This is the day the Lord has made...

Saturday, February 05, 2011 – Being family and bidding farewell

2011-02-05T12:35:00.004-07:00

In our morning devotion today Ken asked us to wrestle with a great question: Now that we have had this great, profound experience will we act any different when we get home? It was a great question and one that each of us will think about as we wrap up our trip. You can ask us in person when you see us how we feel about this after we are home and what difference this trip will have made in our lives!

There were powerful emotions and many tears today as we bid farewell to the children and staff at HOREC. We began the day by completing a few small projects and then we spent time with the children giving them their backpacks and small gifts we brought for them. Each of us had fun playing games with the kids and a highlight was Millie leading the kids in some Zoomba complete with tutus! I’ll try and get some video up so you can enjoy it like the rest of us did! Thomas and I taught a few of the boys to play football and there were relays races that the kids loved.

I also took some time in the morning to do an extensive interview with Christine in the boy’s dorm so she could share her story via video that we will try and get on You Tube sometime in the near future. In that interview we also were able to present Christine with enough of our trip money to put electricity in the boy's dorm (courtesy of the Miller Middle School 7th grade Puma class), repair the electricity in the girl's dorm, and connect the boy's dorm to the septic system. All three of these projects should be completed in the next few weeks.

The pinnacle of the day was the community bar-b-q complete with hot dogs, potato chips and a cake to celebrate HOREC’s 6^th Anniversary. One of the persons present was Hannah, the chair of the board for HOREC who also works at Barclay’s Bank and arranged for the first gift to build the girl’s dorm. She was actually named woman of the year by the Bank for her work with HOREC and traveled to New York and London to receive her award. There were many other volunteers and neighbors present to enjoy the celebration.

The party ended with a treat that I did not expect. First, a group of women came into the gathering dancing and singing as they seated, Thomas, Paul, Marty and I in four seats of honor. After the dance, the boys of HOREC presented Thomas with a ceremonial spear and shield as a thank you gift to share with his classmates at home for putting electricity in their dorm. The boys were very excited to that they won’t always have to use flashlights to do homework! Two elders then presented Paul and Marty Sheppard with Kenyan robes and headdresses and made them Kenyan elders! The community at HOREC is so grateful for Marty and Paul and all they have done to server them and they did this wonderful ceremony to celebrate that connection. They then presented me with a beautiful Kenyan leather and wood stool that I am to use to sit on when I teach the children Bible stories back home.

Finally, the children sang us a song as a parting gift. We spent some time giving hugs and shedding some tears of joy and sorrow that our time was drawing to a close, but we could not leave without one last song of Zoomba! It took us a while to get the courage up to actually get in the vans to leave and as we drove off the kids sang us one final song of goodbye.

It’s hard to imagine that in just a few days we would become so close to the children at HOREC but there is something special about the Spirit within them that is beautiful, rich and joyful. They long for connection like any of us and they are unafraid to reach out even though their losses in life have been deep. The children care for each other and they very easily extend that sense of family to anyone willing to enter into their lives, even if it is for a brief moment. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered there I am also,” and at HOREC you get a clear sense of what he meant. I pray that I might be worthy of the love the children have shared with me and that I would treat it with the respect it deserves. I know that each of us has been changed by our experience and I can only encourage you to prayerfully consider entering the world of your brothers and sisters in Nairobi.

As we headed to our hotel for the night we took a tour through the tourist part of Nairobi that most people visiting this country experience. It was quite the contrast to what we have lived the past week, complete with high rises and a beautiful city park. I felt God nudging me as I thought about the question Ken began our day with regarding whether anything will be different for me after this trip when I get home. I realized that while the gulf seemed far from this scene in Nairobi to the slum of Spring Valley and the HOREC orphanage, it was not really that far at all. And while the distance between Durango and Nairobi seems far (at least it feels that way with a 30 plus our plane ride), it really is not that far at all when you consider that each of us struggles with the same human desire to connect with something greater than ourselves and with each other.

Being a follower of Jesus is really this simple and profound: Love God, love your neighbor (the one next door and the one on the other side of the world) and know that when two or three are gathered, there is Christ and in doing those things his love is made known. I just pray I can remember this and not take it for granted in the days and weeks ahead.

We head tomorrow for a few days of safari and then home. I’ll try and write one more time before we get back and put some more pictures up this week. Thanks again for all your prayers. Peace, Jeff

Friday, February 04, 2011 – Good work if you can get it

2011-02-05T11:56:00.002-07:00

Today was really a work day to finally get most of our projects done. We finished up repairs on the playground which included fixing the monkey bars, replacing the teeter-totter boards, building a sandbox and replacing the rope ladder on the swing set. Another crew put together the new bunk beds for the boy’s dorm and got it ready for the boys to move into, which they did that night! We also put up coat hooks in both dorms for the kids to hang their new backpacks up as well as shower curtains in both bathrooms, while another crew finished getting the new kitchen painted and ready for use. The last crew put together the new desks and study tables for the new pre-school classroom. All of the projects should be finished by tomorrow morning.

Our group was treated to a late lunch by Salome who is Christine’s niece. Salome’s mother was Christine’s sister who died of AIDS and in many ways inspired Christine to start HOREC. Salome has finished college and is currently trying to figure out how to get into medical school as she would like to become a doctor and do AIDS research. She dreams of finding a cure that is ravaging her country, especially its children. We had a wonderful lunch together at Christine’s house and then headed back to our hotel for the night.

We concluded the evening with an affirmation circle (sharing with each person how they had blessed us on the trip) and a time of Communion. We all agreed this has been a life changing week in many ways and we have been blessed by each other and by those we have had the privilege of serving. Each of us is grateful for all of you back home who have encouraged us to come and have prayed for us on our journey. Tomorrow we end our time at HOREC and we know that will be both sad and joyful.

Hmm Good!

2011-02-04T21:18:00.004-07:00

Here's a video of the HOREC Kids eating Ice Cream Wednesday courtesy of the 7th grade pumas from Miller Middle School.

Thursday, February 03, 2011 – Gaining Perspective

2011-02-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

After morning devotional, our first stop was the Spring Valley Church, where we worshipped together on Sunday. It is located in the Spring Valley Slum area and it exists because a large group of poor people were relocated to this location by a government official many years ago. The people in this community used to live in the Spring Valley area on the other side of town because a wealthy British Kenyan couple had a heart for the poor of Nairobi and invited them to live on their land. They even deeded the land to the poor when they died, but a government official decided it was too nice to give to them so they were relocated to the area we visited and there now are more than 20,000 people living in one square mile. They kept the name “Spring Valley” kind of as a way of getting back the government and so now there are two Spring Valleys in Nairobi but they are worlds apart in terms of living conditions.

