The Voices of Ukrainians

Sorry that I haven't written anything in such a long time. The end of the year was really hectic and I just got out of the habit. Hopefully Janna has kept everyone up to date though with all her pictures and stories. But I'm back because yesterday was definitely a day that needed to be written about. A different world     We typically go up to the orphanage on Wednesdays. It's a process that takes about 3 hours and the further you get from Kiev, it seems like the further back in time you go. About half way there we always pass this 50 year old motorcycle and sidecar that have been for sale for as long as Doug can remember (I think it would be the perfect Christmas present for Cy, Janna's brother), and yesterday about an hour past that, we passed a horse pulling flat wagon loaded with some hay … on the highway. It feels like a different world. About 10 miles before the turnoff to Komrivka, is a gas station, which has a bathroom. We always stop. And normally no...

We got some cheap tickets to Venice to reset our visas and see Daniel's cousin Dustin who is stationed nearby. It was a fabulous trip, and so warm compared to Kiev! We just happened to go during Carnival, the famous celebration that starts 58 days before Easter and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. The earliest recorded Carnival was in 1268! Although Carnival is celebrated in many countries, Venice is most famous for its Venetian masks. It is estimated that 3 million people are in Venice each day to celebrate Carnival, and yes, we were there! It was nuts! We did enjoy walking around and seeing all the costumes. Most were in the Venetian tradition, but of course there were a few Jack Sparrows and Darth Vaders running around. Here are a few of the  costumes. Guess which one is Daniel! Venice is truly a beautiful city; in fact, it's one of the most amazing cities I have ever seen. We loved exploring and taking pictures! We also went to 3 museums: The Doge's Pala...

There are many foods that you can only get in Ukraine and that I would die without. I guess I should have a disclaimer and say that I don't really know what I'm talking about, maybe you can get these foods elsewhere but I am really out of the loop. The first is chocolate cream cheese and it is delightful. Next we have: The juice aisles are overwhelming. They have every possible juice you can imagine, even straight up banana juice. The good news is that cranberries have not invaded this section of the supermarket, so we're safe. You can find a plethora of jerkies here, including horse. Speaking of jerky, you can also get dried fish to gnaw on. These are just a few items I saw and took a picture of, but there are plenty of other things you can find here, like that unidentified meat I saw at MegaMarket the other day. Final Question: Who thought I put the Snickers bar on here as a joke? If you did, look again. It's a Snickers with hazelnuts ! Ha ha!

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of hosting two sisters here in Kiev, Tiffany and Natalie. When they came to Ukraine from America, they brought 280 blankets to give out to children in need! The blankets were awesome! Natalie and Tiffany go to Liberty College, and they had decided to do something for kids in Ukraine. They chose to make blankets. With the help of many prayer groups at Liberty, they came up with 280 beautiful, colorful, warm and fuzzy blankets, and each one had cards inside with Bible verses and notes from the people who made them. What a wonderful idea! We spent three days going around to different places to hand out the blankets, and it was precious! First we went to our orphanage, Komarivka. The majority of the kids had gone home for the holidays, but about 30 kids remained. You should have seen their faces! Such big smiles all around! One of my favorite pictures ever of two giggling girls, Luda and Vita! Some of the older girls, Larissa, Natasha, J...

We were invited to go on a retreat with Safe Haven to celebrate New Year's, and of course we said YES! It would be for two nights and we had to bring costumes to wear. It is rather interesting thinking about dressing up at the end of the year and not Halloween! I had a brilliant idea, so we weren't too worried about what we would wear. That's usually how it is. I supply the idea, and Daniel the engineer creates it! The retreat was great fun and I think pictures would be better than me trying to explain everything. Making appetizers for the big night! After we finished that, everyone left to dress up. And in some cases, get "dolled up." See below. Dima, Vova, and I think her name's Kolya. She's cute. Commodore Norrington and Captain Jack Sparrow. Daniel did good, huh? Two Arabians that I love! A cowgirl and a Scotsman. In other words, a perfect match! Some traditional Ukranians...I think. A soldier and his lovely wife and child...