HALONEN.CA

So, what’s been happening here, other than the weather turning unbelievably hot over the past couple of weeks?

Well…

Seems that when we bought the “other” house from the grandma behind us, her cat didn’t really leave, and decided to sneak in through an open window and had two kittens in the house!

Travis and Dustin, our nephews, came here for a visit. I think they are having fun, and it’s great having them here!

We’re gradually getting more done on the “other” house as well…

Thought I would post a few more pictures, along with comments, of life as it happens here in Ukraine!

Talking to the Graduates

Last week, Kerri and Eleanor invited a few girls to our house for the afternoon. These girls had “graduated” from the orphanage last fall. We thought it would be a relaxing afternoon for the girls, a time for tea or coffee, etc… They had fun, played UNO, had tea, and then spent a LOT of time just sharing with Kerri and Eleanor. They shared their hurts, their experiences, their dreams (or lack of them), and really opened up their hearts.

Now, we need to figure out where to go with all of this!

Music Lessons

Dave Miller has teamed up with Costa a couple of times now to provide music instruction for our group from the orphanage. Here is a photo of Dave with one of the girls – trying to teach her the basics at the piano!

Other Stuff…

Kerri is continuing her English lessons at Shelter+. Some weeks there are only two or three kids, while the next week she has a room full. Completely unpredictable! Still, it has been great, with Dave and Bethany Miller joining in as well as Alexander, an English teacher from a local University coming along to help (he comes to improve his own English).

Kerri and Bethany preparing for the English class last week…

The renovations on the house(s) we bought immediately behind us are progressing…

Officially, we bought two houses that were attached to each other. In reality, it consisted of one house that has had several additions, and then somewhere along the line a doorway between two parts of the original house was bricked in to create two separate houses, and eventually ended up as the ownership of different people. We bought both…

A few weeks ago, Kai and I removed the bricks from the doorway. The old wooden doorframe was still there, so we simply installed a new door. Now it is one large (for Ukraine) house. We have two kitchens, two bathrooms, two living rooms, and three bedrooms, along with a large lot beside the house.

Our dream is to, someday, use the house as a home for orphans after they leave the orphanage system and have no place to live. We also want to use the house as a “drop in” centre for orphanage graduates, as a place where they can come to talk, to visit, or to get help if they need it.

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