes. It was so good to see all of them with smiles on their faces. It was the happiest that I have seen all these kids!!
Yesterday, I also got to help with the moms. The moms had "spa day" where they get massages and their hair and nails done. Most of these moms have never been pampered in this way. They were so excited to get their manipedis! I helped give them hand massages before their manicure. I was only there for an hour but it was cool to see how this camp is working in the lives of the moms too. Often I get so caught up in seeing how we are impacting the kids and I completely forgot how it is impacting the moms. These women are learning so much and I have no doubt that almost all of them will be be able to take what they have learned to become better moms to their kids and be able to teach them more about life and how to love.
I ask for your prayers for health because some of our group are not feeling up to par.
Love,
Ashley
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Right Under Our Noses
Hey friends,
Today we talked about forgiveness and how God forgives us. How He loves us so much that He paid the price by giving his life for us so that we could be free of the guilt of sin. He just asks that we accept the precious gift of His son and forgiveness that is available to everyone. It was exciting to know that the campers were having this precious opportunity to hear these words.
During morning exercises today, Oleg was dancing.... I have never seen a kid dance so much in my life. It was the most hysterical thing ever! He can definitely bust a move! It was so cool to see so much happiness and freedom to express it!
God continues to work right under our noses without us even realizing it sometimes. One of the leaders of the camp, Oksana, was asking me about a boy from the orphanage who is in our group (Elosha, but not the same Alosha I talked about the other day). Oksana asked me if he was behaving. I was really surprised by this question because Elosha is the most behaved boy in our group. He is always smiling and laughing. When I told her this, she was astonished and preceded to tell me that at first she did not even want Elosha to come to camp because at the orphanage he gets upset easily, cries a lot and hits himself... The Elosha that Oksana was telling me about is nothing like the the Elosha that I have been loving all week. This shows how much that love and time matters to the development and behavior of a child. Hopefully, this special time with him will improve his behavior when he returns to the orphanage.
We were planning to have a special Olympics today but it started raining so it was cancelled. Pray for our team because we have the task and privilege of teaching the lesson to the kids tomorrow. Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement.
Love you all,
Ashley
P.S. Nat says hi (:
Today we talked about forgiveness and how God forgives us. How He loves us so much that He paid the price by giving his life for us so that we could be free of the guilt of sin. He just asks that we accept the precious gift of His son and forgiveness that is available to everyone. It was exciting to know that the campers were having this precious opportunity to hear these words.
During morning exercises today, Oleg was dancing.... I have never seen a kid dance so much in my life. It was the most hysterical thing ever! He can definitely bust a move! It was so cool to see so much happiness and freedom to express it!
God continues to work right under our noses without us even realizing it sometimes. One of the leaders of the camp, Oksana, was asking me about a boy from the orphanage who is in our group (Elosha, but not the same Alosha I talked about the other day). Oksana asked me if he was behaving. I was really surprised by this question because Elosha is the most behaved boy in our group. He is always smiling and laughing. When I told her this, she was astonished and preceded to tell me that at first she did not even want Elosha to come to camp because at the orphanage he gets upset easily, cries a lot and hits himself... The Elosha that Oksana was telling me about is nothing like the the Elosha that I have been loving all week. This shows how much that love and time matters to the development and behavior of a child. Hopefully, this special time with him will improve his behavior when he returns to the orphanage.
We were planning to have a special Olympics today but it started raining so it was cancelled. Pray for our team because we have the task and privilege of teaching the lesson to the kids tomorrow. Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement.
Love you all,
Ashley
P.S. Nat says hi (:
Monday, July 12, 2010
God's Power!
Today our team talked about how we put limitations on what the campers can do and on what God can do. So often in my posts I have said "we couldn't believe that he/she did this"! But really I should be saying "this is what God revealed to us today". We say that God can do anything, that He is amazing and all powerful. If we believe this then why do we so often put God in a box? We need to open our hearts, minds and eyes to God's power. These campers can do way more than I think they can.
This afternoon one of the campers Alosha (mental disability) read the tag of a purse to us in English. We had no idea that He could read, let alone in English! I mean woah! God totally blew out every limitation that I set on this kid. Later in the day he even said "Natalie let's go play games". It continues to how much he has learned and shown us. Anyway.... God is amazing!
