Heather Hodges

No, this was not a debriefing exercise, just a rub for good luck.

On the balcony of my room. The Americans, commissioned and showered the Ukrainian mentors with affirmation, blessings, and gifts.

The entire Donelson Team on the last day of debriefing.

Arusik, Heather & Joel.

The Ukrainian mentors, lead by my new friend and sister Arusik.

Missionary Debriefing is a time of Rest, Renewal, Reflection, Re-Affirmation, and to prepare for Re-Entry back into their home country and culture. These fourteen people dedicated three weeks to serving children in Ukraine. They had been preparing for almost a year to go on this journey. But once they arrived in Ukraine and began the work with the children they realized how difficult the time was going to be. Several of the Americans had never been on an airplane before much less visited another country. They experienced culture shock and wrestled with the language barrier. They ate food that they did not recognize and were exposed to unusual and sometimes unpleasant odors. But this did not divert them from their mission to show unconditional love to the children and orphans of Ukraine.  After three weeks, the missionary team wept to see the children leave.  Their hearts had been touched and they had fallen in love .

The team processed their experiences. In what ways had it been the “Best of Times” and the “Worst of Times?”

“Remembering the Children”  The team created a collage or drawing to reflect on their time with the children.  For most this was one of the most emotionally difficult exercises to complete.

Joel and Dima.  Dima is a Ukrainian university student who is majoring in languages and will be an English translator. 

“Balloon Trolly” This team work exercise helps illustrate team dynamics. We used it to explore ways they functioned well together and also highlights areas where improvement is needed.   Besides all that it’s just plain fun.

The missionaries arrived mid-morning on Monday road weary and physically and mentally exhausted. As they each stepped off the bus I saw face after face wearing an expression of fatigue. But then there was Arusik and Elizabeth, smiling at me. Arusik is an Armenian woman who had to leave her country because of a devastating earth quake and now lives in Ukraine. She is the lead mentor for the missionary team, a language expert, and a woman of deep faith. Elizabeth bounded off the bus wearing an enormous smile and grasped my hand in greeting. I knew then I had just met a friend for life. She is a South Dakota girl living in Moscow, teaching English. She joined the Ukraine missionary team not only because of her passionate love for Christ, but also her love for children.

There were 5 Ukrainian mentors who worked along side the 14 American missionaries in the camps. They served as language and cultural translators. Three of the mentors were believers when the mission began and over the course of three weeks, the other two saw examples of Christ’s love poured out on the orphans and children of Ukraine. They joined the team in order to practice English, but came away with much, much more. They also made an indelible impression on the missionaries themselves, and lasting friendships were formed.

The nine Americans came from a variety of places but were led by Joel Butts of Donelson, Tennesee and his niece, Jessi from Georgia. The three weeks working with the children of Ukraine presented many challenges and obstacles including injuries, spider bites, government inspectors, a duplicitous camp director, culture shock, and extremely adverse living conditions. Only the team themselves know the full extent of these challenges. But they will also tell you in the same breath about the intensity with which they fell in love with the children. They taught the children about Jesus not only from the bible stories, crafts and skits they did every day, but also by the unconditional love they gave to the kids all day long. And in turn the children and their stories touched their hearts more deeply than they had anticipated.

These fourteen people had just experienced an incredible three weeks serving the Lord together side by side under extreme conditions. Many of them were strangers when the journey began, but they were united by their love of Jesus and their love for children.

I arrived in Kiev, Ukraine on Sunday and was met by a wonderful young woman named Tatyana. She is a Ukrainian Christian, a law student, and fortunately for me she speaks English. She is also the daughter of one of the Ukrainian missionaries who have been working at the camps with the kids for the past three weeks. She took prodigious care of me. We drove to the sanatorium where the debriefing was to take place and got settled in with a good meal, and then we were off to see Kiev. It is a beautiful city with many lovely churches and a rich history. Tomorrow the missionaries arrive from the camp and we will begin their debreifing time.

We bought a waterproof camera for our Florida vacation and we just got the pictures developed. Here are a few shots from our second dolphin adventure. As you can see I was a little more brave about approaching them, but I was still hyperventilating. There is nothing between the dolphins and me except beautiful green water. The last pictures are of the boys playing in the surf and yes, that is my 6 year old snorkeling.

Only three days left until I leave for Kiev, Ukraine. (It’s amazing how much a mother has to do in order to leave town for a few days. I think the other mothers out there understand this completely.)

