Ukraine Service Learning Trip 2011

hello everyone!!  well, today is our last day here in Simferopol.  it seems like we have been here for a few months, even though the time has really flown by!  there are so many things running through my head right now that i want to share with everyone.

yesterday was an extremely busy, yet wonderful day.  we started out with separate women’s and men’s bible studies with other missionaries in Ukraine.  at the ladies bible study, we watched a video of a speaker who talked about finding our identity in Christ.  the speaker talked about the process of making your mind think positively or negatively and how we shape our thinking in about three weeks.  so if i am constantly thinking of something negative, i’m going to be a negative person.   i think the guys had some discussion.  then we went to Gagarin for our last visit.  it was hard to think that we would never see them again, but it was even harder for me to know that Rachel, TB, and Esther very well may not get to see them much either due to the shifting of the system.  but it was a beautiful day to play outside and enjoy our time together, soccer, frisbee, basketball, and Hannah taught some of the kids how to play baseball without a translator!

after our visit at the orphanage we packed about 15 of us onto a marshukta (bus) that was already full with people standing.  it was kind of fun to experience something that is every day life in Ukraine, even though it was slightly uncomfortable.  the marshukta took us to Deema’s, the director of Orphan’s Hope, house for a final evening with Exodus 50.  it was a relaxing evening with plov, delicious smoked rice and beef, and some really good friends.  we also had the chance to climb a mountain, literally.  it was a beautiful view of the entire city of simferopol.

it’s hard to say goodbye after two weeks of getting to know some awesome people.  i have thoroghly enjoyed my stay with Rachel and TB in their lovely apartment.  TB told us this morning that she wishes she could be back in college just to hang out with us, and i couldn’t agree more.  they seriously rock.  the whole team has been so supportive too.  all you mommies and daddies who have been keeping up with this, i just want to tell you that you have such loving children!! everyone on this trip has been taking care of each other and really on the look out — quality people.

also, thanks to everyone who has been praying for Tina.  we have heard from them many times and everything seems to be going very well.  we are all so thankful that God blessed her with a good and successful surgery.

i have had such an amazing experience learning about Ukraine and having the opportunity to chat with missionaries on the field.  it is such an eye opening experience, one that i could not even begin to explain to you…sorry.

as we are heading out today, please keep our travels in your prayers.  we will be in Kiev tomorrow morning after a long train ride then heading out the following morning around 3 am for the airport.  an important thing for all of us to remember though, is to keep praying for our friends in Ukraine even after we have left because they need love and support too!

see you soon, family! like around 6pm at the Akron Canton airport…don’t forget me, please.

baka! (bye!)

rose

ps- i learned a really fun phrase that is popular in ukraine.. oh bleen! which means oh pancake!

Hello Everyone!!

Today has been a crazy day for us, but definitely one of best. We rode a train to Bahkcheserai where we met the Exodus 50 kids and did some sightseeing. First we went to Han’s Palace and toured the palace the was built by the Hans, but also became a residence for Nazi troops. The courtyard was massive and beautiful and all of the rooms were ornate and furnished as they would have been during the Han’s reign. Side note: We tried baklava here and it’s very different than in the US, but wonderfully delicious.

Then we went to a Monastery that was built into a cliff. We were only allowed in a small portion of the monastery, but the areas we saw were beautiful. We have learned so much about the Muslim influence in Ukraine, especially at Han’s palace, so it was really refreshing and inspiring to be in silence in the sanctuary where the monks come to pray.

