"I Had Missed Them All So Much And Was So Happy To Be Back"

Report about LifeNets Ukraine Summer 2012 Mission by Natasha Kubik

This past July 2012, I was extremely blessed to take my second trip to a small country in Western Europe called Ukraine.  I went with My Tato, Oleh Kubik, cousins Lauren and Colin Kubik and Greg Rorem.  As I sit down to write about my experience of the trip, I sit here absolutely speechless.  This is not a trip that can be summed up in few words or even a few pages.  It was a trip that truly taught me a lot and was an experience I will never forget.  So as I sit here knowing that I cannot convey the entire trip in a small summary, I am going to do my best to reflect on the trip.

After taking a car, a plane, a train and a van from Binghamton, New York for a couple days, we arrived at the school in Vinogradov, Ukraine.  Although the journey was long and exhausting, stepping out of the van was like being back at home again.  Looking around at all the familiar face made me a little emotional.  Even though a year really is not that long of a time, all the children looked so different and mature to me.  It was like we had just picked up were we left off.  Since we already knew most of the children, I knew that this trip was going to be taken to a whole different level than last year, by having more of a connection to the children.  I had missed them all so much and was so happy to be back.

The weather was so hot this summer.  For the first two weeks, it was over 100 degrees everyday.  Ukraine is not a country with a lot of technological advances, so they do not have things like air conditioners or even fans.  Everyday for school, Lauren and I wore long skirts or dresses and head scarves when we prayed so it was like wearing winter clothes in the summer.  We would be dripping with sweat all day until the afternoon when we got to go swimming!  The weather made it perfect to going to the Tissa River everyday!  All year I looked forward to swinging on the rope swing and this year there were two.  I could have honestly swung on those swings forever.  On a couple days, Colin, Lauren and I traveled down the river with some of the older boys and went cliff jumping off this old tree that had anywhere between ten to thirty feet free falls into a semi-deep river.  It was such an adrenaline rush and was one of my favorite things we did with the older boys.

My favorite day was July 5, 2012.  I got to take a day off and spend the whole day in the kitchen.  It was nice to take a little time from teaching and have them teach me something.  The cook, Alinyshka, is the most caring and hardworking 21 year old person I have ever met.  She took two weeks off of her low paying job in Hungary to work at camp.  When I walked into the kitchen, I could tell that I was not a guest anymore because I was immediately given orders to do something quickly and quietly.  They first handed me a white gown to put over my already warm clothing.  The white is supposed to be worn by any cook cooking for a large group in Ukraine.  I found it to be silly, because I did not look like a cook; I looked like a nurse.  Plus, it was so much easier to spill on white clothes, which I did.  The first thing they had me do was wash all the dishes from breakfast.  It was a LOT of dishes for so many little children.  When I finished that, I swept and mopped the floor.  Then it was time to start learning how to make vareniki and borscht soup.  Vareniki is probably my favorite food after sandwiches.  It was a lot of work making the dough and mashing the potatoes.  As an American young adult making food from complete scratch is something totally foreign to me, pun intended!  As much as it kills my mother, I usually make a sandwich for dinner and that’s all I eat all day.  Working in the kitchen was almost like being in a fictional story book.  I felt like I was almost back in time working hard in the kitchen, as so many women have done before.  It was a total out of body experience.  By the end the women were pretty impressed with my ability to pinch those dumplings!  At lunch I felt very satisfied, because I knew that I had worked so hard on them. I will cherish that memory and that secret recipe forever.

Later that day I did something I have never done before in another country.  Ride a bike!  I know it does not sound that exciting, but Ukraine is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.  The sky is always the most beautiful blue with the perfect amount of clouds.  The grass is so green with field after field of gardens and fruit trees.  I just spent time really taking in the clean air and looking at the beauty.  The beauty of this world is my proof that there is a God who truly loves and cares for us.

Something that is very difficult for me is learning languages.  I have studied Italian, Spanish and Ukrainian.  My Ukrainian is very limited, not because I do not want to learn it, but more because I just have trouble.  So it was hard for me to come to Ukraine telling these children to learn English when I cannot speak their language very well.  The teaching did not just stop when the children left the classroom.  So I know how lucky I am when I say that the best way we taught them was through spending time with children doing what they do best, having fun!  Even though we could not always fully understand each other, connections were made at any chance we got.  Even as simple as walking around town gave us opportunity to point out things in English.  The most important tool I think was by playing games.  The most memorable lessons for the children were when we taught them more than English, but when we taught them how to play games or sing songs.  We all enjoyed playing volleyball, chess, duck-duck-goose or even our occasional mud fight. We looked at every opportunity to teach them English, even the kids that could have cared less about English.

Unfortunately and fortunately, for them the world is becoming smaller and smaller.  Due to the Internet, the older children are realizing how important it is to know English.  One child stands out to me in particular—his name is Josef.  He is seventeen years old and studying in college to be an electrician.  When we arrived, his English was limited to, “Hello!  My name is Josef.”  Due to his unquenchable thirst for learning, he would speak English with us no matter how broken.  We worked day in and day out with him even on breaks and play time just talking with him.  By the end of the trip his English was almost perfect and we had full conversations with him in English.  It was such an awesome thing and I am so proud of him.

This trip would not have been so successful without our Heavenly Father.  Like any trip, our trip had a couple of speed bumps, but for me almost the entire trip I felt as though there were forces out of my control against me.  The first week and the last week I had an awful sickness that I just could not shake.  I had a horrible sore throat, fever and because of the fever had awful nightmares almost every night.  In the beginning of the second week, I was attacked in the night by chiggers and mosquitoes.  All those in the room with me got away with one or two bites, where as my whole body was covered in them.  It looked as though I came down with chicken pox over night.  I was so incredibly itchy and no cream or spray would cure the itch.  I do not tell you this story looking for pity or sorrow, only to give an example of the overwhelming power God.  Through Him and only through Him was I given the power to overcome it all.  Everyday, with no strength of my own, I was able to get out of bed, teach and play with those kids.  He gave me a lot of strength, to that I am truly grateful.

From my observations of my second trip to Ukraine, I can still tell you that they are still the hardest workers that one would ever meet.  They are poor, not because of laziness, but out of greed and unfairness from outside their control.  Most work all day from seven in the morning to seven at night at their very low paying jobs (if they even get paid at all) to then come home and work on their small household farms and gardens until dark.  They still have a lot of compassion, honesty and care for other people.  In the market, Lauren and I found that when we wanted to buy something, they would give us discounts and even the correct change, even though in dollars it cost us next to nothing, because they did not want to rip us off.  Togetherness is very important to them, especially during meal times.  They are also some of the most generous people you could ever meet.  Even though they have very little, they would give you the world if they could.  I pray that one day they are rewarded for this attribute instead of seeing others take advantage of them.

The 2012, Ukraine trip was once again a huge success.  I miss every one of those children and think of them daily.  I pray that God watches over them, protects them and gives them wisdom.  Whether I am chosen for the team next year or not, I will be back one day.  Each and every one of them are such a blessing and I love them.  I am thankful to God for the amazing opportunity to be apart of some amazing people’s lives and for them to be apart of mine, no matter how far the distant.  Colossians 1:16 “For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”  To him be given all the glory!

Peace, Love and God Bless Everyone,



Natasha H. Kubik