Gifts that Give Back (along with 6, 7, and 8)

6. Let your Kids see you Be Generous. There are so many creative and fun ways to do this, especially this time of year!

Participate in programs like Operation Christmas Child.

Lifesong for Orphans is giving out a special Advent Calendar that incorporates giving into your holiday season.

Take advantage of Christmas Catalogs that ministries like Compassion, World Vision and Lifesong put out. Consider cutting back on Christmas gifts and shopping these catalogs as a family with the money you saved.
Or ask friends to bring money to your birthday party instead of gifts and shop the catalogs as a group.

Purchase gifts that give back. We are That Family has a list of places to shop here. HKI (a charitable organization that raises funds for orphans in Suhn and Zak's province in China) is doing a fundraiser with Thirty-One Bags here until November 23. Scarlet Threads and Live Fashionable are two other organizations that will give back through your shopping support.

Whatever you do, let your kids see you do it! Take the time to turn your Christmas shopping into a teachable moment. Let your kids shop with you to fill the shoe box for Operation Christmas Child. Pour over the ministry catalogs together. This holiday season let your generosity be visible and contagious!

7. Sponsor a Child
We have sponsored children through Compassion  International for over ten years. Two of our Compassion kids have aged out of the system. When the last one did, we decided to sponsor another child, but this time let Mya pick.

We now sponsor a child in Ethiopia who is about Mya's age. Mya is in charge of writing letters to her. She knows where she lives on our map, and whenever Compassion sends updates or our sponsor child writes letters it gives an amazing, personal teaching moment for our daughter on what life is like on the other side of the world.

8. Take your Kids on a Mission Trip
Many of these ideas will involve a sacrifice of time and money, but the perspective it gives our kids is priceless. Mya traveled with me to Zambia this past spring.

Mid-way through the trip she looked up at me and said, "Mom, the world is a lot bigger than I thought."

Exposing our kids first-hand to the way others live can be a life-changing experience that will encourage a global perspective like nothing else.

Your Turn: Please share places you have found where you can purchase gifts that give back, or any other ways you encourage a global perspective in your kids.

You CAN make a difference!!

Please Consider joining Impact Zambia 100. Your donation will have a HUGE impact on the kids who attend Lifesong school. With the addition of a high school, thanks to your donation, Lifesong's kids can be world changers!!! Read on for more information...

***Impact Zambia Update: 30 commitments...4 days to go. Needing 70 more Impacters!

Impact children like Bwalya Bwayla & have your gift MATCHED!!

As you saw in the video, Bwalya Bwalya became a double orphan because of HIV/Aids when he was only five years and now he, too, is HIV+.  Thankfully, Bwalya Bwalya lives with his grandparents and is able to attend the Lifesong Zambia School. Despite his uncertain past, he has a hopeful future because of the presence of Christ in his life and the opportunity to receive an education.

 

We have launched an Impact Zambia 100 campaign that will help build a high school for Bwalya Bwayla and other children in similar life situations.  We are nearly 1/3 of the way there and have only 4 days left.  

We are looking for 100 people to make a monthly commitment of $20 for one year to help complete this building project. MATCHING GIFT OPPORTUNITY!  (that's right--gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar thanks to a generous donor!) Sixty-seven cents a day from 100 people for a year can make this vision a reality for children like Bwalya Bwalya. 4 days left 70 people to go...Will you join us? To join Impact Zambia 100, email info@lifesongfororphans.org To learn more about Impact Zambia 100, click here.

Impact Lives in Zambia

One of the most exciting things about our trip to Zambia was the opportunity to see first hand the way God is working through Lifesong. In a country where unemployment is 70%, a high school education is a huge advantage. But it is expensive and very few make it to that level of education.

Lifesong hopes to build a high school someday soon, but they need funds to do that. Here is where you come in. By donating to Lifesong Zambia,  you can partner with God as he takes the most vulnerable orphaned child in Zambia and  transforms him or her into a person of influence through education and more importantly knowing Jesus. 

Read on to find out more!

Join us to IMPACT lives in Zambia...   

    

"Hi.  My name is Richard.  I am in grade 7.  I stay with my sister, Josephine.  I have three brothers and two sisters.  My other sister attends Lifesong and is in grade 5.  Her name is Emelia.  My mother stays in a village far away.  My father died in 2006.  Thank you for supporting me and may God bless you and add more days to your life.  My favorite subject is art."

