Today is our last time in the Ukraine. We have been on a train for 14 hours, and still have a few to go. Once we depart the train, we will spend a few hours in downtown Kiev doing some last minute shopping and seeing a few more sights. Four adult men in 50 square feet for 16 hours. You can’t help but get to know each other very well!

After we have shopped for the few hours, we will make our way to a small airport outside of Kiev to begin a 2 hour flight east to Amsterdam. There, we will stay the night (in a hotel) and fly out the next morning to Detroit. We should be back in Nashville late afternoon, just in time for a nice juicy ribeye!

Everything here has been incredible, from the food to the housing, to the comraderie to the comedy. I wish our Ukranian friends could better understand why we were always so happy and full of laughter! The blessings of this trip have just begun, for we can all see now how much of a difference this experience will start making in our newfound friendships both at home and abroad.

Here are a few thoughts that past team members can relate to.

You know you’re in the Ukraine if…….
-your “bus” driver appears to be preparing for the Indy 500 ALL THE TIME!
-an actual toilet seat makes you high-five strangers in public bathrooms
-being offered Vodka and pickled sheep eyes happens BEFORE lunch
-yelling “BOOTS” doesn’t always mean ” Butter On Our Toast, Shawn!”
-ping pong is THE national pasttime
-up-and-coming Indy 500 drivers also swing a mean ping pong paddle
-”logging in the upper mid west” has nothing to do with cutting timber
-you start everyday off with a cup of chai, a plate of coldcuts and a good sniff of sewer gas
-Charmin Pillow Soft with Comfort Pleats make you smile really, really big
-it cost YOU money to make ANY type of deposit in the city
-McDonald’s burgers and pizza are sure bets any day of the week (including consecutive days)
-milk, sour cream, mayonaise and cheese are always offered on or with every dish
-taking your cow for a walk is part of your daily grind

These are just the ones I could remember @ 4am. More on that later……

Brian

Mission accomplished. As of the end of today,
-all 100 roof shingle panels are painted (blue)
-all ceiling joist are in place
-all roof ridgepoles and beams are in place
-all roof trusses and rafters are in place
We were also able to stock additional block on top of the house to complete the gable end walls and prep old cocrete forms for use as roof purlins.

Yuri’s expectations for our team were certainly exceeded, but we all would love nothing more than to see the completion of this home. And, after tonight’s very emotional farewell to Max and his family, it is even more of a burden on our hearts. Thier faith was an inspiration to us all. What an amazing story this family has to tell; a story of allowing God to lead them towards specific children for adoption, trusting God in prayer to heal their son so that he could walk, and seeing the fruits of their faith in this new home from Hope House. And yet they still give God all the glory first!

On a personal note, I would like to thank all the members of my team, Yuri and his staff, and Hope House International for making this experience possiblem. We started as a group of individuals with open hearts, but came together as a solitary unit for one purpose.

I would like to thank the following;

Mickey and Ben: for letting me watch a father and son grow closer together while serving others, and their willingness to establish international relations with the Hope House neighbors.

Shawn: for his sound medical advice, his extensive knowledge of construction, and his amazingly dry but hilarious sense of humor.

Billy, for his infectious positive attitude that affected us all and the joy I received from watching the Lord working on his heart. Buddy, I so appreciate you doing everything asked of you, and then doing so much more than expected.

Josh, for bringing your knowledge of cocrete and construction, and then making our job foreman, Sergey, comfortable enough to let you work alone as a second foreman. Thanks for being so dedicated and consistant in being willing to crawl up the wall every morning so I didn’t have to.

Chris, for picking up the slack (and everyone who’se holding onto it!). Because of your physical strength and presence, it was as if our team went from eight to ten men. Your comic relief kept it light, and it kept us all laughing.

Brian, my friend, you were the first one I asked to go on this trip, and the first to accept. You were my roomate and my second in command. Our conversations and your wisdom were welcomed, needed, and appreciated. Because of your humor, you kept everthing light.

Thanks again to everyone both here and back home. Thank you to our families for allowing us this amazing opportunity.

Ken

Chris has already posted such an eloquent blog for today that anything else just wouldn’t compare. He is Longfellow, Shakespeare and the Hulk all rolled into one. Today was another great day on the build site, with the team and all of our hosts. Josh is the go-to guy for Sergei when he needs some help and he is learning lots of new techniques from our Ukranian friends. It is amazing to see the efficiency that they have with materials here. Everything is used and nothing is wasted and many things are used multiple times. It is pretty amazing how much has been accomplished by the build teams so far. Our own version of Extreme Home Makeover (the Ukrain version).
We have one more full day of work and we are looking forward to seeing the house really start to look like a home as we add the roof structure. We’re still not sure who is going to get up on the roof to set the panels we have been painting. Stay tuned for the details of that adventure.

Ben and Mickey (aka Michael not the Mouse) have gotten to know some of Max’s neighbors and leant a helping hand in moving some furniture and trying some traditional food.

The food, fellowship and work have all been great. We couldn’t ask for better weather or a better cause to be here. Ken has been an ispirational leader to all of us and his language skills are a huge asset. There is also no way Ken could ask for so many different dairy products without the language skills. All kidding aside, we joke about Ken in these blogs because we all love him and we are so glad the he has had such a role in putting this great team together and been such a positive leader for this trip.

Look for another update shortly as we complete our work days on the project and start our travels home.

**Disclaimer: Any spelling errors above are partially due to the small blackberry keyboard and also because after a tremendous number of years of schooling, I would lose any scrabble game to a third grader.**

Our health, energy, positive attitues and safety are a true testimony of prayer and of Gods love and blessings.
What an amazing experience it is to serve others through Christ. I thank God for this opportunity and hope for more. I also want to thank Hope House for the good that this foundation brings to these people. God bless all of you involved.
All of the roofing panels have been painted! …what a relief. The ceilling joyces are up and the A-frame trusses have been built and are on the roof for installation tomorrow.
Lunch was at a charming cafe in Eagle Village… It consisted of meat pies…more borsch and apple pie!
The senery was beyond words… The color pallate of fall leaves, panaramic views of mountain lakes and the sweet smell of distant smoke was poetic. . It was a moment in which you wanted your closest loved ones to be there to share it. Thank you for praying for better weather… Today was perfect…
On a lighter note… I want to make sure Kens family knows that he is not a complainer.. Have not heard one.. His positive attitude and hard work is inspiring… As are all of the other men on this crew.
….Also wanted to let Brians wife know that she better have a fresh gallon of milk waiting… And it might not be a bad idea to run… He can’t wait to see you.
To my wife Anni: I love you
-cv

Looks like Brian did a good job on todays update… He keeps us all laughing…
We continued working on the roof today. Most of the roof panels are now painted blue and we should have all the rafters up tomorrow.
We mixed a lot of concrete today and finished most of that work.
Everyone enjoyed lunch at Yurra’s… We had Borsch..(Not sure on spelling) it was a beet soup.. Very good..Ken loved it! … We also found out that Ken won’t eat anything creamy or dairy… We have fun with that one…
It has been neat watching everyone interact and enjoy serving.
Each team member has been so willing to do any job.. This is a solid group.. You all can be very proud.
God Bless!
-cv