It is true that I like adventures, but the one I had on the way home from Ukraine was almost too much for me. It included being rerouted through Paris (for only 45 minutes—that’s not even fair!) and taking the long way through Atlanta to Detroit. My baggage (surprisingly) did not make the long trek with me and arrived a day and a half later. But God was gracious to give me safety in my travels and may have protected me from further delays that appeared to take place in Kiev. (Sorry, I did not think to take any photos of me looking grumpy in the airports...just use your imagination.)
Before I left Ukraine, I spent about five days in a very different part of the country. The whole SEND Ukraine team descended upon the city of L’viv (L’vov in Russian), which is in the Western part of the country. It was very different than the more Russified Eastern half of the country—the Western part was under more European occupation, and therefore has more Polish and Czech-like architecture.
It is also a wonderful place because it was not destroyed during World War 2, so many of the streets are still cobble stone and the buildings look like what you might see in Prague. It was so much fun to walk around—my camera was very busy! Many people there now choose not to speak Russian, only Ukrainian, so it was a little challenging for me and others of us who only speak Russian.
Besides the wonderful things to see in the city, there were also wonderful people for me to meet. The SEND missionaries were gracious enough to allow me to attend their “family conference”, a four-day time of teaching, worship, reflection, prayer, sharing and laughter. Each of the cities where SEND has missionaries shared what God has been doing there and what they see in the future of that ministry.
We also had updates from other parts of Eurasia and had lots of time to pray for each other. A team from the States came to minister to the missionaries by teaching, leading worship (all in English!) and they also led a VBS for the missionary kids. I really enjoyed hearing what God is doing through SEND people and putting faces and real stories with names I’d been hearing all summer.
After my exciting trip back to the States, I spent parts of two days in Detroit with the people who helped me prepare for and progress through my Ukraine trip. They listened to any story I would tell them and they had lots of questions for me. Then they spoiled me by feeding me my favorite foods that I’d been craving for a few weeks. It was a good transition time for me.
But I’m still working on the transition back from my experiences in Ukraine to my next semester at Moody. Yes, we have begun classes already, and I feel like I’m partially still back in Ukraine. I’m planning a personal reflection day this Saturday, to continue processing everything from the past three months--I need some time to stop and smell the roses, or in my case, these gorgeous sunflowers I found in L'viv.
I can’t believe that we are to this point in the adventure already, but here we are! Thanks for coming along. There will still be more updates of the activities of Miss Emily, but they will be of a different sort for now.
Trust me…unless I’m in bed with some horrible sickness, Emily will still be on the go.
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