Ticket to Ride!!

Hey everyone, this is Amanda, letting YOU know that we have an official leave date!  We booked our tickets and our plane leaves from San Francisco on February 23rd.  And with our skymiles, they only cost us less than $800 each, which is a huge blessing.  WOOHOO!! We're so excited!  This makes our dreams more of a reality!  Thank you so much for your prayers and support--we could not go and do this without our family.  You are such an important part of our lives and our vision. :) 

We recently met with Andy & Jaimee, our amazing friends that we'll be living with in Ukraine, and worked out some details and plans for our trip, as well as encouraged each other in our dreams.  We feel a little more prepared now that we know what specific things we'll need to bring and how things will look when we get to Ukraine.  But God is always throwing new things at us, so we're prepared mostly for adventure!

 Please be praying for our packing and praying and planning now in these last few days.  This is our last week at our jobs and then we'll be able to focus our time on practical and spiritual preparation.  We'll keep you updated on the next steps of our adventure! If you have any questions or encouragement, email us at thewhitesinukraine@gmail.com. 

Getting ready to leave.

Thank you for showing interest in our upcoming adventure to Ukraine! Amanda and I have been so blessed by all of the encouragement and support we have received from everyone we have shared our plans with! Almost everyone has encouraged us to take advantage of the opportunity to travel and have an adventure while we are free from obligations such as debt or familial responsibilities. But more than going on an adventure or enjoying the excitement of travel, Amanda and I are most looking forward to developing new relationships with the orphans of Sevastopol, Ukraine, doing whatever we can to show them love, bring them into family, and provide them opportunities for developing new skills and education to help them succeed as adults. As many of you already know, the statistics are currently rather bleak: Only 10% of the teenagers that leave the orphanages after they turn 18-years-old will successfully transition into adulthood. We want to help change these statistics and will be working with our good friends Andy and Jaimee Langeland in their ministry, Operation Lazarus, to do so.

In preparation for our journey, I recently gave notice of resignation from my excellent job with Shasta County as a probation officer and Amanda is soon giving her notice at Starbucks. We are taking a leap of faith in order to embark upon this journey, but we know God is taking care of us. The great outpouring of encouragement and commitments to support us financially by our friends and family has reaffirmed God's provision in our lives. We have been doing what we can to live below our means to save for this journey and believe that investing in the lives of orphans is more than a worthwhile investment of our time, energy, and money. If you feel the same, all words of encouragement, prayers and monetary donations are greatly appreciated!

As we continue to prepare for the journey, and once we make it to Ukraine, we will continue to provide updates and pictures on this blog website. Please subscribe to our blog if you are interested in receiving ongoing updates! If you are interested in supporting us financially, you can click the "donate" button on the bottom of this page. All donations, no matter what the size are a huge blessing! I can also e-mail or mail you a donation form if you would prefer to write a check. If you want to send your thoughts our way, you can post comments on this blog or e-mail us at: thewhitesinukraine@gmail.com. Many thanks for all of the encouragement we have already received and thanks to those who have already begun to support us financially. We cannot express how grateful we are for your support. Peace and many blessings upon you and your family!

Love,

Jared and Amanda