Uplifted- Day 23 continued.

Surely we are being compensated for our troubles here with the new relationships that we are building.

I didn't have time to post yesterday about this, but after our orphanage visit, we were planning on shutting ourselves in the apartment, perhaps venturing out to find these hazelnut M&Ms that we've been hearing about, and taking a break from society.  But our new friends here had other plans for us.  We got a call from Vera not long after we got home, inviting us to a BBQ get-together with her orphan ministry team.  It was hard to turn her down when she had already planned for her father to come and pick us up :)

So, we went...knowing that it probably was better to be out and do something to take our mind off of everything.

It was such an awesome time.  We arrived just in time for the food (sweet!) and got a taste of Ukrainian shashlik (think shish-kabob), grilled outside over a fire pit.  There was a giant table set with an incredible amount of food...some of which we had no idea what it was :)  Kids were playing everywhere, the energy was high and positive, and it felt so good to be surrounded with everyone.

Leonid and Mama Luba

 1/2 of the team, looking down the table from where we sat (notice, the American- ahem, Bryan- finished off the Coke):

After we ate, we gathered inside to see videos and slideshows of all of the projects that they worked on this year.  This ministry is awesome, they work with older orphans, taking them on trips (hiking, canoeing, etc) and run camps for them, spreading the word of Christ as well as giving these children a chance to be children, to be in a place where they are loved and given freedom and opportunities to work and grow.  I wish I could show you all the pictures so that you could see the kids' faces.  And what is really amazing is that many of the volunteers who lead now are former orphans that grew up through this ministry.

If anyone has a calling to do any type of missionary work, or is looking for a cause to sponsor, I would love to put you into contact with this team.  This is also a great group just to be in contact with if you are spending any time in this region.  Incredible.