We learned today that in 1999 418 children died in the Spring Valley slum. The next year no children died. This is because of Pastor Stanley and his wife Alice who felt called to minister in this community that year. Pastor Stanley was a successful engineer and Alice was a banker and they both cashed in their pensions to start a church and ministry for the children of Spring Valley. What began as a calling from God to serve the people of Spring Valley has turned into a seven day a week ministry that includes a school and a feeding program. Over 300 children are currently enrolled in the school (pre-school to 8^th grade) most of whom would not get an education if it were not for Pastor Stanley and Alice and the other dedicated staff of the Spring Valley Church, but there are 1200 on the wait list. The school provides 2 meals a day to the children, which is often the only nourishment they receive during a day. The church has also built the only restroom facility in the slum and as a result there is no more cholera or other contagious disease outbreaks in the community. Much of this ministry is funded by generous churches in the U.S.

Pastor Stanley shared many powerful stories about life in the slum. One of them was about a visitor who was carrying a donut through an area of slum and it fell out of their pocket. A little boy and a little girl and a dog all went for the donut at the same time. The girl got the donut, but she lost an eye in the process. This experience and many others have propelled Stanley to care for the “widows and orphans and the poor”. Unemployment is 65 percent in Kenya and so most of the adults cannot find work even if they would like to get some.

We did two things in the slum as part of our visit. First, we visited the school. Thomas and I spent time with the 7^th and 8^th grade classes who had received letters from Miller Middle School students in Durango. We had delivered those letters on Sunday. We had time with the kids to answer questions and the kids presented us with letters they had written back to the students in Durango that we will deliver upon our return. We also visited each of the other classes and saw overcrowded rooms and kids with rags for school uniforms. We met a young girl who has graduated from the school but was unable to have good enough grades to go to high school (you have to have good grades AND pay school fees to attend high school in Kenya.) She has learned the trade of sowing and she helps make new uniforms for kids who don’t have any.

Our time at the school also included helping to serve breakfast, which was basically a cup of porridge. This meal, served at 11 a.m., was the first food most of the kids had that day. The food for all 30 kids is prepared in a kitchen with no water and only using wood for cooking. The kitchen is about 15 feet by 10 feet and only has one window for ventilation. The convert the church sanctuary, made with tin walls and ceiling and a dirt floor, into a dining hall for breakfast and lunch.

After helping to serve breakfast we then delivered 16 baskets of food and supplies our team brought with us to 16 families chosen by Pastor Stanley and Alice to receive them. We split into two teams and children from the school whose houses we were delivering to led us through the streets of Spring Valley. At each home we heard their family’s story and then one member of our team prayed for the family and their home based upon their prayer request. It was a humbling experience to sit with a family of 6 living in a tin room that was the size of most of our bathrooms with no windows, beds and old furniture which had been repaired many times. The temperature in each home was probably 100 degrees or more. Their best worldly possessions were usually laid out on a table or night stand and these consisted mostly of cell phones that did not work and old calendars, all of which had been pulled from the trash.

The amazing part of each home was the deep faith exhibited by each family. In one home I asked a single mother of 4 (her husband had died the year before) what I could pray for her and her children. Her response was, “Please pray the Lord will bless us so we can give to others who have less than we do.” It was hard to fathom anyone who had less than this woman and her children, yet you could clearly feel the heart of God in this woman’s life. As we left their house, her youngest child held my hand and escorted me out. She said to me as we left, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad! Thank you for coming. We will be praying for you.” (This is why I renamed the blog.)

It was a very humbling morning, and all this happened before noon. We headed to HOREC in the afternoon to work on our projects at the orphanage and while it was good work to do, the morning had changed us as a group to re-think our priorities in life.

The best part of the afternoon was getting a phone call from a man in Nairobi who sells well parts telling us he was planning on donating a high end, submersible pump to the well at HOREC. I thought that was nice until I learned that is worth about $10,000! Marty Sheppard, one of the leaders of our team, had made contact with this gentlemen about making a donation and he replied this week. We put him in contact with Living Waters, who will be putting in the well, and they were ecstatic to work with him and lower the cost of the well. It most likely will allow us to provide water for another orphanage nearby in which the children cannot go to school because they have to walk 3 miles each day one way just to get water.

Well, that’s probably enough for today. Please continue your prayers as we wrap up our week of work and then celebrate HOREC’s 6^th Anniversary on Saturday with a part and our last time with the children before we leave. Peace, Jeff

February 3, 20011 - Videos

2011-02-02T21:45:00.003-07:00

Hey all, here are some videos from yesterday. Hope they work! Peace, Jeff

Wednesday, February 02, 2011 – Elephants and Giraffes and Medusa, oh my!

2011-02-02T12:04:00.014-07:00

We began today with a great devotional by Thomas, who shared what it feels like to be an orphan and have people come and visit you. You don’t feel so alone. He read from John 14 where Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave orphaned. Do not fear, for I will be with you always.” Thomas also read Psalm 23 for us and we were reminded that God is present when we feel most alone. This was a great introduction to the day because our first stop was the Kenyan National Elephant Orphanage. (We also had a “small world” moment at breakfast when we met a couple staying at our hotel who are good friends with a couple who are part of First United Methodist Church in Durango!)

Two of our vans picked up the children at HOREC and then we met them at the Elephant Orphanage. We arrived early and enjoyed some lollipops we had purchased the day before. Just sitting around it’s amazing the connections that happen as a woman saw our t-shirts and inquired about HOREC. We shared the story of the orphans and she was moved by what she heard. She actually is a journalist from Denmark on vacation and she took a few pictures with the kids and Christine and said she hoped she could write a story that might help get funding for HOREC from other places in Europe. I thought that was pretty cool!

Our time at the Elephant Orphanage was awesome. We stood behind a roped off area while the caretakers paraded in two different groups of baby elephants. Most had been abandoned by parents or had a mother who died or could not care for them. They range in age from a few days old to 3 years old, when they are reintroduced into the wild. We watched the elephants drink from baby bottles as they were fed, then play in a big mud puddle with soccer balls! They also liked to have dirt shoveled onto them by their handlers. We learned that elephants are extremely dependent on being in a “family” and when isolated they get severely depressed and sometimes die.

We had an interesting experience at the orphanage that moved many of us to tears, and made some of us angry. As they started the speaking part of the program they had us move to one end of the roped off area where someone speaking English would give us the program, while our kids stayed where they were to hear the person speaking in Swahili. We got there early so the kids could be right down front and about 30 minutes into the presentation (it’s only 1 hour long and when it’s done you have to leave) another group of well-dressed school kids showed up. We watched as they literally shoved our kids out of the way into the back! There was clearly some discrimination going on as our kids because they are orphans and seen as second class. The HOREC kids were so polite and they quietly sat in the back, now unable to see because most of the kids from the other school were bigger and they were noisy and rude to boot. The presenter from the Elephant Orphanage told the new group to please be quiet because they were disturbing the Elephants, and when they refused to listen to him he chastised them for being rude and pushing these other polite kids (the ones from HOREC) at and told them there were dismissed from the program. He literally kicked them out and then let our kids back in front. Then he proceeded to bring the elephants over and they began stroking our kids with their trunks and ears and our kids were allowed to pet them. It was a special and a bit surreal moment.

