A favorite project of late....... making some very special cookies for a very special lady.
Nadya is a dear friend from Ukraine.
Slavik & Nadya and their three children.....Aliya (back), Slavik (front middle), & Bogdan (right) They were our hosts for the 2012 UA mission trip. |
Donna, Pam, Martha, & Nadya |
Olena & Nadya (very good friends) |
Nadya came to the States 5 years ago......
partnering with her husband.....
bringing their three young children,
they chose to completely uproot their family and disrupt everything "normal"
to allow Slavik to obtain his post graduate eductation.
Nadya knew no English.
She was a foreigner in our land.
But courageously......with God's grace and strength,
she diligently learned English.
She supported her husband wholeheartedly
and they successfully completed their "detour" journey this summer.
Now they are back in their "home country"......
but almost foreigners in their own land.
Becoming acclimated to Ukrainian life is quite the adjustment after living in the USA for 5 years.
Knowing they would arrive back in Ukraine just a few days before we came for our trip,
and knowing how hard this transition was for Nadya.....
I wanted to make her a very special collection of cookies.
I knew that she loved my ocean cookies from last year.
Nadya is super precious to me.
She is my interpreter most of the time I am in Ukraine.
She's done everything she can to support our efforts in Boryslav.
She's taught me how to sing several songs in Ukrainian.
She is a huge encouragement in my life.
And most important.....she is a very very special friend.
I'm blessed to have her in my life. :)
The small shell cookies were given to each elderly Ukrainian when we visited their homes. |