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Don, Brenda, Donna, Sarah, and Aja Come to Ukraine

Last month, we had a wonderful team from the States come visit us in Ukraine. Members included Daniel's parents, Don and Brenda; a longtime family friend and her daughter, Donna and Sarah; and a friend of Donna's, Aja. We had the most amazing time!
First I should mention that they brought about two tons of goodies for me, including brownie mixes, cream of mushroom soup, Ranch style beans (for that country boy I married), and twizzlers. How can you not love people who spoil you rotten?
They also brought about two tons of stuff for our ministry: hundreds of toothbrushes, craft supplies, clothing, and hair accessories. We are so proud to know such giving people!

Our project for the week was to repair and paint the playground at the orphanage. As you can see from the picture below, all the posts were rotted, and several other boards/rails were broken or rotted as well. We spent three days doing this project, and it went to so great. We truly were a team, and everyone was willing to do whatever needed to be done.

Here are some pictures from those three days:
Don smoothing out some cement. We worked him hard; I'm not sure he's forgiven Daniel yet.
Brenda painting the board and herself.
The A-team (High fives, yeahhhhh)!
This little lady proved to be a hard worker, doing everything from sanding to digging to lugging jugs of water for the cement. Thanks Sarah, you rock!
Aja chilling up top. Painting under the roof of that thing was no fun, but we got 'er done!
Daniel doing what Daniel does, but with a flair. He's hot!
Our team! Doesn't the playground look lovely? And its a lot safer, too!

Apart from working on the playground, we spent some great time with the kids. We did crafts, games, hair, balloons, and just about everything else. Here's some pictures highlighting just a few good times:
Aja helping Nadya with one of those life-altering decisions: What sticker to put on this craft?
Brenda the beautician. She's multi-talented and can work with both kinds of nails: metal ones on the playground AND human ones!
Aja doing English flashcards. What fun!
One of Don's many new friends!
This is Andrei from Safe Haven; he came with to help.This is his reward. Andrei versus the mob.
Best picture ever. Sarah and her pal Yanna.
A twin chillin' with some twins. Cute, huh?
Daniel and his kids.
This is the church we stayed at. They make really good food!

THE END! 
Thank you friends and family for coming to Ukraine.
You made a difference.
We love you.
We also love twizzlers.
Send us more.
Address package to Janna, though, not Daniel.




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Comments

  1. Brooke O'SheaOctober 18, 2012 at 11:18 AM

    Ah, looks like y'all got a lot done and had a lot of fun too! (And I made a rhyme) I'm so looking forward to seeing y'all!!
    Through Christ,

    ReplyDelete

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