Wednesday, March 24, 2010
квітень 10-23
9:26 AM | 
Posted by
Andrea
квітень .. that's April in Ukrainian. Ukraine is where I'll be in 16 days! I'm so excited!
Ever since my volunteer trip to Honduras in March 2009 I have been eagerly searching for another mission to attend. It's awesome to be able to be used by God for people who really need help. I went to Honduras with a small group from my graduating class. We stayed in the small village of Nueva Suyapa within Tegucigalpa, Honduras. During our time there we had the opportunity to work at a Christian school; doing some minor construction projects and preparing classrooms. All the while we worked, the children attended school. During recesses they would urge us to come to their playground to play on the swings, slide or just make up simple games. They spoke Spanish and the majority of our group did not. It was amazing how even though we could not communicate well verbally, we had a special connection. It's not unusual to hear this from people who've gone abroad to serve in a missions or volunteer trip, but I don't think you can truly understand unless you've experienced it yourself: We went there to benefit and help them, but by the time we left (and still to this day) I feel that they have given me so much more than I gave them. In this village they had very little; only allowed to collect water once a month in as many jars they could find; livestock roaming the streets; garbage strewn everywhere; tin shacks to live in. We gave them progress on their school, but they gave us a new appreciation for life. It's not something I can quickly forget. They demonstrated 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
My upcoming trip to Ukraine is more challenging for me than the one to Honduras. First of all, I went to Honduras with 8 people whom I've known, for the most part, since the beginning of my elementary school years. I will be going to Ukraine with a family friend and we will be meeting up with a team from Ohio. I don't know a single person on that team; being a slightly shy person it's nerve wracking going to an unfamiliar country and staying with unfamiliar people. Not to mention Ukraine is 10 000 km away and around 15 hours by plane from Canada. Yikes. However, I love to travel and I'm looking forward with great enthusiasm to the adventure ahead!
I haven't mentioned yet one of the big reasons I'm so excited for this trip. I'm part Ukrainian! My Baba (Ukrainia
n for Grandma) went from Ukraine to Germany, then to England and Canada during the war. She was taken from her home at the age of eight by the Germans. She hasn't seen any of her brothers, sisters or mom and dad since. She has such enthralling stories about her life in Ukraine. She has such a passion for the country. It feels in a way that I'm heading back to the motherland. I've always been interested in my family's history and now having the chance to go back to the place I've heard so much about - it's absolutely inspiring.
-Handreika (Baba always speaks my name in Ukrainian)
* picture1: Ukrainian dance
*picture 2: traditional Ukrainian dress
Ever since my volunteer trip to Honduras in March 2009 I have been eagerly searching for another mission to attend. It's awesome to be able to be used by God for people who really need help. I went to Honduras with a small group from my graduating class. We stayed in the small village of Nueva Suyapa within Tegucigalpa, Honduras. During our time there we had the opportunity to work at a Christian school; doing some minor construction projects and preparing classrooms. All the while we worked, the children attended school. During recesses they would urge us to come to their playground to play on the swings, slide or just make up simple games. They spoke Spanish and the majority of our group did not. It was amazing how even though we could not communicate well verbally, we had a special connection. It's not unusual to hear this from people who've gone abroad to serve in a missions or volunteer trip, but I don't think you can truly understand unless you've experienced it yourself: We went there to benefit and help them, but by the time we left (and still to this day) I feel that they have given me so much more than I gave them. In this village they had very little; only allowed to collect water once a month in as many jars they could find; livestock roaming the streets; garbage strewn everywhere; tin shacks to live in. We gave them progress on their school, but they gave us a new appreciation for life. It's not something I can quickly forget. They demonstrated 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
I haven't mentioned yet one of the big reasons I'm so excited for this trip. I'm part Ukrainian! My Baba (Ukrainia
n for Grandma) went from Ukraine to Germany, then to England and Canada during the war. She was taken from her home at the age of eight by the Germans. She hasn't seen any of her brothers, sisters or mom and dad since. She has such enthralling stories about her life in Ukraine. She has such a passion for the country. It feels in a way that I'm heading back to the motherland. I've always been interested in my family's history and now having the chance to go back to the place I've heard so much about - it's absolutely inspiring.-Handreika (Baba always speaks my name in Ukrainian)
* picture1: Ukrainian dance
*picture 2: traditional Ukrainian dress
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment