When I first decided to do Flashback Friday, I decided that I would post some excerpts of journals that I had written while spending time in Ukraine as a teenager.
You see, when I was 13 turning 14 (I actually had my birthday in Ukraine), my parents began taking one month mission trips to Ukraine each year. My dad, mom, sister, and I would travel to Ukraine and live and work among the Ukrainian people for about 4 weeks. We stayed in a very typical Ukrainian flat, shopped at the bizarre, used public transportation exclusively, worshipped with the Ukrainians, and spoke bits of Russian (some of us better than others, but that will be a Flashback Friday post all its own).
We did this during the winters of my 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th grade years (yes, I would miss an entire month of school!). My dad and sis actually went during my 12th grade year as well, but I opted not to go on that trip as I was very busy being a senior. My brother and his wife lived in Ukraine for about 7 months in 1998, and my parents also eventually moved there for a couple years while I was in college. My memories of living and working with the church in Ukraine are very near and dear to my heart.
One of the requirements that my parents made of my sis and me on these trips was that we keep a daily journal of our experiences. Trust me when I say that we were a little less than thrilled to journal every single day. We hated journaling. I had no idea at the time how much I would cherish those journals later on. Unfortunately, the journal entries are short and sweet for the most part, and being written by a teenaged girl, they are a little, well, annoying in spots, too.
Despite this, I am going to post some of the journal entries as Flashback Friday posts. Stayed tuned for the first Ukrainian Flashback Friday soon!
1 comment:
You really are a world traveler. I cn dream through you and your trips. We'll do Europe some day!
Post a Comment