Today prayers were answered about Yulia who I had asked for prayers about yesterday. We did a scavenger hunt and once we found the price we all ran back to the finish line. Yulia not only with all her might but also had the biggest smile on her face. Slava Bogu! Hopefully she will continue to grow.
Update on Sasha.... he is still responding to his name which is good and today he learned how to play catch! We wish that he could always get this much attention because he has so much room to grow but we know that when he goes back to the orphanage it is very likely that he will forget what he has learned. Pray for him, that what he is learning will stay with him.
Tonight another camper accepted Christ as their Savior!! It was truly touching to see another result of God's presence in the camp. Slava Bogu! Thank you God for answering prayers!
Please pray for Jon Graybeal, our fearless leader who is currently under the weather. Overall, it was another amazing day! We were even treated with pancakes for lunch and ice cream for dinner! Sooo delicious!! Natalie and I even had a chance to have some girl time and talk about life. I hope all is well with everybody back home.
Love you all,
Ashley
This afternoon one of the campers Alosha (mental disability) read the tag of a purse to us in English. We had no idea that He could read, let alone in English! I mean woah! God totally blew out every limitation that I set on this kid. Later in the day he even said "Natalie let's go play games". It continues to how much he has learned and shown us. Anyway.... God is amazing!
Today prayers were answered about Yulia who I had asked for prayers about yesterday. We did a scavenger hunt and once we found the price we all ran back to the finish line. Yulia not only with all her might but also had the biggest smile on her face. Slava Bogu! Hopefully she will continue to grow.
Update on Sasha.... he is still responding to his name which is good and today he learned how to play catch! We wish that he could always get this much attention because he has so much room to grow but we know that when he goes back to the orphanage it is very likely that he will forget what he has learned. Pray for him, that what he is learning will stay with him.
Tonight another camper accepted Christ as their Savior!! It was truly touching to see another result of God's presence in the camp. Slava Bogu! Thank you God for answering prayers!
Please pray for Jon Graybeal, our fearless leader who is currently under the weather. Overall, it was another amazing day! We were even treated with pancakes for lunch and ice cream for dinner! Sooo delicious!! Natalie and I even had a chance to have some girl time and talk about life. I hope all is well with everybody back home.
Love you all,
Ashley
Sunday, July 11, 2010
We Became A Family!
Hey Everyone!
Today we talked about heaven. “I am the way the truth and the life. No one gets to the Father but through me”. The kids in our group do not understand a lot but one of our girls, Oksana does. She loves hearing stories and learning. She tells us how God is her Father since she has never had an earthly father. She always has a smile and loves to be with Natalie and me. Today she made the decision to repent of her sins and give her life to Christ. It was incredible to see her happiness. Praise God! That is the goal for all of our campers this week however for those who can’t understand, we find God working in their lives through little things.
There is a boy named Oleg who has severe Down Syndrome. He isn’t very responsive so we have had a hard time with him. Today someone brought him a chair so he could sit down with us (all the seats were taken) and all of a sudden he says “thank you very much” in English! We were so amazed that he responded let alone in English! God has been working in him.
There was also a boy in the group named Sasha. He is from the boys orphanage. He shows no emotion, no verbal communication and he doesn’t even know his name. We have been trying to teach him his name by rewarding him with a hug every time he responds to “Sasha”. We were not having much progress and we thought it was impossible but before the evening service he was walking away from our group so we yelled “Sasha” and he turned around, smiled, ran to us and gave us a hug. It was so incredible and brought us to tears. Nothing is impossible with God!
This evening we had our daily team meeting with Barry Rod. He is so awesome and he asked us challenging questions about the trip, the kids and our relationship with God. Our team grew really close as we spilled our hearts out before each other. We were all in tears by the end of the meeting and it was the coolest experience. Tonight we became a family, not just a team!
All in all, it was a great day! We got our luggage! Everyone is healthy! Please pray for a Yulia, a girl in our group. She does not express any emotion and we are struggling to connect with her. Pray that God will work in her.
We also had fun tonight teaching the Ukrainians to play Ninja. We had a group of 30 playing it and it was so fun!
Love you all,
Ashley
P.S. Oh, today we also started an abstinence program for the kids (like CPR). Most of these kids are never taught about this because many don’t go to school, so here the program is extremely effective. Hopefully it continues to go well.
