During our time in the States, it’s been encouraging to hear how many of you read our blog and keep up with us. Thank you for your participation in our family/ministry.
And now for some news!
Weddings – We are excited to be in America for the weddings of our siblings. On Friday, April 6th, Nathan’s brother, Joshua, married his best friend. Several family members came to town for the big event and it was great to connect with them as well. It was a beautiful celebration – sweet and simple – just like the couple.
The happy couple at the "rehearsal lunch"
All dressed up and ready for a wedding!
On April 17th, we will fly to Houston to participate in the wedding preparations for my sister, Katrina. I’m sure it will be a fun and busy month leading up to her wedding.
Living so far away from family, it is never a guarantee that we will be able to return for our siblings’ weddings (as much as we will try!) We feel very blessed that it worked out for us to be in the States for these two!
Return to Ukraine – After wedding festivities are over in Houston, we are planning to L’viv on June 4th. It is with bittersweet sentiments that I will leave. We’ve had a great time with family and friends, but I’m also ready to go back to my other home.
Rental House – After three offers on three different houses and three closed doors, we are returning to Ukraine unsuccessful in our rental house purchase. While we don’t understand why a house didn’t work out, we are trusting God for His best, despite our disappointment.
Nathan – Nathan’s days are full with a variety of projects. Personal taxes, ETO taxes, year-end ETO financial report, translation of Lesson 18 into Ukrainian, and last, but not least the aforementioned search for a rent house. Lately, he’s been packing boxes of supplies/personal items to ship back to Ukraine, giving our current rent house a little TLC, and serving as a delegate to Colorado’s 5th Congressional and State conventions.
Katelin- My days are primarily full of one thing – Melissa! She is a busy little person who requires quite a bit of energy to keep up with and to train consistently. During her structured play times and nap times, I am able to fulfill some personal projects- studying Ukrainian, e-mail communication/blog post writing, personal research, etc. My pregnancy is going well. I’m halfway there – 20 weeks. Still feeling really well, just a little rounder now. The baby moves around alot and I enjoy that reminder of the little life growing inside. I had a midwife appointment while I was in TX the last trip and my tests results came back looking very healthy! At this point, our plan is to continue prenatal care once we return to Ukraine as well as deliver there again.
20 weeks and counting!
Melissa - Melissa is growing up and changing every day. She seems to be talking more and saying two syllable words instead of just one syllable words. She also communicates by signing many words. We are working on counting and she can count to 2 now! Melissa would love it if she could spend all day outside as she loves to jump on the big trampoline, play with a bucket of water on the back patio, and visit the chicks.
Water Bug
Freshly hatched chicks!
Visas/Registration – As you may recall reading in our last newsletter, Ukraine’s immigration laws have changed once again. In order for us to stay in the country for a year, we must obtain religious visas and then register with the local immigration office in our city. While that may sound like a simple process, it is not. Gratefully, our ministry partners have gone through the visa/registration process ahead of us and we are now following in their footsteps. We are currently waiting on documents to be sent to us from Ukraine. Then, we will apply for our visas by mail from the Ukrainian Consulate in San Francisco. Upon our arrival in Ukraine, we have 45 days to get registered with the local immigration office.
Ministry – Our latest ministry project has been proofing some formatted, almost -ready-to-go-to-print Bible First lessons in English. This project was put on hold for awhile as our team mates worked diligently to obtain their visas and pursue registration in order to stay in Ukraine. Now, the ball is rolling again and we’re excited to see the first phase of preparations brought to completion!
Pictures – Lastly, for more family pictures, click here.
