Hello again

Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of February 20th, 2014, the day when more people were killed on Maidan in Kiev than any before (or since). This day stands as one of the most vivid memories of my life. I remember very specific details of where I was that day, conversations I had, the feeling in the air that we never knew what would happen in the next moment, and the quick decision to leave on a plane to Madrid the following morning. A year has passed since then. One long and eventful year. Maidan is one of those events that seems very far away and long ago and also like it just happened yesterday. As the war in the east rages on every day and the official death toll approaches 6,000, it’s sometimes hard to remember the day when one person dying on Maidan was cause for national outrage. The world, and especially Ukraine, has changed so very much in the last year.

Today marks 10 weeks since I flew back home after my nearly two years living in Ukraine. That day is a bit like Maidan…it seems very far away, but also like I’ve only been in Nashville for a blink of an eye. This past week, Nashville was covered in ice and I was stuck in my house. I missed the days of taking the subway to the city and mostly using my two feet to get where I needed to go. Most days, Ukraine seems far away with moments every so often that take me right back to my life there. I am often encouraged via Facebook posts to see local churches and Ukrainians continuing to serve the orphan population of Ukraine and care for those sweet children. Although I don’t see moving back anytime soon, I’m hopeful that a visit is in store for me at some point.

Life in Nashville has been full of adjustments, none too large or overwhelming, but difficult nonetheless. (Target can still send me into a panic on the wrong day) But, I’m thankful for a roof over my head and a borrowed car. I’m searching for work in a competitive job market, but am hopeful the right job and career is out there for me. I’ve been thankful to reconnect with friends and spend time (thought not nearly enough) with my dear nephew. I felt a bit like I left all my HH in Ukraine followers hanging, but just wanted to put a note out there to say hello. The re-entry process can be tiring and I often have trouble collecting my thoughts enough to write a blog. I’m trying to go back and write down memories. Whether from camps or daily life in Ukraine or trips to Europe, there are so many experiences I don’t want to forget.

A genuine thank you once again for all your support, financial and otherwise the past two years. Continue to pray for Ukraine, for its people, for its economy, and for its orphans.

HH (in America)

Coming Home

A few days ago, someone liked an old photo of mine on Facebook which threw it back into people’s Newsfeeds, producing some additional likes. It was this photo with the caption “A year ago today, I got on the most important flight of my life (so far)”

 

It was indeed, the most important flight of my life (so far) and was the beginning of the most challenging, rewarding, painful, amazing, confusing, beautiful last 20 months.

I am writing today to share some news with you. I will be returning home to the States in December. My time serving as a missionary with Radooga will be coming to an end at this time. Over the past several months, I, along with my leadership at MDI and Radooga, have been discussing this decision and have decided now is the time for my return home. I am thankful for the amazing relationships I have formed here in Ukraine and am especially thankful for the opportunity to serve with such an amazing organization like Radooga. The Lord has done a powerful work in my life during my time here and I have seen His hand at work in the country of Ukraine, in the church here, and in so many orphan’s lives.

One year ago today, peaceful protests on Maidan were violently dispersed by police in the middle of the night. I sit here one year later and watch snow fall outside my window in Kiev. We could have never imagined the year that was to come. A painful year with one triumphant, short-lived day on February 22nd. Otherwise marked with pain and tragedy, yet with hope in the Lord’s hand in the midst of this chaos. This deep pain and our exhausting year can be seen on the faces of people all over Ukraine even as life attempts to chug along in places like Kiev as a real war continues in the East. I do not claim to understand this exhaustion as an American expat living as a guest here. But knowing the pain of this year for me, I cannot imagine how painful it is for my dear Ukrainian friends.

I have learned to have fewer expectations after living in Ukraine. Reality is so often different than what I expect, or even hope, for it to be. I find it’s better to live with open arms, awaiting the next chapter or task or place or mission, willing to go even if it’s not what you expected. My expectations for my time in Ukraine when I wrote that flight in my planner seem like a distant memory. Expectations I’ve forgotten because they were replaced by the reality of life here. In some cases, difficult, but in all cases, what was best. I’m packing up my apartment and throwing a going away party here tonight with some dear Ukrainian friends. None of us know what’s ahead. For ourselves, for Ukraine, for anything. But, I hope to take the next step in faith that “there are far far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

In the past two years, I’ve switched from a Moleskine to a computer. I look at this event with bittersweet feelings, but confident the path before me is the one meant for me.