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in Ukraine for over a week, but at the same time it feels like we’ve been here for much longer. Though I tried to prevent this from happening, I am undoubtedly, emotionally attached to at least a dozen of the kids here. In a short amount of time our team has developed good relationships with the kids, especially at Gagarin. For me, the class of fourth grade boys have stood out because they are one of the larger classes and they are at the perfect age where they aren’t shy around us and are also young enough to not be self-concious. However, while I love playing games with them and having fun, we have also had some small group discussions that have been really draining emotionally. For example, all of the boys in that class have smoked or been pressured to smoke, and most of them are 10. What is really awesome though, is that when our team leaves in a few days, the orphanage ministry will continue through the Orphan’s Hope staff. We’ve been able to learn so much and hopefully help Esther, Rachel, and Tara somewhat, but the actual ministry started years ago and will continue on in the future. Understanding and witnessing the ministry that our hosts are a part of everyday has been amazing and has caused us all to think critically about what we hope to accomplish in the future.

In other news, Tina had her surgery yesterday in Kiev and it went really well! God has clearly been working through all of this by taking care of Tina and Brock and as far as we know we will be able to meet up with them and fly back together as planned, but continued prayers would be appreciated!

We are all having a great trip and are excited to tell you all in person in the next week!

Brandi

P.S. Father, happy 50th birthday!!! I love you and hope that you are thoroughly enjoying being half a century ; )

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” -Winston Churchill

It’s crazy, I just thought about the fact that its only 3:00 pm in the states. Since I’ve been in Ukraine, I haven’t even thought about the states. I haven’t thought much about family, friends, summer, jobs, anything. Its almost as if my life is on pause, and for two weeks I am diving into a new pool, in a new town, with new people. So for me, writing a blog specifically for all of my, and the teams, family and friends, is a jarring reminder of reality. I am not going to be in Ukraine much longer, I will be returning home to four jobs, my family, friends, girlfriend, my kids at my church, my life. How will I be different? Will I have changed much? Honestly? I have no clue. I’m just a young guy trying to make sense of life sometimes. The thing I can say, is that God loves me, and I know that he’ll show me what I need to know.

 Today, we went and saw a parade. It is an extremely important parade to the Crimean people. It is Victory Day. They day that Stalin led his people to victory over the Nazi’s so many years ago. As I stood in the crowd, watching the faces of grizzled veterans pass by, I wondered what those eyes had seen. If you know people in the military in your life, veterans, or those who are currently serving, take time to thank them for what they do. Especially if they are from this generation. Without the sacrifices of these now eldery men, our world would not be what it is today.

So, on to the actual trip. I tend to ramble on whatever is on my mind, so bear with me. Today, as I said, the half of the team that lives in Jason and Esther’s apartment went to downtown Simferopal to see the Victory Day Parade. Being the history nerd I am, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Later in the day, we went to the Gregarin orphanage and spent more time with the kids. For me, playing/teaching frisbee to kids for three hours was an ideal way to spend the day. Others went inside and had small groups with kids, playing games and having conversations. After Gregarin, we went to Mike and Mel’s house, a missionary couple who lives in Simferopal, for our missionary potluck. A group of about thirteen missionaries that work in this city got together for food, fellowship, and lots of laughter as we discussed long-term missions with them. Their main points? Make sure it is your true calling. Make sure you are flexible. Find community. Overall? Trust in God. Throughout all of your life, trust that God will lead you on the paths that are necessary for your growth and development. It was extremely refreshing to sit with a group of people who truly love God and have experienced his faithful providence in their daily life.

Well, thats it. I’m not totally sure what else to say. There is so much going through my mind right now, yet not much at all. I am taking things a day at a time, as I usually do. Please keep on praying for us. Having prayer cover over our trip is one of the most important things we need. Your love and support is so very appreciated.

Brad Gee

P.S. I know this is completely random, but in memory of an amazing WWII veteran, go to this link and read about John Hawk, a true American hero.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Hawk

Hi Ukraine Blog followers,
 
This is Rachel.  Something to pray for as you consider this trip and continue reading the blog.  Yesterday, while at the orphanage, Tina Reiman broke her leg while playing tag.  She is doing fine and her and Brock are together in Kiev working out the details of treatment.  Meanwhile, the team and I are keeping up with the schedule and are doing fine.  Please pray with us for Tina and Brock as they work through details.
 