Richard is just ONE of the 253 students that we are blessed to serve at Lifesong Zambia.  He is also one of the students that will be moving on to grade 8 this fall.  

Without the construction of new classrooms, Richard may join the 95% of Zambian children that are not able to attend High School. 

Will you join us in impacting the lives of children like Richard?

To add to the excitement--thanks to a generous donor, all donations will be matched up to $225,000!!

  

To join the Impact Zambia 100 team, email info@lifesongfororphans.org!

TIA

Did I say something about blogging in Africa?

Between the jet lag, busy schedule, spotty Internet, low shower pressure and limited hot water, it just didn't happen. And while the water temp/pressure didn't have anything to do with my blogging schedule, I thought it was important to find a way to let you know.

All of this can be summed up in one little phrase, "TIA."  

Translation:  This is Africa.

We had an amazing time.

Between learning about the incredible work Lifesong is doing in Zambia, spending time with Leslie, watching Mya interact with kids from the other side of the world, making new friends and having face-to-face encounters with African wildlife, we left with grateful hearts for the experience of Africa and the work God is doing there.

Here is a snippet from ONE of my favorite moments. The women you see work for Lifesong farms, in the strawberry fields of Zambia. They all have children who attend Lifesong school. Lifesong is not only investing deeply into these families by providing income and schooling, the profits from the strawberry farm are being poured back  into the school. The dream is that one day 100% of Lifesong school's administration costs will be covered by Lifesong farms. 

I am hoping to post more. There is SO much to share!

Here we go...

The day she has long awaited is finally here.

In Mya's own words, "As the days got closer (to leaving for Zambia), I got nervouser and excited. I couldn't wait to hug Aunt Leslie and play with the things in my backpack."

She has been ready to get on the plane for weeks and the day is finally here.

Today Mya and I leave for Africa, Zambia to be specific, to visit my sister and the Lifesong school.

We are expecting to have a great adventure.

I have a few other expectations for our trip as well:

I am expecting to spend some quality time with my sister whom I miss,
to tour the Lifesong school and learn more about how God is working there,
to have lots and lots (like a 15-hour plane ride lots) of mother-daughter bonding time,
for a life-changing experience that shapes my daughter's perspective for life.

There are others, but I'll stop here.

I don't know if my expectations are too high, or too low.

Regardless, its time to set expectation aside and start living this adventure.

Here we go!

For my birthday...

... watch this video. It is exciting!!



It is proof that the cycle can be broken.

And even more exciting... there is a piece of land available in Ukraine that Lifesong will buy if they raise enough money. This land will be used to plant strawberries. It will be used to give more orphans a chance to rise above and make something of themselves.

It will allow them to beat the odds.

Odds like 80% of orphans who age out of the system end up dead, doing drugs or in prostitution.

Terrible odds.

BUT, Lifesong is making a difference and YOU can help.

Here's how... for my birthday (which happens to be today) I am asking for presents:

$33 donations to Lifesong (in honor of my 33rd birthday)

Donations that will be invested in the lives of orphans, so we can tell more stories like Sergie and Andre's.

Go here now to give!

There She Goes

She's officially off to Africa. My sister and aunt extraordinaire has left the country and is on her way to Zambia where she will live for the next year teaching art and music at Lifesong's school. She will be loving on kids and putting her vigorous auntie training (provided lovingly by her 11 nieces and nephews) to good use.

I am so excited to see God work in her and through her. I am so excited to see her live out this dream.

But I will miss her.

A lot.

Which I'm trying not to think about.

So let's move on.

If you are interested in following along on Leslie's great adventure, she will be blogging here (hopefully with more frequency than she's blogged the last 6 months, hint, hint).

You can also follow along with the McB family here. They arrived in Zambia today. Leslie will be living with them for the first two months until their guest house is complete. Then she will move across their yard.

Leslie, I love you. I'm praying for you. And I can't wait to see the adventure unfold.

Glory to God, for "great are his purposes and mighty are his deeds." (Jer 32:19)

Aunt Leslie

Aunt Leslie is one of the coolest people ever.

For starters, she is an artist and an amazing singer.

But even better than that, she is probably one of the best aunts in the world.

She does cool things like take us on trips to Chicago or invite us over for slumber parties. She even watches Barbie movies with us.