 

Thank you will never be enough to voice my deepest gratitude for the support during my time here. I love you all.

HH

Video Blog!

A few weeks ago, my little brother called me on Facetime as I was out in the city. I turned my camera so he could see what I saw as I walked down the street. I guess he was a bit surprised by just how different some things were compared to Nashville that he encouraged me to make a video blog.

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been shooting a few seconds here and there of normal, everyday things around me. I have to remember that what has become the mundane for me could perhaps be quite interesting to people who have not been to Ukraine! So far, I’ve tried to film as discreetly as possible, but that results in some undercover looking footage, so I may just film with reckless abandon in the future. Also, I am no videographer. All I have is an iphone and not a very creative eye. So, I won’t be winning any awards for my vlogs, but hopefully they will be interesting enough. 🙂

For now, I’m just filming random things about my day, but if there specific things you’re curious about or interested in seeing in Ukraine, please let me know and I will try to make a vlog about it!

Enjoy this first, very short glimpse into my life in Kiev!

Berdichev Round 2

I’ve been home two days from Berdichev camp and while initially wanted to numb my mind with distractions and television, I’ve allowed some time (though nearly not enough) to process some of what I witnessed at camp last week. Our local church team, along with myself and Sergey, went into camp this year excited to spend time with the children and teens we had seen such profound growth in over the course of camp last year. We were met with a very different situation. The kids were sent to a different camp facility and when they “tested” the camp director during their first days, she stood down. Unlike the camp director last year who had *some* semblance of control, this year our kids were allowed to do what they wanted whenever they wanted. Every child needs structure in their life, but especially our Berdichev kids. So, as a result, we were met with apathetic, disrespectful, and sometimes downright violent children.

I could tell you stories. I could tell you of the smallest children who have absolutely no self-control, no executive function, and no care for those around them. They slap, they bite, they spit, they pinch, they pull your hair. One small boy always wanted to be held, but then would bite your arm or slap your face. I tried to hold him tenderly and use soft touch. I told him gently that I loved him and he immediately pushed me away, looked me in the eyes with hatred, and started screaming. Anytime you attempted a conversation with one child, within seconds another would come along and hurt the child in various ways. Slapping, hard punches, strong flicks to the head. I have intentionally avoided learning Russian/Ukrainian curse words because I know it would overwhelm me to hear small children using them in excess at our camps. But it couldn’t be avoided here. I picked up a couple new ones from the lips of 7 to 17 year olds. I could tell you about another girl, her eyes dead and never meeting your own. Her hair unbrushed and her arms folded awkwardly in front of her. She would say “Heazer, Heazer” softly when she saw me and tell me I was beautiful. She would wrap her arms around me, but didn’t want to have a conversation. Then, a boy would come by and punch her and her face would change, she would turn violent and start screaming at him and hitting him. Then, in an instant, tender and soft again lying her head on my shoulder.

The teenagers sucked their thumbs and fingers, they picked their noses, many of them rocked to self-stimulate. They rocked and rocked and rocked. During the evening “discoteka” (put on my the camp, not us….), the teenagers and children who rocked would sit on the steps and rock while the other kids mocked them and laughed. Even counselors getting out their cell phones to capture the hilarity of making fun of disabled children. Real hilarious. One smaller boy slapped himself and violently bit his own arm nearly constantly and would fall to the floor if you tried to help or stop him.

There are more stories. More faces and names that are burned in my mind. At one point during the week, I imagined maybe this is a glimpse into what hell may look like. Children, devoid of love. Children, devoid of affection. Children, devoid of the attachment needed in their first months of life. Children without these things behaving as animals. Towards each other and themselves. Going through the trash or picking bits of food off the ground to eat. Children who do not seem like children at all, but like creatures who don’t know even the basic rules of living. Sadly, they are only imitating what they have seen. I can assure you all of these children have been hit by an adult. I saw it with my own eyes from counselors at the camp. They have been abused and beaten into submission. Some children turn violent in response, others simply sit in the corner with dead eyes entranced in a world away from the one we’re living in.

