& so it begins...

Well.

I am not really the "blogging" type of person. But I have a blog now and I really am grateful that I do. I am grateful because this blog was made and will be updated for a purpose. & a good one at that! This blog is going to be for you guys. I hope to write here as much as possible about all of the experiences and journeys that I will be having in Ukraine for the next 4 months. I am going to Ukraine through ILP to be a volunteer English teacher for little children.

I found out about ILP from my best friend, Rileigh (Nikolaus) Ellsworth (woah). She went to China and taught little children there. She introduced me to the program but I chose to go to Ukraine because it's a neighbor to Slovakia, which is where I served my LDS mission for 2 years & I plan on going back to visit while I am abroad. ILP is a program that has volunteers in Mexico, China, Ukraine, Russia, Thailand, & Lithuania all living the adventure of a lifetime. 

While I am over yonder I will live among the people, do what they do, and eat what they eat. In fact, all of the ILP volunteers in Ukraine will be living with different host families throughout the capital city, Kiev. Most of the volunteers do not know who their host families are until they show up on their doorstep, luggage in hand. But for me, it's been a little bit unique. I was able to get into contact with my host family via Facebook back in March of this year. & to be brutally honest with you, I could not have personally hand picked a more perfect host family for me. My future family consists of:

Dad and Mom (Maksim & Natalya)

& these 2 little rascals (left: Niki, right: Mark)

No, I am not kidding. Yes, I am going to live with THEM! They could be models. All of them. 

Even though ILP is not a church program of any kind, I am fortunate to have a host family that practices the same religion that I do! My host dad is the bishop of his ward even! Pretty shocking, I know. I really hit the jack pot on this one. I don't really personally know them yet, but I already love them so much for being willing enough to take me under their wing during my semester abroad.

You're probably all bored to death by now but the last things that I wish to write about (well, more like the last people that I wish to write to) are the people who contributed to my "get me to Ukraine fund". You guys will never know how much your sacrifice actually means to me. This experience is going to change not only me, but also the children that I am going to be teaching English to. It really will help shape their entire future. I am so blessed to have such selfless people like you guys in my life and I really will never be able to repay you for what you have given me. I pretty much have my entire fee payed for which is such a blessing. I will always have you guys in my heart while I am gone and I will constantly remember that if it weren't for you, the experience would not be possible.

THANK YOU!

If you're even remotely curious as to what I am up to in Ukraine, stop back in frequently because I am going to try and write as often as people to keep you all updated.

P.S. I LEAVE IN 11 DAYS!!!!!