She helps us with our Halloween costumes.

She babysits us for FREE.

She makes cool things out of sand like mermaids, whales and frogs.

Yep, she is really quite amazing.

When I grow up I want to be an artist aunt just like her!

Everyone should have an Aunt Leslie, but I know not everyone can.

I heard there are some kids in Zambia who need help. They need an Aunt Leslie. Someone to have slumber parties with. Someone to teach them things about art and music. Someone to care about them the way my Aunt Leslie cares about me.

Even though I will miss her terribly, I've decided that I will share her with them... for a little bit.

So I am sending her to Africa to teach art and music for at least a year. And here is where I need your help. It costs money to go to Africa, so to help out I'm going to be selling yummy, sweet lemonade at my mom's Garage Sale later this week. All the proceeds from the garage sale and my lemonade will go to Lifesong for Orphans to help Aunt Leslie go to Africa.

So please come on out to my house this Thursday (1-7) and Friday (8-5) and help me send Aunt Leslie to Africa.

There are a lot of kids who will be so glad you did!

PS If you can't come to our sale, and still want to help you can go here and mention Aunt Leslie's name in the memo!

Thanks for helping!

Love,

Mya

PSS If you are local, please help us spread the word and share this post and information on the garage sale on facebook!!

Shoes and Beans

Raising kids in a country where you can almost unknowingly collect way more stuff than you'll ever need can be challenging. Heck, it's challenging to lessen the hold stuff has on any person little or big especially when the stuff surrounds you, bombarding you like a yippy dog when the doorbell rings.

We've been cleaning out closets this week. I have garbage bags ready to sell or give away after going through only two closets, not to mention the tubs of clothes I plan to keep. Meanwhile, I'm making a list of clothes to buy. It's crazy really. Especially when you look at how the rest of the world lives.

Telling my kids how great they have it doesn't go very far. Even telling them some kids get only one meal a day, have only one pair of shoes, etc. can go in one ear and out the other. It's not that they don't care, its just hard to grasp when you can't see it up close and personal.

Even when you've seen it up close and personal it drifts away when you are surrounded once again with "more than enough." I hate how that happens.

That's why I'm excited about a couple "days" Lifesong for Orphans is encouraging in the upcoming week.

Shoe Saturday and Tortilla Tuesday.

The Lifesong blog is focusing on Honduras this week. They have a great program (go here to read more!) making a huge difference in the lives of kids in Honduras. Kids who have one pair of shoes and eat rice, beans and tortillas every single day.

On Shoe Saturday, Lifesong invites you to count the pairs of shoes in your kids closet (with them of course) and remember the child in Honduras with only one pair.

On Tortilla Tuesday, Lifesong invites you to have a meal of rice, beans and tortillas and remember the child in Honduras who is eating the same thing.

It's a great chance to help our children, and us, remember those who have less and experience what that feels like on a small level. It's also a great chance to get involved, donate money and share your "more than enough" with the kids in Honduras.

Head on over to the Lifesong blog today to learn more!

Adopt an Orphanage

Do you have 2.5 minutes to spare today?
Then please watch the following video. Not only do I believe in the cause it shares, I love the way it is presented. Plus my little sis has put in hours and hours and hours to hand draw, trace, photograph and present this little 2.5 minute video to you.

I think you owe it to her to watch. :)

An Update... Help Orphans in Liberia

This summer a VBS in Illinois helped fund a VBS in Liberia. Go here to read the story.

2010 Liberia VBS from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

The goal is 70 people. $28 a month. One year commitment.

We currently have 25 commitments... 45 to go in just 3 days!

Can we do it? With your help we can!

Join us in bringing joy and purpose to orphans.

Contact info@lifesongfororphans.org to commit!

Help Orphans in Liberia!

A quick note, make sure you watch the video! Not only does it share a message I'd like you to hear, but my little sister put it together and (as you will see) she has quite the talent, but enough bragging, on to the message!

Let's be the Hands and Feet of Jesus!

2010 Liberia Video from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

This week we are inviting our faithful readers and supporters to step up and help us in a time of need for Lifesong Liberia.

Lifesong has partnered with The Master’s Home of Champions orphanage and is providing a loving and safe home to many destitute and abandoned children, some of whom are deaf.

We seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and are focused on the goal of raising up champions for the good of Liberia and glory of God!

