Hello??? Can ya hear us now? Our signal is back…finally! It’s hard to imagine our trip is coming to a close. The last few days have been very busy but so rewarding. We’ve been blessed to see the face of Jesus in every orphan child.

Friday we visted 2 orphanages in Sevastopol. Our experiences at both were incredible. The first was mostly teens that were very receptive to our message. We added another rockstar to our tour, Austin Madge. Him and the backup singers: Alicia, Taylor, Katy,Casey, Deb, and Olivia sang “Can’t Bring A Good Man Down”. The kids loved it and so did we.

Our second was a special needs orphanage that afternoon. Our beloved Rick stepped up to the plate to play Lucifer (aka Troy)…we all knew he had a little devil in him. Kudos to Rick!

As the face painting team (Kim A., Linda, Olivia, Brittany, Bailey, Katy, Toye, Leslie, Taylor, Kim J., and Georgia) left their mark on those angelic faces, one chose to leave a little more. A girl whose feet were bleeding because her shoes were to small brought out the compassion of that team. Candace felt led to give her the shoes on her feet…but they were too small. Georgia tried as well…too big. Linda’s were a perfect fit!

Dinner that night was extremely special. We shared the night with 5 HopeHouse Families and were entertained by through singing, poems, and a lot of love. It’s beautful to see the hand of God work within these families.

Saturday was another busy day! We traveled 2 hours to Simferopol to visit a large orphanage. Many of the returning team members were very happy to see some children they had connected with in the past. Several of the children were graduating that day and wore special red sashes. We felt very blessed to share that day with them. The second orphanage was the one that the building teams ususally visit in Sevastopol. It was awesome to hang out with familiar faces.

Seriousness has not been part of this group too much this week, however a miraculous thing occured last night.As you know, Troy had hurt his back earlier this week and had been laid up in his cabin for the past few days. After our worship Chad, Marty, and Gene went to his cabin and prayed over him. He got up immediatley after and felt healed. He walked around the ship to find Rhonda and the rest of us so we’re could all see the miracle God performed. God is amazing.

Deneen, just wanted you to know, after 15 plus years of never being rained out today we were in hail. Our last orphanage of our mission was full of hail and rain, but it was still a special time for all. We had to cut out all our music and skits, but we were still able to share God’s love and found out that many teachers and children there were Christians… an added bonus to say the least!

There are so many individual stories to share and we will all be talking your ears off as soon as we return…

Please continue to pray for us as we start our 7 hour bus ride back to Kiev tomorrow morning.

We miss you all,
33 Amigos, Yuri, Ira, and Yuri no. 2

We’re back! No internet for a day, but we are back with a connection and ready to fill ya’ll in on our wonderful day yesterday.

Yesterday we docked in Kherson bright and early. We loaded up the bus with all our gifts and supplies and headed to our only orphanage of the day. When we arrived we were surprised to find that the orphanage was celebrating all the children’s birthdays that were in the spring time. We were given a wonderful show of dancing and singing from the children. Because of the celebration we remained indoors which enabled the team members to have more one on one time with the kids while the photography team caught the smiles of each precious child. Props to the poloroid team: team leader Jan, David, Marty, Jill, Luke, Chris, Sandy, and kudos to Olivia for pitchin’ in where she was needed. We’ve decided that we left there with happy hearts because the orphange seemed to be a happy and safe place for those wonderful kids.

Argh! Pirates attacked! When we arrived in the dining room of the ship for dinner, we were surprised to find that our wait staff had turned into pirates and ransacked our tables. Our dinner consisted of flaming meat, Cassie catering to our every need by serving us(that’s what you get when you don’t tip pirates), and Marty dancing around in a bikini top. Yes, you read right. Our lovely waitress Katja caught Marty of guard and left him so many shades of red we can’t even keep count.

After dinner we all met for a wonderful night of worship and sharing. We have come to find out that we were truly blessed with our very own rock star this year. Deb has been leading our worships with her angelic voice on and off the ship. Marty gave our devotion last night and made us realize that we are looking into the face of Jesus with each child that crosses our path. We shared captivating stories and images about how we have been blessed thus far.

As we have asked you to pray for our team, please continue to lift us up and pray specifically for our health as some have encountered minor stomach ailments and Troy has thrown out his back which is especially important as he heads to Africa from Amsterdam on our way home.

We miss you all,
The 33 Amigos, Yuri, Ira, and Yuri no. 2

Well besides roomates locking each other “Inside” their rooms (we won’t mention any names cough Rhonda and Gene) we awoke to a bright sun shinny day…our first. We heard through the grapevine that in 17 years no mission cruise has ever been rained on…well I guess we were the first and until today had missed “walkin in sunshine”!!! Guessing that we know those beanie hats and socks came in handy with the recent cold (40 degrees). We all decided that next year we are including sunglasses, baseball hats and sunscreen to ensure warmer days ahead!

Today we docked in Zaporozia and traveled to an orthopedic orphanage…home to about 80 kids all with bone or joint problems. They were between the ages of 4 and 15 and came from other orphanages for treatment of broken bones, scoliosis, or rheumatoid arthritist. It was incredibly wonderful to see these beautiful faces waiting to be loved…but even more painful to know the love they are not gettiing. This encouraged our hearts even more so…and in ways we could express His love…and a little of our own.