The anger I’ve been feeling the past several days is with the system. These are children that the system has failed. Most are social orphans, meaning one or both of their parents are still alive. Their parents may have given them away or the children were taken away from an unsafe situation. I was left wondering if their lives in this camp and orphanage is any better than the one they were pulled away from. I suppose they have a roof and 3 meals a day which might be more than their life at home. The system is painfully broken, though. These children go to a school for “disabled” children which in Ukraine lumps anything from a cross eyed child to a child with severe autism together in the same school. So often, children with very very minor (or none at all) disabilities will end up in a place like this and are never given a chance to get much more than a 7th grade level education at these institutions. And the staff at these schools are not qualified. The staff at the camp was even less qualified. These children need specialists. They need intense therapy of different types. Several times a day, the camp would give the kids candy and cookies. At least twice a day, some kind of sweet something. The children and teens seemed to just live from handout to handout and we heard “Dai confecta” (Give me candy) literally all day. Here in Ukraine, they haven’t really gotten the memo yet that feeding kids with AdHd tons of sugar doesn’t help the situation. It’s an antiquated, Soviet system that is still in place 20 years later. What is even more frustrating is that most staff at the schools and camps would defend the system and many have worked in the system for 20+ years. I am truly saddened to realize all the amazing research happening in places like Vanderbilt that needs to make it to this side of the world and help these children. But I am doubtful that anyone would listen and want to let go of the “tried and true” systems that have been in place here for so long. It is indeed a traditional culture.

So, what to do? I honestly don’t know. I wonder if we did any good with our program. With our presents and hugs and games. It’s the kind of situation where you have to trust the Lord is working in ways our eyes cannot see, because my eyes were only filled with tears by the end of the week. So, here is all I have. If you are a psychologist or if you are an occupational therapist or a speech therapist or a pediatrician or a researcher or a teacher or know people that are, consider how you can help. I truly believe that hugs and love and spreading the Love of Christ is incredibly important and valuable work. I wouldn’t be living in Ukraine if I didn’t believe that. But these children also need real and tangible therapies. Therapies that exist in the free world but are nowhere to be found here in Ukraine. At least not in an orphanage for “disabled” children. I have no idea at this point how to connect specialists from the West with Ukrainian orphans, but I’m willing to try to figure it out. And ultimately, these specific children need families. They need individualized attention, in therapy, but also from the love of parents.

This world is an overwhelming place. I know there are persecuted Christians in Iraq, pastors being murdered in Eastern Ukraine, a war in Israel. And this blog is just another series of paragraphs in the swirl of information. But it’s the cause and the people I feel called to at this time, so I feel it’s worth sharing. In the midst of the strife in the world today, these individual children matter. And so do the children of Iraq or the people of Israel or Libya or South Sudan or Chicago or Los Angeles and so on and so on and so on. I beg you though, even if disabled orphans in Ukraine don’t stir your heart in the way they do for me, please find who does. There is pain and suffering all over this world and we can easily close the news story and switch to Netflix to numb it away. To be honest, I do that A LOT here in Kiev. But please, please consider if there is somewhere or someone you can help. Let us not be the Church that turns fully inward toward ourselves, but open your heart and your spirt to consider if there is someone the Lord is drawing you to.

 

More summer events

Summer continues here in Kiev. One thing I love about Ukraine is that summer here is a solid three months. It “begins” on June 1st and goes until September 1st when all students return to school. So, as kids are starting school in the States we still have another full month of summer! Since my last update, I took another trip to Kharkov with an American couple visiting two kids they hosted in the States which gave me an opportunity to see some of my favorite people in the world and see my kids in Kharkov yet again.