To all parents; I have enjoyed working with your children in Ukraine and continue to enjoy learning with them as we travel!  They are a great bunch!
 
Thanks for your prayers!

Rachel

Greetings from Simferopol!

Hi it’s Brittany Gardner. As I blog right now we have just gotten back to our houses from a long and exciting day!

This morning we went to the Gagarin orphanage for the fourth time this week, so it is exciting to see and experience the start of some relationships with the orphans. We are also building up our Russian vocabulary from our interactions with the child! Today at the orphanage Hannah, Mikhail, Brad, and Tina played some outside games with a 1st grade class who are at high risk of HIV/AIDS, while Jonathan, Vanessa, and Brandi were inside the orphanage playing boardgames with a group of kids. Rose, Emily, and I started up on the top floor of the orphanage with the 8th grade class teaching and playing different kinds of board games that are common in America. We first taught them how to play Phase 10 through out wonderful translator Nika and then Trouble, which they really got into! During our game of Trouble, us three had to leave; however, we left the game with them and they were still playing it when we got back an hour later! A group of us from the Malone team (Rose, Emily, Rachel, and I) were invited by the 5th grade class’ caretakers to be the audience for the class’ concert to celebrate Victory Day, which is on Monday. All of the kids were dressed up and looking good when we walked into the room. They sat us down and even served us snacks to eat while they were performing. The performance consisted of them singing songs and reciting poems commemorating this special day. After the performance they wanted us to perform a song in English, so we got up and sang Amazing Grace and then taught them the words and sign language for Jesus Loves Me! This is one of many highlights on the trip so far for me to be able to have the children teach us about their culture and then get to share a little of ours with them!

For dinner tonight we went to Tammy and Matt’s house, two American missionaries in Simferopol who live in a Tatar village. Tammy and Matt’s neighbor lady cooked a whole 3 course traditional Tatar meal for us, which was delicious! However, the serving size was about three times as big as I usually eat! None of the team members left that house hungry! We also got to talk to Tammy and Matt about the Tatar culture and their mission in the village, which is coordinating the translation of the Bible to the Crimea Tatar native language.

So far on this trip I feel God has really opened up my eyes to so much that at the beginning I was so overwhelmed I tried not to let it all sink in because it broke my  heart. Through talking with Rachel and Tara, I have begun to see that there is no way we can completely change or fix these orphan’s circumstances, but we are called by God to look after them. It is awesome to get to work with Rachel, Tara, and Esther who are here long term and have built these relationships with the orphans. The children just seem to trust us just because we come in with them.

To my family and friends, I love you and miss you all! And cannot wait to tell you everything about what I am experiencing here! I would also like to send out a Happy 22nd Birthday to my sister Ashley who’s birthday is today! Also a Happy Mother’s Day to my mom and all the other moms of my fellow team members tomorrow!

~Brittany~

Hello everyone! Its Emily!

I’m blogging a day behind since we’ve been so busy! 

On Friday, our team had a sight seeing day in the beautiful city of Yalta. Yalta is a town on the Black Sea at the bottom of the Crimean Penninsula. When the day began, we woke up to some pretty dreary weather, but thankfully in Yalta, the sun was shining! We started off at Lavadia Castle, the palace of the last Russian Tsar. Our team got  a tour of the palace, learning about the history and seeing the lives of the last ruler and family. Both the interior and exterior of the palace were stunning and over-looked the Black Sea. After this, we took our bus to the Boardwalk along the Sea where we ate, walked around, picked up pebbles on the shore of the Sea, and enjoyed the Ukrainian culture. We finished our day by taking a boat ride across the Black Sea to Swallow’s Nest, which is a castle. This was, personally, my favorite part of the day. This castle stood on the edge of a cliff looking over the Sea and the city of Yalta. It literally looked like a castle from a Disney movie. The view was breathtaking and worth the windy boat ride across the Sea. After a long day, we climbed back on the bus and headed to the apartments where we all enjoyed some delicious food and much needed sleep. 