We gave the orphanage games, balls and sports equipment which gave us the opportunity to have a little fun. I think ALL the boys were blown away watching Andrea (head of our rec team) spin that basketball on her finger…guessing they thought a girl could not do it! Candace and Jenny played parachute games with giggling preschoolers…you should have seen those faces under the cloud of that chute! Forgotten Boyfriend Austin (sorry we forgot to mention he was the boyfriend in the skit yesterday), Rick, Chad, Troy, Chris, Alicia and Gene kept the boys entertained with soccer, karate, football and a variety of other sports. The kids loved it…and after all the desserts we’ve been eating the exercise is coming in handy!

Dan Dan Our Karate man spoke to the kids and demonstrated a few Karate moves. While doing this he told them how we are all weak without Christ. It was a testament of faith to kids who are physically week and want to be strong.

While all that was going on a few team members were asked to step inside the orphanage to speak to the 12 kids that were bed ridden or unable to go outside. They gave them a few gifts, sang, as well as performed the skit about Lost sheep. Joe, our shepherd, does a BAA..ry good job searching for his herd among the kids (they think it is funny they know where it is and he doesn’t) while Jill read the story. Amazingly a young boy inside started talking the moment they came in. As Ira interpreted we came to realize he remembered the team from last year and kept saying Sheila…who was unable to be with us this year. Proof once again how these short visit impact these kids in ways we will never know.

Last but not least we surpised Birthday Girl Kim Allen with an authentic Ukrainian celebration complete with birthday cake and accordian players. What an experience for us all to share…now if we could only get her to share her gift of chocolate candy…we all need to eat around here.

Please keep us in your prayers as we follow His path. Love to all and keep the comments coming they are so encouraging to the entire team!!!

—-33 Amigos, Yuri, Ira and Yuri No. 2

Well besides roomates locking each other “Inside” their rooms (we won’t mention any names cough Rhonda and Gene) we awoke to a bright sun shinny day…our first. We heard through the grapevine that in 17 years no mission cruise has ever been rained on…well I guess we were the first and until today had missed “walkin in sunshine”!!! Guessing that we know those beanie hats and socks came in handy with the recent cold (40 degrees). We all decided that next year we are including sunglasses, baseball hats and sunscreen to ensure warmer days ahead!

Today we docked in Zaporozia and traveled to an orthopedic orphanage…home to about 80 kids all with bone or joint problems. They were between the ages of 4 and 15 and came from other orphanages for treatment of broken bones, scoliosis, or rheumatoid arthritist. It was incredibly wonderful to see these beautiful faces waiting to be loved…but even more painful to know the love they are not gettiing. This encouraged our hearts even more so…and in ways we could express His love…and a little of our own.

We gave the orphanage games, balls and sports equipment which gave us the opportunity to have a little fun. I think ALL the boys were blown away watching Andrea (head of our rec team) spin that basketball on her finger…guessing they thought a girl could not do it! Candace and Jenny played parachute games with giggling preschoolers…you should have seen those faces under the cloud of that chute! Forgotten Boyfriend Austin (sorry we forgot to mention he was the boyfriend in the skit yesterday), Rick, Chad, Troy, Chris, Alicia and Gene kept the boys entertained with soccer, karate, football and a variety of other sports. The kids loved it…and after all the desserts we’ve been eating the exercise is coming in handy!

Dan Dan Our Karate man spoke to the kids and demonstrated a few Karate moves. While doing this he told them how we are all weak without Christ. It was a testament of faith to kids who are physically week and want to be strong.

While all that was going on a few team members were asked to step inside the orphanage to speak to the 12 kids that were bed ridden or unable to go outside. They gave them a few gifts, sang, as well as performed the skit about Lost sheep. Joe, our shepherd, does a BAA..ry good job searching for his herd among the kids (they think it is funny they know where it is and he doesn’t) as Jill tells the story. Amazingly one of the boys inside started talking as soon as he saw the team. As Ira interperted his words the team realized that he remembered the team from last year and kept saying Sheila..who was not able to be here with us this year. Proof once more that these visits do impact their lives in powerful ways!.

The attachment these younger kids made with us in such a small window of their lives (ours too) was the shining light we needed to remind us that God’s grace is always evident…even in the storms and despair.

Last but not least…we surprised Birthday Girl Kim Allen with a special surprise at dinner…Cake and accordian singers!!! What an experience for all of us to share…now if we can only talk her into sharing her gift box of chocolate candy with the team!!!

Please continue to lift us up as we continue on His path. —-33 Amigos, Ira, Uri and Uri 2.

Ahoy everyone! First we owe a huge apology for not ‘blogging’ before now…it is totally the password kings fault…Troy. We have arrived safely overcame a few hiccups going through customs, but have been blessed beyond measure.

Yesterday (Monday) was amazing and so moving. We were able to visit two orphange hospitals in Kiev. What a time we had with the kids playing around (Uri was having a blast…until he came away with a headache…after being hit with a wiffle ball!). Deb, Casey abd Lindsey kept the kids rocking doing the Chicken Dance. The skit team (Marty…played God, Troy…played Lucifer, Candace, Taylor, Georgia, Brittney, and the whip cracking director Jill) performed the “Everything” skit which brought tears to some of the kids and administrators. One boy even pulled up his sleeve to show marks where he had attempted suicide. Needless to say we came away receiving more than we gave. (look it up on Godtube.com to see Lifehouse perform it)

We have been spoiled with a bit of R&R today as we head down the river. Having to make ourselves enjoy five course lunches, delicious icecream, and a fabulous view. We just met the captain of the ship and are now anxiously waiting for dinner!

Please keep each of us in your prayers and the young lives we will meet along the way…33 Amigos Yuri, Ira & young Yuri