June Ukraine Trip: Arrival to the "Sanatorium" and First Few Days!

(I have been on a blogging freeze until I finished this post...finally, done!)

We arrived at our "health sanatorium" late Sunday evening after a comfortable but long 6-7 hour ride to the settlement where the orphanage is located.  This orphanage is just outside the city of Kharkiv, and we were so thankful to be there.

tall skinny ukrainian trees

Let me paint the picture of our arrival, just because I definitely don't want to forget. :)  we pull up to these huge iron gates, it's super dark with the exception of a few street lights here and there, alex jumps out of the van, goes through the walking entrance and disappears into the night to find someone to unlock the gate to let us in.  minutes pass and creak, the big gate opens and in we go.  so hilariously random.  health sanatorium, ukraine, dark, iron gates, forest.

How. Did. I. Get. Here?

haha, well lufthansa brought me.  and God.  well, really just God via lufthansa.  he led me to love ukraine.  love, like so much my heart aches for it, longing to hold the children i know are laying in beds and rooms, day in and day out.  we do the crazy unloading thing and haul our stuff to our new home for the week.  down a long sidewalk, and to what looks like an ancient dorm.  up to the second floor we go, and we are let into our room.  3 beds, mattress pads and bare pillows only, a tiny toilet and TINY bathtub/shower combo (with no shower curtain or door) and i felt tears spring into my eyes.  i think the tears came because i thought we had no bedding or towels for the week...and i think that was worthy of a tear.  i mean obviously we would have been fine, but i was tired, and looking forward to a bed i wasn't scared too badly to lay in.  olga asked if we would be ok staying there, and we said "of course!" because we could have done it!  but luckily, a "nurse" brought us sheets/pillowcases/duvet cover for the bedspread and towels.  Praise God!  we were all cracking up at this point because we were so thankful and sad at the same time because we had seen what was going to be under our sheets.  bummer.

the little bathroom

we all slept really well, and woke up to head to our first, as we would start referring to them "soviet breakfasts."  we took in our new place and walked to the dining building where we were served in a giant room alone, while every one else ate in another large room to the side.  our little stay came with "4 delicious and well balanced meals a day and a juice before bed."  our ukraine team told us the food and meal schedule was just like it was in the soviet union, and we definitely jumped into experiencing a little soviet union with both feet.  one of the ladies who cooked and brought us the food was so nice, and we complimented her food, and she just beamed!  it was so sweet, so we continued to tell them when ever we could how great the food was, there was just so much of it, we could not begin to finish it all at every meal.

Breakfast Day 1: Cucumbers/Tomatoes, Buckwheat with Cutlets, and Porridge :)

we arrived at the orphanage and were ready to get to work!  i knew that the laying down rooms were in the building we would keep our supplies and really wanted to get up there immediately.  after some introductions, and some demonstrations on children they brought us, we asked to go to the rooms.  she led us out of the building to another building, and i started feeling frustrated, she was leading us AWAY from the rooms we needed to be in.  however, once we got there, she had taken us to "quarantine" and they needed us just as badly.  so, i started to relax and continue to pray about where we would spend our time and to remember who was in control of every minute.  i love knowing that God was there before us, with us during our time there, and continues to be there with all of the kids we said good bye to.

morning demonstrations in the gym

quarantine kids, we loved all of this room so much.  many are kept here after being in the hospital before they are moved to a room, kind of like a holding room.  the only exception is one little girl with severe seizures who stays there permanently.  we were able to spend quite a bit of time here, talk with multiple caregivers and show them what needed to be done, and encourage them as much as possible.

  

on tuesday, kate ended up taking the swim gear and doing pool therapy with several of the kids.  the orphanage already provides pool therapy for some of the children, and our hope was to make what they are already doing even more therapeutic for the kids they see, but to also really encourage them to get those kids out of beds that never see the pool, and get them in there!  one really special moment was getting to take a little boy from his bed who had NEVER been to the pool or ever been in water and let him feel warm water for the first time.  it was of course very overwhelming for him, but kate held him tight and talked through all the benefits of water therapy for him while comforting him.  

kate was so amazing in the pool.  it was SUPER hot in the pool room (good for the kids, but a bit stifling if you were doing all the work) and like I said, this little boy had never been in water.  it was exhausting to watch just because of the hot temperature and the sheer energy it took to try and hold and calm him.  kate never once complained, and was so patient and sweet with every one of the kids.  i kept having to leave the room and get fresh air, and she stayed in there all morning, and was such a trooper for the rest of the day!  

talking with the neurologist 

 while Kate finished up in the pool, Allison and I headed up to another "laying down" room.  and i just have to say how amazing allison was!  she had such a difficult job because SO many of the kids had needs that could be addressed with occupational therapy.  she never hesitated, but just set out to work.  it was a completely overwhelming job, and she handled it with such grace.   she thought about all their needs, calming, strengthening, interaction, positioning and gave it her all!  she was completely wonderful, and was a blessing to just watch in action!  

 lunch time

 we were so thankful to get into these rooms around lunch time and talk about feeding safety, and getting the kids more upright.  we will keep saying this and showing them until we see all the kids fed in more safe positions!  

 a bit more afternoon time with our sweet little man!

 triple team'ed!  he didn't mind!

this little girl was one of the main reasons we could hardly wait to get back to this orphanage.  we had seen her in 2011, and she broke our hearts.  she was not able to be soothed, and cried, and cried, and cried...  luckily, this year, she was able to be soothed, and we saw lots of change in her. 

 thank you Jesus!  isn't she beautiful?

such a difference from last year, we LOVED it!

a quick break outside, loved these sweet kids!

kate talking to this sweet boy, another one we loved so much!  

this little guy has grown so much over the past couple of years, and is getting so much stronger!  so thankful for that.  

 all done for the day, heading in for dinner!  

i am so thankful that God has allowed to me to go on these trips and know each of these children!  please take a minute to pray over these kids, and TEAMWorks.  We have a TEAM of ladies preparing to leave for our big fall trip on September 29th!  They will work in our home base orphanage, local hospital (NICU and orphan part of hospital) and provide care for families with children with special needs in the surrounding area.  the families have been waiting for follow up care since last october, and we will be so excited to see them again!

and unfortunately, these trips all cost money!  quite a bit of money, so fundraising is necessary!  if you feel led, please consider a tax deductible donation to TEAMWorks!  You can go here and pay via paypal, just click on "give"
link:
http://teamworksteam.org/