This summer, another orphanage was in dire need, and thanks to an unexpected donation Lifesong was there.

Praise the Lord we can help more children! But now, we need help too! We need your help to make sure these children are fed every day! We need your help to care for the fatherless! Will you join us?

70 sponsors in one week is a tall order.

We know this. We also know that we serve a big God who has told us that caring for the poor and vulnerable is at the very heart of who He is! We believe we can make this happen! We pray that God will call hearts this week and we trust that you will answer!

Contact us at info@lifesongfororphans.org to commit!

Hear personal stories & follow the progress on our blog all this week!

Vanya

I am so excited for you to read this post because in it you will "meet" a kid who I am extremely proud of. My first memories of Vanya are him and Kory singing pop songs like "Beautiful Girl" and some JT song.:)

Today he is a Godly young man with a passion for Christ. Seriously I am so proud of him! Please take 2 minutes to watch the following video and then read on to learn more about this special young man and how God has worked in his life.

“I remember the first time I saw Vanya because there was something different about him. Yes, he was the only black kid in the orphanage, but more than that, there was something about his eyes that intrigued me.

“Vanya is a smart kid.” Denis, our director, told us. “He was abandoned as a newborn. His parents were students at the university and he is very smart.”

I smiled at him and he smiled back. His outgoing personality was evident as he tried his hand at English. I met a lot of kids at that summer camp in 2004, but Vanya is the one I remember."

-Marla Ringger, Orphan Advocate

Vanya, then 13, was just learning the power of Christ’s love in his life. Recently Lifesong for Orphans had started a program at his home in Sachnovsheena Orphanage. And though Vanya resisted the Gospel at first, through the examples of volunteers and staff members, Biblical mentorship, and educational support he began to see Christ’s love in action, and knew this was something he wanted for himself.

Now at 19, Vanya continues to rise above standards and expectations. He lives in one of Lifesong’s Transition Homes in Kharkov, a home designed to support those aging out of the orphanage system, studies English at the local college, translates for Americans who come to visit, and mentors younger boys at the orphanage in the same way the Lifesong staff once mentored him!

We praise God for success stories like Vanya’s and are thankful for our partners who continue to support those like him both financially and in prayer!

Vanya from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

Lifesong in Ethiopia

Would you like to see what Lifesong is doing in Ethiopia?

Then by all means, read on!

Lifesong Ethiopia 2010 from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

We found many of the students in the Ziway Lifesong School were coming to school hungry and brought no food for lunch. Teachers complained of lack of attention on the students’ part. Lifesong initiated a school feeding program in November, 2009, for all 300 students at the school.

For breakfast each receives fafa, a porridge-like food that provides the nutrients that each growing child needs. The lunch menu rotates through a cycle of fish soup, the national foods of shiro and injera, vegetable beef soup, and pasta.

Now that the Adami Tulu Nursery School has re-opened, Lifesong has also started a similar breakfast and lunch feeding program there.

The Ziway school feeding program, in which 300 children are fed two meals each day, has been very successful. Caregivers, teachers, and the students themselves report that they are much healthier, more attentive in class, and have more muscle and skin tone.

Sustaining the program of feeding each student a nutritious breakfast and lunch at the Adami Tulu School will take additional funding and special logistics. However, if it is God’s will, we know that He will provide what is necessary for the feeding program. On the first day of the feeding program, all students were measured for their height and weight and this data was recorded. Several children were found to be malnourished. Now that we have this statistical data, we intend to monitor the students’ progress.

View all current projects. View all Lifesong Ethiopia videos.

In Ethiopia, $3 feeds 1 child for a month!

A Free Event you don't want to miss!

For all you locals, I wanted to make you aware of a great opportunity to hear an amazing God-story! I have had the privilege of hearing Lysa speak before and trust me, you want to go! Details are as follows...

Lifesong for Orphans presents...

National Orphan Sunday Community Wide Gathering

Pontiac Township High School - Pontiac, IL

November 15, 2009 at 2pm

Our prayer is that this event will raise awareness for orphan care and adoption within the community and allow the Lord to stir in the hearts of believers all over this state.

Lysa TerKeurst from Proverbs 31 Ministries will be sharing her incredible testimony and adoption journey.

