Hello from Petrodolina

John reading the Bible to the kids before bed. I guess this is what we would look like with 5 kids. :)

Andy made his homemade pizza for us! It was delicious!

Sarah taking some time to read to the kids.

Hello from Petrodolina!

We are now in the village where the English Bible Camp will take place. We were able to spend a few days with Andy, Monica and their children. It was great to spend time and talk with them about so many things. We know that if we are led to move to Ukraine we will have a great friendship with them!

We have had a bit of a hiccup with some people getting to Ukraine team due to airplane mechanical issues. The team from Washington (6 of them) will arrive Saturday evening at 11:30 pm and the team from New Mexico (3 of them) will arrive on Sunday at 1:40 in a city that is 5 hours away. This means that they will need to be picked up and driven back on Sunday. The team from New Mexico have all of the student curriculum and camp starts on Monday. This means that we will have a jet lagged team! I think it will be hard for them but with God all things are possible! 3 of the team members did arrive at the scheduled time thought! Three of them came in yesterday afternoon at 1:45 pm! However, it would be no fun if they were able to leave the airport without any incidents. One team member had packed some clariton-D with him for his allergies and apparently you are not allowed to bring that type of clariton into Ukraine. Needless to say it was an extra hour of explaining and filling out paperwork.

Today the three team members, Andy & Monica, John & Will, and Johns parents (Bill & Sally) all went in to Odessa to hang out and walk around. Elisabeth and I stayed back. I have not been sleeping much at night due to time change and both kids waking up over and over. I’m feeling pretty exhausted and sick. I’m trying to get a little rest before the “madness” starts tomorrow with team training and then we will be off and very busy until the next weekend.

We have been SO blessed to have brought along our helper, Sarah. She is GREAT! She has been so flexible and Will really likes her. She is a great addition to our family and our team! This morning Will asked to see her before we even left the room J

We look forward to the team training tomorrow and camp on Monday! We are praying for a year of camp that has been different from the rest. We are praying for an awakening in the hearts of the children we come into contact with. For our team members, that this would not just be a “random” mission trip but that it would be a defining moment in their life and that God would truly speak to their hearts about who He really is. And also for our family, what is His will in our desire for long term missions. We ask that you would also join with us in prayer for these specific things.

By His grace,

Nichole

Prayer Request

Please pray for our Ukraine team. 9 of the 16 people are delayed in the states because of the airplane problems. Some will arrive Saturday and some on Sunday instead of today (Thursday). This is creating some interesting issues. Pray for peace and wisdom.

Thank you :)

We arrived safely!

We arrived in Odessa Ukraine at 2:00 PM today (5:00 AM New Mexico time). We didn't lose any luggage and everything but one box arrived in tact with us in Odessa.

While on the flight over the ocean Elisabeth did great! She pretty much slept the entire way and didn't have any issues with her ears. Will on the other hand hardly slept, MAYBE 2.5 hours. Needless to say he was pretty cranky and John and I were pretty tired ourselves. Going on about an hour or so of sleep over a 24 hour period.

We were greeted by Andy Coyle (EEMN Missionary) at the airport. We are staying with Andy and Monica for 3 nights (until the team arrives). We hope to spend some good time talking and hanging out with them and Will can play with their kids!

We didn't take many pictures on the airplane due to being busy with 2 kids but hopefully over the next few days we can take some pics of what we are doing!

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Nichole

Hello From Dulles International Airport

Here we are sitting in the Dulles Airport. The first flight from ABQ went pretty smooth! We ate some Chipotle for lunch and now we are taking care of last minute business and letting the kids get a nap before our plane departs. We will be leaving Dulles at 5:30, flying to Vienna and then onto Odessa. It will be a total of 21 hours of travel, if there are no delays. Here's praying to both kids being good travelers! :)

It seems so crazy that we are here again waiting on this side of the pond to go spend time with those in Ukraine. Time sure does fly by!! We are very excited about what the Lord IS going to do this year. Last year when we got home we were surprised at how the Lord used us just being a family as an encouragement to those we came into contact with. We are praying for the same thing this year.

Here are a few specific prayer requests:
-A smooth flight over the ocean. That the kids both sleep and that we get some sleep too.
-Quick time change adjustment.
-A fruitful time with our friends Andy & Monica! :)

Thank you for all of your support!

by His grace,
John, Nichole & the kiddos

Packing and preparing

Hello Everyone!

It is about that time again! We are leaving for Ukraine this Sunday for three weeks. This year in Ukraine we will have two weeks of English Bible camp instead of one. We are very excited to go and be a part of what the Lord is doing.

We ask that you join us in prayer for these specific things:
1. Pray for traveling safety and for every thing to go smoothly with kids.
2. Pray for the hearts of the people we come in to contact with to be open.
3. Pray for our team members to be lead by the Holy Spirit.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We could not do this without you!

John & Nichole