Olga, Alex, and Alice

Olga was our translator in Ukriane. Alex is her fiance and was one of our drivers. Alice, who was our other translator, is Olga's sister. These 3 people are now some of my favorite people in the world! They are such kind, caring people, and made our Ukraine trip a wonderful experience. They went above and beyond what I expected. Not only did they do their jobs to perfection, but they made our safety a top priority, had everything arranged for us once we got to the Ukraine, efficiently took care of things that arose (such as the legal issue with us being in the Ukraine to work with "children" not "orpans"), and Alex even bought me a cake for my birthday! They have such compassionate hearts for the children we went to work with, which makes them all the better suited for trips such as ours.

Olga translated document after document prior to our stay in Ukriane. She translated our diplomas and certificates, as well as page after page of presentation material, which included some very professional terms specific to therapy techniques and treatments. Olga does an excellent job in her profession! She facilitated Kym and Karen's adoptions, and I highly recommend her services if you are looking for an adoption facilitator or translator for mission trips. If you would like her contact information, let me know. Here are some pictures of these marvelous people:

Amanda, Kym, and Karen gave Olga and Alex a book they had made of pictures of their adopted kids. They loved the book, but I think we loved watching them look at the book almost as much as they loved the book.

Vladimir is Alex's father. He was also one of our drivers and is such a nice man. He didn't like me trying to carry or move our luggage. He gave me fatherly looks when I tried and then kindly took the luggage from me.

Alex having a little fun at the orphanage. He's much stronger than his thin body looks like it could be. He did multiple chin-ups on this bar.

The yummy cake Alex bought for my birthday. They also sang Happy Birthday to me in English (though Alex was conveniently running to the car to get my cake when the singing occurred). :)

Alex = Paparazzi. Hahaha! I was taking pictures like crazy the first day, and then Alex pulls out his digital camera and starts snapping. It was fun to see a fellow picture person.

Alice translating during our demonstrations with the children at the orphanage. Alice is such a sweet-natured girl. She did a great job and is definitely on her way to being another excellent professional translator for the Ukraine.

Olga leaning on the peanut ball as she's translating during the demonstrations. She was so focused on her translations - making sure that everyone understood from the Russian perspective and from the English perspective.

We worked her so hard. I don't think she had time to breathe! She was such a trooper though, never once complaining, sighing, or even acting tired. She was there for us around the clock.

So professional and beautiful as well!

This is Alex looking at a menu, probably pretending he didn't understand what I was saying, but knowing full well what I said. He's a very quiet, reserved kind of guy, but watch out! He has hidden talents. For example, we learned he's an excellent chef!

Sweet, beautiful Alice. We had so much fun with her!

Writing about these fun people makes me miss them, but I plan to see them again in the future!