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/

Summer weekends...

We traveled to Little Rock last weekend to go to my friend Jeane's wedding.  We have been lifelong friends and we had so much fun.  She was one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen and she's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the out!  We were all so happy for her and her new husband and had a fun weekend with friends!  

we have known each other practically our whole lives, i feel like we were in high school the other day!

reception

lindsey and handsome lucas!

i was in love with all of her flower choices!

We went to the fort this weekend to spend time with Joe, Liz and Hadleigh!  I had been missing her so much I could hardly stand it.  She's growing up and is so hilarious.  We went to "mexico" as had calls it for dinner and then hadleigh and I snuggled on the couch and watched Tangled and Olivia and I can't think of a better evening.  

 this morning involved playing beauty shop, and she's really in to having her hair fixed and fixing mine!  the more bows the better.  she also wanted her hair french braided, and let me tell ya, those curls are hard to tame.  

 saturday at the pool!  

 "ahmi, you eat one end and i'll eat the other, and we'll meet in the middle and we'll be like lady and the tramp"

 hiding in the shade!

a fancy weekend

it wasn't that fancy, but fancy for us, i think.  we did two things i have been wanting to do for a long time.

first, i have wanted to eat at James at the Mill for YEARS, and it has never worked out.  b's parents were coming up to stay there for a night and invited us to come and eat with them.  yes, please. you don't have to ask me twice.  i photographed the food, except for the main course because i was too excited and forgot.  i think my husband gets a little embarrassed of my food photographing, especially in a really nice restaurant...but who cares!

fun!

crab cake!

 and jumping straight to the desserts! :) white chocolate creme brulee 

 lemon tart on a cookie crust  

 the second was going to Crystal Bridges!  we were going to the lake sunday afternoon with carmen and adam, and it's just so miserably hot.  and i'm not a fan of miserably hot, even for the lake.  so we decided to skip and we went to have lunch at Crystal Bridges and see the gallery.  i am all about the air conditioning.  i am sad to say my lunch choice was not good, at all.  it sounded good, but just wasn't.  but they are a museum not a 4 star restaurant. :)  and the whole place is such a treasure for NWA.

they had a one of the original printed versions of the declaration of independence 

 having a serious art discussion, i am sure.  :)

 i liked this one because it was called "two kindred spirits" 

Home.

"I have learned along my journey that if I really want to follow Jesus, I will go to the hard places.  Being a Christ follower means being acquainted with sorrow.  We must know sorrow to be able to fully appreciate joy.  Joy costs pain, but the pain is worth it.  After all, the murder had to take place before the resurrection." -Katie Davis, Kisses From Katie

 

We read this paragraph from Kisses from Katie aloud one evening while all three of us were laying in our beds talking about our day while in Ukraine.  We had been to the "hard place" that day.  By no means, the hardest of the hard places in the world (because even though I shudder at the thought, I know there are worse), but a place where children are laying in beds, for hours, days, weeks and months.  Where children are wet, soiled and care is sometimes minimal.  Knowledge of how to care for a child with special needs and the resources to do it are limited.  A dark place where children do not have a mom or dad to hold and comfort them.  It was hard, and it was beautiful, and I can't wait to go back again.

During our trip we had several opportunities to share why we go and do the work in these orphanages. It was such a blessing to us to be able to tell caregivers and doctors how special each of these children are and that we know that God made and loves each of them. 

For you created my inmost being; 

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

¹⁴ 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful, 

    I know that full well.

And I can not even believe the trip has come and gone and I am sitting back here at my computer typing about it already.  We were extremely blessed with health, safety, travel grace and most of all favor with the orphanage and permission to work with ALL of the children.  Meaning those laying in their beds 24/7 were available to us.  God really put us in the right places at the right time and worked out every detail.  There is so much to say about the week, but one specific example is, we really wanted to see the laying down rooms while the children were being fed.  Randomly on Tuesday while Kate had a sweet little guy in their therapy pool, I said, Allison, let's go to group 8 and check it out while Kate is busy.  We walk in and they are all eating.  Perfect timing.  They were being fed from large bottles filled with a thick soup while laying down flat, and there was evidence of choking and spitting up on their beds.  We immediately were able to begin educating about safe feeding/swallowing practices, how the swallow works, and the importance of propping the children up during feeding.  We asked permission to position the children and did so right then.

