A Brief Recap

Back to the Family

After that brief commercial and a holiday break in the schedule, I would like to continue sharing about my family and friend's journey to Ukraine.

Next Stop- Odessa

My family was thrilled about taking another train, this one longer than the last. Upon our arrival we were greeted by warm friendly faces. The Nazarene Church and the Ministry to Street Children is new in Odessa. Currently three men are helping Natalya with the ministry there. All three have completed a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program and are now serving for a few months. Two of these men picked us up, met us, and helped us and our luggage get to where we needed to go.

Where did they take us? Well first, they took us to the bus stop… that’s right the bus stop, with eight large suit cases, the dog they brought, and five American. Their plan was to get us all on a marshutka full of people. As soon as we figured out what we were doing, we put a stop to it, and convinced them to find a taxi.

After getting over the transportation hurdle, we made our way to Natalya’s apartment where we stayed two nights while we saw the sights of the city. From Catherine the Great to the Potemkin Stairs, we enjoyed the beautiful sites of the port city.

Kiev, Chernovtsy, Odessa, and VAPNYARKA!

Vapnyarka, was an interesting stop for the family. When we arrived at 4:30am, we took shelter in the train station. Once we woke up, we saw the town (which didn’t take long) on the way to the house where I live. After tea and cookies we were off again to the children’s center to greet the children as they arrived home from school. The beauty of the Carpathian Mountains and the mysteriousness of the Black Sea are little in comparison to the smile and giggle of a child. As I helped the kids with English homework Mom, Beth, Bethany, and Jason kept them entertained by playing games. We also visited the new children’s center to see the progress being made. In the evening, the children serenaded us with some of their favorite songs.

After a lovely evening we made our way back to the train station to await our midnight train to Kiev. While in Kiev, we lethargically visited the WWII and Chernobyl Museums. And then they were off.