Saturday 29 December 2018

Another Year Done

As we come to the end of 2018 I look back over the year and think that it went by so fast. It was an amazing year but I won't go into an analysis. I'll leave that for the previous blog entries. The biggest highlight for me other than being in Ukraine for an amazing summer is that I was thrilled to welcome some of my Ukrainian friends to show off my city Halifax not once but twice.

Some of you may remember last summer the trouble I had in getting my tax refund back which I wanted to use for some projects while I was in Ukraine. It turned out that Canada Revenue selected me for a review and the exact day I returned to Halifax they finally notified me that my return was processed. One of the projects I wanted to do was to send the kids in Orlovka Orphanage in Kyrgyzstan to the beach. As you remember from previous blog entries going to the beach is a huge deal for the kids there. Unfortunately I missed the beach season but sent the money anyways telling my friend Sergey to use it as he saw fit.

Today Sergey sent me some photos and told me that they purchased shoes for the kids in Orlovka and were also able to provide some Christmas presents to kids in the Karakol orphanage. I'll let some photos speak for themselves.

In the new year I'll be looking into getting a ticket to Ukraine for next summer. I can hardly wait! If you're thinking of year end giving and would like to help out with some projects you can click the "donate now" button at the side of the blog page to give on line. You can also click the "ways to donate" tab at the top of the page for other giving options. Every dollar will be appreciated by so many. Thanks so much.

Please continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for seeing my heart...я люблю вас!! Happy new year! с новым годом!

 
In April Liosha, Anya and Dima picked me up at work and for the 1st time I welcomed friends from Ukraine to Halifax.

Then I got to do it again with Sasha in October.  Pier 21 is Canada's version of the American Ellis Island where immigrants arrived by ship to start new lives.  Almost 128 years ago the 1st Ukrainians immigrating to Canada arrived here.  Sasha also arrived here by ship.  (He works for a cruise line.)

Christmas presents for the kids at Karakol Orphanage.  Sergey is the one kneeling.