The Swiss team has officially arrived!

How much fun for us that our friends from Switzerland who first came to minister with us two years ago are back! We have been planning this trip for months — dare I say a year?!

Corinne and Daniel are co-leaders of the team. (We first met Corinne through an HCFI prayer week in Denmark!) Anyway, the two of them have a most amazing children’s club in Switzerland, and the children wanted to return to Ukraine. They have worked odd jobs for the last year to earn the money for the flights and for the supplies needed for projects — the deal is that the parents don’t simply purchase plane tickets! If the children want to come they will raise the money. And they do!

They arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday afternoon and then we all climbed in a chartered bus to make the trip to Bucha. We are living at a wonderful former pioneer camp…slowly but surely the rundown buildings are being renovated and used as foster care homes, meeting rooms, and sleeping facilities. (The Village of Hope is run by a Baptist ministry and they are having a major impact on children at risk in the area.)

Upon arrival to our ‘home away from home’ and after we learned the room assignments, we all made our way down to the cafeteria. Luba and Nick Daynega ALWAYS provide fresh, delicious home-style meals and this first night was no exception. No one want to bed hungry, although many went to bed completely exhausted.

After dinner, Corinne led a short devotional using a book that she created herself for this trip. I love that these trips minister to the children visiting as well as to the children visited. We discussed how the devotions would be handled in the coming days and we all did the first day’s lesson together. I can’t wait to see and hear what God is doing in the lives of each of these children over the next ten days.

Will you join with us in praying for the team and for those with whom we come in contact?