Admission is free of charge, tickets are by reservation only. For tickets contact Christi at 309-747-3558 or by email at christi@lifesongfororphans.org.

Visiting Ukraine - An Update to a Previous Post

Not too long ago I put up a post I had written 2 years ago about some of the kids I have met in Ukraine. Let me give you a few updates!

Tonya is living in Transition home #2. She has a contagious smile and is going to school to be a fashion designer. Denis and Tonya have unofficially adopted her into their home.

Vanya is a Christian. He lives in Transition home #1 and he hopes someone will sponsor him so he can come to the United States for school. It is extremely tough being a black man in Ukraine. He is an amazing young man with a gentle spirit.

Andrea is living in Transition home #2. He is still one of the most friendly people I know with a huge smile. He likes to practice his English when Americans are around. He wants to be a contractor.

Little Tonya is still at Loubetein. Her dad still refuses to let her be fostered or adopted. She was away at a camp when I was visiting so I didn't get to see her this trip.

Alla came to visit us on Sunday night. She has not made a decision for Christ. I don't know what her life is like. She looked hard to me, BUT she came to see us and that says something.

Please keep these amazing kids and the ones coming behind them in your prayers. Pray that God will continue to work through Lifesong, that people in Ukraine will step up and join in the work and that people in America will step up and provide funds that make the work possible.

And, please pray that more and more orphans will break free from the cycle of hopelessness that ensnares so many.

I believe prayer is a powerful tool. Thank you for caring enough to lift these special kids up to our Heavenly Father - your prayers make a difference and that is an exciting thing!

Visiting Ukraine - Transition Homes

In Ukraine, kids age out of the orphanage around 16 or 17 years old. The government will typically provide the opportunity to go to school (depending on grades) and a place to live in state-run dorms.
On the surface this sounds good, but in reality...

• The dorms are not nice places to live and


• The kids are released into the world with little if nothing to catch them when they fall.

So Lifesong started building transition homes (to see pictures and learn more go here).

The transition homes provide a wonderful environment along with CCP staff who live in the homes with the kids. To grab a hold of this opportunity, the kids need to be serious about their lives. They need to commit to staying away from drugs, alcohol and prostitution. They need to commit to going to school and becoming productive members of society.

And the kids who live there are absolutely AMAZING!

You could see the pride in their eyes as they showed us their rooms. We got to hear about their goals and what they are becoming: gardeners, mechanics, contractors, teachers.

They are breaking the cycle of hopelessness. The cycle in which orphans create orphans.

Instead they are becoming orphans who mentor orphans.

Take Ruslana. Ruslana grew up in orphanage #4 (one of the tougher ones in the area). Today she is a Christian who is on Lifesong's staff. She lives in Transition Home #1 as a mentor and she works at Loubetein coaching the kids in various sporting activities with the ultimate goal of winning them for Christ.

The afternoon we spent at Loubetein was special. We did a craft project with the kids and then got to play basketball and volleyball with them. While we were playing in the gym Kolya showed up. Kolya stays in Transition home #2, he came to volunteer his time, to mentor those who were coming behind him.

I am telling you, these kids blew me away. Their amazing smiles and gentle spirits. I so wish you could have been there, to see them. They are the fruit of this ministry. A wonderful, fragrant site to behold!

Don't let this little girls face fool you. She was a sweetie with a mischevious grin. She will most likely be adopted by a family in Ukraine. Her brother lives at Loubetein with her. You could tell right away he was also her protector. Pray that the family who wants to adopt her will want to adopt him as well.

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:2-3

Haggai's Story

Ukraine is not the only place Lifesong is making a difference.

Please watch the following video. It touched my heart and I hope it touches yours as well. It is the body of Christ in action.

If you'd like to find out more about Lifesong Zambia, go here.

You can make a difference too. Lifesong has created a catalog of needed items at the school in Zambia. Items range in price from $21 - $2,000.

It doesn't take much to make a difference in the world around us, but we need to be looking and more importantly acting on the opportunities as they come our way. The opportunities come in many different shapes, they don't have to be monetary (read this great post on Lysa's blog for an example!), but if you look for them, take advantage of them, and act you will be blessed!

My faith demands--this is not optional--my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.

--Jimmy Carter

Visiting Ukraine - part 1

We were given a tour of an orphanage near the city of Zap. An orphanage administrator took us around the building to see where the kids sleep and where they go to school.


