2 Weeks

** This is a guest post by Mike Hopcraft.

Wow!  I can’t believe that 2 weeks have gone by.  Lisa and I have thoroughly enjoyed Ben and Ang’s wonderful hospitality.  I am so glad that Lisa has been here before and that Ben was such a willing guide – I would have been lost many times over.  Not only with the language but with the driving!  Ben could be a rally race car champion!

Helping at the YWAM work day was very satisfiying.  Seeing two of the interior walls being built for the new kitchen and the volleyball court levelled as well as LOTS of other clean up was great!  It was neat to see how the whole YWAM team works hard, laughs a lot and encourages each other – what a great team.

We were able to see lots of the sights of Kiev as well as Lviv.  In Kiev we saw the Iron Mamma, the war memorial, Lavra, holodomor memorial, Khreshchatyk St. and many more sites!  I learned so much about the history of Ukraine, Kiev and Lviv.  I really like old buildings and… doors, funny eh?  Anyway, Lviv was a great place to take pictures of both!  Ben, Jay, Lisa and I took the night train to get there (at 6am!!) and we walked up and down almost every street in the old part of Lviv.  It was absolutely amazing.  Not only did we cover lots of the streets but we went ‘under ground’ for supper, which included secret passageways and hidden doors!  We also had a dizzying climb to the top of the bell tower and had a fantastic view of the city!  At the end of the day we went back to the train station to wait for our train, which was scheduled to depart at midnight.  We arrived at about 9:30 and it was very nice to be off our feet after a long day of walking.  On the way back our train stopped for about an hour and that train car got quite warm – no need for those wool blankets. :)

Thanks Ben and Ang for being such great hosts!  It was wonderful to spend so much time with you and your kids.  May God bless you for the work you are doing in Kiev.

Mike.