Witamy w Polsce - Welcome to Poland!

Well, after a very long day, I have arrived. I left NW Indiana at 4:00 pm on Saturday night and arrived at the hotel one hour outside of Warsaw, Poland at 7:00sh pm Sunday night, granted, I am 7 hours ahead of home. We brought over 19 pieces of luggage (humanitarian aid). It took over one hour to get everyone checked in and by the time we made it to the gate, we were just 1 hour or so from boarding. Unfortunately, we were delayed quite a bit. But we finally boarded and made it to Warsaw! But... somehow one piece of luggage has been lost or stolen. We are praying that it is found and gets to who needs it as it is EXTREMELY important. 

I met Oksana, a young woman who has been fighting right on the front, going back and forth between Poland and Ukraine. However, this is not the first time that I have actually met her. She was the one that travelled with N and Y this past Christmas. She has been doing so much and fighting so hard. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. 

We also met Daniel, who is one of the directors of the camp where I will be serving. It is a beautiful camp, very peaceful. I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to help these people. Their lives have been turned upside down. They are far from home, some without members of their family, their personal belongings, but, they are safe. 

The war/conflict with Russia seems so far away when I am home. For many in the US, it may not affect their day to day operations so they do not think about it. However, here, it is everywhere. There are Ukrainian flags. There are pictures. There are numerous groups bringing aid. Even when we arrived at the airport, there was a small kiosk with someone readily available to help Ukrainian refugees. It was amazing to see the outpouring of support and aid for the Ukrainian people. 

As I get ready to get some sleep tonight, I want to say thank you. So many of you have helped support me over the last few months. There are too many people to personally thank (and so many who don't want to be named), but please know that your support means the world to me and my family. Without it, we would not have met N and Y, we would not have opened our hearts and homes to them, their lives, their culture and, now, their conflict. Their fight is our fight. And I am blessed to help in any way that I can.