The sweetest of smiles
And a cute little nose.
All these add up
A baby ---
The greatest of gifts
The last available store is this one shown below. I've only been to it once and decided not to go back since they mostly only sell alcohol, dried fish, and bread.
Once you leave the main road, there are three or four other villages nestled among the trees, and beautiful fields where wheat grows for miles. 
God gave us a little piece of heaven on earth out here. Though life is very simple and mere survival becomes of utmost importance at times, there is no denying God's beauty all around us. We love our peaceful drives home.
Pictured below is the first little tree-lined dirt road you come to in our village. This is one of four roads we take into our house, which is about 1/4 mile down from the asphalt road. Depending on the time of year and the severity of the mud or snow on these little dirt roads, it is always a question of which one we will drive down next. 
One of two bus stops in our village:
In my next post, I will show you pictures of the homes in my village. Eventually, I will be inviting you for an inside tour of our home out here as well. So, stay tuned!
So, back to the banana bread... 
Like I was saying, I baked several loaves of banana bread last week, and it reminded me of several years ago and scores of "mini loaves" that I made on a regular basis for awhile. We were helping to start a new church, so I would bake loaves and take them with us on visitation to give to people we were able to strike up a conversation with. 
For Nate, a "talking" camel:
For Brianna, a beautiful embroidered skirt:
For 2-month old Micah, lots of lovin' and kissin':
And for me, drumroll please.... 
The chewiest, gooiest, most delicious dates you have ever sunk your teeth into. Seriously, people, they taste like candy for adults! David knows I love these, and he has started going out of his way to find me the very best Israel has to offer. We can get these here in Ukraine, but let me tell you.... they don't stand up to the ones grown right in the soil of the Promised Land!
If you come to my house and I still have some of these dates left, I promise to share. (By the way, the big bonus here is that my kids don't like them! And, if you think you don't like them either, I bet you'll change your mind after tasting these.) So, come on over, friends, for the "welcome home" party going on at my house!
We sold our car before we left for furlough last October and have not bought another one yet, though we hope to soon. However, I remember the troubles we had last year getting up and down our dirt roads.... flinging lots of mud with our tires, losing traction, slipping and sliding every which way... so, in a way, I am glad we have not bought a car yet. This is the best month of the year to be without one, hands down. Since hubby is in Israel and I needed to be at the church two days in a row, the VanSants invited the kids and I to stay the night at their house so that I did not have to venture out with my little ones twice in a row (one of those times being for Sunday services). So, I packed backpacks for the kids with as little as possible.... 
and then we ventured out into the mud for a little hike out to the asphalt road. There, we were met by a taxi which we had already called and ordered. After the taxi driver got over the initial shock of: 1) the muddy, plastic bags on our feet 2) the fact that Americans were living way out in this village 3) the astonishing amount of children I have... yes, four is a lot here... he thanked me for thinking ahead so that his car would be kept clean. Ha! Then, we headed to the VanSant's house for some much-needed fellowship. 
I want to let you in on a little secret - if you want to have the greatest fun in the world with your kids, get some grocery bags and tie them to their feet with rubber bands. You don't even have to have muddy roads to walk down, though that is certainly a bonus. Just let them slide around the house and there you have it... hours of entertainment that hardly costs a thing!
Did you know we live in the Bahamas? I know, I know... I'm confusing you. Within Ukraine there is a little village called the Bahamas.
At least, that it what the sign says at our village bus stop - "Bahamas" - something one of the villagers jokingly painted and hammered up. In actuality, though, our village has no name unless you count "3rd village" as a name. Our streets out here are nameless as well. And, our house has no number! 
We have been using public transportation since returning to Ukraine. And, boy, do we stir up the comments and stares... especially since, other than us, no one who uses our village bus is less than 60 years of age! The reason? Most of the younger generation do not live out in the villages where there are no schools or jobs. Daily transportation to and from the city would just be too difficult since most Ukrainians rely on public transportation and these buses only run four to five times a day. 
So, to where were we riding in those pictures? To church... our favorite place... to enjoy Wednesday evening services, baptism, and the Lord's Supper! 
Pictured below are Pastor Bob (left) and the four who were baptized: 
And this (below), my dear friends, is our indoor baptistry! 
Yes, on the mission field we "make do" with what is available. But, praise the Lord for those who have been saved and boldly come before the church to follow the Lord in baptism, no matter what the baptistry looks like. What a sweet testimony! 
Look what appeared in stores in my little part of the world while we were on furlough! And, I did not even have to go to a "big" grocery store to buy them. 
When we returned from America two weeks ago, these boxes (above) were waiting for us. And, I promised to share with you what was in them. When we first came to Ukraine nearly nine years ago, I'll never forget David telling me that we could live on little and still be very happy. He said, "If Ukrainians can live without it, so can we!" Wisely stated. Of course, he was telling me that we could not just box up Wal-Mart (or Target) and ship it to ourselves, and that I was going to have to get used to not having availability to some things anymore. Not that we lived with a lot then, anyway... I mean we were newlyweds and had just finished deputation. (We were on the field just two years after we were married.) 
Now, some things you saw in the pictures that we can get here: baking powder and cocoa (I just wanted the handy, labeled cans for refilling with the little packets we buy here), popcorn (expensive here) and peanut butter (expensive and "dry").
