One More Week!

1:58 PM

It's just about a week until I leave for Kyiv! I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of you who have supported me for my DTS. Whether you have supported me financially, prayerfully, or even decided to read my blog, I really appreciate it! I am getting closer to raising all of my funds for the trip but ask that you please consider supporting me to give that final push to raising it all. 

I found out this little bit of info: at the time that my team and I will be leaving Kyiv to go to Moldova and Romania, we will not be taking an airplane. Instead, we will be traveling by train! This would be a first experience for me (to travel by train for an actual purpose...not just leisure) :). 

Please pray for me and my team! 

Victoria

Donate Before September 7th! :)

Two More Weeks...

9:48 AM

In exactly two weeks I will be on my way to Kyiv, Ukraine! I am very excited to meet everyone and to see what God is going to do on this trip! As it gets closer I keep finding out new tidbits of information about the trip, so I would like to share a few more things about the outreach phase that I discovered. 

First off, Moldova is the poorest country in Europe. Almost 2/3 of its population is below the poverty line! Romania's economy is in a similar ditch because it is also struggling economically. Romania is also a main transit country for the human trafficking industry. Many children are forced into this industry and are taken to many places in Europe and especially Thailand. Because this is also an issue in Moldova, this is going to be a main focus in our ministry! I will keep you all updated on what type of things we could be doing as it gets closer. 

With two more weeks to go, many things are happening at once! With "Christmas and Thanksgiving" on Sunday, my last week at work, and a few appointments I have a good amount to get done before I leave. I certainly can say that I will miss my church and my youth group. On top of that many of my school friends are going off to college...it's all so surreal! 

I still have $1500 to raise mainly for the outreach portion of my trip. Please consider supporting me before I leave on September 7th! You can follow this link to my GoFundMe page. It's a safe way to support me and keep track of how much I still need to raise.

Donate Before September 7th! :)

Please be praying for me! 

Victoria

Sale and Outreach Updates

9:17 AM 

Well to give you guys and update on the Garage Sale, we raised just about $350! This amount certainly helps me in getting closer to enough money for the lecture phase. After the sale yesterday I can come to the conclusion that garage sales are a lot harder then they seem to be. I'm SO thankful that I had friends to help sell and set up all the goods! (Not to mention that my wonderful mother and father helped a lot too. ;) ) 

The second matter that I must tell my readers about is our official outreach locations for the DTS. I have previously mentioned going to Moldova, and now I know that I will be going to both Moldova AND Romania! This is very exciting now that I know what places I can learn more about and of course pray for. Here's a map of the area that I will be in so you can picture where in the world I will be these next 6 months. 

Those of you who can recall, my family and the leaders at church tried to plan a youth trip to Bulgaria. Planning this trip kind of fell through, which made me pretty sad that we weren't able to make it out there. Hearing that we are going to Romania especially makes me excited because Romania's conditions as a country are remarkably similar in that of Bulgaria and partly like Moldova. The ways that I wanted to minister to those in Bulgaria will certainly be used in places like Romania and Moldova. It's an answer to prayer and a privilege that I have the opportunity to travel to these places! 

There is only a short amount of time until I leave to Ukraine! :) 

Thanks for your prayers and support!

Victoria

Donate Towards My Trip! :)

Garage Sale on 8/18

9:00 AM

Tomorrow I am having a garage sale to raise more support for my trip! For those of you that are reading  this and are in the area, you can send me a message on where it's at. Lord willing this sale will bring in enough support for the rest of the lecture phase! :) 

I'm getting closer and closer in getting all my things ready for Ukraine. As of today there are 21 days until I'm off to Kyiv! In preparation of this I've been packing and repacking. And packing again. Just to be sure that everything fits. This is most likely a result of the fact that I live in a house of perfectionists. It helps to have them around at times like this. ;) 

My parents thought it would be fun to have "Thanksgiving" dinner at our house before I leave. So in two weeks I will be eating turkey and pumpkin pie a little bit earlier than all of my American friends! 

I can't wait to see Kyiv again!

Pray for me for favor at the sale! 

Victoria

PS. Click on this link below to donate towards my trip to Ukraine!

Donate Towards My Trip!

Party Time!

9:14 AM

Today my family is throwing a going away party for me. At first I didn't even know it was happening! I just came home one day to find out that my parents decided to host a party. I realize that I'm not used to planning parties when my only response was a drawn out "Ok...." I've warmed up to the idea really, which is a good thing considering its in less an 8 hours! :) 

Mom decided that it would be a cool idea to set out a notebook for everyone to write notes in so I can take it with me to Ukraine. If any of you can't make it tonight feel free to write a comment or just message me or something if you would like to say something nice... *hint hint.* ;) On that note, I'm sorry to any of you who may be sad yet (excited for me I hope!) about me leaving. It might seem like I don't care about leaving California, but in reality, I do! I'm just really excited. Just felt like I should put that out there. Thanks for being supportive friends and family!

Well got to go get ready for S'mores, fun, and friends! 

Wish me luck, 

Victoria :]

P.S. For those who live in my area and are reading this: Don't forget the garage sale is in two weeks.:)

Ukraine Preparations

4:12 PM

Independence Statue in Kyiv

As of today there is just about one month until I leave for Ukraine. I'm getting too excited to go back to Ukraine! My poor parents must be going crazy. I keep randomly thinking of what clothes I should bring and what I'd hate to leave behind, and packing it in my suitcase. Yes, I've been packing a month in advance. You may say I'm crazy, but I'd just like to say that I'm just planning ahead. :) 

For those who have no clue what I'm talking about, I'll tell you! On September 7th, I will be flying all the way to Kyiv, Ukraine, to attend a YWAM (Youth with a Mission) Discipleship Training School (DTS for short). I will be there for roughly 2 1/2 months for training in the mission field. After that I will be spending the rest of the time in Moldova doing ministry until I come home in mid February. 

In preparing for the trip, I've been up to a few things; these things especially need prayer for! 

1) Praying for Ukraine and Moldova. For the people and government of both places, and especially for Moldova's ailing economy. 

2) PACKING! I have a lot of these to get for the trip, so prayer that I have everything I need is definitely in order to calm my nerves! (Preparedness for cold weather is a big one, since I'm a California girl. I'm not super worried since there will be places to get more clothes just  in case!)

3) Last thing: On August 18th I'm having a garage sale to raise funds for my trip! To all who read this, feel free to tell your friends to come by on that day. If you want to know more details I will update you on where and when (we haven't figured everything out yet). 

Well that's about it for now, more updates will be coming soon! 

Thanks for reading, 

Victoria :)