We returned to Kiev on July 10th on the fast train from Kharkov. Arriving late at night, I accidentally misplaced my wallet on the train. Blame it on exhaustion or distraction or simply the fact that I’m a human who makes mistakes. 🙂 There were a few tense moments in my apartment when I realized it was gone, but miraculously someone found it, found one of my Radooga business cards with my local phone #, and called me after midnight. We met the next morning at the train station and I retrieved my wallet with every last grivna, credit card, and receipt still there. Life continues to be nothing but exciting here.

On July 11th, I greeted a small group of Americans to Kiev for our English Language Camp. The next day, another small group of Americans from Kiev joined us to form our “miracle” team for the summer. There was a time earlier this year, we didn’t think we would have any teams this summer but thankfully the Lord put together this team of random people to come together. We had camp outside Kiev and worked with nearly 200 teens. It was a great honor for me to lead and coordinate the team and translators and challenged me in many ways. The team brought me so much joy with their flexibility, their preparedness, and their deep desire to connect with the Ukrainian team and teens. It was amazing to see how the Lord worked in all our hearts to promote unity among our team since everyone came from different places. We sadly had to say goodbye on the 20th as the “American” Americans flew back home, but thankfully the “Kiev” Americans are still here in town so I’m happy to have the chance to continue building those relationships.

 

After camp, I had several days in Kiev to recover and then flew out to Bulgaria for some time away. Now that I’m back in Kiev, I’m leaving again of course. 🙂  I’m leaving tomorrow for Berdichev Ukraine for our orphan camp there. You might remember my time there last year from this blog: Berdichev . This year, the kids are at a different campsite which doesn’t have adequate housing for the local church team and yours truly. So we will be CAMPING nearby. Yes, camping. I’ve been camping once in my life and slept on an air mattress that time. So prayers are appreciated…VERY appreciated. Yet another opportunity to be pushed to a place of extreme discomfort. May the Lord be my Strength.
After Berdichev is another short camp in Kharkov. This should be the last camp of the summer for me. It’s been a different kind of summer without so many American teams. Looking forward to seeing what’s in store for the Fall.

Wonder

I’ve had several moments over the past week where life just kind of hits me in the face. Moments where I open my eyes and realize I’m sitting at a quaint cafe in Western Ukraine as people sip on espresso and smoke outside. Where I realize I’m walking up a cobblestone street with friends that’s been there for hundreds of years. Where I actually look up from my phone as we cross the river on the metro and see the sunset over the Mother Motherland statue.

Where am I?

Because honestly, life becomes usual anywhere you live. I know most of my friends back home see me out on this great adventure over here in Ukraine. But most of the time, I see life as life and not much of an adventure. I work, I see friends, I make food, I grocery shop, I buy toilet paper. Yes, even on great adventures you still have to buy toilet paper.

Kiev becomes typical life. Kiev becomes normal life. Kiev becomes home. Yes, I am homesick (quite a lot recently) and most of the time long for a place where I can actually communicate with the lady behind the counter at the grocery store (I’ve eaten significantly less lunch meat here because of this). But in most regards, I don’t wake up every morning amazed that I’m living on the other side of the world from where I grew up.

Today, our first Americans arrive here in Kiev. Over the last several weeks, we’ve The Lord managed to put together a team of Americans to teach at our English Language Camp…because let’s be honest, what is an English camp without English speakers? I am excited for many reasons to welcome these folks to Kiev, but one of my favorite parts of having Americans here is to see the wonder as they experience Ukraine for the 1st time (or 2nd or 3rd in many of their cases). I think it helps me remember the beauty of this place I’m living. Helps me to understand how special an opportunity this is.

I also spent last week at two different orphan camps in Kharkov and Poltava. As always, it was a solid time with our local church teams and some truly delightful orphans. Missing those camps for sure.

Please pray for our team, for our upcoming camp, and for me to maybe experience a little more of the unique life that I have the chance to live. Love to you all.

 

Identity

Be honest, how many of the following statements seem familiar?

– I’m not good enough
– I can do it myself
– I don’t need your help
– I need to fix this
– No one really cares about me
– I don’t like myself
– Everyone forgot about me
– I’m all alone

How often do you say things or do things with the main motivation behind it being someone’s approval? Someone’s attention? Do you lack self-confidence? Do you struggle with guilt and shame?

