Let me introduce our new friends...Sergei and Sveta!

We all have these experiences. Being in a completely different place and yet being reminded of the brothers and sisters God places along our path. Things were no different in Ukraine. Right there in a very small village we met a couple who stole our hearts.  Sergei and Sveta. They are a huge asset to Andrew and Jenny. They work for Andrew and not only are a big help with construction, repair, cleaning, etc. at the camp but they offer so much more. They are Russian, but live and  love the Ukraine. They speak the language. They understand the culture. They love the children that Andrew and Jenny work with and help them in more ways than I can tell. They live across the road from the Camp, in a house that until a few weeks ago had never had electricity or water. No bathroom. No kitchen. 100 year old house. They are expecting their first child in November. We all fell in love with them. They are the sweetest couple who worked right along beside us and though we couldn't really talk to them...we learned so much from them. We decided to throw a Surprise Baby Shower for them. They don't have Baby Showers in the Ukraine so we had to get pretty creative to come up with decorations, food, gifts, etc but it turned out great and as you can see...they were quite surprised and delighted!!!!

Such a precious couple!

The smiles tell it all...they were shocked, surprised, overwhelmed...which just made it all the more fun!

As you can see, we managed to come up with some fun sweets...American Homemade cookies and Ukranian Cakes. The sign above them said "Boy or Girl?

(We found out after we left, they are having  a Boy!)

 Love this picture of them taking all their gifts home to their house! So were so excited!

One day at lunch, they cooked all of the crew Pork Kabobs on their grill...actually it is their outdoor kitchen, as their 100 year old house has no kitchen or bathroom. The food was amazing and they were so precious about serving us! Doesn't take you but a second of being with them and seeing their surroundings to realize how completely SPOILED we are! We take so much for granted. I am ashamed of how I am constantly thinking of things I would like to change or do on my house...when our house would be a mansion in their eyes. Running water people...we just don't even think about what a luxury that is. This couple was overwhelmed with thankfulness that they have an outdoor shower area! Boy, it made us realize what blessings we have been given...and are we truly thankful? I am ashamed to say I have not been as thankful as I should.

 Larry and Sergei-they really hit it off! Sergei was so interested in how Larry built the cabin. New ways of doing things and he was so intrigued and so anxious to learn. Wish they could have had more time to work together...maybe next time! :)

We had the GREAT joy of getting to build them an outdoor shower, an outdoor dining room, lay a water line which meant digging a huge ditch from the camp, across the road and up to their house, a new wood shed plus we dug up a huge "extra" garden area for them. Sergei helps Andrew out and right now that leaves very little time for him to do things at home. We had so much fun helping them out and they blessed us so much with their sweet spirits and their faith!

Their new outdoor dining room.

Their new outdoor shower. It is hard to describe how excited they were about this addition to their home...kind of puts things in perspective, huh!

The new wood shed...plus all the wood we cut up for them. Sergei said he would stack it! I wish I had a picture to share right here of their wood sheds! It looks like a painting...every piece is cut exactly the same size and when they finish stacking them they are perfect!

The last night we were there, we took Andrew over to Sergei and Sveta's house as our translator. Here is a picture of Larry beside their house.

Sergei so excited, he had just moved their table out into their new dining room!

Sveta, being no different than us, ran inside and got a plant to set in the center of her table...and then shook her head as if to say, "Now, it is really home!" The smile on her face...I will never forget!

My new sister. Sveta is about the same age as Ashley. It hit me how different their lives are and yet how similar. Both having the desires to have children and the joys of being a wife, mother & homemaker. Yet, when we were looking for baby gifts...it struck me how LITTLE we had to pick from or could even find in the Ukraine when our shelves in the USA are loaded with multiple choices of each item. She may have very little compared to us but her joy overflows!

There is so much more to this story, but our University minister really did such a great job on telling their story and a great way we hope to help (and if you are so moved to help...well, you can too!) so I am going to just give you a link if you would like to hear more! I hope you can find time to do so. 

http://hillcrestu.com/?p=444

We ALL were so moved by this sweet couple, the work they are doing and yet we found out a real need they have. We talked, we prayed, we discussed it as a group and prayed a whole lot more. We made the decision to help them. We have committed to try to raise the money to make sure they can stay across the road from camp. 

I will close with a few more pictures. Larry and I walked down the sandy main street of the village. Our alley's are in better shape. But along the main street you would see benches beside fences. In the evening, many of the residents would come out and sit on their benches and watch the day come to an end...visiting with their neighbors and probably watching the crazy Americans! :)

 A very common site on the main street of the village

 How is this for a bird nest! CRAZY!!! I also love the rainbow in the sky!

 A grandfather and granddaughter moving the cows to another pasture.

 The Post Office (Yea! A word on that sign is in English!!)

 The village school...closed because of no teacher...which means the children in this village don't get to go to school. So sad.

 Most every household has a garden...this is the way they survive. They eat off this garden and sell off what they don't need.

