Our Summer in the States!
First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the lack of newsletters in the last months. I promise to get you all caught up on what has been going on and to keep up with the newsletters from here on out!
We spent a couple of months in the States this summer, from May 23rd to July 27th. It was a wonderful time filled with visiting family and friends, reconnecting with our supporters, visiting all of our supporting churches where Jon preached and/or we did a presentation about what God is doing in Ukraine. Although we did have some time to just relax and unwind, it was not what most would think of as a vacation. We visited a different church almost every Sunday, visited with several small groups, met with several Missions Boards, and held several informational meetings complete with dessert! Despite the work, we had a great visit and were able to get to see ALL of Jon’s family, brothers and sister and all the nieces and nephews, and we also got to get together with my mom’s side of the family for a reunion/baby shower, and my dad’s side of the family when they came down to the Quad Cities! The boys learned how to shoot an air rifle (with adult supervision of course), visited Uncle Patrick at the fire station in Eldridge, went camping in the backyard, rode their bikes up and down the lane, swam in the pool donated by a friend, went to their first real baseball game, complete with a ferris wheel ride, hot dogs, chips and pop and fireworks, went to 2 different zoos, went to Lagomarcino’s, played on the tractors at John Deere Commons, went to a couple of movies, went on breakfast dates with Grandpa Gainer, visited Grandma Barbie and Grandpa Kevin and went swimming in their neighbor’s pool, went geocaching with a friend, and thoroughly enjoyed the American foods they can’t get here, like popsicles, brats, good hamburgers, Mexican food, Chinese food, blueberries, Cherry Coke, Twizzlers, peanut butter, slushies, and they really loved helping Grandma Gainer pick and eat the fresh veggies from the garden! Lauren just loved getting all kinds of attention and she loved having her own special small swimming pool all to herself!
A HUGE THANK YOU to Clinton Church of Christ, Havana First Methodist Church, Mount Pulaski Christian Church, Bettendorf Christian Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, Church of Love, and Faith Lutheran Church for their amazing support! We are so blessed to have you as part of our team and what God is doing here in Ukraine! |