Have Cookies......Will Travel to England and Ukraine

I had a fabulous overseas trip in June.

It was originally just a two week mission trip to Borislav, Ukraine

as I've done five years prior.

But then I decided to stay an extra week with my Ukrainian friend, Nadia.

And THEN......my friend Michelle invited me to come visit her in England before I flew to Ukraine.

Twenty-six days......my longest time ever away from home.

And as you can imagine......I had to make cookies for all my stops.

 My time in England was super sweet.

I got to tour some of the country side as well as London.

I surprised Michelle's family with some special British cookies.

Every year when I go to Ukraine,

I always take cookies to those to whom we minister.

This year we had our third annual women's camp.

The theme was "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes".

The Bible study I taught was on relationships and how we often judge people

before we get to really know them and their full story.

It's important for us to not judge by first appearances or impressions.

There's so much more to each individual than what we see or hear.

We gave each of the 60 ladies a pair of flip flops to decorate.

And I made them cookies to match. :)

 

And finally, I took individual cookies to hand out in all the Ukrainian homes we visited.

I decided to go simple since the time before the trip was so jam packed with preparation.

 

Now that I've been back home for a week......

looking at all these photos brings back such warm, sweet memories. :)

If you'd like to read more about my adventures, check out my Ukraine blog.

CookieCrazie Chatter...... Friday, May 31, 2013

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CookieCrazie's Week in Review

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Personal Side

This week has been so fun.
I'm convinced more and more that the anticipation of a trip or fun event is the best part.

I've been decorating cookies for my trip,
shopping for last minute details,
pulling together blog posts for the next six weeks (!)
making lists and checking them twice, :)
getting things ready for the family while I'm gone for 26 days (yikes!),
minimizing as I've packed my suitcases,
and lots and lots of other things.
But it has been pure joy.

I'm very very excited to be visiting two cookie friends in England for a few days,
(I can't wait to see you, Michelle and Steph!)
and then going on to Ukraine to visit with my precious friend, Nadia.
The final two weeks will be in Ukraine doing our mission work as I do every year.

It's going to be quite a trip!
I'm sure I'll be ready to come home when it is time.......
but oh the memories that will be made!

I'm nearly ready to go.
I still have to work tomorrow at the hospital lab for my regular shift.
And then Sunday morning I will take off for Manchester, UK.

If you want to keep up with my trip, I'll try to post photos on my Instagram and Facebook.
And I'll also try to write about it in these CookieCrazieChatters each week.

If you'd like to read about the actual Ukraine ministries we'll do from June 14-28,
you can check out my Ukraine blog, CrazieCommitment.
There's nothing fancy about that blog.....just a place to share my thoughts and experiences.

I have all my CookieCrazie blog posts loaded up for the next several weeks.
I wanted to continue the blog going even while I was gone.
I'll try to pop in here at the end of each week and give you a small recap,
but there is never guarantee of internet in Ukraine.
So I'll be here if I can.

If not.....consider me here in heart. :)

Thanks so much for all your support throughout the year.
It is because of that support that I'm able to finance my trip
and the ministries we do while we are in Ukraine.
I'm extremely grateful for all of those who have ordered cookies from me,
visited my website, or bought my custom cookie cutters.
Because of these three avenues, I've been able to earn income to give to Ukraine missions.
What a joy it is decorate cookies (something I LOVE to do!) and then share about it here.
Is it a lot of work? Yes.
Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!!!

Here I go.......

Instagram photos for this week:

Makin' a little sweet love for my beloved Ukrainians. :)

Here's the flip flop cookies for the Ukraine women's retreat. :)

First time using space bags for travel.
The coolest part (and only another cookie decorator could appreciate this...)
is I layered the cookies in between the clothes before gently compressing the bag.
What a perfect little nest for my cookies....
Plus I have extra space in my luggage. Happy!!

Hey.....I'm going to England.
I've got to have appropriate cookies, ya know. ;)

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Last CookieCrazie Chatter....

CookieCrazie Chatter...... May 24, 2013