A package...

for Olya and Anya!! These 2 sweet girls are orphans in Ukraine that we pray for every day and are like a part of our family-even though we've never met Anya, and I havent seen Olya in 3 years! They live at Jonkoi Orphanage in the Ukraine and share the same room along with about 8 other girls. I fell in love with Olya when I went to visit several years ago and she is a precious, 10 year old who lives at the orphange with her brother. We keep in touch and write several times a year. This past year, I got a letter from another sweet girl named Anya, who had learned about our family through Olya and basically her letter asked that we "love her" and "write to her" like we did Olya becuase she had no one to love her. You better believe the NEXT day, we wrote to her and included a picture of our family for her-probably one of the only possessions she owns at Jonkoi. One night after prayer, Hailee asked me if we could send Olya and Anya and Jimmy (our "brother" we support in Uganda) a package. Let me tell you, that's a moment that melts a momma's heart when your 4 year old wants to share the love of Jesus to 2 girls we pray about every night by sending them a package so they "can have some toys!" So, for the next week, all we talked about was going shopping for the girls and finally the day came that we got to get pick out their package items! And luckily enough, there is a group of kids from one of the orphanages in the Ukraine here in the Raleigh/Cary area for 3 weeks and one of the translators is supposed to visit Jonkoi in September and said she'd take the package back with her...which is huge b/c it can take up to 3 months to send something in the mail! Here are so sweet moments of Hailee and Hannah helping me put the packages together. I love that the girls are learning about how to give to others in need and are finding joy in giving to those in need. Each packages included: toothbrushes/toothpaste, headbands, notepads/pens, 2 pairs of socks, slippers, underwear, a stuffed animal, a purse to load it all in, a shirt, glitter chapstick, and some candy!

so excited-getting ready to go shopping!!

sorting through all our stuff for the girls!

Olya's stuff on the left, Anya's on the right!