When does one decide to leave the life he lives and venture out into a completely new and unknown one? Well, for me, that decision has come at the age of 29, after three years of working through my thoughts and emotions regarding this. Come January, I will head to Libby, Montana for four months of missions training school. And then, Lord willing, in June I'll be heading back to Odessa, Ukraine for an 18 month internship with the missions group, International Messengers.
    It's hard to explain everything that has gone into this decision, particularly if you haven't been a close part of my life over the last few years. Without making this be an extremely "religious" note to all, let me just say that I've slowly come to figure out the things that are priorities for me. It has taken me a while to learn that I don't have to be the same person my entire life, I don't need to get hung up on what people think of me and most importantly, I am not strong enough to make it through life on my own and am not happy when trying to do so.
    Why Ukraine? Well, for a while, I thought I would end up in Russia. But the problem was that I really didn't love Russia. I spent three summers there, but couldn't imagine myself living there. But Ukraine? Ukraine I love. The friendly people, the stunning natural beauty, the old cities, many friends and now family (my brother and his wife moved to Eastern Ukraine in May). And yes, the language. I started studying Russian about three years ago and though I'm nowhere near fluent, I can survive and travel on my own. =-)
    I just returned from ten weeks in Ukraine, traveling all over the country; exploring and visiting friends and family. I also spent several weeks in Odessa, Ukraine, doing English camps with the team that I'll be interning with.The team that I'll be with is composed of Americans, S. Africans and Ukrainians. Their primary ministry is in the local universities. They have English clubs, bible studies, English tutoring, four camps throughout the year and also help in an orphanage in the Transnestrea region of Moldava. I'm really excited and wanted to share the news with you, so that you didn't find out from someone else that I no longer live in this country. =-) I'd love to hear from any and all of you and would love to see you before I leave at the end of January. Anna
    'I heard Him call, "Come follow."
    That was all.
    My gold grew dim, my soul
      went after Him.
    Who would not follow
    If they heard Him call?'

Hmmm, I feel like I just made a foray into the other side of society. I just returned from my first trip to a check cashing place. Having a bank account, I've never needed that service. But, I needed to wire some money to Moscow for a Visa invitation and that was the method I was asked to use. As I walked in, every eye in the entire place turned to look at me. Seeing as how I was the only white person and appeared to be in a different socio-economic bracket than everyone else, I felt slightly conspicuous. People were very friendly, though and I received many greetings. Granted, they were all from men, and their girlfriends/wives were collectively glaring at me. Hey, I never asked to be so bootiful. I was just born that way.

   Well, it looks like I'm headed overseas again- and for an extended stay! All plans are very tentative at the moment, but I'll most likely be there 8-9 weeks. Where is there? I'm hoping to go both to Ukraine and Russia. I've spent the last week e-mailing friends over there, saying, "Hey, I'm going to be there this summer. Can I can come visit you and work in camps, etc.?" Now, I have to be patient and wait for replies(and hope that my Russian was understandable). I got my first reply a couple of days ago from a friend in Odessa. It's in the Western side of Ukraine, in a beautiful area by the sea. Woohoo! They're doing an English camp for teens and a family camp. Some of my other friends live relatively close to Odessa, so I'm hoping that I can head that way after the camps are over.
    Please pray for:
* all details to come together smoothly in both countries
*positive & quick replies from those I've e-mailed
*financial needs
*preparation(I'll be leaving the end of May)
*continued language study