Back in Canada...Again

It's hard for me to believe that 3 months have gone by already and my trip to Ukraine is over for this time. I arrived back in Halifax on Sunday night. My travelling overall went really well despite my bag being delayed in Frankfurt. But in the end it turned out to be a blessing as my heavy bag got delivered directly to the apartment the next day and I didn't have to haul it on and off of the 3 transit buses from the airport.

In the past month I stayed pretty busy with the Loads of Love team in Kryvyi Rih. I was again able to visit the Boorie Ooglie Men's home with some treats and went to another service there. I also did some more school visits with the team. Even though the public schools are now closed for the summer we went to a year round private language school to spend time with the students there.

Then I was able to be a part of a camp at the Church of Praise in the village of каменое поле (Stone Field). This is also one of the Loads of Love sponsored camps and it's the largest of the local camps. This year we had around 120 kids. It was a very busy and hectic but an amazing week.

My last week in Kryvyi Rih, and in Ukraine was spent tying up loose ends, running chores and getting things packed and stored to go back to Canada. Because I ended up having time between my train arrival and my plane departure I was able to play tourist for a day in Kyiv. That day was also the 1031st anniversary of the baptism of the Kyivan Rus, carried out by Kyivan Prince Volodymyr the Great in 988, and was the start of Christianity in Ukraine. The anniversary is a huge deal in Ukraine (and russia) and the city was filled with Orthodox believers on pilgrimage.

So now I'm back in Canada looking forward to the next time I go to Ukraine. I still hope to get things together so that I can live there long term again. I'm praying it'll happen soon. Please continue to keep me and Ukraine in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you for seeing my heart...я люблю вас!

Getting treats ready to to go to Boorie Ooglie with Pastor Sasha

At Boorie Ooglie

At Boorie Ooglie

At the language school

again at the language school

Stone Field camp

Stone Field camp

Stone Field camp

This is one of the crafts at Stone Field camp

Stone Field camp

Statue of Kyivan Prince Volodymyr the Great

St. Sophia's Cathedral

It was somehow humbling being in this cathedral with over 1000 years of history.

Tomb of the cathedral's founder Yaroslav I the Wise

A view of St. Michael's monastery from the bell tower at St. Sophia's cathedral

Kyrgyzstan Fun Day

Wow the summer has just flown by and my time in Ukraine is winding down for now. In one week I'll be headed back to Canada.

Before I left Canada in the spring I was able to send some money to Loads of Love to help our friend Sergey in Kyrgyzstan take the kids from Orlovka Orphanage on an outing to Lake Issyk'Kul.

For those who are unfamiliar, Lake Issyk'Kul is the world's 2nd largest salt water lake and has some of the nicest beaches anywhere. Just like going to the sea to relax is a big deal in Ukraine so it is in Kyrgyzstan as well and kids in an orphanage just don't get there without the kindness of others.

The outing took place this past week. As Sergey mentioned it provided a day to relax and a boost of energy to the kids for the upcoming school year. It also provided a relaxing day for the hard working orphanage workers who deserve a break. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Thank you to those who helped make this possible. Everyone will remember this for a long time.

Please continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers. я люблю вас!