This will be short but just wanted to say that today went by very fast and this evening we went on a hike with the Ukrainian team just for fun. It was good getting to know them better. God is good!!!

Love you all,
Ashley

Hey again everyone!

Even though I was tired today because of lack of sleep last night, it was a good day. Lots of sunshine and the temperature was good. At dinner I sat with a girl named Marica. She is so beautiful with dark brown hair and bright green eyes. She is in a wheelchair because when she was a newborn she had a brain disease and from that she is not able to walk. She smiles a lot and is very sweet. Brian was drinking water and accidently spilled it all over himself. Marica saw this and burst out laughing! We had not seen her laugh before, so it was sooo good to see her very happy! Please pray for one of the girls in our group named Dasha. She is 2 and she will not leave her mother. We have tried to get her away but all she does is scream and cry. Pray that we can give her mother a break soon.

Everyone who was sick is now well and working! Praise God! Today we did a spa day for all the mothers. They all were sooooo excited to be pampered. It was great to see their excitement and joy. We did worship tonight with the leaders only. Jon and Tyler led worship and we sang songs that the Ukrainians knew too. We all sang together and it was awesome to hear all the languages (English, Ukrainian and Russian) praising and worshiping together as one!

The language barrier is barely noticed now and the kids could really care less. Pray for Linda because the language barrier is a very big deal for her since she is working with the mothers.

Thanks again to all of you who are standing with me and praying for me and all of us here. I love you all!

Ashley

Short night

Hey everyone! It was a restless night for me and several others from our group. Several in our group have been sick and then last night several more got sick. Kris and Cory were sick yesterday and the during the night Emily and Hannah ended up getting sick as well. I have been up with several of them doing what I can to help and as a result am feeling tired today. I feel so bad for them and am praying that they all get over it quickly. Please pray that everyone that is sick recovers quickly. I am thankful that I have not been sick and have been able to help those that are.

Our team is bonding well and we are getting to know the kids better and they are feeling more comfortable with us. The kids and moms are accepting us already and its only the 2nd day. Today has been a good day even though we have four team members sick. Please continue to pray for them. Thanks to those of you who have made comments in the blog and to all of you who are with me in spirit and prayer.

I love you all!
Ashley

It was good to get some good sleep after the long trip. This morning we started by setting up and decorating before the kids arrived. They all arrived around 11:00 AM. We were all assigned to groups and I am in a group with nine kids ages 5-9 who were saved from abortion. Grace senior high kids in my group are Lindsey and Brian. The Ukrainians in our group are Natasha, Oxana, Alona and our translators are Alosha and Victoria. We are all close already and I have already developed some special connections with a couple of them.

Soon we will be going to a lesson and worship time. We will also be coming up with a group name and a mission statement with our kids. God is good! I ask you to keep praying.

Wow! It was a very tiring 25 hours of travel but we arrived safe and sound. Meeting the Ukrainian staff was fun. We already made new friends both within our group and with the Ukrainian Staff. Thank you God for safe travel and now off to bed!

July 5, 2009

For additional information you can go to our Ukraine group blog at http://www.graceinukraine.wordpress.com/

Leaving Tomorrow!

Hey everyone! (:
i will be leaving for the Ukraine tomorrow afternoon!
i cannot tell you how excited i am, and my team is!
my flight isnt until 1:30... but i will be at the airport much much earlier!
we have many stops to get all the way to the Ukraine, so we will probably be traveling up to around 20 hours! (i cant even imagine)
haha (: thank you for all your prayer and support leading up to this trip.
please continue to pray for the teams safety!
please continue to pray for the team adjusting to the time change!
please continue to pray that we will have an unbelievable experience!
thank you again!
you all are AMAZINGGG! (:

In His Loving Service,

-Ashley Bontreger