We then headed to a great little ice cream parlor where my son Thomas treated the kids to ice cream courtesy of the 7^th grade Puma class at Miller Middle School. The raised money to treat the kids to something special and the looks on their faces said it all as they downed their swirled cones and got ice cream all over their faces.

After the great ice cream stop we traveled down the road 15 minutes to the Giraffe center where we all got to pet and feed the giraffes. It was fun to see the look on their faces when the big giraffe tongue engulfed their hands. They also got to pet some tortoises and we met some warthogs just like Poomba from the Lion King.

Our day ended with a great meal at Medusa’s. Medusa’s is a very nice restaurant owned by the sister of one of our members at FUMC in Durango. This was a five star kind of restaurant and the staff went out of their way to make the kids feel like honored guests. They provide balloons, party favors, hats and tons of great food. They presented a cake made by the head chef and they sang their own version of “Hakuna Matata” that the kids joined in singing. As we left the restaurant the kids then broke in a song of, “Thank you very much,” that moved the staff of the restaurant, and all of us standing around, to tears. They even gave 12 pounds of frozen meat to take back to HOREC for the cook to use in the days ahead for the kids.

We headed back to our hotel and the kids back to the orphanage. I am amazed at how humble and grateful and full of life the children are—they have touched our hearts and I hope each one of you can experience some of that magic through this trip. Before we retired from the night we spent some time with Jennifer Phillips Lawrence, the missionary here in Kenya who helps coordinate our trips. She share some history about her role in Kenya and also talked about how we can help HOREC and other ministries in Kenya become more self-sustaining, which is her ultimate goal. It was a good conversation to have and I am grateful for her leadership here and hope to share more of that with our congregations when we return.

Until tomorrow, peace be with you. Jeff

Tuesday, February 01, 2011 - Planning for Water at HOREC

2011-02-01T22:23:00.002-07:00

Today was a busy day of working on our several projects, interrupted only by a visit from the staff of Living Waters International (pictured at left). It was exciting to hear John and Mindy talk with us about a kiosk and cistern water tower that would be built by the entrance to HOREC. The two would be about 3-4 meters in the air and include a submersed pump that would pump water into the cistern then gravity would carry the water through pipes to the boy’s dorm, the girl’s dorm, the kitchen as well as be used for irrigation. Living Waters can build all of these as well as drill the well that would most likely need to go 100-150 meters deep. They then provide health and hygiene training for the staff and children at the orphanage. This setup will also allow HOREC to sell waters to the neighbors (the reason for the kiosk being by the road and security guard shack—so people don’t have to come inside the orphanage grounds) and provide a much needed source of income. We agreed to have First United Methodist Church in Durango send a check to Living Waters this week and that they would then begin the process by getting a geological survey and applying for the permit from the Kenyan government. John Baker is the main contact here in Kenya with Living Waters and he has a long history in the country, having started an orphanage himself in Nairobi more than 15 years ago which continues to serve children.

Our day of work included finishing painting the boy’s dorm in preparation for putting the beds and dressers in the rooms Thursday and blessing the room so they can begin to use it by Friday. My son Thomas’ class at Miller Middle School raised some money before we left that we hope to use to get electricity run into the boy’s dorm as right now they have none. We’ll find out tomorrow if that can be done at a reasonable cost. Part of our team went through all the dressers in the girl’s dorm and found most of the drawers broke and in need of repair so we are looking into purchasing new ones that we hope can be delivered on Thursday before we leave. Each child gets just one drawer to keep all of their earthly belongings so you can imagine they get full and stuffed to the brim. Another part of our team painted the new kitchen that was recently added and we’ll be helping the staff at HOREC move in and stock the cabinets. Currently, all cooking is done in a small wood and tin shack outside the walls of the main building so it will be nice to have this kitchen usable which is directly next to the dining hall. Our last work crew continued making tables and storage boxes and repairing playground equipment.

At the end our work time we spent 30 minutes with Philip, one of our drivers, who shared how blessed he has felt to get to work with us. Both of our drivers don’t just sit in the vehicles while we work but join us in our efforts, even though they are not paid to do so. Philip was grateful that we did not just come and leave money but that we spent time with the kids and actually got our hands and clothes dirty. He said something profound that I really appreciated, and that is that the kids at HOREC don’t seem like orphans when you compare them to other kids in Kenya. It’s as though they have parents because they have us and each other. They are clearly loved and it shows. What a great testimony about the power of HOREC and its impact of the lives of these children.

Well, I think that sums up the day pretty well. Tomorrow we have a fun day as we take the children to the Kenyan National Elephant Orphanage and then the Giraffe Center where they can feed the giraffes. We will have a wonderful late lunch together at Medusa’s, a restaurant owned and operated by the sister of a church member at First United Methodist Church in Durango…small work, hey!

We greatly appreciate your prayers and know that all of you are with us in spirit. Grace and Peace, Jeff

Sunday, January 30, 2011 – Projects and People

2011-02-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today we spent the day actually getting to work. I kind of forgot we were going to work while we are here as the last couple of days we got to just be with kids and each other and God.

Our projects include painting the boys’ dorm so the boys can move in before we leave on Saturday; fixing the playground equipment that has been well used since our team put it in November of 2009; building some new desks, tables and storage boxes; putting up hooks for school packs; and getting the new kitchen ready to be used. We got a good start on each project even though our power tools arrived late and then the power went out! We got a good lesson in Kenyan time as we tried to get lumber and other parts needed for the projects. I was assigned to help with playground repair so we began the work of putting new bars on the monkey bars; new teeters on the teeter totters; fixing the climbing wall and swings; and building a new sand box from the old teeter totter boards.

It was a bit strange being at HOREC without many kids around (the pre-schoolers were there in the one room school house that has been build next to the boys’ dorm and it includes kids at HOREC and few from the community.) The highlight was hearing Christine share her story that really is a calling to love kids that her country has labeled unworthy of love. We finished work up an hour early so she could share with us and as she finished Carol arrived!

Carol is 11 and has been at HOREC for three years. She came to HOREC just a few months before our last team came in November of 2009. C.J. was on that team as well and she remembers placing Carol on the swing and having to hold her up because she was so weak she could not hold herself on the swing. Carol has been at the hospital the last two weeks recovering from TB which is a result of being HIV positive. But she arrived home today at HOREC and her smile was contagious. It was especially fun when she pulled back her pink hoodie of her head to display a cute set of curls (all of the kids have shaved heads, including the girls, for hygiene reasons.) This was first head of hair we had seen and it was beautiful. The best part was watch Carol and C.J. head to the swings and seeing Carol being able to swing on her own! Oh the joy in the little things in life. Here is a little girl the doctors said would not live so why bother treating her, and now she is running and playing. It was a real life resurrection being lived out before our eyes. I found myself being grateful that God is good and people like Christine are willing to listen to God’s call and serve so faithfully as instruments of His grace and love.

