The Voices of Ukrainians

Uncles are great. Everyone should have one. Seriously. One of mine is named Uncle Jim. He was our very first visitor in Ukraine. Daniel's Dad came over with us when we moved here, but since we came here together I don't think that fits the technical definition of visiting. But, back to the story, Uncle Jim went on a mission trip to Russia and decided to stop by Ukraine on his way back. It was so exciting having family here!     To honor his arrival, I decided to slice my knee open in the morning right before we were leaving to go take our teammate Lexi to the airport (she just happened to be going to Prague that day), as well as pick up Uncle Jim. Daniel and I were moving the van seats back into the van, and I stumbled, dropping my half of the seat on my knee. Oops. Note to kids: do not try this at home. And now, a quick glimpse into Janiel dynamics. Daniel "I'm going to get some bandages and stuff, you need to hold the cut together." "No, I can't!...

A few weeks ago, I had an idea. I should make cookies! Oh wait, that's not it. My idea was this: to start an English Club for the kids at Safe Haven. I knew that because they're from the orphanage, it was difficult for them to find jobs. If they know English, though, it gives them a leg up. I also knew it would be a great way to continue building relationships with them. I talked to Anya, the house mom, and she thought that I was a brilliant genius, and said she would ask the kids if they were interested (they were)! Then, I took the idea to our team (Daniel, Meisha, and Lexi), and we organized all the details. And so, two weeks ago on Wednesday, we had our first English Club! Seven kids from Safe Haven showed up, and the rest is history. Apart from teaching and reviewing basic English, we introduced new vocabulary and took turns speaking and asking the kids questions. One of our priorities was to create a friendly environment that encouraged kids to try. We want them to ga...

Tania and Slavic aren’t going to be the House Parents for Smile House.  It’s horrible news and it’s taken a while for that to sink in.  With less than 2 months before the school year starts, we are suddenly back to square one.  It boiled down to two issues. 1) They had been told that the girls from Komrivka were already enrolled in vocational school near Komrivka, and they couldn’t be taken out. And 2) When Tania and Slavic approached the social services people in the region where they live about the possibility of them moving to Kiev, they were told that if they tried, their son and daughter (foster kids that they have had for the past 2 years), could be taken away.  Both issues were a bunch of baloney. The person who said that we couldn’t move the girls from schools near Komrivka to schools near Kiev, was probably just a fatalistic person who thought that they do things the way they do them because its the only way that it can be done.  It may have been th...