Wednesday at Hope Center

Getting ready for new stairs to the Medical Building. Tom, Jack and Greg.

Darlene, Mickey and I were allowed to visit new Mothers and babies at the Maternity Hospital in Kerch. We were greeted by the head of the hospital physician staff and were escorted by the head nurse to the rooms where we presented each mother with the flannel blankets and small baby clothes and items mostly from Palm Creek Quilters. One mother is 16 years old and is in an orphanage herself. They graciously accepted the gifts and a few allowed us to hold the babies. What a joy!

The guys were working very hard on the cement projects as the cement truck came twice. All are sore and tired but glad that the projects were completed. These young boys are enjoying the new tables and chairs which were donated by Hope Center to their orphanage.

Tom and two IVA boys named Genya were having their icecream break while admiring their work on a cement sidewalk.

Tanya P.and sewing friends learning about quilting from Darlene.

The rain stopped and the sun is out in Ukraine

We have heard that you may not be receiving our recent blog posts, April 27 th and 25th. To determine whether the images I added to each blog are the cause of the trouble, I won't include any on this one. Please use the comments to tell me if you are receiving the posts.
Today is Tuesday and there is much work being accomplished. The cement work is going well. There are some of the smaller areas that used the cement mixer that are done. The cement truck will come tomorrow with 2 loads to pour the larger areas. The shop areas now have cement floors. The ladies were asked to teach a small group of Ukrainian women how to quilt. The serger they were using in an unfinished basement of an apartment building looked like vintage 1940's The other sewing machine that was set up was an antique from the 1780's. It had a hand crank! They want to sew quilts like the ones from the US. They will sell them and use the money to establish a free Christian daycare for the kids who are out of school all day in the summer and have no supervision. We taught them a simple block quilt and will work with them again on Thurs. at Hope Center where we do have a sewing machine with electric. We want to show them how to use the rotary cutter as well as some of the finer details that are new to them. Darlene, Mickey and I are working on the 20 quilt type blankets that the Hope Center needs for the orphan Festival in May. We also have been to the surrounding villages to deliver books to the teachers and students and aprons to the helping staff of the school. We unloaded boxes of clothing from Sweden to give to the very poor of this village. On Monday we went to the small orphanage to visit and play with the children who had no family with whom to spend the holiday. We met with the women who invited us to speak at the Ladies Tea on Saturday. The word is out in Kerch and we may have many more than the 50 or so first mentioned. Pray for the message that we will bring that it will be meaningful and encouraging as we share our hearts with them. I am sorry that you don't have any pictures of the cute kids or the babushka's picking out their clothes, but you are probably glad I can't send you any pictures of the work on that awful sewer. I have lost my appetite completely after I was requested to come and take pictures to document the work! We are enjoying the fun that the IVA students are having as they work along side of the men. Tonight - a bonfire and a first time in their lives for them to roast marshmallows, making smors.

First Weekend in Ukraine

Saturday flew by and now it is Sunday, the Ukranian Easter Holiday. Darlene and I taught a basic hand sewing class to the seven girls who are part of the Hope Center's Vocational Outreach for orphans. These are young women from poor circumstances, formerly from orphanages. A statistic mentioned in church this morning was that a shocking 60% of girls who had been raised in orphanages became prostitutes and 70% of the young men became criminals. The young women in the sewing class are happy, friendly, and eager to learn. They have been changed by their time at Hope Center. It was a joy to see how open they were to learning how to sew a simple pillow case. We will be showing them how to use the sewing machine next class. They would like an art class also. The men worked very hard along side of the IVA students and accomplished more than they thought they would. The boys are hard workers with a good attitude. The forming up and welding and prep work went well. On Saturday we took some supplies and a story book about the real meaning of Easter to a small group of children in one of the local orphanages. They are quick to learn and adept with their hands in making a beaded cross. On Saturday afternoon, Rich was asked to speak at the graduation for the high school students who attended a series of classes at Hope Center which focused on economics, English language, computer skills and spiritual development. God gave him the right words to say on short notice! Darlene and I were amazed at the quality and aptitude of these students. We asked them about their families and their dreams for the future.