Some of the locals...I love how when we started to take their picture they would break out in a big smile! We couldn't talk to them...but smiles and waves seemed to be enough.

Next stop...Ukraine!

The next morning, we checked out of the hotel, headed back to Heathrow, got on a plane and headed to Kiev, Ukraine. I have to admit this airport was a little unsettling to me. Lots of military presence and they just looked scary! I think being totally surrounded by people speaking Russian or Ukrainian and nothing seemed familiar was a strange feeling for me. I guess this was my first experience with being unable to really understand ANYTHING anyone was saying, not being able to read a sign, etc. We had a lots of work to do when we landed. We had a lot of luggage. We had left DFW with a lot of extra suitcases beside our personal bags. We were bringing Andrew supplies for his summer camp, sheets, curtains, etc for the new safe house, etc. So we had a lot of bags to claim and 31 Americans just stir up a lot of attention, not something we really wanted to do. Here we are waiting for the bus to arrive.

 Ha-that was just one side of the bus that was crammed with luggage

AND there was more stacked in the back of the bus! 

We were met by a tour bus that Andrew had arranged to cart all of us and all the luggage to the camp, which is about 1 1/2 hours away. Andrew, Larry and I headed in his car to the hardware store to pick up some tools and supplies we would need to accomplish some of the jobs on Andrew's list. We grabbed some lunch at the Mall. That was another weird experience...you would think that would be fun for the students...but I think everything being new, strange and different kind of took everyone back. We ate and then drove to Jeremiah's Hope. Andrew and Jenny have done a wonderful job of building this camp. Please take time to check out his blog and learn more about the work they do...we are so impressed with the work they are doing! 

We were so blessed with our time at camp. Andrew had a very large list of things he needed done but hey, we were a very large group of hard workers! The students amazed us. They did such a great job, worked hard, didn't complain and were just fun to hang out with! Andrew has asked Larry to be in charge of building a new cabin. Larry recruited 3 of the guys and they really busted it to get it done but they did it! There was another church group coming in this week, that hung the sheet rock and are busy painting inside and putting down the flooring. Should be ready to use in another week! Andrew had tons of jobs and I am pretty sure we got everything done and a whole lot more! It is really amazing when you have 31 people working ALL day long...how much you can get done. We took turns working in the kitchen, preparing meals, cleaning the bathrooms, doing laundry...plus Andrew's list. We would end each day with a wonderful time of singing and praising God for all that He is doing in the Ukraine.

Along with building the cabin, we replaced all the outside walls on a bathhouse, painted a lot of tires around camp to plant flowers, others were buried in different areas for kids to crawl on, put a fresh coat of paint on all the benches, picnic tables, built a new swing set, cleaned out a lot of closets, mowed the whole property, poured lots of new sidewalks, replaced Andrews back porch and organized a lot of things for camp. The list was long...but the workers were many! Here are a few pictures of the camp after we spruced things up!

 Can I just stop here for a second and say how much I love this man! He is such a hard worker and is so talented. He and his crew built a cabin in 7 days. Nothing was easy. The tools were scarce, the lumber was so crooked and yet with all the obstacles he still built a amazing cabin! 

 This is as far as we got to see it. The windows hadn't come in so they couldn't finish putting up the siding but roof is on, the walls were insulated and ready for the next work crew to finish it. This may not seem amazing to you...but the amount of hours and hard labor this crew put into this cabin is staggering! 

 The bathhouse with its new siding

 The craft house, picnic table and awning...all fresh stained and painted

 The firepit (not built by us) but we helped get all the rock in it and then we painted and installed the benches around it. When I say "we" I want you to know that I didn't personally haul rock (I did paint a lot of benches!) but those guys who did...let me just say that worked hard. Have you ever tried pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with rock through sand...sand like is on a beach.
And there is a lot of rock in this pit!

My man...oh how proud I am of him!

Three days while we were there we also got to have kids in for a mini-camp. These kids were so sweet and the University students did an amazing job planning activities, Bible stories, crafts and games. It didn't take long for them to steal our hearts! Here are just a few pictures of those precious little faces!

 I got to work in the kitchen with the World Racers Girls (more on them later). Man, we worked hard! Seemed like as soon as one meal was done, served, cleaned up...it was time to start the next meal. It was fun to have such sweet young ladies to work along beside.

This camp allows kids who live in the villages nearby along with a lot of kids who come from local orphanages a chance to attend camp for a week of fun, Bible Study, crafts and games. It is the highlight of their summer! Along with this camp, Andrew and Jenny have been asked by the Ukraine "CPS" to open a "safe house", a place where kids can be placed when things at home are not suitable for a child to stay. The house was built, but we put up bunk beds, built desk and dressers, hung curtains, etc. This house has already been put to use this week when CPS called that they needed to remove 3 children from a home. We know that Andrew, Jenny and his staff will be such a blessing to these children, providing them with a safe place to stay. Please keep them in your prayers.