Sunday, January 30, 2011 – Worship that Makes Your Spirit Move

2011-02-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

Our team woke up groggy and emotionally drained from yesterday’s powerful God moments. I did not sleep much as I was asked to preach for Rev. Stanley at his Spring Valley slum church this morning and was a bit nervous about how any message I could preach would connect with those in such a different community and world in which most of my life takes place. I forgot that God can work no matter who we think we are or are not.

We had a great morning of Sunday School with adults, teens and youth and then some great praise and worship music that included a youth choir and dance group. The place was alive with the Holy Spirit and when it came time to preach I was blessed with a great translator and we had a great time reflecting on God’s word from the Gospel of Luke about the enemies of Jesus. We talked about how we all are recovering Pharisees and the message seemed to resonate in both the cultures of Durango and Nairobi. Our team was so welcomed and we were encouraged as we worshipped to experience the power of God in this wonderful new place.

After worship we headed back to HOREC where we had some lunch and then got some more great time with the children. We sang some songs together and then spent time with the kids we had been praying for the past few months, getting to know them better and hearing about their favorite things in life. Thomas and I interviewed a few of the older kids to take those back to his school and then we all gathered in the dining hall for a brief worship time together. Several of the kids read some bible stories about the Pharisees that we had read in the morning, then I taught them a few fun songs that we sang with gusto.

WE ended our time at HOREC by handing out letters from some of the students in Thomas’ class at Miller Middle school. They especially like the gum in the letters, then they went off to read every word in every letter…some read their letters twice over. We headed back to our hotels to rest up for the next day in which we would begin our projects. It was a great and exhausting day.

Saturday, January 29, 2011 – It’s All About the Children

2011-02-01T22:19:00.003-07:00

Today we experienced why we travel all this way and what it truly means to be the body of Christ half way across the world. We were blessed as the children of HOREC greeted us with song and dance and Scripture and testimony. Alice is a young girl that will leave HOREC this week to head to high school and she summed things up well in her greeting to us when she said, “We are a success story. We are a miracle. We are not orphans because you have loved us.” It was very humbling and we felt like we were the ones being blessed as they took turns speaking our names as they had been praying for us and our trip. We also realized that many of these children know their Bible better than we do!

After the children sang to us, we simply spent some time meeting one another. We presented the children with two guitars from people back in Durango and they were so excited to strum them. Thomas presented the laptop to HOREC that was purchased by the students at Escalante Middle School for the children at HOREC so they could get familiar with computers.

Then came one of the most awesome things I have ever gotten to do. We had challenged the congregation at First United Methodist Church in Durango to do Christmas differently this year by reminding them that it’s not our birthday, it’s Jesus’ birthday. We encouraged them to spend as much on helping to provide clean water for the children at HOREC as they would spend on their own Christmas. The well at HOREC is hand dug and mostly dry, providing little water that is not fit for human consumption. The congregation gave more than enough to put a well in and today we got to share that with Christine, who is the founder director of HOREC. She did not know that this was coming and she literally was speechless. The only words she could say was that, “God is so good. It’s a miracle.”

HOREC is a miracle, with Christine having a vision of a home for those thousands of kids each year who are “throw-aways.” They have no parents and many of them are sick (HIV/AIDS is most common) and the Kenyan government and medical system does not believe it is worth caring for them because, “they are going to die anyway.” Then you see these kids thriving and loving one another and it is truly God’s hand at work. Just over three years ago Christine started with 20 kids in a two bedroom house against the wished of her husband. She then got the acre of land which only had one building on it that was usable. Now there are more than thirty kids, a boy’s dorm, a girl’s dorm, a dining hall, a kitchen, a small classroom, a chicken coop which now has more than 100 chickens, a few goats and another acre of land to grow food.

Finally, before we left for the day, the children received letters from each of the students at Escalante and the kids had a wonderful time reading their letters and hearing from children in Durango, CO how they are loved a half a world away. We headed back to our hotel with a new perspective on life and love and how God works in the world. Grace and Peace, Jeff

Friday, January 28, 2011 – What day is it?

2011-02-01T22:19:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Nairobi safely and on time after 36 hours of travel and a 10 hour time change. We are 10 hours ahead here and so while it is 11 p.m. it feels like 1 p.m. It’s just strange! We all are VERY grateful for the Customer Service folks at United Airlines in Denver. Thomas and I were on the 1 p.m. flight out of Denver into Chicago and the rest of our team was on a 2:30 flight. That meant that Thomas and I would have around 2 hours in Chicago but the rest of the team only would have 40 minutes before our flight to Brussels. Their flight was then delayed 40 minutes which meant they would miss that flight overseas and would be stuck in Chicago for an extra day because there is only one flight to Brussels. The United staff worked hard to get all of our bags switched to the early flight so all of us could get to Chicago earlier and make the international flight. Not only did we all make it, but so did our bags! That, my friends, is a minor miracle! The people at our hotel in Nairobi had a wonderful late night meal for us and now we are off to bed. Keep your prayers coming as they worked today! Grace and Peace, Jeff

HOREC - Kenya - January 27, 2011

2011-01-26T23:45:00.002-07:00

Well, I am off on another Journey! We head out today at 10 a.m. from Durango to Nairobi, Kenya to work at HOREC (Hope for Orphans Rescue Center.) For a history you can go to this blog: http://horecmission2009.blogspot.com/2009/11/history-of-horec.html. I will try and post on the blog every other day or so, as well as list some photos and videos. Look for more in the next couple of days. Peace, Jeff

July 10, 2010

2010-07-10T21:42:00.000-06:00

Well, we are home now! It's been two days since we were back in the US and we all are a bit jet lagged and weary. Today we did manage to go for a bike ride and a dip in the Animas River so we are getting back to normal!

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and good thoughts over the past few weeks. We could feel your presence with us as well as God's guidance and grace. We'll be home here in Durango for a few weeks before our next journey which takes us to San Diego for just plain fun stuff on the beach and Sea World. Hope to see you all soon. Jeff, Tami, Thomas and Vika

July 6, 2010

2010-07-10T18:56:00.000-06:00

Today was our last day in Yalta and we thought we would share some pictures of our hotel "The Hotel Bristol". We all had a hard time getting up today, as you can see from this picture of Vika snoozing in our room! The next picture is with Tami and the kids on the balcony as well as a picture with the view FROM our hotel balcony. If you look carefully you can see the golden arches just below the street light. We will spend some time on the beach today and then head to Simperopol for our flight back to Kiev.

July 5, 2010

2010-07-05T13:27:00.005-06:00

Today we had our last guided tour of our trip which took as to Alupka Palace and Gardens. It is a one of a kind fortress built in the 1800’s by a man who was the richest in Russia at the time, even richer than the Czars. The mountain behind us can be seen everywhere from the grounds and is 1,234 meters high. He also had connections to England and attended Oxford so you can see British influence in the design of the palace and gardens. It is built entirely of stone that you will find BENEATH granite and was designed by a famous architect from London. It has withstood numerous earthquakes in this region because of its unique design and the composition of the natural grout which holds the stones together. The gardens that surround the palace were entirely planted at the time the palace was built and it is the largest “artificial” garden in the world. They actually transplanted soil 11 meters deep from the mountain tops above the gardens and put them on rock so things could be planted and grow. This might not seem like much until you see that the gardens cover over 100 acres and this was done in the 1800s!