I don’t know if you were honest with yourself, but most of the above applies to me on a pretty regular basis. And by pretty regular, I mean daily. Here’s the problem though, these statements don’t describe who I am. These statements are the thoughts of an orphan. Over the past several years, I’ve learned the importance of one word: identity. Who are you? How do you identify yourself? What does your hope lie in? And far too often, I believe these lies that tell me I’m an orphan. These lies that tell me I am truly all alone. These lies affect my relationships, my family, my thoughts, all of life.

But these statements are the thoughts of an orphan, and I am a daughter. No, not because I have parents and didn’t grow up in an orphanage, but because I have been bought and redeemed by the God of the Universe. The God who holds the entire world and sky and stars in His hands bought me with a price. He considers me a pearl of great prize. I am His beloved. He knew me before I was born. My name is written on His hand. I am His and He is mine.

Here are some statements that reflect my true identity. My identity as a daughter.
– I am totally and completely accepted
– It’s ok to mess up
– I am free from worry
– I know that the Lord has a plan for my life.
– This plan will be full of joy and full of pain
– Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief
– Christ is my only strength and my only hope

I am free. As a daughter, I can live the freest life imaginable. I am free from worry, I am free from approval of those around me. I can be confident in Christ. That His Love for me is great, it is strong, and it covers a multitude of sins.

Last summer, I sat on a tree stump at an orphan camp somewhere in the middle of nowhere Ukraine and cried and cried. We were in the midst of our toughest camp and I was overcome by the pain in these children’s lives. But in the same instant, the Lord made me painfully aware of the incredible pain in my own life. Please hear me when I say this: You have deep pain in your life. And you and I have probably found socially acceptable ways of dealing with it, but it is there. I was overcome that day last summer realizing I want attention, I want acceptance, I want to been seen, I want to be known. These desires often overtake everything else.

And these children simply wanted the same.

As I look ahead to the summer, I will be working at camps with orphans, with Ukrainian churches, with Americans, with teens, with youth pastors. We all have the potential to act like sons and daughters and rest in that identity, but I have a feeling I’ll put on my orphan hat pretty often along with all of those I interact with this summer. Please pray with me that I, along with all of us, would choose to believe the freeing, beautiful truths of who I am in Christ. I am realizing perhaps the most important thought when entering into orphan ministry is : “I was an orphan.” And the second most important thought is realizing perhaps that all ministry is orphan ministry. Remember that you are a son or a daughter. Rest in that. Know that. Live freely.

“Be kind

…for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” – Ian MacClaren

 
Here’s to camp season 2014…

I was an orphan

I’m working on a blog post about my heart and how often I “think like an orphan”…but in the meantime, I wanted to share this video that was shown at the CAFO Summit I attended in Chicago in May. Thankful for the blessed opportunity to love kids here in Ukraine.

 

I left my heart in Kharkiv

For those of you that know my story, you know that my first (6) trips to Ukraine were made with the goal of visiting orphans in and around the city of Kharkiv. Kharkiv is the 2nd largest city in Ukraine with around 2 million people there. It was the first capital of Ukraine and has a beautiful downtown area and football stadium. But none of that really matters. Kharkiv for me is all about relationships. Since 2009, I’ve had the absolute privilege to form and build relationships with that amazing group of kids we met so long ago. Those kids changed me. The Lord used them, their voices, their hearts to change my life. I’ve gone to Camp AIST, the orphan camp we work in, outside of Kharkiv for the past 5 summers. Even before living in Ukraine, camp was a very consistent part of my life. I can say with certainty, I feel more at home on that camp territory than anywhere else in this world. It is home. It is rich with memories (both difficult and beautiful).

I’ve talked so much about Kharkiv on this blog. In the past year, here and here and honestly, most of my blogs mention it at some point. Since 2012, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with folks from one of the local churches there. For years before, those of us that went to camp there longed for the kids to have some kind of community. I dreamed of finding a place for these kids to be accepted and cared for. In 2012, we saw that become a reality when Radooga came alongside a local church who have far exceeded any of my hopes for community for the kids. Specifically, the youth pastor and his wife have really committed their lives to serving orphans and orphan graduates. They are a beautiful example for me of a humble, gracious, servant-hearted marriage focused on whatever God has next for them. Over the past two years, I have been blessed with amazing friends in Kharkiv and feel welcomed and cared for in their church community.