I’ve heard from WWYC that their work in the orphanages is going well. They have had some obstacles and difficult struggles, but the Lord overcame them. Children who have never heard the name of Jesus are experiencing his love for the first time. Seeds are being planted and the Lord is being glorified. Please pray for the work being done in Ukraine and specifically for the children who are right now hearing about Jesus and also for the Ukrainian and American missionaries.

Sidebar: I’ve had a lot of questions about how Wade will cope with the boys alone for 10 days. No worries there, my savvy husband has a strategy…keep ‘em busy. He plans to take them to grandma and grandpa’s ranch where they will rustle cattle, fish, explore creek beds, play with dogs and then go to the Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus and Schlitterbahn Waterparks. Caleb and Elijah won’t have time to miss Mommy and as a bonus they should sleep soundly every night……good think’n Dad!

I woke the boys up this morning with a box of glow sticks each. They stayed in the freezer all day as we awaited night fall. When evening finally arrived the glow sticks emerged as light sabers. Playing Star Wars in the dark with glow sticks is a lot of fun. Phosphorescence is so cool.

On our last full day in Panama City, the preacher and his wife from the Palo Alto church, Luke and Lindsey, took us back out to see the dolphins. On the way we stopped at the beach on Shell Island and anchored our boat. We waded in the water and snorkeled for sand dollars and even caught a small puffer fish. While we were bent over looking at the puffer fish a school of about fifty stingrays swarmed around us. I think we were in their path and we startled them as much as they startled us. We jumped into the boat and snapped a few pictures before they were gone. I’ve since learned that stingrays are usually very docile creatures and rarely move around except to eat shell fish and crustaceans off the ocean floor. So for there to be so many moving so quickly was quite rare. They were beautiful creatures and appeared to be flying through the water.

We have enjoyed beautiful weather in Panama City, Florida on our family vacation. The boys have built and then destroyed many sandcastles. We’ve snorkeled and body surfed and even swam with dolphins. Wade and I have had our fill (almost) of sea food. We’ve met new friends and had a wonderful time. We leave here in the morning and my mind is already turning to the next adventures at hand…the mission trip to Ukraine and then seeing my good friend Cecilia. Florida and the Palo Alto church have treated us well, thanks you guys!

Today was one of the best days of my life! Some friends from the Palo Alto church in Panama City, (Rex and Luke) took us on a boat ride in search of dolphins. No promises were made that we would actually see any dolphins, but we set out on a beautiful Florida day with the hope that we might. Rex, our skipper and tour guide, stood at the helm as we flew across the water. To our right was an undeveloped island that the military uses for training ops he told us. We actually saw a 2 man water submarine that the Navy Seals were training in as we drove by. Another small boat alerted us to their presence and kept us from getting too close.

We pressed on to the point were the dolphins are often sighted. As we rounded the point there were already several boats and a herd of jet skiers idling in a circle. I looked to where all their heads were pointed and a mother dolphin and her calf broke the surface and swam our direction. My heart stopped. The dolphins were so close we could touch them. Rex put the boat in neutral and said, “Does anyone want to get in?” Luke was in the water before he finished the sentence and I was right on his heals. As I dived into the crystal water of the Emerald Coast I thought, “What am I doing? What if one actually comes up to me? Will it be thrilling or terrifying? These are wild animals.” Wade jumped in near me and voiced the same questions.

Caleb and Elijah had been watching from the boat for some time and finally decided to join their parents. They were very brave as they jumped out of the boat. We treaded water and swam after and among dolphins. The dolphins would swim away and we would get back in the boat and follow them. We rejoined the dolphins in the water when we caught up to them.

After what seemed like 10 minutes, but was closer to an hour and a half, we started back around the point towards home. To our surprise and amazement what we thought was a pod of about 5 or 6 dolphins was actually closer to 15 or 16. Around the point was the main part of the pod swimming close to the rocks off the jetty. The waves were rolling perpendicular to the rock jetty in large swells. There were dolphins all around our boat in groups of twos and threes. Then in the most magical of moments they merged. Eight to ten dolphins were now in a line right in front of our boat riding a wave together! It was as if they were in a water ballet and formed a chorus line of sleek, elegant dancers. The choreography could not have been more perfect. The wave began to break and to our amazement they jumped! I held my breath and simply watched. I’m sorry to say I did not get any pictures of this spectacular event. It happened with such rapidity that not one of us captured it any where except in our memory.

The dolphins ended their ride and swam out to sea. I knew that I had just witnessed intelligent creatures simply having fun. They were at their own water park playing together and checking out the humans. We had come to check out the dolphins and they gave us a glimpse of who they are and what they enjoy doing on a perfect Friday afternoon.