Nov. 2021 Update

Friends, family, kind strangers – Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you’ve had the opportunity to celebrate to the fullest. I was able to host Thanksgiving for the very first time and had all my living grandparents around my table. It has been about 10 years since the last time I got to spend this holiday with them. I’m incredibly thankful!

I’ve also had the chance to reflect on the impact each of you has made on the trajectory of my life. Because of your faithfulness in God and belief in me, I’m just 66 days away from my flight and move to Ukraine! I pray you know my gratitude and are blessed by God’s movement in Ukraine and within the orphan crisis.

Today I’m here to share a bit of my preparation and a story that I hope helps explain my why a bit more.

These next two months will go by in a blink, so I’m working hard to get myself organized. I’ve spent the past few weeks researching things like temporary residency, Tax IDs, car registration, and health insurance – all required for me to be legal and stay in Ukraine. To say it is overwhelming would be an understatement, but I can’t actually get the ball rolling on any of this until I get there. So for now I research, ask my contacts there a million questions, and make sure I have all my ducks in a row. I’m expecting to need about $1000 just to get through all the legality of moving to and getting set up in a new country.

I also continue to invest in learning the language – Ukrainian has not come easy to me, despite my many desperate prayers for a miracle. And while I’ve been discouraged by this struggle, I continue to spend several hours a week working on the letters and sounds. Please don’t ask me to say something in Ukrainian yet, but we are making progress. Prayers in this area are greatly appreciated!

As you likely know, I made a platform and organizational move to The Cause a few months ago. This organization has been such a blessing. Aside from providing a giving platform for you all to partner with me, they also provide personal support for me and have invited me to attend a retreat in San Diego next month! I’m very excited to get to connect with other missionaries and the people who have come alongside my ministry from The Cause.

I want to keep this short as I hope you are all busy with fun plans this weekend or maybe taking a much-deserved rest – but before I go, I’d love to share a story from Ukraine. The two girls pictured below are twin sisters Vayla and Vika. I had the opportunity to meet Vayla when I was in Ukraine this past spring. They are 5 years old and have lived most of their lives in one of the orphanages I plan to partner with. They have a little brother who is placed in another orphanage, I don’t believe they know or understand that they have a brother or a family in the world.

You see, their mother is sick and the government has deemed her unable to care for her children. But these children do not have “orphan status” meaning they are not eligible for foster care or adoption. It is likely that they will stay in the system without the opportunity of a family because of the brokenness within the Ukraine orphan system. My role in this would be to visit these girls, let them know that someone in the world cares about their well-being and loves them. I wouldn’t be able to bring these girls home with me, but I could show up consistently for them. I could introduce them to compassion and pray over them. It seems a simple calling, I understand that. But this is exactly where I’m supposed to be, I know that.

I get a lot of questions about this, so I want to clarify that I am not going to Ukraine to start an orphanage nor to adopt. I would love to bring home as many babies as they’d give me, but I’m not in a position to adopt at this time. So I’m going to be a light in their lives and to help the work already being done to get these children into loving homes and families.

You may be getting this email because you already financially support or have supported this mission in the past. Thank you. I simply cannot do this on my own. I’d like to extend the invite to anyone else who is reading this to consider joining my amazing support team! I have a beautiful platform that provides tax-deduction on all gifts, so perhaps you can consider me and the Ukrainian orphan crisis in your year-end giving this year!

Here are some financial needs outlined – the goal is $2000 in monthly support, I currently have $600 coming in monthly now! This amount will cover my living expenses and ministry costs so that my full attention can be on the children and building out the ministry. In order to make the move to Ukraine and set up  a life there, I’m also working towards (I have two jobs that help cover costs as well) and inviting people to join in the following:

• Finish covering moving costs (luggage, ground transportation) – $350

• Savings fund to purchase a vehicle once I arrive in Ukraine – $5000

• Legal costs for visas, registrations, etc. – $1000

Thank you again for investing in this mission through prayer, encouragement, and finances. I pray you have a safe and blessed rest of the holiday weekend!

Support this ministry here!

with love,

Lina