Updates, Updates....

We are still on top of the situation here in Ukraine - we officially registered with the Canadian government today so they'll let us know if we need to evacuate...whether we'll listen or not is up to God :) So far the government is recommending to avoid non-essential travel to several areas of the country - our area is not included in that list. However - we do think about the possibility of us having to leave and we do have a plan and a plan B for that, if it comes to that. We trust God and wait on Him.

All that being said - it is very peaceful here still and we are continuing our regular routine. This evening we had Monday night supper club and had two new volunteers! A man and a woman from the Calvary Chapel church here in Zap - the man because he knew we needed more men involved to help with the graduated orphan guys, and the woman because she is a fantastic interpreter and we recently lost ours to a new job. We are usually feeding around 20-25 kids these days and are really making some progress relationship-wise. Graduated orphans seem to be really wary of relationships with new people but lately Steve has been able to play some sports with a few of them and to build some trust with them. It's nice to see some progress!

Steve has been in School 31 again the past 3 Fridays for an English speaking club. There are 15-20 kids that come for an hour after school to discuss topics and improve their speaking skills. This next week the boys and I will join him for the first time and Steve promised that I would bring cookies, so that should endear me to them fairly quickly. My cookies seem to be famous and get eaten very quickly - no matter how good or bad I think they've turned out!! The main reason being that they are "Americansky" - meaning soft and chewy with chocolate chips in them. Steve joked with a friend one time that they are different from cookies here because they're "actually good" - cookies here tend to be dry, crusty and crumbly.

We have had three Russian lessons with a for-real teacher, Susanna. Last year she helped us and a few of our friends with Russian speaking classes and we really liked her teaching style so we called her up and asked if she'd be willing to teach the two of us. The lesson we had today was fantastic - I was practically giddy afterwards which is a far cry from say, last year at this time where I'd want to cry after each lesson (or halfway through). Things are looking up :) Steve still has much more opportunity to speak Russian - at Young Life, playing sports etc. and I still find I'm afraid to speak a lot of times because people tend to make fun of us when we try but I feel a bit of improvement and even more willingness to try to converse with people when I have the chance.

Thanks for your continuous prayers and thanks for reading!!