We've been home about 10 weeks now. The entire trip this year was such a different experience. The months leading up to the trip through the transition period at home were filled with unexpected challenges that made my experience more challenging than any previous year. I've spent many hours in the past 10 weeks thinking and reflecting on our time in Ukraine and what my future there will look like. A lot about the trip held a sense of finality for me. So many of the kids I'm close to have graduated and moved on to adult life so camp will be very different in the future.
So what's next? Over the past two years, my life has changed dramatically because of my experiences in Ukraine. I keep going back, and the ache to stay for a longer period of time just gets stronger and stronger. I've entertained the crazy idea of moving to Ukraine in the past but have never seriously looked at my options. For whatever reason, this time is different. I have decided to begin exploring what it would take to move to Ukraine after I finish Grad school. There have been many conversations surrounding this topic, whether between me and my closest friends or me and God. And at this moment, I think I will move there. The next year I hope will be a time for truth to be revealed to me through solitude and silence...two things I'm praying for more of in the coming year.
I am thankful for all my friends, family, and supporters who have given me the opportunity to visit Ukraine four times. I am so grateful to have gotten to be a part of the amazing things I've been able to witness and experience. I look forward to seeing where my story heads after graduation, whether in Nashville or in Ukraine. Please keep me in your prayers that God would give me wisdom in decision making and eyes to see His desires for my life wherever that may take me.
