First of all, I'm sorry that this blog is so late =( I tried to send a quick "Hey I made it here and I'm safe" post when we made it to the second orphanage, but I guess it never went through!
If I were to list everything that happened on our trip, you would end up reading 70 pages of my journal entries. So instead, I will try and mention a few of my favorite highlights!
The night before I left, I was a mess. I was seriously doubting why I was going and realizing how nonsensical it was to co-lead this trip and then jump right into day 3 of Teach for America. And I would still agree that it was completely illogical. There were so many more things that I should have done to prepare for TFA, and the thoughts of TFA stopped me from putting my all into the prep work for my trip. But what I'm learning is that following Christ does not mean always following the logical plan. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was supposed to both go to Ukraine and be here in Mississippi. My trip was very much about God's faithfulness in spite of getting what I want, adaptability, the spiritual disciplines of sacrifice, service, and simplicity, and the idea that you have to fight for peace. I learned so many lessons that will directly apply to my time in TFA, and I'm sure that I will be referencing this trip multiple times throughout the next two years.
My team was perfect. Seriously. They were the 9 best people for me to spend my last few weeks with before my big move. They taught me so much about how to live in the moment and how to actively and constantly love one another. Their uniqueness and individual ways that they connected with different kids was such a beautiful picture of true kingdom work with the body of Christ. They loved me and supported me unconditionally, through frustrations and breakdowns. I am forever grateful for them.
Orphanage #1: Vovchkiv
In essence with the theme of our trip, this orphanage was nothing like what I had expected. We were told that there would be 30 children and assumed that they would be all different ages, boys and girls. When we arrived, we discovered that our kids were made up of about 18 boys, mostly teenagers. Any of you who know me know that neither of those things are my forte. They also spoke absolutely no English, and the only conversations we could have with them were through our translators. For me, it was not the typical love-at-first-sight type of connection that I have experienced with orphanages in the past. I had to work at it. I had to try out my horrendous Ukrainian/Russian words, play soccer, and wrestle. We really had the best time though. Those boys were hilarious, hard-working, very talented, so sweet, and each had their unique quirks. Each day consisted of meals together, games, Bible stories/skits, crafts, jokes, and quality time. It was life at its best. It was life undistracted and disconnected from technology, city life, and any worries that we had going on at home. Each and every day there was solely about those boys and each other. It was beautiful. My favorite day there was the day when we got to see Kola and Dima graduate from high school. I was so proud of them and so honored that we got to celebrate with them. And then...there was a giant dance party that night with the whole village! Ukrainians really know how to celebrate!
Orphanage#2: Motovilovka
This week was entirely different from the one before. This time, we were not only with the children who lived at the orphanage, but we actually put on a camp for about 70 children from around the village who came to the orphanage and lived in tents for the week. Our program went all week from 830am until 11pm...what a week! Our team was split up into 5 groups, and I ended up being a counselor for the oldest group of kids who were 11-14. Teenagers again. I loved that I kept being put with the older kids because this is exactly what I'm transitioning into. I'm not going to be an elementary school teacher; I will be working with young teenagers. The two girls in the picture were my favorites this week (yes, I think it's okay to have favorites). They were two orphaned sisters from a different orphanage, and they just stole my heart. They are two of the sweetest girls I have ever known, and I was so honored that they clung to me throughout the week. I think one of the sweetest sounds that I will keep with me forever is hearing the two of them say "Emmy, Emmy, Emmy." Other highlights: we all learned a few new Ukrainian songs, we tried pig fat, we had a beautiful bonfire with a few songs that they sang in Ukrainian while we sang in English.
London!!!
We were the luckiest team in the world! We got to spend a day and a half in London for our debrief time! Now don't get me wrong, we did have some really great moments of debriefing, remembering, and discussing all of the wonderful, hard, and frustrating things from our trip. We didn't get a lot of time to ourselves in Ukraine because we had a wonderful team of Ukrainian translators join our group. So we were very thankful to have some time to just be together, even though we missed our new friends! For me, London was incredible because I had absolutely no expectations for it. All I was thinking about was Ukraine, and barely even remembered that we were ending in London. But it was such a blessed gift! Me, Chelly, Elena, and Andi set off one morning with no game plan, no map, and no knowledge of London, and we ended up seeing almost all of the biggest sights. We found our way to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abby, Big Ben, the Eye of London, and a few other treasures in between, like Anthropologie on Regent street! It was so beautiful and relaxing. We also all dreamed about what it would be like to live there and hope that Jen really will some day!
So...that is the recap for now. If you want me to expand on anything I left out, just ask! I'm in Mississippi now, and I'm loving it. My next post will fill you in on all of these adventures since Thursday morning when I arrived.
Thanks for reading,
Em
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