I had the privilege of traveling with two amazing ladies, Kate and Allison.  Kate is a physical therapist and Allison is an occupational therapist, this trip made the second trip to Ukraine for each of them.  There were many times I sat back and just listened and watched them both in action.  They were both such beautiful example of God's love by the way they loved the children, worked with them gently, and educated caregivers, therapists and doctors with patience and kindness.  Our week brought laughter and tears, and I'm so thankful I got to spend the time with them. 

And sometimes after a long week, you need to wear your fanny pack and do a kick line on a stage in Ukraine.

Other than the day time work related stuff, traveling in Eastern Europe is such an experience.  I love just having my backpack with my clothes, and just having less.  I want to post on each of our days, the travel, THE FOOD, the stories of these children....and I intend to try.  So if any of that interests you, come back in the weeks ahead, I'll try to stick with it.  

Here are a few random pictures from the week:

Our room at the Health Sanatorium mid-week, organizing the supplies!

The beautiful and delicious lunch fixed for us by our "home base" orphanage we visited during one day of the trip.  And it was as good as it looks.  

Goodbye orphanage, goodbye Ukraine, goodbye sweet kids, until we meet again!

Count down to Ukraine....6 days!

I am traveling back to Ukraine this coming Saturday, June 2nd with two other wonderful ladies from my work (Allison an Occupational Therapist and Kate a Physical Therapist).  They are both wonderful, kind, loving and I can't wait to spend time with them during our trip!  We will be representing TEAMWorks Ukraine and working in two different orphanages during our week in Ukraine.  We will spend the majority of our time at a newer orphanage to our group with the hopes of building relationships and improving care for the children with special needs there.  Our group has only spent one day at a time at this particular place, and every time we leave we feel we need more time there!  We are excited, nervous, joyful, and ready to get the show on the road!  We've been organizing and gathering supplies and donations over the course of the past month or so, and we are 6 days out!  Wow!  

I prayed and prayed over committing to travel on this trip, and I kept running across different things that pointed me to yes!!  I am reminded of how God calls us to care for orphans and those in need.  I am reminded of how he calls us to GO and spread the goods news to all nations!  We hope that through our work with these children, hearts will be lead to the One who calls us to this!  I love knowing that He is there before us, and He will be there after we leave.

The first song we sang this morning at church was "Come and Lay Your Burdens Down" and that was such a relief to me.  We are going on this trip to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  And the enormity of the need and changes that need to happen for these children can really make you feel overwhelmed and even a little hopeless.  But with Jesus I feel hopeful!  The changes that we want to see for these sweet children are not changes that we will make happen.  It is not in our control.  Every detail and decision during this trip will be His will, and He carries those burdens for us!  Thank you Lord!

We plan to blog as internet connection and time allow, and would love to have support in prayers during our travels.

We will blog here.

Our prayer request list:

-For us to be the hands and feet of Jesus and touch lives for Him

-our time to be well spent and hearts to be softened and prepared for us

-that our love and actions will cross the cultural and language barrier

-for us to be able to see ALL the children at GF orphanage, and spend time with those that need us most

-to build strong and trusting relationships with the caregivers

-for our education and equipment to be used to change the lives of all the children and specifically those confined to a bed

-for our hearts to be prepared and for strength and endurance to give our all every day

-for the wisdom and discernment to answer questions and educate with love

-good health, safety, and smooth uneventful travel during our trip

"Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.  Rescue the weak and the needy..." Psalm 82:3-4

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Thank you for supporting and loving TEAMWorks!
Our TEAMWorks Mission:
Our mission is to keep the special needs children of Ukraine in families and out of poorly funded state nursing homes. For the children in the orphanage, this means helping to make them more “adoptable”. For children in families, this means working with parents and doctors to build a support system where the child can remain in their home.