I really enjoyed today because it gave us a chance to learn more about the history and culture of Ukraine.  It was also a time to be away from the daily orphanage visits which gave me time to reflect on all that I have experienced so far.

 When visiting Yalta, God’s creation reminded me even though there is suffering and brokenness, He is always with us and with the people of Ukraine.  And hopefully with serving and learning about God and His people, we will be able to redeem some of the brokeness and bring more of God’s beauty into the world.

Looking forward to telling you more of what I am experienceing when I return,

Emily

Hello all!  I’m Jonathan Winkelman -

I’ll try to catch you up on experiences the team has gone through since Wednesday.  First of all, I should talk about what the guys on the team did on Wednesday night.  Brad, Mikhail, and I went in the Orphan’s Hope van with Dima (director of Orphan’s Hope in Ukraine) to an orphanage in a smaller town called Bachessarai.  On the way the there, I had the privilege of talking with Dima.  It was very eye-opening to me to talk with him as he explained the vision of Orphan’s Hope, and I was inspired by the passion I saw in his eyes and heard in his voice.  This opportunity of talking with him helped me to gain a better perspective on what they are doing here and how our team can be a part of this work for God’s Kingdom during the short time we have here.

When we arrived at the orphanage, it was so encouraging to see the excitement of the orphans who welcomed us.  Each of us was able to introduce ourselves and tell the orphan boys why we were there through the help of a translator.  Each of the boys there had the chance to do the same, and then all of the sudden we were heading outside to play soccer out in the beautiful landscape there – Bachessarai in kind of in a valley; I never thought I’d be playing soccer at the foot of a towering cliff!  It was during our soccer playing with the boys that we really began to connect with them.  We learned later how surprised the kids there were that we kept playing in cold rain.  These kids certainly made an impact on us, and their smiles and laughter as they said goodbye seemed to say that we connected with them in some way as well.  This was an experience I think we’ll never forget, and I look forward spending more time with them when we go back sometime next week.

One of my favorite things of this trip so far has been getting to know Kolya, Yan, and Vova – three of the guys in the Exodus 50 program who work consistently with the orphans.  Learning more about their culture and interacting with them through one of the translators (and through our struggles to just understand each other’s language) has been eye-opening to us all and helped me to also better connect with the younger orphans, mostly through playing soccer.

Yesterday (Thursday), we learned to our disappointment that we would not all be able to go to the orphanage known as Strogonofka.    Mikhail (son of our leaders Brock and Tina Reiman) was transferred from Yolichka (the baby house we visited) to Stogonofka when he was around 4 years old.  He was adopted from this orphanage by Brock and Tina.  Fortunately Brock, Tina, and Mikhail were still able to visit this orphanage.  Before heading to Gagarin (in downtown Simferopol), we had a great team discussion about what we can share in talking with the kids.  At Gagarin, we first went to the art room where a very enthusiastic teacher was explaining to us with the pride how talented the kids there are in their works of art.  She emphasized how so many of the works were truly “making something from nothing,” such as making a beautiful landscape from the leaves and flowers of numerous plants on the orphanage grounds.  I think there is a correlation in this statement with the lives of the orphans here, and really with all of our lives.  With the conditions and environment that these children are in, it certainly seems that they have “nothing” – not the brightest outlook for their future.  At the same time, it is the passion of many of the people here to help these kids gain a certain “something”: hope.  Hope that comes from the provided resources of education, the loving relationships formed, and the most powerful hope of becoming a child of God – being adopted into His family.

After leaving Gagarin, the whole team went out for pizza with Orphan’s Hope staff and many of the Ukrainians in the Exodus 50 program.  The rest of the night was spent in fellowship and fun with one another at the church; it was a blessing getting to know the people here better and talking about what things had made the most impact on us so far.  As we develop relationships with the workers and the orphans, it’s so exciting to see how God allows us to be a part of His plans!  Even in this short two-week trip, I believe much is yet to come as God works in our hearts and minds and even allows us to impact the lives of some of the people here.

