Another great day of frollicking in the Ukranian sun! The weather prayers were in full effect, bringing sunshine, t-shirts and shorts up in the hizzle! The eight man ensemble is working like a well-Crisco-ed cake pan….. What a blessing this trip is for all of us, but the level of loving ferocity will definately pay off for the new Hope House family. Max, the new homeowner is “not a man; he is a machine”. What a great person for us to work for, with, and through. We topped off a long day of Ken’s constant whining with our worst meal so far (McDonalds). But even that was delicious, especially for the two of us who took the milkshake option! Thank you to everyone for allowing us this opportunity, and thank you even more for your prayers. But, we all know that this trip is not about us. So, to my horizontal position I must go to prepare for another day of hard work and easy fun! I love these guys (IANQKOW), and can’t wait to spend another day with an incredible group of men to glorify God through giving to others….

With God, all things are possible!

Just laying down after supper and a good days work. The heater is buzzing and the soft tap of ping pong and laughing is faint in the background.
Dinner included a traditional dish.. Not sure the name but they were similar to quesedillas.. It was a quiet dinner.. Too busy eating.
Some of our systems are handling the food better than others… We may have to rob a Crimean war stockade for gas masks. I won’t embarras the culprets…
The weather was cold today. Partly over cast and a cold north wind blew most of the day. It kept us motivated to work to stay warm. it did rain but while we were in for lunch at Yurras house (blessing). We ate so well (pork-chops, cucumber salad, mash potatoes and coke light) oh and lots of chocolate!
Most of the work was cleaning and staining the roof panels and treating the roof joyces. Many hands did make light work.
Everyone is doing really well.. This is an entertaining group. We thank Art for helping us today.. He leaves tommorow. It was nice getting to know him.
Thank you for your responses and encouragment!
God Bless us all..
-cv

The team arrived safely and settled into the compound. Afer a quick shower we went into nearby sov-a-stope-al (since we have no idea how to spell it, the “hooked on phonics” spelling is provided) and did some sight-seeing around the coast. On the way into town, we were able to drive by the building site. Everyone is looking forward to getting started on Monday. We had a quick dinner in town and then drove back to the compound. The Band of Brothers donated a ping-pong table and it is getting well used already. Shawn and Josh are a formitable team to beat. Ken and Chris rallied for a few victories but there were definately some questionable techniques employed.
The clouds have started to clear tonight and the amount of stars you can see is amazing. It is truely a blessing to arrive in this beautiful country and have an opportunity to contribute to such a worthy cause. We are all looking forward to reporting back to everyone on our progress this week. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as you all are certainly in ours.

Our 1st train ride is nearing completion. Although exhausted, we had a great time touring the city of Kiev. We were able to meet up with the Band of Brothers for lunch yesterday. We met our guide Yuri yesyerday as well. He has been a wonderful host and tour guide. We are excited to get to work. Thank you for your prayers!

Its almost eight AM on the 14th (I think)…. The hum of the tracks and the sway of the rail cars has helped us all sleep well. As I lay in my bunk I can hear Mickey snoring slightly… Josh is next to me just waking up and Ben our fourth bunk mate is still fast asleep. The rest of our fellowship (ken, brian, Shawn, Billy and Yuri) are in the room next to ours..they must be sleeping well…I have not heard from them since we got on the train late last night tired and smelly.
We have become close fast… These men are my freinds of only a few days but I trust them completely.
Yuri has been such a great guide, he accomodates all our needs… We toured Kiev all day yesterday.. We saw so much Beauty in this great city… It really shines with craftmanship.
I know each of us are ready to begin working and serving this family. We are thankful God has allowed us to serve.
…Also, it was so great to meet up with the band of brothers for pizza last night…they are great men.
We are still trying to come up with a name for our group.. I will let Ken decide…
Thank you all for your prayers and God bless!
-cv