They took us to see the little kids (I'm guessing ages 3 - 5) who were playing together in a small room.

One little girl (pictured right) caught my eye. I tried to get her name, but every time I asked she would bring me a toy car with missing wheels to play with.


I wanted to play with her, but before I knew it the orphanage administrator was hurrying us along to see another part of the building.

She took us through the bedrooms where we saw 15-20 beds crammed together.




The older kids are a little more spread out, with an average of 6 staying in one room.


As we were walking through the halls of that building, being stared at by teenage kids with hard faces, I tried not to think about what we were seeing. I tried not to think about what it would be like for my little friend as she grew up, day in and day out, in a place like this.

But when you are staring reality in the face, it is hard not to think about it.

It was hard to leave. When you see kids, interact with them, hug them, they become more than a picture or an idea. It is one thing to hear about kids in an orphanage, it is another thing to see them face to face. It is heartbreaking.


But, there is hope. God is using volunteers and the staff of Lifesong for Orphans to reach these kids. They can't change their living conditions, but they can love on them and teach them about Jesus. They can mentor them and pray for them.


And they are making a difference. I saw that more on this trip than ever before.


Visiting the orphanage near Zap (where Lifesong has been involved for a little over one year) and then visiting Loubetein (where Lifesong has been for over 6 years) I could see a difference in the kids and how they interacted with us and each other.


In case you are curious, here is how Lifesong is making a difference. The goal of Lifesong in Ukraine is to bring CCP (constant Christian presence) into the orphanages who are willing to work with them. The CCP work at the orphanages on a daily basis, teaching classes, hosting after-school activities, running camps in the summer, and basically just being there. They also raise money to help renovate and improve the orphanages. A few projects include playgrounds, computer labs and refurbished gym floors.


If you want to hear more or watch a few short videos about this program, go here.


The second part of Lifesong's work in Ukraine are the transition homes, but that will be a blog post for another day!

A Thousand Words

I'm not sure how to begin telling you about my trip to Ukraine. I've been thinking about it all week, processing...

There is so much I want to share. I feel compelled to write about the special kids I met in the hopes that maybe your heart will be pricked and you will get involved.

But it is so hard to know where to start.

Thank you for your prayers is probably the place to begin. I felt them and God answered them.

To start with, the day we arrived I was reunited with Varya AND Valya. I truly believe our meeting was a miracle, orchestrated by God. I will tell you more about that later. Like I said, I'm still processing.

For now I am not going to write much, just show you pictures (with captions). As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so hopefully these pictures will make up for my current lack of words!

Me and my girls, Valya and Varya!

Dad interacting with the kids at an orphanage near Zap. His favorite phrase that day: Yabba Dabba Do. If you ever hear a young Ukrainian child repeating that phrase, you'll know where they learned it!

Me and Corinna - One of the kids I was drawn to immediately.

Misha - our driver for the week. An amazing man who knows first hand what it is like to be persecuted for your faith.

Sept 1 is the first day of school in Ukraine and involves a big celebration. All the children dress in black and white. Programs with "important people" are held at schools across the country. We saw a very abbreviated program at the orphanage in Zap. Abbreviated because of rain. They asked my dad to say a few words.

He said, "Thank you for inviting us. I will talk long while you get rained on," just as it started to pour. They laughed nervously and were glad when he ended his speech one line later.

I stayed at one of the transition homes. These are homes Lifesong for Orphans has built for kids once they graduate out of the orphanage. To live there, they must commit to certain rules of conduct. The alternative is state-run dorms which are nasty places.

The kids I stayed with are amazing. More on them later too! Here I am with Galya and Natasha.

Playing Phase 10 in Transition Home #2

Denis (president of Lifesong for Orphans, Ukraine) has a vision of creating a camp for kids from the surrounding orphanages to visit. The site is beautiful. You can see the house in the background of the picture below.

An older couple will live there. The ideas is giving the kids a chance to visit "Grandpa and Grandma's house." To give the kids a chance to experience a piece of family.

Our last day in Ukraine we took a tour of a botanical garden with some of the kids from Loubetein.

And then we went to spend a day in Vienna Austria.

Talk about culture shock!

We went on a tour of the Schoenberg Palace. You can tell how excited everyone was from the picture below!

That's all for now.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but these pictures seem inadequate leaving so much to tell!