This summer has flown by, we can’t believe it is already almost September. The kids here start school on September 1st and are wishing they had another 3 months of summer. Our summer here in the village has been filled with swimming, bbqs, a ton of work on our land and house, home church, visits from family in America, and more.
We have said before that village living is not for the faint of heart… and I (Melissa) believe this more than ever. There is something beautiful about waking up and being able to walk outside and just be surrounded by the sounds of animals. There is something romantic about the village, but it is also a way harder life. It takes us at least 40 minutes to get to the closest real grocery store (even though it’s only about 15 miles away) and that is because the roads are basically nonexistent. The upkeep on our land and the house is always ongoing. You can never get ahead, you can just stay afloat. And then there is the people… People are very set in their ways and it is hard to break through their barriers. I had all these visions of the grand things we were going to do to change the village when we moved here. And let me just tell you, none of those grand plans have come to fruition. We have even had good opportunities to help people here in the village and often they just won’t take the help. I have had many talks with God about why we still need to be here. He hasn’t answered yet 🙂
I would be lying if I said this past year has not been one of the hardest. I am someone who likes to see results right away. But I have been learning about peace and having peace in all situations, even the ones I really, really don’t like or don’t understand. And this is a great opportunity for me to understand that I need to take one day at a time and trust the process and the timing.
All of that to say, we are excited for the upcoming plans that I am hoping and praying will turn out as great as I think they will. We have been trying to build a playground for about a year now and its been one stumbling block to the next. But we are hopeful that by the end of next month we will have a playground. YAY!!!
We have been having a little home church as there is no church here, and driving to Sumy is 2 hours and kills our car. Right now it consists of us, Dusya and her family, and an older gentleman. But I know we all dream of having someone come to the village to start a church. There is even an abandoned hospital that I think would be the perfect place. It would be nice to have a community of people and not feel quite so alone.
We have long hoped to have a part of Open Arms not just in Ukraine, and Lord willing this may happen soon. I won’t give too many details as we still have much to figure out. But I will say this has been a huge dream of ours for a few years now and I am giddy with excitement of the possibility that it actually might happen.
Thanks for your continued support and prayers even when we aren’t great at updating. We appreciate it more than you know.