Fast forward to Spring 2014. After months of protests and violence in Kiev, Crimea was annexed into Russia. Not long after, “pro-Russian separatists” began appearing in the 3 Eastern regions of Ukraine: Donetsk, Luhansk, & (you guessed it) Kharkiv). I was in the US at the time and sat horrified watching the news as the Crimea situation seemed to be playing itself out yet again in the Eastern part of Ukraine. But as the days went on, the people (and apparently government) in the Kharkiv region stood up and the separatists were pushed out. The Ukrainian flag flew once again on top of government buildings. Friends from our local church partner as well as other Christians gather every morning (EVERY morning) at 7:00am downtown for prayer. They have been doing this for months. I am humbled and inspired by their dedication and belief that in the midst of these days, turning to the Lord is best. As the days and weeks went by and the situation deteriorated in Donetsk and Luhansk, I was proud of my Kharkiv that more yellow and blue began appearing and the people stood up declaring they were proud to be Ukrainians. I will readily admit I don’t have experience or a complete understanding of the political situation here, and maybe Kharkiv was never part of the plan. But from the actions at the beginning of April, it appeared these pro-Russians were attempting the same takeover in all three regions, but only succeeded in two. It looked like Kharkiv was “part of the plan,” but of course, who knows what the plan really was.
Now, as life in Donetsk and Luhansk is dangerous and unpredictable, I thank my God for peace in Kharkiv. I thank my God my friends there aren’t under a curfew and fear for their safety after dark.

I had drafted the first few lines of this post probably 2 or 3 weeks ago and never finished it. But, today, circulating on Facebook are photos of a pastor from the Donetsk region after being captured and beaten by pro-Russian separatists. He is bloodied and bruised. The prayer tents in these cities have been destroyed and burned and Christians are definitely facing persecution as a result of the situation. As I looked at these horrific images, my eyes filled with tears imagining Pastor Slava or Slavik or any of the other leaders from the Kharkiv church in this situation. It wouldn’t have been outside the realm of possibility and I thank God that so far, they have been allowed to pray and gather. The violence continues today as a Ukrainian military helicopter was shot down in the Donetsk region a little over 100 miles from Kharkiv. Today, I was reminded of my incredible thankfulness that Kharkiv remains quiet.

I am still unsure whether or not I will be able to travel to Kharkiv for camp this summer because of the nearby unrest in neighboring regions. Yet again, it will be one of those decisions made in the 11th hour as so many decisions have been this year. When I think about not going to camp, I am obviously heartbroken. I long for my 6th summer in the place that I call home. But God knows. God knows what is ahead for Ukraine and Kharkiv and Donetsk and Luhansk. So, I sit here attempting to trust and wait and pray and trust and wait. Pray for Ukraine, today and always.

Some patriotic Kharkivians

City sign gets some Ukrainian flair

In Freedom Square in downtown Kharkiv

Hope, a flood, election, & The Beatles

Today was a day to go down in Ukraine’s history. Election Day 2014…which only a few months ago wasn’t even happening. After months of protests in Kiev, the president fled in the early hours of February 22nd and later that day was impeached. New elections were scheduled for today, May 25th. All day, I kept remembering the months and months of protests with one main goal in mind: get Yanucovych out and elect a new leader. Today was truly the realization of that goal.

At church this morning, the Ukrainian pastor preached a message of hope. This specific pastor has been right in the middle of Maidan protests with the prayer tent, up close and personal to the horror and devastation that occurred there. What stood out to me this morning was this statement he made: “There are no verses in the Bible that promise God will give us all the answers. But he always promises that He will be with us. That He will never leave us. He promises that He will never forget about us.” There was an emotional prayer after the sermon, fiercely asking God for His peace in Ukraine. It is incredibly impactful to be surrounded by Ukrainians who have lived this intense life for the past 6 months, many of whom spent significant time on the square. They are longing for a free nation, for a changed Ukraine. But even more so, they are longing to remind each other and themselves that our Hope lies in the Lord, not in a man elected today or any other day.

