Long time - No see

Most of our small group (or at least it felt like most) went on the Ukraine trip. So for their first time back to our regular Thursday night happenings, we grilled burgers, played cornhole, heard Ukraine stories, and watched a fireball attack Micah. You know - the usual. 

The burgers weren't cooking properly (as you can see - this was after they had been on the grill for a long while). 

Micah decided to check the hose connected to the propane tank. I'll let you assume the rest. According to onlookers, the fireball hit him in the face and rolled down his back. Luckily, only his hair, beard and eyebrows were a bit singed. "It looked like someone threw cocoa powder in his face." one witness said. He was under shock for a good while, but no serious injuries or burns were reported. His hair will be as good as new (or just new) by the time his wedding roles around in June. 

This is Micah pre-fireball playing cornhole with Jared. (Little did they know what was about to take place.)

Me and Liz - Couldn't wait for her to get back home.

Even Duke, our group mascot, was just thrilled everyone was home!

Jared in Ukraine

 Jared went to Kiev, Ukraine for 10 days without me. Sniff. Sniff. We've been away from each other 10 days before, but not in separate countries/continents. Let me rephrase that - I have been away from him 10 days before, be he has never gone away from me. Whole different ballgame! However, the wise ol' saying "Distance makes the heart grow fonder" is the absolute truth. So in a way, it was good for us; however, at times my brain could not convince my heart.

 

 This was Jared's first time in Europe. He loved it!

One thing he learned was Ukrainians wear their wedding rings on their right hands. If it's on the left, it means one is divorced. Interesting... right?

 We were able to Skype a few times. I would stay up until 11:30 PM, and he would call my at 6:30 AM in Ukraine. As I was going to bed, he was waking up.

He met several new friends while he was there. Oleg was his interpreter and a true help to Jared. Looks like a really sweet guy. Wish I could have met him.

And this is Sasha. He's 19 and extremely smart. Jared got his email, and they will be corresponding back and forth. I hope one day I will get to meet him!

(From left to right) Troy Meachum - our small group leader and dear friend, Sasha - he works for the International Mission Board and does a lot of administration and coordination of church plants in Ukraine (or something like that - Jared says he's a master at what he does), and of course, Jared - my husband (Haha!)

This is our new friend Sergey. He is a pastor of a church plant in Kiev. He and Jared hit it off from the start. Heard nothing but great things about this man. 

And last but not least... the pigeon from the Newark Airport. I guess it needed to catch a long distance flight as well - farther than his own wings could carry him, I suppose.

Husband and Wife Day of Adventure

Jared and I decided we were going to eat our way across Raleigh.

First we stopped at Sola Coffee, where Jared had an Americano (is classic choice) and I had a Vanilla Caramel Latte with Soy Milk (this would be the equivalent to a Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks or a Perfect Blend at the Perfect Blend in Ada minus the soy milk).

The coffee was wonderful (but what do you expect from Counter Culture Coffee?) and the customer service was lovely. We did feel, however, that we were cheating on our Jubala.

Next, we went by Crabtree Valley Mall to drool over some Apple Products and then a little thrift store shopping where I found a beautiful vintage jacket.

Then off to The Pit for lunch. I kept quoting "Father of the Bride" while we were waiting on our food. "I don't think you want the word 'Pit' on a wedding invitation, George." I guess we figured out why Brad and Angelina won't get married.

The Pit had an amazing atmosphere that reminded me of my beloved Charleston's back home. However, this is Carolina Barbeque. That means it has this vinegar taste which is not my favorite. Yet, we really loved their chicken and pulled pork. For an appetizer we ordered their pumpkin corn bread. It was DELISH!

For dessert we went to Gigi's Cupcakes and eventually made ourselves sick on them that evening.

 

Oh yeah, how could I forget... We finished our little adventure quite earlier than expected, so we went in search of a strawberry patch that I went to last summer with Matthew. For 2 hours, we drove all over Roseville and even down to Zebulon in search of this mysterious strawberry farm. We found several but none were the one I visited. One day we will find it! (I drove all day yesterday because Jared's license is expired. Going to get it renewed tomorrow.)

Today is the day the Lord has made!

Three Reasons for Celebrating Today!

1. Today we celebrate what Christ did for us. Christmas is celebrating the birth of Christ, but Easter is for his resurrection. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." 1 Peter 2:24

2. It is my lovely nephew's 1st birthday. Today I envy families who live close to one another. I have had the pleasure of spending time with this beautiful creation only twice. But in those moments I witnessed a sweet, gentle and beautiful spirit. I love you, Baby Boy. Sincerely, Auntie Rae Rae and Uncle Jared.

3. Husband is home sweet home! I have this whole week off work and will spend every moment I can with this guy!

He's almost home!

1. So I get to see my best friend\roommate\husband in about 7 hours! Woo-hoo! (Excuse the mirror image from my photo booth shot. Matthew helped me make the sign.)

2. I didn't keep my resolution about blogging once a month. However, I'm going to try to blog more than once a month with several short blogs instead of one long one. (That task was getting daunting.)

3. Looking at getting a SLR Camera. We prefer Canons. I really want to blog more with quality pictures of EVERYTHING.

4. Did I mention how excited I was to see my husband again?! Ukraine is too far away for ten days. No more mission trips alone, unless we have babies or a sister\friend comes to stay with me.

5. It's my best fwend's birthday today! Love you bunches and bunches, My Mechel!

6. Tomorrow is my nephew Summit's first birthday! I wish I could be there to celebrate. Love you, Baby Boy.

Quick Update

Hey America!

I miss you dearly but Ukraine is pretty great. I love cities, and friends, Kiev is a city. Officially there are three million but estimations have it closer to 4-5 million.

We broke up into the teams we will be with for the rest of the week and all went to churches around the city. The group I'm with will be working with a GREAT church planter named Serge. He's in his late 20's and has been pastor of this church for six years. They meet in a library/apartment building (every building in this city is a ___/apartment building) and have about fifty members ranging in age from toddlers to babuschky.

Their main focus is the university nearby. They minister to college students and young people that literally surround their church. This week we will be working with college students in the church to connect students to their church. Here's their website... www.openhearts.kiev.ua

It was incredibly encouraging to talk to this young man and hear him share the same struggles and passions that guys that I run with talk about.

It's been a great two days. I can't wait to see God's hand and works in the coming days.

J

PS-
I'm not doing another trip like this without R. We're both pretty lame without each other and making memories with her is a lot more fun.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

This time tomorrow I'll be flying over the Atlantic. And I'm stoked.

In case you hadn't seen my tweets or Facebook updates, I'm leaving with a group from our church to work with church planters in Kiev, Ukraine. We are going to be working in English as Second Language classes in public schools and working with a few local churches doing the same thing. We also have a group working with a soccer club and a group working with kiddos in an after school program.

I'll be traveling with several students from our small group at church and with our small group leaders, whom we love dearly. I'll also be meeting up with my mentor who is teaching a class at a seminary in Ukraine for a couple of weeks.

If you happen to think of Reagan or me in the next ten days say a prayer for both of us. She'll be stateside while I'm gone but she is going to be crashing with friends and such while I'm gone.

I'm going to be working directly with the churches and I'm designated as a "roamer" too so some of my specifics aren't really ironed out. If you've been on a mission trip you totally understand this. (Flexy cookies anyone?)

Pray that we are faithful to the gospel given to us and that God is glorified.

Blessings
J