We had a great tour of the inside of the castle which housed the British delegation during the treaty of Yalta. This palace was not harmed during the Nazi invasion however many of the paintings and historic library were burned. Hitler had planned to make this his palace and central headquarters before being killed in the war. Luckily for all of us this never happened!

We left the palace taking the “old Yalta road” that led us by numerous sanatoriums, hospitals built for those suffering from TB and cancer in the 1900’s. The unique climate and fresh sea air made these places perfect for people to recover. Many of them still operate as retirement facilities and have usable trams that take people from the apartments to the seaside. We also saw the famed “Swallow’s Nest” from the road as travelled by.

The tour ended by noon and we spent the afternoon on the beach with jellyfish once again all around us! We still enjoyed our time in the sun then headed back to the hotel for a quiet last evening in Yalta.

This will probably be my last entry until we return home and I’ll add more pictures then. We spend the first half of tomorrow in Yalta then drive to Simperopol for our flight to Kiev. We get into Kiev at 9 p.m. and the fly out of Kiev the next day at 5:30 a.m. for the return flights home. This means we have to get up at 2 a.m.…I mean, what’s the point of going to bed!

Thanks to you all for following along and for your prayers. See you all when we are back over the pond! Peace, Jeff

July 4, 2010

2010-07-05T13:25:00.002-06:00

Tami’s Fourth of July Reflections

Today we visited Lividia Palace, former palace of the last Russian czar, Nicholas Romanov. (Ukraine was part of Russia at this time.) The Palace was also the location of the Yalta conference where President Roosevelt, Stalin and Winston Churchill met at the end of World War Two. We saw President Roosevelt’s bedroom as well as many historic photos and rooms involved in the conference. There is a room dedicated to each of the main world leaders who were part of the conference and when family members from those leaders come to Yalta to visit they always bring some historical item to add to the room. These rooms dedicated to Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin were an amazing collection of history that was awe inspiring to see. You also can see the round table that the world leaders gathered around for the first time as well as the table where Roosevelt and Stalin discussed using the atomic bomb against Japan. It was very interesting to make both a Russian and American historical connection in one place, especially on the day America celebrates her independence!

Our second stop for a tour today took us to "Fairy Tale Village," an amazing park dedicated to fairytales throughout the world in all different cultures. Each display is carved out of wood by hand and there were many children in the park with us to see this interesting collection that winds through a gladed forest at the base of the mountians that sit above Yalta. You can see pictures with some of the kids favorite fairy tales--and them inserting themselves into the stories!

We remembered it was the fourth of July when we got out Jeff’s laptop at “Uncle Sam’s” pizzeria (see the sign to the right), which is located in our hotel, the Hotel Bristol. Our hotel was used originally for guests and visitors of the royal Romanov family. Today we seem to be the only Americans around and it was a little sad for me not to be celebrating the country I love more and more the longer we are away from her! I find myself humming under my breath the song, “God bless America, my home sweet home. “

We spent the evening in Lenin Square where a carnival is set up for tourists. It was a really fun atmosphere with many well to do Ukrainians and Russians enjoying themselves on Holiday. At the base of the statue to Lenin you see in this picture is a fountain and pool, and in the pool vendors haves set up these large inflatable balls that the kids could get into and then run around the pool in! All for only 20 Grevnas (abour $2.50). The kids also rented these pedaling tricycles, did some bungee bouncing, had a snack at Mc Donald’s, and I bought a flashing neon toy shaped as an Eagle for my own little light show.

July 3, 2010

2010-07-05T13:24:00.001-06:00

July 3, 2010

Today was just fun in the sun! We spent the first part of the day at the beach…which we discovered is not sand but small black rocks. A bit hard on the feet but fun none the less. The beaches are separated by concrete peers and so we had a great time jumping off the peers into the sea. We also found a great little stand that sells homemade bread wrapped around sausage…one of the kid’s favorite Ukrainian dishes, so we enjoyed those for lunch. Like Lenin’s Promenade, the beach area is filled with merchants selling trinkets and food for beach goers. You also can pay to go to a private beach where you get you own chair and umbrella. Some of the beaches even have private cabanas and there are jet skis and motor boats to rent as well.

We took some down time after the beach which was good because it pretty much pours here every afternoon around 3:30 p.m…much like Colorado! It is clear in the morning and the clouds build in the mountains that tower over the ocean, then sends them back towards the sea to dump some moisture on us. We watched from our balcony as the warm rain descended. For dinner tonight we headed to a café recommended by our translator Nina. They had great borsch soup that the kids love and the chicken Kiev and dumplings were outstanding traditional fare enjoyed by all of us!

For the late evening, we took a boat trip out of the Promenade along the coast all the way to “the Swallow’s Nest,” a castle that is famous in Yalta and one the kids wanted to see. It actually is very small and now is a restaurant however it is still a stunning site to see from the ocean. It was getting dark during our trip so our pictures are not great, but the views at dusk were stunning. We also had many dolphins join us alongside the boat. We headed back to the hotel after our boat ride and had some good family time of reflection and prayer before heading to bed. We all agreed it was good to have a day of just plain fun and relaxation!

July 2, 2010

2010-07-05T13:22:00.000-06:00

July 2, 2010

Today we headed for fun in the sun and a little vacation time after some pretty intense days visiting the kids’ birth home and orphanages. We flew out of Kiev on a regional jet similar to the ones you fly from Durango to Denver, only this one is with the Ukrainian Airlines Aerosvit and it will take us to Simperopol, which is the capital of Crimea. Crimea is actually an independent republic of Ukraine and the flight here only took one hour.

We have a new translator and driver here and we learned from them that Crimea was under Russian rule for 350 years prior to 1954. In that year Russian and Ukrainian leaders were having a party celebrating Ukraine and Khrushchev, who was very drunk at the time, proclaimed, “I must give Ukraine a gift. I will give them Crimea!” Crimea then became a part of Ukraine which clearly some people like and some people don’t. There is still much Russian influence here and this peninsula (which is really like an island because it is connected by a small piece of land to Ukraine) has been ruled in the past centuries by many empires including the Cossacks and Genghis Khan. There are 111 different ethnic groups who live in this region and many of them came here looking for rest as the unique climate and mineral waters are known to bring healing. This is why the Russian Czars made this their summer home as many of them had TB. The region is lush with lots of fields of lavender that give the countryside a sweet fragrance.

Our first stop of the day was the Cliff Monastery and Bakhchysaray Palace. The monastery (pictured above and with Vika to the right) is literally built into a cliff and sections of it are more than 1000 years old. It is Russian Orthodox and at one point more than 1000 monks lived in the caves and walls of the hills. Many healings have happened here and there is an icon of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus which is almost 1000 years old and is believed to bring blessings on your household.