Hey everyone, its Hannah!

It has been a crazy four days. Right now as I’m writing, we are in Esther and Jason’s house breaking for lunch. I am on emotional overload- so many new sights and smells and customs- but I am so excited to be learning so much and experiencing tons of new things.

Yesterday we went to our first orphanage, Gagarin. The athletes of our team (Vanessa, Jonathan, Brad, & Mikhail) played soccer with the older Ukrainian kids from the orphanage along with our hosts. While the rest of us (Emily, Rachel, Rose, Brandi, Brittany, Tina, and Myself) played with the 3rd-6th grade boys. We played a lot of games to get to know each others names and then we talked a lot about friendship. The kids acted out scenarios of bad friendships, and then how to turn the bad scenarios into good scenarios. It was cool to see their minds work because most of them knew what was right but struggled to actually act that way. Then we played tag and frisbee outside- and many many tickle wars. After that was one of my favorite parts of the day. We experienced real Ukrainian traditional food! We had salad (with large amounts of mayo) soup called Borsh, Chicken and potatoes/rice (tastes WAY better here) and a dessert of things similar to perogis with cherries inside. The waitresses had very traditional looking Ukrainian outfits which was awesome to see! We also ran into other missionaries visiting from Cinci! That was sweet to meet other Ohioans all the way across the world.

After a full first day here, everyone slept very well for the first time! Yay!

This morning has been awesome- probably going to be one of my favorite days of the trip. We went to a baby orphanage called Yolichka. There are under 100 children at this orphanage, and it is the same orphanage Mikhail was at for the first four years of his life, and tomorrow we will see the orphanage he was at until the Reimans adopted him. Here in Ukraine everyone bundles up the children because there is a superstition that children who are exposed to breeze will get sick. Also, no one is supposed to sit on the ground (which has been proven difficult for all of us).

My family and close friends know, but I am a social work major at Malone, and my dream job and goal is to be working with foster care and adoption in the states with minority populations. I also have a huge heart for adopting and fostering one day. I knew this trip was going to impact my heart and views and passions in huge ways. It has been so interesting to see how different yet similar Ukraine’s way of handling orphans is with America’s.  Like I said before, so much is going on in my heart and my mind. I have been asking non-stop questions to our hosts, and trying to journal sights, sounds, smells, and how my heart feels as much as possibly.  I’m wrestling with the brokenness of the world all while witnessing redemption and God’s sovereignty. I am excited to continue learning about the culture and look forward to implementing and using this learning experience for the rest of my life.

The rest of the day we are going to be playing with the kids we met yesterday and spending time with the teenagers in the Exodus 50 program. Please be praying for continued energy and everyone sleeping well at night! Thanks for all of your prayers already!

Happy birthday to my Dad & Cody. and Happy Mother’s Day Mom!! Love you and miss you all.

-Hannah

PS. Marshutka’s is the form of public transportation here- buses!

We landed safely in Kiev then got on the train after some dinner at the train station. The team is a little tired but we are all doing very well. We arrived on the train in Simferopol around 9am and immediately all took showers which were badly overdue! After a team meeting, we went to the Gagarin Orphanage were we played games with the kids. We then ate a traditional Ukrainian dinner at a local restaurant with some of our new friends. Tomorrow we go to the Baby House in the morning, Gagarin in the afternoon, then meet Exodus 50 kids in the evening. We will write more soon.

We will be leaving from the airport today (see the “Flight Itinerary” page for details).

If you have ever been to another country to do mission work, you will understand that our schedule is highly “flexible” in response to the needs and demands in the culture. However, we have linked our TENTATIVE schedule below so you can see what we will be doing during our days ahead.

Malone Team Schedule

We will blog as soon as we land in Ukraine and can make arrangements to get to an internet connection.