Today we talked about heaven. “I am the way the truth and the life. No one gets to the Father but through me”. The kids in our group do not understand a lot but one of our girls, Oksana does. She loves hearing stories and learning. She tells us how God is her Father since she has never had an earthly father. She always has a smile and loves to be with Natalie and me. Today she made the decision to repent of her sins and give her life to Christ. It was incredible to see her happiness. Praise God! That is the goal for all of our campers this week however for those who can’t understand, we find God working in their lives through little things.
There is a boy named Oleg who has severe Down Syndrome. He isn’t very responsive so we have had a hard time with him. Today someone brought him a chair so he could sit down with us (all the seats were taken) and all of a sudden he says “thank you very much” in English! We were so amazed that he responded let alone in English! God has been working in him.
There was also a boy in the group named Sasha. He is from the boys orphanage. He shows no emotion, no verbal communication and he doesn’t even know his name. We have been trying to teach him his name by rewarding him with a hug every time he responds to “Sasha”. We were not having much progress and we thought it was impossible but before the evening service he was walking away from our group so we yelled “Sasha” and he turned around, smiled, ran to us and gave us a hug. It was so incredible and brought us to tears. Nothing is impossible with God!
This evening we had our daily team meeting with Barry Rod. He is so awesome and he asked us challenging questions about the trip, the kids and our relationship with God. Our team grew really close as we spilled our hearts out before each other. We were all in tears by the end of the meeting and it was the coolest experience. Tonight we became a family, not just a team!
All in all, it was a great day! We got our luggage! Everyone is healthy! Please pray for a Yulia, a girl in our group. She does not express any emotion and we are struggling to connect with her. Pray that God will work in her.
We also had fun tonight teaching the Ukrainians to play Ninja. We had a group of 30 playing it and it was so fun!
Love you all,
Ashley
P.S. Oh, today we also started an abstinence program for the kids (like CPR). Most of these kids are never taught about this because many don’t go to school, so here the program is extremely effective. Hopefully it continues to go well.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Incredible
Today we went to the Boy's Orphanage. The orphanage itself was actually in pretty good condition but the kids and how they are cared for is a different story. The boys are just watched, fed and put to bed by workers but never loved by them. There were 5 boys that remained in their beds because they were too sick to get out. These were the first boys we visited and even though they were sick they smiled when we sat with them and their faces lit up when we put our hands on them (simple things they do not get on a daily basis).
Still at the orphanage, we moved on to a "box" which is a place for the boys who have the most severe disabilities. When we smiled and touched them several of the boys called us girls "momma" because they are in such need of the love of a momma they never had. This broke our hearts! We had the most amazing opportunity to go to the playground with the rest of the boys. We played with them for only 10 minutes but we wished we could have stayed there all day. It was so hard to leave because we knew that these boys needed more love.
After our time at the orphanage we were excited to get back to camp to demonstrate our new understanding that all the kids want is to be loved. As we worked and played with the kids today they really opened up to us which is exactly what we had prayed for.
A cool story from today: there is a boy named Roma who is in a wheelchair and is not able to talk. However, he communicates through a picture book where he can point to the things he wants to say. There is another boy Antwon who is also not able to talk but his mother will not let him use the picture book (we don't know why). No one understands Antwon because all he can do is grunt and so we never know what he is trying to say. So today as Antwon was grunting, Roma starts getting excited and is pointing to things in his picture book. As it turns out, Roma could understand exactly what Antwon was trying to say so he was translating for him. It was so incredible to to see God work through these boys. Who knew that two boys who could not speak could understand exactly what the other one was saying by grunting. It was incredible!! Slava Bogu (Praise God)!!!!!! Yes today really was incredible!
Our friend Alosha from last year came to visit today and Natalie and I have been learning Ukrainian and Russian phrases. Today we learned "I love you" which is "ya tebya lyublyu".
Breaking news update... we get our luggage tomorrow!! Woohoo!
Continue to pray for hearts to soften and also for God to open our eyes to see what He wants us to.......
Love you all!
Ashley
P.S. We also talked today about how we don't care if we get our luggage because we honestly have everything we need (2 pair of clothes and soap). Not having our luggage has helped us understand how these people live every day. Of course we will be happy when it arrives but God has plans for everything that happens! Also, praise God that we are all doing well and no one has gotten sick!
