As many of you know, a team of 8 of us paired up with a DTS Outreach team and others to run "Identity in Christ" seminars for orphan girls. The seminars went very well, the girls had a great time, and we got to see God's hand working as all of our plans were re-worked last minute.
I'll take some time now to introduce you to some of the girls (not in any particular order):
Kristina. We have a funny story. Last summer, I met her boyfriend at camp, and he gave me a picture of her and of him. I just didn't realize it until this weekend that it was her. That made us friends.
This is Natasha. Not an actual orphan, she was one of the most beautiful girls of the weekend without knowing it.
This is Lida, very spunky, she was kind of the class clown, made fun of everything, but after the weekend, when we went to visit the girls, she came in and sat with us, even without saying much.
Angela--met her for the first time. She is very sweet, and quiet.
This is a different Kristina. She was at the camp the last two summers. I never spent much time with her there, but she loves to sing songs and was very energetic the whole weekend.
This is Sveta. She was always in the "too cool" group when we were at camp, and even during the weekend and after, I never connected with her. I don't know if she connected with anyone really well.
This is Masha. She is very sweet. I think she ran away from home when she was younger. Met a guy who attended an orphanage school, and invited her to study there. So without documents, without being an official student there, she began studying, and enjoyed it.
This is Anya. She is a cousin to the below-mentioned Anetta and (second) Kristina. I never really spent much time with her until this weekend. I helped her translate a card into English, and she has loved me since then. :)
Olya is the girl sitting. She is just so sweet! She has a great smile and just a very welcoming attitude. She wants to be a caregiver at a school when she graduates from the trade school.
This is one Kristina. She has a brother who graduated from Chaslivtsi Orphanage. But they haven't seen each other in a long time. She has such a big heart, very soft.
This is Yana. She's about 15. I don't know much about her except that we became friends right after camp last year.
This is Vaselina. She has always come up to give me hugs and kisses. and I don't know what i ever did to deserve that. :)
I don't remember this girl's name, but she is Marika's cousin. Her brother also lives with one of the boys that I sometimes help support financially.
This is Kristina. She is Anetta's twin sister. Also very spunky, she can be sometimes too much, but she has such a big heart.
This is Ibula. I never knew her name until this weekend. She was always apart of that "too cool" group when I was at camp, but it was great this weekend to see her opening up.
This is Diana. She is about 15 years old and is quite visibly socially awkward. Like most orphans, i believe she suffers abandonment issues...the whole weekend was spent hiding until we came to find her.
This is Anetta. She is maybe 14 years old. She's a very spunky girl. I have actually seen at camp one of the teachers kick her . She just got up and laughed like nothing happened.
We had an incredible time. These aren't all the girls, but all the girls whose names I actually remembered.
We are hoping to see them again soon.
Esther Weekends
New friends and Old Friends in Western Ukraine
This is Marika. She was introduced to me by another student. She is in her third year at a trade school, also a student from the Perechin orphanage. She is very cheerful, and for some reason wanted to be my friend. So, we became friends. 
This is Sasha, Marika's brother. He still studies at Perechin orphanage. He's a wonderful musician, and is travelling to Holland next month to play for the prince and for Barak Obama. He was showing me his "extremely cool" reading glasses.
This is Kristina, a first year student at a trade school who was showing me how well she could sew. She is also from Perechin orphanage.
This is Rosen, Vitya, Me, and Andriy. Vitya still attends Perechin orphanage. Andriy now is in his first year at the trade school. These are our two special boys that we put a lot of time and effort into. And we were really happy to see them looking healthy and not freezing. :)
And of course, Kristina again. The other kids told us if I had my hair down, we would look like sisters. I tend to disagree, but you know...similar is relative.
I wasn't able to take pictures at Chaslivtsi orphanage, because a) I would have gotten mobbed by kids wanting to see the pictures, touch the camera, and b) demands to have pictures taken, and c) I was helping with the crafts club, and was working one on one with a highly special needs boy. He was so adorable, and I don't think my hand or my cheek has ever been kissed quite like he kissed them. and yet, we still limited his contact with the glue and the scissors. :)
