The End

Our time here in Ukraine is at an end.  The past 28 days have been full of wonderful new experiences and friends. The students have done a great job of being the hands of feet of Jesus as we served with Christ Fellowship and New Life churches through both physical labor and developing relationships that will last far beyond our short time here.  While we know that many are excited to return home, it will be bittersweet as we leave these new friends, and also say goodbye to the Mosses and to Jacky.  We will miss seeing them each day, but will be praying for the ministry opportunities God has laid before them in Ukraine and China.

Today, we leave for the airport to head to Vienna, Austria.  We will be there overnight, and will hopefully have the chance to explore the city a little bit.  Then, Friday morning, our flight leaves Vienna for Chicago!  Please be praying for smooth travel and efficiency, as we have about 2 hours to get through customs in Chicago before our flight leaves for LA!  This can be a stressful time as we have 36 of us to get through in a short amount of time.

As we have begun to look back on our time here, it is clear to us that we could not have done it without your prayers and support.  We have been blessed with a fairly uneventful (as far as safety and major issues go) trip, and we know it is because we were constantly lifted up in prayer by all of you!  In the same way you have been praying for us, and are excited to hear our stories, we know that God's presence and work was not just here in Ukraine, but that he is active and working in Orange County too.  We look forward to hearing your stories.  Thank you again for your support.  We will see you all soon...

From Zach

Our time in Ukraine is slowly reaching its end. Everyone is beginning to greatly anticipate coming home to family, friends, and as you will soon learn from listening to our experiences here in Ukraine: fresh, ice cold water and our own private rooms. We will be leaving Ukraine on Thursday and will be staying a night in the beautiful city of Vienna.

God has definitely shown His presence and work during this entire trip. This is demonstrated by how many Ukrainian lives were impacted by our presence and vice versa. Over our stay of 28 days, we have forged strong and powerful relationships with the Ukrainians that will definitely bear much fruit in the near and far future.

Personally, and this can be probably shared by many other members of the team, I feel that my life has been greatly changed and shaped by all that has happened here in this country. I have felt much spiritual growth, however, I feel another great majority of our spiritual growth will take form after we come home and begin using the gifts, talents, and knowledge that we acquired here in Ukraine and using these things to minister to the people of the US, especially in our hometowns of Fullerton and Brea.

The team is looking forward to sharing all the experiences we had here in Ukraine and especially reuniting with all of you upon our return. Please continue keeping us in your prayers and we will most definitely be keeping you all in our prayers. God bless and see you soon!

From Janessa & Lauren

Hello from Viking Bay! We can't believe we are already here, debriefing about our trip! We have had so many awesome experiences and have met so many incredible people. It's awesome to see how God is at work in Ukraine & we are grateful to have played a part in His mission. Some of the campers we met accepted Christ & we are overjoyed to have been able to share Christ's love with them. Lviv is beautiful and we miss our days in the city already! We are so excited to be able to share pictures and stories of all the fun moments we have had! Can't wait to see y'all!
Love,
Lauren Lanning and Janessa Tari

P.S. The cheese is great.

From Andrew

Hey friends! So our trip is pretty much coming to a close. We are in Viking bay relaxing and just pondering on the memories we made. While we are here, I have been looking back a lot on the impact and relationships that I have made. Going home, I know I won’t be able to see the impact and relationships I had and made anymore. This will be a hard process for me, just sitting at home and saying to myself “What is going on at New Life Church now?” but I know that the time I was here in Ukraine, was the most spiritual high and enjoyment I have ever had in my life. As I go home, I am trusting in God, and I know that he has a plan for the Ukrainians’ lives. I want to thank God for giving me an opportunity to go on this trip because not only did it change me, but I got to see so many hearts and lives changed by the Gospel and see God at work right before my very eyes.

Last Days

 What’s up America! It’s been real. It’s been too legit to quit, but now we must quit. We spent some good times here in Lviv and around, and we’re grateful for the times we’ve had together and apart. [We love Max]

Even though we have loved being here, many of us are ready to come home to our beautiful mommies.