Just down the road from the Monastery is the Palace which was built by the Khan families and the added onto by the Czarina Catherine who became a Christian when she came to rule Russia. It is fascinating to see an Orthodox Christian Monastery and then a Palace with mostly Muslim roots (see below picture in panarama) literally right next to each other. We got a wonderful tour of both places and learned much about the history of this area. The palace and monastery are built into a valley that is literally hidden until you drop into it, thus making it very strategic for whoever ruled this region.

We left the palace and headed for the coastal region of Crimea and the town of Yalta. After arriving in Yalta we could see why it is called, “The Russian Riviera.” The mountains are 1800 meters high and drop down drastically all the way to the Black Sea.

Our day ended as we arrived in Yalta for the evening. The hotel in which we are staying is the Bristol which was originally the home for Czar Nicholas and his family before their palace was built, a palace we will see on our trip on Monday. Our hotel is on Roosevelt Way, named after FDR who was here as part of the conference at Yalta which ended the European end of WWII. We also are just a few blocks from the Black Sea and so we went to watch the sunset and the kids played in the water (see them at right).

The great news is that from the balcony of our hotel we can see…the Golden Arches! (See picture at right.) There is a McDonald’s on the Lenin promenade just across from Lenin’s statue which is hysterically ironic. There is so much commercial and capitalistic adventure in the promenade that if Lenin could see it he would be rolling over in his grave! Our night ended with a late night snack from Mickey D’s before heading to bed. We changed our schedule a bit so that tomorrow we can just relax and we are looking forward to playing in Yalta on the beach after the last four emotion filled days

July 1. 2010

2010-07-01T12:37:00.000-06:00

July 1, 2010

Today began with our visit to Vika’s orphanage in Cherkassy. We found the place with no problem and it actually looks a bit more run down than last time we were here. We were met by Svitlana who is the assistant director of the orphanage. She embraced Vika and while Vika was a bit hesitant at first she melted into her arms. We then met Maria the director and spent some time with her. (That is the picture on the left.) She also was excited to see Vika and said we were the first family to ever come back to the orphanage with a child adopted from their and how great it was we had returned. Maria actually had been to the US in the last few years with a group of orphans. They had gone to Indianapolis with the help of an American benefactor and as a result several of the kids had been adopted by American families. Unfortunately it was very traumatic as she was accused of doing the whole trip inappropriately so she will not be doing a trip like that again. You could tell it was both a joyful and painful experience for her. We exchanged gifts and then had a tour of the orphanage.

This orphanage has also had some good updating and our first stop was Vika’s room. (At right top is Vika in her room today and at right bottom is her in her room in 2005.) We spent some good time their reminiscing and also visited the bathroom. Vika has a bit of a fixation with toilets and we think part of that has to do with the different kind of toilets in Ukraine! We also got to see their new gymnasium and Thomas and Vika had a good race across the gym on some hippity hops. We finished our tour by meeting the laundry lady who remembered Vika and they had a good embrace as we left. This trip was not quite as emotional as the one the day earlier because Vika did not remember much of her orphanage experience, at least not consciously. We also got to visit a classroom of kids today and they sang some wonderful songs for us.(See above photo. The other pictures above and to the right are Vika in her different rooms in the orphanage.)

(To the right is Maria, the orphanage director, with Vika and Tami in front of the orphanage.)

Before heading back to Kiev we went to the Cherkassy market and the kids each bought something to remember the city by. Both the kids got some pirogi (bread with sausage in it) and loved it. Our translator Luba bought the kids some books and games to help them learn Ukrainian and as we left town, Vika waved and said, “Goodbye Cherkassy! Don’t worry—when I come back I will know Ukraine!”

We headed settled in for the three hour drive back to Kiev and on the way were able to talk with the kids’ uncle in Kiev. We hope we can see him before we leave town later in the week.

June 30, 2010

2010-07-01T11:40:00.000-06:00

June 30, 2010

(on the road to Cherkassy)

Today was one of the top 3 emotional days in my life. It was much more than we expected when we set up this trip and when we looked at what this day would be like. We began in Kropyvnya which is where Thomas’ orphanage is located. This city is about 2.5 hours south from Kiev on the Dnieper River, and about 30 minutes before we get to Cherkassy on that same road. Cherkassy is the city in which Vika’s orphanage is located and it was our home base for almost two weeks when we were here 5 years ago to adopt the kids. As we approached the city we were surrounded by sunflowers and Luba, our translator for this leg of the journey, told us that sunflowers are a major part of Ukraine’s rural production.

We were greeted with warm smiles and excited hearts at Thomas’ orphanage. His director Tatiana is a sweet woman who has a great heart for the kids. Unfortunately, most of the kids that would remember Thomas from his time there were on holiday in the Crimea (this is ironic since we head there next on our trip for some vacation time!) What is great is that since we were here 5 years ago the government of Ukraine has allocated more resources for orphanages and so each summer the kids can take a nice trip somewhere for vacation. This also has resulted in much better facilities. (in the photos above you can see what the orphanage looks like today in 2010 on the top and what it looked like in 2005 on the bottom.) Thomas’ orphanage got such a makeover that we hardly recognized the place. Both inside and out it has gotten a complete facelift. It smells better and you can tell there is much more pride in the staff. I have no doubt part of this has been due to the efforts of Tatiana. We were able to give her a nice gift from some people in our church to help buy some sports equipment for the kids and it was greatly appreciated.

There was one boy who was a roommate of Thomas’ and did not go on the trip with the other kids. His name is Alexander and he and Thomas spent some time throwing a football together. We brought three footballs and pump to give to the orphanage and Alexander got one of them. He had never thrown an American Football but he picked it up pretty quick and they had a great time. We had a marvelous time touring the orphanage but the best part was that Tatiana had been able to get a hold of Vika and Thomas’ grandparents and arrange for us to visit them. What was even better is that their great grandmother is still alive and she is the one who cared for them as babies. We set off for the village of Zorivka which is where Thomas and Vika lived before going to the orphanage. It also is where Vika was born.

(In the farthest picture up on the right is from 2005 in the director's office-Tatiana is on the far left-with all the people it took to do paperwork for Thomas' adoption. In the photo below that is in front of the orphanage today with our interpretor Luba standing to the right of Tami and Thomas' orphanage director Tatiana to the right of her. The others are staff at the orpanage. The next photo down is Luba on the left as we sit in the director's office again today.) It took about 45 minutes on rough roads to reach the village and Thomas recognized a few places as we entered the town including a swimming lake and a fishing pond he used to visit with his grandpa. We also passed a cattle farm where Thomas and his grandmother would work together and where Thomas had a pile of cow poop dumped on his head at the processing plant! This is a memory he would just as soon forget! The village is very primitive and there is much poverty in the area. Livestock wanders freely and many people can be seen with goats and cattle walking along the road. There are much more bicycles than cars. Our translator for this day and tomorrow is Luba and she shared with us that many of these villages have suffered in the change of governments over the last 30 years. The rural villages used to produce much more food and be much more full of life and vitality than they do now. It sounds a lot like the United States and how much of the population and economic vitality has shifted from the countryside into the cities and suburbs.