Still at the orphanage, we moved on to a "box" which is a place for the boys who have the most severe disabilities. When we smiled and touched them several of the boys called us girls "momma" because they are in such need of the love of a momma they never had. This broke our hearts! We had the most amazing opportunity to go to the playground with the rest of the boys. We played with them for only 10 minutes but we wished we could have stayed there all day. It was so hard to leave because we knew that these boys needed more love.
After our time at the orphanage we were excited to get back to camp to demonstrate our new understanding that all the kids want is to be loved. As we worked and played with the kids today they really opened up to us which is exactly what we had prayed for.
A cool story from today: there is a boy named Roma who is in a wheelchair and is not able to talk. However, he communicates through a picture book where he can point to the things he wants to say. There is another boy Antwon who is also not able to talk but his mother will not let him use the picture book (we don't know why). No one understands Antwon because all he can do is grunt and so we never know what he is trying to say. So today as Antwon was grunting, Roma starts getting excited and is pointing to things in his picture book. As it turns out, Roma could understand exactly what Antwon was trying to say so he was translating for him. It was so incredible to to see God work through these boys. Who knew that two boys who could not speak could understand exactly what the other one was saying by grunting. It was incredible!! Slava Bogu (Praise God)!!!!!! Yes today really was incredible!
Our friend Alosha from last year came to visit today and Natalie and I have been learning Ukrainian and Russian phrases. Today we learned "I love you" which is "ya tebya lyublyu".
Breaking news update... we get our luggage tomorrow!! Woohoo!
Continue to pray for hearts to soften and also for God to open our eyes to see what He wants us to.......
Love you all!
Ashley
P.S. We also talked today about how we don't care if we get our luggage because we honestly have everything we need (2 pair of clothes and soap). Not having our luggage has helped us understand how these people live every day. Of course we will be happy when it arrives but God has plans for everything that happens! Also, praise God that we are all doing well and no one has gotten sick!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Day One At The Camp
Hey friends,
We started the day with breakfast with the Ukrainian team and then the campers starting arriving both new and those that were here last year. Many of the campers were here last year and it was exciting to see their smiles when they recognized me and I felt such joy in my heart that I could be with them again.
We played a game where we hold a parachute and then place balls on top of it. The kids shake the shute to make the balls bounce. So simple but the kids loved it! We then split into our groups. Natalie and I are in the same group along with leaders Nadia, Zhenya, Oksana, Anton, Heazer and interpreter Maryna. We have 8 campers in our group ages 16-22. All 8 are mentally disabled, as opposed to physically so they appear younger than their ages.
We came up with the name "Smileeki" for our group which means "smiles". The kids are very sweet and smart considering their disabilities but they temporarily forgot that I can't speak Ukrainian. It is funny how they just ran up to me and started "rattling off"! I love these kids!
The rest of the day was good but we are all very very tired and ready to go to bed to try to catch up on some much needed sleep. Please keep us in your prayers. Also, our luggage is still not here so pray that it arrives soon. Most of all, I ask for your prayers that the campers and their mothers hearts will soften because many are not open to help from Americans.
I love you all,
Ashley
We started the day with breakfast with the Ukrainian team and then the campers starting arriving both new and those that were here last year. Many of the campers were here last year and it was exciting to see their smiles when they recognized me and I felt such joy in my heart that I could be with them again.
We played a game where we hold a parachute and then place balls on top of it. The kids shake the shute to make the balls bounce. So simple but the kids loved it! We then split into our groups. Natalie and I are in the same group along with leaders Nadia, Zhenya, Oksana, Anton, Heazer and interpreter Maryna. We have 8 campers in our group ages 16-22. All 8 are mentally disabled, as opposed to physically so they appear younger than their ages.
We came up with the name "Smileeki" for our group which means "smiles". The kids are very sweet and smart considering their disabilities but they temporarily forgot that I can't speak Ukrainian. It is funny how they just ran up to me and started "rattling off"! I love these kids!
The rest of the day was good but we are all very very tired and ready to go to bed to try to catch up on some much needed sleep. Please keep us in your prayers. Also, our luggage is still not here so pray that it arrives soon. Most of all, I ask for your prayers that the campers and their mothers hearts will soften because many are not open to help from Americans.
