Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

We returned on Saturday from our outreach trip to Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. We were blessed to be able to work with Nita Hanson, the founder of God's Hidden Treasures. She gave us an opportunity to experience several different areas of her ministry there. We were so busy that the time flew by faster than we wanted it to. Over the next few days I'm going to try and share about some of the amazing experiences we had. We met so many wonderful people eager to hear about Christ and share their culture with us, but it was on Friday that our hearts were really burdened for the people of Ukraine.



On Friday we were invited to help teach two groups of children at the Voloshka orphanage about Jesus. The first group of children we met were between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. When we walked into the room and saw their faces light up, Edna and I both felt our hearts break for these little treasures. We couldn't believe how happy they were just to sit with us and hear about how much Jesus loves them.



When it was time to go, we didn't want to leave. The children didn't want us to leave either. One little girl in particular gave Edna a big hug and kept touching her hair and telling Edna how pretty she was. This same girl, named Veronika, threw her arms around my neck and kept kissing my cheeks. Veronika had been watching me and Edna the entire time we were there, smiling at us and trying to get our attention. It really broke our hearts to leave. I was at least able to tell her in Ukrainian that Jesus loves her. Being with those children gave us a big incentive to learn Ukrainian since they don't speak Russian like most adults do. We feel that learning Ukrainian is vital to the ministry there.

Me and 5 year old Veronika.

Edna with Slava and Veeka. The second group of children were between 5 and 7 years old and were excited to meet us and tell us their names.

The children are singing a song about how Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow.

We were invited to come back every Friday so please keep these children and the open door there in your prayers.

-Greg

Random Pictures

Random Pictures

Today is turning out to be another warm Spring day and I really can't think of anything to write about. Next week we will be in Ukraine so I'm just trying to get all my homework finished up and figure out what we need to pack. I was looking over some of the pictures we have taken and I thought it would be fun to share some of the more interesting ones.



Judah and Joshua up in a deer stand.



Dominic with a new friend.



"My what big eyes you have Grandma!"



"Does this mean we can't go camping here?"



Joshua and Grandma making fish soup (Yes, Joshua is using a hammer to help loosen up one of the fins).



"Watch your step!"

Just For Fun

Just For Fun

We all know that things are always more fun when you don't use them the way they were intended, especially swings. The fact that two adults were encouraging (maybe instigating is a better word) this behavior makes it all the more fun. You don't have to worry about getting in trouble for misusing playground equipment when your dad and your friend's dad are both trying to see who can spin their kid the fastest. These pictures are dedicated to my First Grade teacher Mrs. Sergeant who always benched me for spinning on the swings.




Joshua and Judah spinning out of control.



Judah's dad, Phil, putting a spin on Joshua.

Spring

Spring

This weekend was beautiful and it finally seems like Spring is here to stay. All sorts of creatures were out today. Joshua and I went for a long walk and saw everything from butterflies to deer. We decided to explore some deer stands along the edge of the woods. Aside from hunting deer, they make great spots to just sit and take in the view. Joshua thinks they make cool forts too. We weren't even in the first deer stand 30 seconds before a deer ran right by us. We ended up seeing quite a few deer before we made it back home. The best part was that neither one of us picked up any ticks. (Just in case you were wondering, Mom.)


Yesterday, we spent some time visiting the kids at the orphanage (Their ages range from 13 to 16). We try to go every Saturday and spend a few hours playing games, doing our best to communicate, and basically just witnessing to them by how we live our lives. We always leave feeling blessed and looking forward to the next week. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent our time there playing on the swings and kicking around a soccer ball. The kids there don't speak English and we go armed with only a few Hungarian words, but somehow we always manage to have a good time. We are constantly amazed at how we all seem to understand each other. Language is never a barrier when it comes to God's Love.

We learned the hard way that Hungarians play the card game Uno a little differently and more aggressively than we're use to. They really get into it. We still aren't exactly sure what the rules are but they let us know if we put the wrong cards down and we always end up laughing til our sides hurt.





(From left to right) Monika, Jordan (from the college), Sylvi, Allison (from the college), Cheela, and Edna.