Ukraine Vision Trip 2016
Cool fact: We are going to Ukraine in less than two months! Here are some answers to a few questions we've been getting about this trip. This is just a glimpse of how God is fulfilling the vision He gave two best friends some time ago, to care for and show the love of Jesus Christ to those in distress. I'm so grateful to everyone who has been and is going to be a part of it.
Q: When are you going?
A: We will leave at the end of February, and return by the end of April. The only reason we are coming back at all is because we are going to the CAFO (Christian Alliance For Orphans) Summit right when we get back. Just kidding... Somewhat.
Q: Where in Ukraine will you be?
A: We will be in Uzhhorod, which is in far west Ukraine. Uzhhorod is the Zakarpattya Oblast region, which is the melting pot of many cultures (Ukrainian, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland). It's a beautiful area filled with rolling hills and the Carpathian Mountains. Zakarpattya also has a high percentage of Roma people, and they are highly discriminated against. Lots of Roma villages, or "shanty towns" surround the cities.
Q: What will you be doing?
A: We will be working with multiple orphanages and around Zakarpattya. We will also be working in the "abandoned baby" rooms in the local hospital. The nurses there usually don't have time to hold or feed the babies and always need help.
We are also partnering with the Roma church and doing whatever they need help with. This could be teaching the kids about the Bible, feeding them, cleaning, or just talking and playing with them.
Q: Why are you going?
A: With every opportunity we have while there, we are going to serve with excellence for the Lord. He has opened these doors for us, and now we go forth in obedience to this very specific call. We can not wait to see how He is going to work through and around us. God began to open our eyes in China that IF we step out in faith, the dreams that HE put on our hearts could become a reality. We strongly believe every opportunity we've had to serve between then and now has been preparing us for what is ahead. God has been so intricately revealing more about the ministry He has called us to, and we are so blessed that He put people in our lives to set out on this journey with us. We go forward with the authority of the Holy Spirit in us, knowing that He has called us to be in Ukraine in this very season for HIS glory.
"Pure and undefined religion is this: to visit the orphan and widow in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." - James 1:27