A friend of mind, Gulya, was in town this weekend from Vinnitsa and Lesya and I enjoyed a great time together with her this afternoon. After lunch and dessert, we headed to see her off at the train station.

Wonderful time with Gulya and Lesya

As we came up from the metro, the sky was dark and the wind started whipping incredibly fast. For anyone who has been to the Kiev train station, you know there are tons of kiosks, food stands, marshrutka buses with signs, and lots of other people and things all over. The wind started blowing everyone’s stuff everywhere around us and we ran as fast as we could into the station. It was some of the fastest wind I’ve ever felt. On the train platform, metal pieces of the roof started blowing off and almost hit a girl. So, we quickly said goodbye and headed back inside. We decided a taxi might be the best idea to get to Lesya’s parents apartment and got inside to wait just as a torrential downpour started. After 15 minutes, our taxi arrived and we set out in ankle deep water flooding the roads. It was definitely the most interesting ride I’ve been on as our driver attempted driving on sidewalks and almost through a park because of the very deep standing water on the roads. I failed to get any photographic evidence of this ride, and thankfully we eventually arrived at the apartment safely amidst the rain, hail, and lightning.

Now on to the most interesting part of the day! Going to vote with Lesya! We hadn’t originally planned to go together, but I ended up with her instead of attempting to make it home in the storm and it ended up being so great to experience Election Day. I went with Lesya, her mom, and her neighbor to their local polling place, the school Lesya attended her whole life. Here are some photos from the experience:

Descriptions of all the Presidential candidates’ campaigns and platforms

A lady checking out Petro Poroshenko, who will be our next President!

The crowds were big and the lines long.

Directions in an infographic!

We’re almost there! This guy was a champ…painstakingly finding every name. He looked exhausted.

Polls were separated by street, building, and apartment numbers.

Lesya voting!!

The ballot boxes. Every voter received 4 ballots for the different elections today. PAPER BALLOTS!!!

 

After Lesya finished voting, we headed back to her parent’s apartment where her dad greeted us and said exit polls showed Poroshenko winning the Presidential race. Since he is the owner of Roshen chocolates, we of course celebrated his victory with lots of Roshen chocolate (which is a staple in every Ukrainian home even before the elections…), strawberries, and tea!

ROSHEN

MORE ROSHEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After finishing up, we headed out to grab a taxi back across the river to our apartments. By the elevator in the building were photos posted on the wall. Beautiful landscapes of a place Ukrainians used to claim as their own. Crimea. These photos were a bit of a stinging reminder of the past months here and what it’s taken to get to today, a day filled with hope.

Crimea

As we entered our taxi, “Yesterday” by the Beatles was playing in the car. The opening lyrics hit hard as we sat down:

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay
oh, I believe in yesterday

It’s difficult NOT to look back before November 22nd and long for that Ukraine. To long for a peaceful place before all of this chaos began. But that place was corrupt and operating with an incredibly broken system. One man stole so much from this country, from these people. Yes, our troubles seemed far away and life moved a bit lighter, a bit more carefree. But today marked a day that is filled with so much hope as well. We are living in a new Ukraine on the potential brink of huge change. Our troubles are here to stay for sure as the days ahead are long and the crisis isn’t close to subsiding in the East. The hope of today for me was partially from spending time watching the Ukrainian people make their voices heard at the polls, but more so in the powerful reminders from the pastor this morning. He has not forgotten us. He will never leave us. And in that, we have Hope.

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” – 2 Cor. 4:16-19

 

Even with the hope of today, the horror continues in the Eastern part of Ukraine where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were unable to vote today. It is unknown how this will affect the legitimacy of the election and the status of the two regions in question, Donetsk and Lugansk. Continue to pray for the people in these regions, especially pastors and Christians who are experiencing intense persecution and violence from the pro-Russian separatists.