September in Sevastopol

September in Sevastopol is proving itself to give Jared and I a continuing adventure here in Ukraine. The mass amounts of tourists and traffic found here in the summer is beginning to die down, and weekends at the sea are a little quieter. School has begun again, which means many of the kids we work with are under the restraints and requirements of a new schedule, new teachers, and in some cases, a new school altogether. Their new schedules have left Jared and I to jump at any open opportunity to visit with “our” orphans, not only in the Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon format we had become accustomed to.

These last three weeks, we haven’t had more than two kids together at a time. A dramatic drop from our groups of 15, that can seem a little discouraging to an American numbers-driven mindset. After our kickoff BBQ at the sea, which had been a complication of schedules that only produced two kids at a time, I sat disheartened with my friend Julia. She promptly reminded me that it was the first week after a summer off and that we had two new girls come and visit us—surely they appreciated some rarely received one-on-one time! And as I sit here two weeks later, the Lord is reminding me that He knows what He is doing.

While we are being faithful with our Wednesday evening family nights, who are we to turn down orphans in need of love on another day of the week?? So, our apartment has turned into mentoring central. With one or two kids here at a time about 5 days a week, we are teaching English, playing cards, cooking dinners, and drinking a lot of tea. This season is definitely proving to be different—challenging in new ways, exciting in others. What we know for sure is that God is moving here in Sevastopol, and he has invited us to join Him in loving His people here—and one by one, that’s what we’re doing!