Sunday, April 25, 2010
If home is where the heart is, my home is in Ukraine.
4:44 AM | 
Posted by
Andrea
Well, I'm back. After weeks of anticipating this trip, then two weeks in what is now, to me, the most special country in the entire world I am home.
I'm at a loss for words on how to describe my trip to Ukraine. It's currently 4:58am; I have been awake since 2am. Adjusting to the time change is proving to be quite difficult. Odessa, Ukraine is seven hours ahead of the time here. Every day we would be up by 6:30am, have devotions at 7:00, breakfast at 7:30 and on the job site at 8:00. A typical day would conclude work at nearly 6:00pm. The evenings usually consisted of fellowship with career missionaries stationed in the city, and hanging out with our fellow work team mates. My favourite time there was when we visited the people from our sister church in Krasnosylka. The time with them is indescribable. They are now my fondest memories. I am horribly failing to accurately express all of this.. I wrote journal entries every evening in Ukraine which I hope to briefly document here at some point. They will definitely capture my trip more effectively for those of you who are interested.
I must say though, I am missing Ukraine so much right now. If home is where the heart is, mine must be in Ukraine. We, as North Americans, always think of ourselves as so fortunate. We are, materialistically speaking. We venture into needy countries with visions of our great contributions toward the quality of their lives. Especially after spending time at the church in Krasnosylka I have realized how fortunate they are and how much we, as part of a North American church, could learn from them. They know where it's at. They are all about Christ and community. We tend to get so enveloped with material things, trivial situations that don't matter at all in light of eternity. I instantly felt like part of their family there. We don't speak the same language and seem to have not much in common, but there is one common bond - our faith in Jesus Christ. They demonstrate what it is to be truly Christian. They are people after God's own heart.
The past two weeks have been life changing. It may sound cliche but they were the best 14 days of my life. Working a lot, learning more than ever, and loving as Christ loved us.
I suppose I should try to get some sleep now. Pictures and journal entries will follow.
Loving Ukraine and the God who created it forever and always,
Andrea
I'm at a loss for words on how to describe my trip to Ukraine. It's currently 4:58am; I have been awake since 2am. Adjusting to the time change is proving to be quite difficult. Odessa, Ukraine is seven hours ahead of the time here. Every day we would be up by 6:30am, have devotions at 7:00, breakfast at 7:30 and on the job site at 8:00. A typical day would conclude work at nearly 6:00pm. The evenings usually consisted of fellowship with career missionaries stationed in the city, and hanging out with our fellow work team mates. My favourite time there was when we visited the people from our sister church in Krasnosylka. The time with them is indescribable. They are now my fondest memories. I am horribly failing to accurately express all of this.. I wrote journal entries every evening in Ukraine which I hope to briefly document here at some point. They will definitely capture my trip more effectively for those of you who are interested.
I must say though, I am missing Ukraine so much right now. If home is where the heart is, mine must be in Ukraine. We, as North Americans, always think of ourselves as so fortunate. We are, materialistically speaking. We venture into needy countries with visions of our great contributions toward the quality of their lives. Especially after spending time at the church in Krasnosylka I have realized how fortunate they are and how much we, as part of a North American church, could learn from them. They know where it's at. They are all about Christ and community. We tend to get so enveloped with material things, trivial situations that don't matter at all in light of eternity. I instantly felt like part of their family there. We don't speak the same language and seem to have not much in common, but there is one common bond - our faith in Jesus Christ. They demonstrate what it is to be truly Christian. They are people after God's own heart.
The past two weeks have been life changing. It may sound cliche but they were the best 14 days of my life. Working a lot, learning more than ever, and loving as Christ loved us.
I suppose I should try to get some sleep now. Pictures and journal entries will follow.
Loving Ukraine and the God who created it forever and always,
Andrea
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