I love you all,
Ashley
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Arrived Safely But No Luggage
Wow, what a long flight but I finished the last Harry Potter book. Thank goodness for books because it made the long flight tolerable as planes are so uncomfortable. I only got an hour and half of sleep.
When we arrived in Kiev our groups luggage was not on the plane. We ended up being stuck in the airport for 5 hours filling out paperwork and trying to figure out where our luggage was and when it would arrive. We did have fun talking and goofing around with each other during the wait. We then left the airport without our luggage and 3 1/2 hours later arrived at the camp.
When we arrived at our camp we were greeted by the Ukrainian team and Barry Rodrigues. It was exciting seeing old friends from last year and getting warm hugs! We talked, sang songs together and had tea with bread and cheese. We are all exhausted from the travel and so many hours without sleep. We are so thankful to have gotten here safely and we thank God for this opportunity. I want to again thank all of you for your love and support. Please continue to pray for the kids, our group and also that our luggage will arrive.
Love,
Ashley
When we arrived in Kiev our groups luggage was not on the plane. We ended up being stuck in the airport for 5 hours filling out paperwork and trying to figure out where our luggage was and when it would arrive. We did have fun talking and goofing around with each other during the wait. We then left the airport without our luggage and 3 1/2 hours later arrived at the camp.
When we arrived at our camp we were greeted by the Ukrainian team and Barry Rodrigues. It was exciting seeing old friends from last year and getting warm hugs! We talked, sang songs together and had tea with bread and cheese. We are all exhausted from the travel and so many hours without sleep. We are so thankful to have gotten here safely and we thank God for this opportunity. I want to again thank all of you for your love and support. Please continue to pray for the kids, our group and also that our luggage will arrive.
Love,
Ashley
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Departing
Hey All!
I will be leaving for Ukraine in about 5 hours! I am so excited! When I am in Ukraine i will not have computer access, so i will be texting my dad everything i want to post on the blog, and he will be posting it for me! I know it's kind of nuts, but i really wanted to be able to post for you guys so that you can follow my trip!
Thank you for all your support! Your prayers mean the world! And although I am still a couple hundred dollars short, all of you who financially supported me have been a blessing!
Alright, well i should get packing... but thank you all again for being absolutely AMAZING! Thank you for all the prayers... and please continue praying for our teams safety and also for the kids that we will be caring for!
-Ashley (:
I will be leaving for Ukraine in about 5 hours! I am so excited! When I am in Ukraine i will not have computer access, so i will be texting my dad everything i want to post on the blog, and he will be posting it for me! I know it's kind of nuts, but i really wanted to be able to post for you guys so that you can follow my trip!
Thank you for all your support! Your prayers mean the world! And although I am still a couple hundred dollars short, all of you who financially supported me have been a blessing!
Alright, well i should get packing... but thank you all again for being absolutely AMAZING! Thank you for all the prayers... and please continue praying for our teams safety and also for the kids that we will be caring for!
-Ashley (:
Friday, June 11, 2010
preparing for the trip
Family and Friends -
there is less than a month until my second trip to Ukraine and i am already so excited! lots of things still need to be planned but the trip is starting to form into an amazing one! I know everyone who is going on the trip this year (unlike last year) and let me tell you, we have an AWESOME team!
thanks to all of you who have supported me financially. you have been a true blessing! i know that things have been hard for all of us this year and your support means the world to me! thank you for all of your prayers! and keep praying! i still have about $1000 to go and prayer would be much appreciated!
anyway, i cannot wait for this trip! i know it will be completely different than last years trip and i am so excited to see how God works this year! i will keep you updated!
In His Service,
Ashley (:
there is less than a month until my second trip to Ukraine and i am already so excited! lots of things still need to be planned but the trip is starting to form into an amazing one! I know everyone who is going on the trip this year (unlike last year) and let me tell you, we have an AWESOME team!
thanks to all of you who have supported me financially. you have been a true blessing! i know that things have been hard for all of us this year and your support means the world to me! thank you for all of your prayers! and keep praying! i still have about $1000 to go and prayer would be much appreciated!
anyway, i cannot wait for this trip! i know it will be completely different than last years trip and i am so excited to see how God works this year! i will keep you updated!
In His Service,
Ashley (:
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