I`m HEEEERE!!!

Just a quick note to let you know I arrived in Kiev okay. Everything went AMAZINGLY well along the way. Many of you had asked if I was excited and I had joked that it would hit me somewhere between New York and Kiev. Well I was in New York waiting to be checked in and I heard a couple speaking Russian and then I did get excited. The only hiccup along the way was that my flight left New York over an hour late - but we arrived in Kiev 15 minutes early - go figure.

I'll be going to Krivoy Rog this week to take part in McJoyful Christmas and my Ukraine base will be there as well. Now I`m REALLY excited to do Mcjoyful and to see our friends again.

I`ll update more once I`m settled. Я люблю тебя!

WOW! - This is it!!

Those of you who know me you will have heard me talk about my calling for over four years now, ad nausea. For those of you who don’t know the whole story here is a brief recap – well, I’ll try to make it brief.

In July 2007 I went on a trip with my church to do programmes at orphanages in Kyrgyzstan with Ed Dickson of Loads of Love. (See the link for Loads of Love on the right side of the blog.) This trip changed my life forever and turned it upside down – in a good way. As the British say, I was knocked sideways. I knew I was called to go back there for long term and this was confirmed by some unlikely and reliable sources. I said nothing to anyone for almost a year just to make sure that I wasn’t going on raw emotions. The emotions are still raw even now when I think of the orphans and seniors of Kyrgyzstan.

At that time I was still heavily in debt with student loans and I was barely, and I mean barely, living paycheque to paycheque. The fact that I got to go to Kyrgyzstan in the first place was a miracle in itself which I now know was an ordered step in my life. Also at that time I looked back on my life to that point and realized that every single thing I have gone through in my life was preparation for this. Things like regular everyday occurrences that I had not thought about in years came back to my mind in waves with quite a few “a-HA!” moments.

Once I realized what my life’s calling is I made sure that the next steps were steps of preparation for this goal – and there were a lot. The student loans are now paid off (which is a miracle too long to mention here – see my blog for October 2010) and I was able to go to Ukraine with my church this past summer to work with Ed Dickson again. I told Ed of my calling to Kyrgyzstan and he mentioned that they have a hard time getting people to come help in Ukraine. Without hesitation I said that I’d be willing to come there in the meantime, which will help me learn Russian among other “skills.” I actually said it before I realized I said it.

So, now the tickets are bought, my apartment contents have new homes and the bags are all but packed – well, one is already packed. I finish my job on December 9^th and I leave for Ukraine on Christmas day for an indefinite timeframe.

This is it!!! I’m finally on my way. (Don’t worry about me missing Christmas. Christmas in Ukraine is January 7^th.)

In Ukraine I will be working (volunteering) for a programme called “Operations Can Be Done” which raises sponsorships for orphans who need operations. These operations can range from cleft palate surgery to leg straightening to major heart surgery, operations that previously would not be done as the kids have no parents to pay for them and there’s no medicare in Ukraine. These children’s lives will be changed forever. You will hear more in future blogs once I get there and get my hands dirty.

I ask you all to stand behind me with your prayers and support as I start the adventure of a lifetime. I know this will not be a cakewalk but I also know that God did not call me without plans to equip and to provide for me. There are a lot of unknown details at this point (like which city I’ll be living in) but I have a peace about it. I know it will all come together at the right time; everything else has so far. Stayed tuned to this blog for updates.

Я люблю тебя!