This time in Viking Bay has been peaceful and relaxing [with Max]. We’ve finally gotten to fulfill our dreams of playing soccer in Europe at a nice indoor facility at the resort. At camp, the Christ Fellowship team (Clayton and Skyler) was super disappointed because nobody wanted to play. #nosoccer

Johnny Dalton Hargis has managed to grow his beard for the entire trip and beyond. #props #welldone

Before the camp split, we all got haircuts, and some of us dyed our hair. #lightningbolts #bleach

As you can see, some of us have also been missing our social media. #hencethehashtags #everyone

There were some intense rec games that we played that we hope to bring back to America. Be ready for shirt pulling, aggressiveness, and Ukrainian strength in many varieties of games. #americaneagle123 #winniethepooh

I just can’t wait to enjoy some fast food and unlimited ice water. #chipotle #burgers #smoothies #chickfilasauce #FREEREFILLS

The food here has been pretty good but it will be nice to not have potatoes and dill at every meal. Some items will be missed though, like Vareniki and juice! Some other favorites include borscht, “Chicago Style” Pizza, and definitely the good ole’ Silpo runs!

We made some good connections with Ukrainians and it will be difficult to leave them. We just pray that our work here has been fruitful and will remain long-lasting.

Tonight we will spend some time together in a Russian sauna, whipping each other with leaves and branches. #experience

Connor: This was my first time away from Trevor for more than 24 hours. It was interesting and I definitely missed seeing his beautiful face in the morning when I woke up. Clayton did okay at filling the gap for the week we were apart. #newexperience

Simon: This has been the first time I’ve been away from my family for more than a week. I really miss you all. #icantwaittoseeyou

The biggest disappointment in going home is separating from Jacky and Joseph. They will be missed a ton back in America!

Aside from some small pranks, the last day in Viking Bay is being spent doing nothing and just relaxing. See you all soon!

Skyler, Clayton, Johnny, Jacky, Connor, Simon

Reconnected

Greetings from Abby Burdick and Kelly Fain!

We have 2 days left here across the world, and we have enjoyed relaxing in Viking Bay.  We are all very tired as we reflect on the last month. Kelly Fain (Christ Fellowship) and Abby Burdick (New Life) have been reunited, and it has been amazing to get a chance to share stories. Both sides were truly blessed with different experiences, providing us with both challenges and highlights.

Now we are at debrief and we love relaxing in the hammocks and spending time together.  See you all soon!

Love always,
Kel and Abbs

Parental Perspective

Parents, I just wanted to post a quick blog entry to let you know how impressive our kids have been these last three weeks from our perspective as missionaries here.  

I know you have all taken a huge step of faith in putting your kids in the Lord's hands and trusting that God is big enough to teach them, use them, and keep them... all while they are so far away from you.  

Life overseas is full of interesting experiences...new food, new people, new language, new ways of working, plans changing...sometimes things lacking, like hot water or Internet access, and on and on.  For Alfie and I, this is very much life in cross-cultural ministry.  Many short-termers do not do well with so much to adapt to and do without, but our kids have demonstrated flexibility, teachability, patience, kindness to one another...just plain maturity. They have dealt with disappointment, sorrow, inconvenience, and confusion by pulling together, talking things out, and bringing things to God.

Alfie and I are raising our three children here in Ukraine. We are foreigners here, and there are times when we just can't meet a need one of our kids has had. This is humbling and scary for me at times. But I have never failed to see God provide for my kids the things that they have needed through unexpected people, or unexpected circumstances. Their world has had to be wider than just mom and dad. And The Lord has never failed to awe us in the way He chooses to take care of our kids here.

Similarly, your kids have faced many challenges here and have grown as a result. Their world has had to become wider too, and we have seen  that the love of God is still far wider, deeper, longer and higher and as they have become more rooted and grounded in this Great Love, they have responded to challenges with great grace.  And just so you know, the five leaders who have labored alongside them, Josh, Lyndsey, Blake, Scott and Kaitlyn, have been faithful and wise channels of that love. 

At times, God has asked our kids to understand that this trip isn't just about themselves, but that there are ripples of the Spirit moving through the relationships they are building that radiate out into many lives.  On many occasions they have chosen to say "not my will, but Thy will by done, Lord." We have had teams of adults who have not been able to make that choice.

So I just want to say "thanks,"  for letting your kids' worlds be wider than just life in OC this summer, to include us, Ukraine, and the many new Ukrainian young people who are also journeying towards God with them.

Julie Mossé