After stopping to ask several locals we arrived at Thomas and Vika’s grandparent’s home. I cannot even begin to describe the power of the emotions for all of us. Even our translator was weeping as the grandparents embraced the children and wept because they were so happy to see them. They also embraced us and thanked us for taking care of their grandchildren. They also were able to bring the great grandmother out of the house and she clung to both of the kids, holding Vika on her lap and kissing her and stroking her face. She kept telling us that both the kids were too skinny and we needed to feed them more! She also asked if we had a cow so we could give them fresh milk every day! (Below left is Vika with her Great Grandma and below right is Thomas hugging her with their Grandmother the one standing in the green.)

Also present was the kids’ middle uncle Slavic and his daughter Viktoria who is Vika’s age and has the same name. It was fun for the kids to meet another cousin. We also were able to meet Vika’s godmother and some neighbors who all remembered the kids and were eager to embrace them. Tami and I had been worried how the family would respond to us but they seemed genuinely thankful that we were parents for Thomas and Vika. The family even found some photos to give us of Thomas as a baby, along with a wedding picture of Thomas’ parents. Thomas’ father died when he was two and so it was good to get a picture of him. We were not able to find out any information about Vika’s father. (Below right is a family photo with Grandfather, Thomas, Uncle Slavic and Grandmother from left to right in the back. In the front is Vika and Viktoria. Below that is Thomas shaking hands with his grandfather and his grandmother is standing at right.)

We did discover that Thomas and Vika’s mother died in 2008 and the family took us to her grave to pay our last respects to her. (That is the picture below.) It was hard, but good for us to go. Out of respect for the kids I will not share much more about the rest of this visit as it was very personal for them and emotional. I think both the kids have much stronger connection to their heritage and we were able to get phone numbers and email addresses or addresses for most of the family and other we met today. This will enable us to send pictures back to them and do our best to keep in touch. We also got a phone number of the kids’ uncle in Kiev and hope to see him before we leave the country on July 6.

Thomas’ orphanage director accompanied us to the village which was very helpful and we will forever be grateful to Tatiana for making this part of our trip so meaningful. We dropped her off back at the orphanage before heading into Cherkassy where we stayed in the Hotel Dniepro. Tami and Vika stayed in the room and actually went t bed early while Thomas and I joined Boris (he will be our driver for our entire stay in the Kiev/Cherkassy region) and our translator Luba. Luba has been doing translating for tours for over 30 years and she said she has never been a part of day like this. You could tell the experience wiped her out as well as us! We debriefed a bit over dinner before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Thomas had a rough time getting to sleep after all the excitement for the day and stayed up and did some good processing about our day. Tomorrow we go to Vika’s orphanage for another day that is sure to be emotional and full of powerful memories.

June 29, 2010

2010-06-29T13:40:00.001-06:00

Today was a really wonderful second day in Kiev. (To the left is a renactment of our first family photo in Ukraine. Compare it to the photo at the top of the blog from 2005!) The kids both insisted on wearing some of their Ukrainian clothes we had from our last visit so Thomas wore his Dynamo soccer jersey (the Ukrainian National soccer team) and Vika got a traditional girls blouse and skirt. We visited the Kyvio-Pecheska Lavra to begin our day with Alla as our guide and Boris once again our driver. This is where we did visit with the kids just after we adopted them and while we were waiting for final paperwork in Kiev before we head back to the states almost 5 years ago. The kids remembered each place we visited within this compound which has 5 churches, including underground caves where monks lived in solitude for prayer and fasting (and to escape regimes that did not allow religion.) The main cathedral was blown up by the Nazi’s during their occupation and then rebuilt in the 1970’s. Inside one of the naves of this church is a replica on the church dedicated to John the Baptist in the Holy Land. It is quite remarkable to see and a very holy place. (In the photos below you will see me and kids in 2005 and us today, and then further below is Tami and the kids in 2005 and today.)

They have a wonderful large museum in this complex that enables you to see archeological artifacts from cultures as far back as 20,000 years ago and allows you to see the progression of culture in this land. While we were in this complex Alla our translator bought each of the kids a small wooden folding picture of their guardian angels, Saint Thomas and Saint Viktoria. It was a touching moment and the kids say they are keeping them in their pockets and will even keep them when they sleep. Alla is a deeply spiritual and faithful woman and that is rubbing off on the kids some which is great. Thomas even said today, “I have two faiths that can give me strength and help me now.”

Our tour took us through the caves and catacombs where you can see the mummified remains of priests who spent their lives praying the caves. The soil in this area is just right to keep their remains in good condition and it was discovered that there also are healing properties to the spring located under the caves. People pilgrimage from all over the world to come to these caves and pray in the holy caves and experience and holy water. You can now drink from this water and splash some on your face as you leave, which was really cool (pun intended) as it was VERY hot and humid today. The flowers and gardens in this complex are also very stunning because of the great soil conditions.

Our time of guided tour ended at the War Memorial adjacent to this complex of caves and cathedrals. Once again, this is a place we came with the kids when we first adopted them and were in Kiev and we even found the spot and reenacted our first family photo! We also were able to see the monuments to those who died in different wars. It is especially powerful to see the large statues depicting the men, women, older women and children who tried to defend Kiev from the Nazi invasion as they crossed the Dnieper River. They even formed resistance after the Nazi’s occupied Kiev but many people died and much of their culture was lost during this time.

This monument is at the base of the “Lady Liberty” who protects Kiev. It is a stainless steel monument in the shape of a woman holding a shield and a sword. The word liberty is feminine in Ukrainian and so she is seen as the protector of the city and nation. The kids got to sit in real Ukrainian helicopters and WWII aircraft which are on display in this area.

Alla and Boris then dropped us off along the river front at the base of the city so we could go for a boat ride. As Alla departed (this was the end of her time with us as tomorrow we have a new translator to accompany us to Cherkassy) it was one of the most wonderful moments we had with the kids. She hugged them both and then hugged us and said with tears in her eyes, “Thank you for taking such good care of our children.” This was a healing moment for both of us in a way because we always had been worried that some Ukrainians would be upset that we had “taken” their children from their homeland and culture. It was a blessing to have this blessing bestowed on us and our family.

We actually did not get to ride a boat but we did get McDonald’s and there was air conditioning! We then made our way back to our hotel and did some shopping along the way. We stopped at a market by St. Andrew’s cathedral where Thomas got another replica soccer jersey and Vika got a beautiful Ukrainian doll. It was another great day and tomorrow we look forward to heading towards the kid’s village from childhood and visiting their orphanages. Not sure what kind of internet access we’ll have their so it may be a few days before I can write again.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers. We can sure feel them and know we are being lifted up.

June 28, 2010

2010-06-29T13:39:00.001-06:00

Day one of our trip began with a bit of a delay…in Denver of all places! (You can see us in Durango airport to the right.) We had to circle the airport in Denver twice because of thunderstorms and almost were rerouted to Colorado Springs for more fuel. Fortunately they let us land at the last minute and we had a two hour schedule layover that was shrunk to 40 minutes with the delay. We departed from Denver on time and the rest of our connections were very uneventful. The kids were a bit disappointed we did not have enough time in Denver to race on the moving walkways, but Tami and I were fine without those moments!

