What is this?????

The answer:  Homemade sunflower oil!This is a gift from a friend at our church here in town.
 This is such a precious expression of love.
I can not imagine how much work went into making this.  People in Ukraine give the best gifts!
....from the heart and hands.
We receive unexpected kindness like this often.  We have been given fruits and vegatables, baked sweet breads, salo (pork fat), roast,  and sausages prepared from their own farm animal, holodates (SP?), large jars of strawberry compote (homemade juice), and huge containers of apricot jams, honey.  All from people who have so little and need so little to be content and bring them joy.

I am humbly learning more and more about hospitality!
'Be hospitable' .... this is one of the first verses that clung to my heart when we arrived several months ago.   Obviously I have much to learn.

It can be difficult living here, but the people are so kind.  It is difficult and 'inconvenient' to have a language barrier but when was being a Christian serving God suppose to be convenient.  These acts of kindness are God's way of sending us comfort and His love through the people we interact with.
Inconvenient? Yes   Is it worth it for Jesus Christ? Oh, yes!!! Yes!!!!

Daniel

I wanted to send some pics of Daniel's experience in the hospital and give you an opportunity to see life as it is here.  Some of you have been asking how he is doing.  .....quite well and he is THRILLED to be home.  I think he was having sibling withdrawal!   I am hopeful that Mike's next update letter will share much of the experience and the layers of ways God used this experience to get through some very difficult times and how He used our little boy's experience to do many things on many levels within the Church Body and within this little community.  

Even though it seems strange to say it, I'm especially thankful for the experience. 

 It has renewed our strength spiritually 

and picked me up out of an emotional pit I so desperately wanted to get out of 

and couldn't without answer to prayer!  Yep, I'm sure even this was answer to many prayers!

Dan's bed

Dan draws a picture of how he feels.

His appendicitis roommate : )

no clue!:!:!:! 

a magnetic contraption

two wonderful nurses

Ti moi sestra?  TAK!     God uses us if we are willing to be his instrument.

Daniel's Pillowpet...he put on a matching bandage.  He was the doctor...Mom was the nurse.

Finally home.  After this pic he jumped over the couch and landed safely!!!! DAN!!!

Nurse's work station.  Wow!  

Dan and Dad spent nights together at the hospital.

Daniel worked on this with Dad while in the hospital.

T

CHRISTMAS EVE...Enjoying working together to celebrate Christ's birth!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Jenn in charge of Christmas cookies

Dad's traditional Kutya with help from Malsie

Dan's fruit bowl

A new idea....Emily's snowmen eggs.

Awesome appetizer....Karissa's crab salad & cream cheese cups

Mallorie whips up Uncle Jack's Famous Ukrainian side dish.

Matt with little sis works on great olive and meat trays

James checks Jenn's cookies...yup, they're good! : )

Lizzie helps check if everything is good! YUM!

CHRISTMAS DAY!
Happy Birthday Jesus!

Winter 2013

Winter in Ukraine

shedding tears before Kirill leaves for America....
THEY'RE JOKING! : )

working on the Christmas newsletter

all students met reading requirements for the month...
PIZZA PARTY!  WOOHOO!

This year's Christmas topper!

The stockings were hung.....

supplies from America....thanks!

~ From Karissa's Desk

                                         What We Do

When my family first came to Ukraine we thought we would be visiting orphanages each week.  The first year of this trip we worked with a small mission organization.  Instead of us visiting orphanage it was more like the orphans were visiting us.

In late December 2012, my father and two of my sisters went to a school for teens to pick up two girls who had visited us before.  But when the came back they only came with one girl and two boys.  Their names were Oleg, Vova and Nastia.  Ever since that day Vova and Oleg kept coming to our house every weekend until spring.  In spring, Oleg graduated.  He has been living with us ever since.  As for Vova, he left in July or August.

In the end of July 2013, we stopped working with the organization and moved into an apartment near the center of town.  After that, more young men have been coming to live with us because they have no family.

Although mostly teenage boys have been coming to stay, there has been one girl named Diana who we met about two months ago.  Diana does not come to our house every weekend but I think that when she does come she enjoys it a lot.

So far, I've written about what we do with orphans but we also do things at our church.  Every Sunday we try to go to church.  Although we barely understand a word the pastor says, we always sing songs in Ukrainian and English.  Sometimes my dad preaches if there's someone who can translate, even though my dad is not actually a preacher.

At the church we attend, there is a young man in his twenties who is a Christian, is married, and has a baby.  Andri and his little family come to our house frequently for Bible studies, singing, and coffee.  I enjoy listening to the debates among Oleg and Andri about what the Bible says.  I also like watching on their baby.

Other than that we live like normal people; going to the Bazaar and supermarket.  We do school, play at the park, and celebrate holidays and birthdays.

I hope now you can understand more clearly of what we do here in Ukraine.

Karissa - age 11