Saturday evening was really a fun time with some of the IVA young men playing Phase 10. We all laughed as the language barrier became a non-factor in communication. Bob and Mickey arrived here at 10:30 pm after a 10.5 hour drive from central Ukraine. We are so glad they are joining us as part of the work team. Luda, one of the Cooks outdid herself as she served colored eggs and Ukranian sweet bread, crepes and sausage rolls for Easter breakfast.

We attended a large local church service in an auditorium in downtown Kerch. The portion of the Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of Christ" depicting the crucifixion was shown during the service while we received and shared communion as a Church----powerful and moved many to tears. Lunch was pizza and salad in a downtown restaurant. Sunday is a great day for a nap (Carol, Mickey, Bob and Tom) while some chose to hang out in the coffee room. Darlene led the devotions today on trusting God. The rain cleared late afternoon. We are hoping to keep moving on the cement projects on Monday, weather permitting. Please continue to pray that we can be encouraging to all we serve. Pray for health, that we have good immune systems to fight off infection. We are all sleeping well and certainly can't complain that we are not getting enough food! We are served family style and there is plenty for all.

We have arrived!

Well, we made it! Here we are in Kiev, Ukraine after a 5 hour lay over without food or sleep. We left home at 8:30 am on Wed. and flew to Chicago where Rich and Carol, Jack and Greg from Minnesota met up with Darlene and Tom from Michigan. That afternoon , we flew to Frankfort, Germany, arriving at 5:30 am. At the price of a Euro vs a US dollar, Tom and Greg had a hot dog (Frankfurter) for around $16. Rich bought 3 ice cream cones for a cool $20. Dar and I took a nap after the lo-ooong air flight.
We left Germany for Kiev at 9:30 and flew to Simferopol. Matt from Hope Center in Kerch met us and the last leg of the journey in the van. Great to be here! We arrived at Hope Center a little after midnight and greeted people then to bed for some much-needed sleep.


The morning coffee and breakfast at 10:30 am started our busy day on Friday. This is a picture of a school in a small village near Kerch. These beautiful little children welcomed us as we gave some packs of fruit and some received Children's pictural Bibles also. What a joy to bless them with smiles and hugs.
We had lunch and a meeting about the work trip projects. Darlene and Carol will be going out to 3 orphanages for various meetings and special activities, as well as feeding programs and helping to host a Ladies Tea. On May 1st we will be visiting the maternity hospital with many gifts. Please pray for all of these precious times when we will have the opportunity to help and "love on" the children and adults. Darlene and I will be teaching a basic sewing class tomorrow. We had a nice scenic walk by the shore of the Black Sea at sunset tonight. End of Day 1 in Ukraine!

Preparing for the trip

Rich and I arrived home in Minnesota a week ago and hit the ground running. Unpacking the motor home, washing everything from linens to clothing, cleaning up the winter dust and mouse dirt, restocking food stuff. Then the Sunday morning call come that really put us into overdrive. Our family cabin/lake home was burned to cinders by an arsonist. We co-own with Rich's brother. Three more lake homes owned by his uncle and cousins were also torched. Big questions had to be addressed. Do we re-build, how big, will zoning allow us to build the same as before, insurance coverage-how much-trying to remember every single item lost in the fire.so it is on the claim sheets, installing the silt fence to prevent the ashes from polluting the lake. It is like a snoball on a roll to huge snoman size. We will be gone to the Ukraine during a critical time, April 23 to May 8th so we are trying to help as much as we can before we leave. Everyone has been cooperative and helpful. God is giving grace, peace, and strength.

Our preparations for the women's work are going well. The baby blankets and baby clothes are laundered in Dreft and are packed into one suitcase. The art projects and sewing class materials are purchased and ready to pack into more suitcases. Please pray that we can rest in God's provision for everything we need. Pray for health of one of the team members who is battling an upper respiratory infection and for Rich's cancer checkup on Monday. Thanks so much, Carol