Christmas in Ukraine is celebrated in January!
We were honored to have a group of Ukrainian Orphans come to The Vision and spend their Christmas with us!
With the help of several volunteers we were able to feed them shortly after arrival.
Once everyone was served, I just had to make my rounds with the camera.
Look at that adorable little face!
She graciously let me intrude on her meal. What a priceless picture.
Once again, just like this summer with the children we hosted, the language barrier was ever so present.
But smiles cross all barriers……
Beautiful faces went with those beautiful smiles.
Well, has your heart melted yet?
You don’t have to say a thing…..
I already know the answer.
We had someone volunteer their time and talents and offered haircuts for the guys.
They enjoyed watching each other.
While the boys were busy with all that stuff….the others were playing here and there.
These two girls in particular loved swinging….every time I looked that direction…they were on the swings.
I love it when kids can just be kids. I always loved to swing too….matter of fact I still do. There is something about it that makes you feel carefree.
Billy and I were so relieved that the forecast for the really, really cold weather was scheduled to hit the day of their departure.
It has been raining and cold for the past few weeks so we were super excited the weather was good.
So good in fact that they were able to take a nice long hike. Billy and David gave them the “extreme” hike. Off to the to top of the mountain they went, down through the woods and back to the cabin. Sounds simple but it does takes about two hours. They loved it! All of them…especially Billy and David. There is something special about time spent together experiencing God’s beautiful gift of nature. Words are not necessary, love and compassion are easily translated. Kids just want you to spend time with them. You don’t have to do anything special, just spend time together. If we think about it, we are all like that no matter how old we are.
Once everyone arrived back at camp and cleaned up a bit, it was time for supper.
After coming together in prayer of thankfulness we lined up to eat.
The Slavic church prepared this meal which consisted of traditional Ukrainian dishes.
The children were eager to fill their plates with food they recognized and love.
It was so nice seeing them enjoy their meal.
They are used to eating vegetables. The soup pictured here is Borscht made with beets, cabbage and lots of other things that are very good for you. The children LOVE this kind of soup.
They also love fruit….and cookies of course.
But most of the time…they will pick fruit first. 🙂
The Slavic children from the church sang Christmas songs to the visiting orphans.
It was so sweet to see the Orphan children join in when it was in their language and listen carefully when it was in English.
What a beautiful job they did. Billy and I were so appreciative of this group that gave of their time. This was a school night for the locals and we know that it was a gift of love to come and spend their evening to minister to others. Everyone enjoyed it.
The next morning breakfast was served by another volunteer who brought bagels.
Panera bread donated this breakfast for the children.
They were delicious!
What a blessing…..
the kids certainly enjoyed them.
After a quick warm up by the fire…..
and a few funny faces….from this little guy…..
They were off to their next adventure.
We are so thankful this group came to visit us here at The Vision. Without the help of all the volunteers it would not have been possible.
If you ever have a chance to participate in an event such as this, I hope you will. I promise you will walk away blessed beyond measure.
Please pray for these and all children here and abroad that need parents to love and nurture them.
I've Gone Country 