(Vika at left having fun in the London Heathrow airport during our layover.)

We actually had an easy time getting into Ukraine and we were reminded of our first moment alone with the kids 5 years ago after our translator had to let us go from the gate at the Kiev airport. We got on an escalator not realizing our kids have never seen one. The both promptly fell over backwards and rode the escalator on their backs, heads down and feet up! We thought for sure they would take the kids away from us right then and there, but the kids were simply laughing uncontrollably and jabbering in Ukrainian. We all had a good laugh now that it’s been 5 years and we all know how to ride escalators!

We were picked up at the airport by Boris our driver who escorted us to our home for the next three nights, the Lybid Hotel which is about a 15 minute walk from Downtown Kiev. The next morning we were met in the lobby by Boris and Alla who has been our translator today and will be with us through tomorrow. You can see a picture of her in the picture files on this blog. Alla is very sweet and took a liking to the kids right away. (She is in the picture above with us.) She brought them some great Ukrainian treats which made them both happy. This morning’s tour included trips to St. Michael’s and St. Sophia’s Cathedrals, two places Tami and I visited before we got the kids. Both cathedrals date to before the 11^th century. They are beautiful cathedrals that have been rebuilt since they were destroyed in World War II. There were over 100 churches in Kiev prior to that and after the war and during the Soviet Communist occupation they were reduced to 4 and all of them were seen by the Russians as museums. (Below we are in Kiev with St. Michael's in the background down the stree to the right.)

For those of you unfamiliar with Ukrainian history they have only been independent since 1991! Before that they were occupied by the Soviets, the Poles, the Cossacks, the Turks and many other empires. Each empire took it toll on Ukraine and the most destructive was Joseph Stalin who was responsible for killing more than 30 million Ukrainians in 1932 and 1933. There is a monument to remember this travesty with 24,000 stones, each one symbolizing the 24,000 people who were starved to death each day by Stalin’s regime. (To the right is Thomas and Vika in front of St. Sophia's.)

Just last week they celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day and today is actually a holiday to celebrate their first ever constitution. Over the last 19 years they have been working to figure out how to become part of the European Union and what it means to combine their rich unique heritage with western culture. Kiev is a very American city in many ways but many of the older generations struggle with this. Alla, our translator, is older and has mentioned on several occasions how groups have demonstrated and lobbied to keep skyscrapers from overwhelming their skyline as they don’t mix well with some of their ancient architecture.

Alla is very knowledgeable of Ukrainian history and you can tell she is very proud to share it with us. She also has been so gentle with the kids and has become like an adopted grandmother in one day! We feel very blessed to have her as our translator and she has added a great deal to our trip already. Our schedule is for a translator to be with us in the morning and then have the afternoons free. We will be here in Kiev for the two days, then head to the village where the kids lived. We also will visit the kids’ orphanages the following days in the region of Cherkassy, which is about 3 hours south of Kiev on the Dnieper River.

For our free time this afternoon and evening we ate a traditional Ukrainian Meal…and did I mention that today is Thomas’ 14^th birthday! We had borsch (beat soup) and dumplings that the kids scarfed down. (Me and Thomas at right enjoying a birthday dinner.) The hotel sent up some white sparkling wind and chocolate for Thomas’ birthday so we enjoyed that with dinner. Not much wine really (who gives a kid wine for his 14^th birthday!) After dinner we walked to a beautiful park named for Shevchenka who is considered one of the founders of Ukrainian independence. He was a peasant who was raised by monks and sent to school and elevated out of the working class because of his brilliance. He began to write about freedom and developed a large following which eventually landed him the Russian prison system or the Gulags in the mid 1800’s. The park is adjacent to the University that bears his name and there are beautiful flower displays shaped into things like a cat and mice and Pinocchio! There was much celebration in the park and around town as we walked (remember this is Ukrainian Constitution Day).

On our walk home we passed by Saint Vladimir’s Cathedral (Pictured above.) Prince Vladimir is known as Vladimir the baptizer because he took the citizens of Kiev down the hill and into the Dnieper River to have them baptized and become Christian around 900. This cathedral has special significance for Tami and I and she shared that with them as passed by. Tami and I stayed in a place not far from this cathedral before our appointment at the National Adoption Center in 2005. We found this cathedral the day before our appointment, not knowing what was in store for us—if we would be assigned kids to adopt or leave without completing an adoption which was happening to numerous couples at the time. In an Orthodox Cathedral such as this one, you purchase small candles as you enter and then place them by the icon you are praying too. Tami chose the Virgin Mary and asked her to help guide us toward the children God hoped we might bring into our family. The next day we were assigned to Thomas and Vika at the National Adoption Center and rest is history. Vika said she was really glad that “God answered your prayer mama.”

As we finished our first day we marveled and how much the kids were becoming proud of their heritage in the one short day we have been here. This is sure to be a powerful trip for them and Vika has said on more than one occasion, “I’m from a great place!”

June 23, 2010

2010-06-29T13:38:00.000-06:00

We are just a few days away from our big trip! I finished Annual Conference (the yearly gathering of United Methodist pastors and leaders from Colorado, Utah and Wyoming and now I am looking forward to our trip overseas. We will be working all week to pack for our trip and prepare our hearts for what lies ahead. Our flights begin in Durango on Saturday night. We will fly to Denver and then catch an 8 p.m. flight which will put us into London’s Heathrow airport around Noon the next day. From there we fly to Munich and then to Kiev, arriving around 10:30 at night. After 24 hours of travel in airplanes and waiting in airports we most likely will be exhausted. I will try and write again after arrive in Ukraine to give you an update.

Getting started

2010-06-03T10:12:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

The summer of 2010 will be a great one for our family. I will be taking four months off from serving as a pastor for renewal leave, made possible by a grant from the Lilly Foundation. This space will be used to keep an ongoing journal and share some of my reflections on our journeys.

We begin June 26 by heading to Ukraine, the birthplace of our children. There we will visit the capital Kiev and then spend some time in an area called the Crimea on the edge of the Black Sea. None of us have been to that area so it should be filled with some great times of exploration. We will spend 12 days in Ukraine before heading home.

After some time back home in Durango, Colorado we'll head to San Diego for some time on the beach and just relaxing for two weeks. We will be back in Durango to get our kids in school and actually get to enjoy fall in Durango going camping and other outdoor activities.

Finally, to end the renewal leave, I will go by myself to Turkey, Greece and Malta in late September to visit places where the Apostle Paul started churches.

I am looking forward to the next few months and hope you enjoy hearing about this special time in our lives. I am grateful that the church I serve as pastor, First United Methodist Church in Durango, has been so supportive and encouraging of me taking this time away after 22 years of full time service in ministry.

May God bless you this summer as well! Peace, Jeff