Dig out the Passport...we are going on a trip!

So back in January, Larry came home one day for lunch and asked me if I would like to get another stamp in my Passport. Duh! Ha, I of course was quite intrigued and ask him where and he responded, "Ukraine". Hmm. Please don't take this wrong, but the Ukraine was not at the top of my bucket list. A have a pretty big bucket, but Ukraine has never been on it. However, Larry explained that the University Students at Hillcrest were going to the Ukraine to work with Jeremiah's Hope and we had been asked to go as sponsors. Jeremiah's Hope is run by a young man that grew up at Hillcrest. Andrew and his wife Jenny, are doing an amazing work...they have built a really neat camp for orphans kids to get to come to during the summer. They also work with the CPS and have just opened a rescue or safe house to provide a safe place for children when things "fall apart' at home. We decided to go and that was a really good decision on our part! It was an amazing trip! We left Abilene on Mother's Day, drove to DFW and flew out at 5:30 PM. We arrived in London at 8:30 the next morning. It was a good flight, but I know I personally didn't get a lot of sleep! :) Too excited I think! We arrived, went through customs, checked into our hotel and then got our tube tickets and headed into London. We had learned before we left about a really cool bike tour called Fat Tire Bike Tour (a company started by 2 Aggies...Whoop!!!!!). We had contacted them and scheduled a tour for 24 of us, the others were going to take in a show. What a fun way to see London. When you know you have basically an afternoon...and you have never been to London...this is the way to go! Not only was it so fun, but it was a great way to get to know the students we would be working with in the Ukraine. The tour guide was so awesome and a lot of fun. We took the Royal Tour so we got to see Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Hyde Park and a whole lot more!!! It was so fun to ride our bikes around the city and learn all sorts of fun facts along the way. We then ate dinner, took the Tube back to the airport and then a bus on to the Hotel. It was a LONG day but so fun. We caught a few winks before an early wake up call...we had a plane to catch early morning...then it was on to the Ukraine.

Here are some of the MANY pictures I took on the Bike Tour...

 Just hanging out in the phone booth with my sweetheart!

 Westminster Abbey...oh my...be still my heart!

 Ready to go! This is a few of the awesome students we got to hang out with!

Our cute little bikes!

 Larry. That is Will and Kate's "digs" behind him!

 Larry and Mary Kay at Trafalgar Square. It was chilly and a bit rainy...thus the gloves and coats!

 Have I ever mentioned how strong my husband is??

 The flowers in the gardens were AMAZING..unlike my hair...which didn't really care for the damp weather we had that day! Oh well.

This was the first tube station we came to, I was a little excited. What can I say.

Okay, to say I have a lot of blogging to do is a huge understatement.
Next..."Working in the Ukraine". 

Our sweet little four....

Ashley and Emma came into town this week for the Art Show. Before the show started, I snapped a few pictures of the four grands all together. There really isn't anything I love more than getting us all together. They kids are enjoying each other more and more. These 3 boys are the only cousins Emma has right now. So to say the least, she LOVES whenever they get to be together. From the time she got to town, she kept going to the front window and saying "Boys, where are you?!?!" So sweet. The boys are so good with her also. They are gentle and sweet with her. I want to see these little cousins grow up to be close. I know I really don't have a lot of control over that matter...but I pray we can always have lots of occasions to see one another and plan family times...I believe if we strive to make that a family priority...then the grands will build a solid relationship with each other. Family closeness is something I want and desire so much for my crew!!! I think the older I get, the more I realize how important family is!

Here are a few of my favorite shots:

Owen (Blue) Will (Orange) Clay (Green) and Emma

Always helps to throw a funny face in to the mix as right now that is really what the boys are wanting to do on every picture! 

I hope every child can have an aunt who loves their nephews and nieces as much as this woman does. Ashley cannot get enough of her nephews. She had so much fun loving on them before she had her own family, but still she can hardly wait to get to town to see them! A week does not pass that she doesn't ask me about them and what they are up to. She loves them dearly. I LOVE this picture. Wish Will had been in it of course but this was while Owen and Clay were at the house setting up for the Art Show and she was getting some snuggles. A fun conversation happened at this point also. We were telling them boys how no matter how OLD they were, they were always to give Grandmothers, Moms and Aunts hugs! That it might not be cool to hug some "girls" but it was ALWAYS cool to these ladies! ALWAYS!!! Ashley told Owen, when you are as old as Honey, it will still be cool for you to come see me and hug me! She asked him if he knew how old she would be if he was my age. He looked at both of us and then thought about it. Ashley said again, "How old will I be" and he replied, "Dead". We all laughed so hard. Ashley told him it might be so, but if she was alive, she still wanted hugs! The boys promised us they would always have hugs for us...right now they give the SWEETEST hugs every time they see us...I never want that to change!!!

Emma patiently waiting for her cousins to arrive! She was so excited!!!!