Living Inspired.

"Confessions of the Girl Living in Ukraine."

*Honest Confession #1-When I was 10 years old, my grandparents made their first mission trip to the Ukraine. I remember being in Sunday school and asking my class to pray for their trip. My teacher asked me where Ukraine was. I stood in front of a map for a few minutes searching for a country that I'd never heard of. Finally, I found it...and I couldn't stop looking at it.

 

*Honest Confession #2-I had a secret identity when I was younger. My name was Anya and I was from the Ukraine. I wasn't a very believable Ukrainian since all I could say was 'privet.' I thought it was pretty legit.

*Honest Confession #3-I love bread. Which is kind of a shame considering I'm living in the country that is the breadbasket of Eastern Europe. However, over the past few weeks, I've grown to not like the texture/taste as much. Will see how long this lasts...

*Honest Confession #4-I'm not the biggest fan of physical touch. I never have been. For years, I would fight my Mom when she tried to hug me. Those were some sad times in my life. Now, I love to hug on others...especially the kids.

*Honest Confession #5-For most of my life, I have disliked kids. To be completely honest, I found children to be obnoxious and a nuisance to society. My heart has been molded living here. I can't imagine my day without Vika,Diana,Bogdon, Bogdonchik,Alona,Sneezhana,Isabella, and Yula.

*Honest Confession #6-When I was probably 12, my grandparents took in a young Ukrainian man named Alex. He moved to Nashville from Ukraine desiring to become a lawyer in America. I would gloat to my friends that I had an Ukrainian "uncle."

*Honest Confession #7-When I was probably in middle school, my granddaddy tutored a Ukrainian boy named Travis. While my brother and I were visiting our grandparents, we went ice skating with Travis. I found it weird that he ordered a fish sandwich instead of a cheeseburger from McDonald's. However, he was incredibly kind to me and helped my ice skate.

*Honest Confession #8-I have a Polaroid picture in my Bible of my granddaddy at an orphanage in Ukraine. He is surrounded by children, with two sitting on his lap. One of the boys sitting on his lap is Dima, who is one of Archie and Ruslan's kids.

*Honest Confession #9-I made my first trip to Ukraine when I was 16 years old. To me, everything was like a dream. My surroundings were so colorful and unreal. The golden sunflower fields, the bright blue skies, the green land that stretch for miles. It was so beautiful.

*Honest Confession #10-When I was making a final decision on where to be this year, it was between Germany and Ukraine. I was 98% sure I would go to Germany, but there was that 2% that still considered Ukraine. I went with that 2%...and I don't regret it.