Last year, Megan’s parents came for a visit for the first time. This year they decided to join a medical team in Romania and thought, “we are so close, why not come again?” We were happy to have them come again.

Working together

We got to help with the eye clinic for one day

We went on a road trip to Romania to pick them up and bring them back to Ukraine. They were just in time to experience the final week of the Equip school and see what the team from America did. We warned them ahead of time that we would be busy that first week but they did great getting out in the city, eating out and buying things in the market without any help from us! We are thoroughly impressed!

At the Equip graduation

After the school finished and we tied up a few things with the American team and then we were able to take both of them to some of our favorite places to explore.

At Terrakaniv Fortress

In Kaminets-Podilsky

As busy as we were, it was an honor to have family come and really see what we do.

Two years ago we hosted a women’s Christmas tea as an event to spread the message of hope. (Go HERE to read about it.) We pulled off another beautiful and fun tea once more in December.

All of our base staff came together to invite, decorate, cook, and clean for this event. Staff hosted a table and then invited people to their table. Each table was unique and beautiful, Megan went with a literary theme. The food was also especially tasty and there was plenty of it!

Yummy food! Lance was a great server.

We had games, crafts, music and several speakers to share a testimony or special word. The women that came heard a clear message of what Christmas is all about and were able to receive encouragement from others around them.

What a lovely table!

We had a team from Holland with us so they were a big help in serving and cleaning. They also put on a small kids program for our staff kids, they still talk about it! We are so happy to be able to invite people from the community to hear of Jesus and his love for us. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a good tea party?!

Exchanging ornaments game

Back in 2015, we worked with a local coffee shop to bring hope to the city, read about it HERE, Lance was able to work with the same people again to bring a love for Ukraine.

Lance and I try to get out into the countryside as often as we can. We believe that getting to know your surroundings will encourage a greater understanding of the people and nation we are serving. Not to mention, a greater love for the beauty it holds! Some of the pictures Lance has taken has captured the attention of others in Ukraine.

Our favorite coffee shop asked Lance to print a few photos to display in the shop. Of course Lance was excited for the opportunity to share his photos and his love of exploring Ukraine. Lance printed about 20 photos and prepared a short speech to encourage exploration of Ukraine.

We truly do love Ukraine and we have realized that many people do not know the beauty that is with in the country. We want to inspire Ukrainians to love their country and to see more of it. This opportunity of showcasing the beauty within Ukraine was a great way to motivate others to visit historic sites in Ukraine. Each photo was printed with the name of the village and the number of kilometers it was from Ternopil.

We are hoping that more young people will get outside of their city to experience first hand, the beauty of Ukraine!

You can see most of Lance’s photos on his Flickr site.

Right after we returned from Turkey, we jumped into preparing for Marriage Week in Ternopil. This is a huge multi-church, city-wide event based on an international organization. Its purpose is to encourage marriages in their commitment and to value families. In a time where divorce is common, we believe it is necessary to celebrate and help families stay together.

getting it all ready

Example English version

To achieve this, there were different events throughout the whole week. Special speakers, movies such as Fireproof and War Room were shown in a local theater. Lance and I helped with game tables in the center where families could come and play together. There were also stations were families could get their photo taken. There was a lantern lighting ceremony near the lake.

Special speaker in the square

The family that plays together, stays together!

For the final event we had a parade down the center of the city that ended in a park where we had a Family Festival. There were tons of free games for kids, trampolines, cotton candy, a floor ball court, face-painting, and drawing stations. Lance made a corn-hole type game while I manned the prize table. We had little tables set up with questions where couples could come and just sit and talk while they sipped on a refreshing drink. The Family Festival ended in the evening with a concert. It was a great day for families!

Start of the parade

Lance helping with corn-hole and me giving out the prizes.

You catch a glimpse of Lance and I at 1:20, 1:48, and at 4:28. I’m wearing a coral cardigan and Lance is wearing a hat and red plaid shirt.

Two years ago Megan’s sisters came to visit, that was the last time a family member came to visit but now that has changed. Meg’s parents came for a wonderful visit.

We can’t tell you how AWESOME it is to have family here with us. It is encouraging and motivating to have people here to experience and see first hand what we do. It is one thing to explain over Skype and show pictures online but to see something in person solidifies what goes on.

Visiting a castle

Picnic in the shadow of castle ruins

George and Peggy joined us for staff meeting, worship and intercession, we roped them into helping us do some cleaning too. They even taught a new game in English Club! Besides having them join us in our day to day activities, we took them around the area to see some more of Ukraine. There were a few castles to visit, ruins to see, and cities to explore. Since we have made it a point to get to know our area better, we had lots of favorite spots to show off.

At Pidkamin

Abandoned palace

One highlight was getting to celebrate Orthodox Easter here. We brought them to the sunrise service by the lake and the main church service later. We all went to a friends house for plate upon plate of food! They got to try lots of different Ukrainian dishes.

Easter service

Reading the Easter story at sunrise in the park

They also celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary with us. What a great way to celebrate 35 years of being married! We took them to our favorite restaurant.

Happy Anniversary!

Overall, we had fun just spending time together. We got to sit together on the same sofa and talk and not through the computer! Our time ended with us all going to Turkey for Joanne’s wedding. See the next post for details on our adventures in Turkey!