Above: Mission Team sorting hatsBelow: Orphans with hats!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
She is in Ukraine! With Hats!
So the trip started off with some minor complications. Kristy and her team were to depart Charlotte and fly to D.C., from D.C. to Vienna, Austria and then on to Kiev, Ukraine. That was the plan, anyway. Didn't quite turn out that way!
Below are the text messages I received from Kristy. The time stamp is the time I received the message in California.
They boarded the original plane in Charlotte only to deboard because of mechanical malfunctions. Then the flight was cancelled. So their team leader quickly secured different flying arrangements.
What actually happened was that they left Charlotte went to Frankfurt, Germany and then to Kiev. I received word from Kristy that they arrived in Frankfurt at 12:20 a.m. (PST). See picture below.
Below are the text messages I received from Kristy. The time stamp is the time I received the message in California.
At 4:18 a.m. – We are on the ground in Kiev. Waiting to go through passport control and then get baggage and go through customs. It is 2:15 in afternoon here. We have just crossed the 26 hours awake mark and I am thrilled and so happy to be here. Now if I can just keep my traveling companions awake, it will be a fun day!
At 6:37 a.m. - All but one luggage got here. We are not on the bus (not train mercifully….using seminary’s bus) for the 6 hour ride to Rivine. Oh Lori! It is wonderful and rainy and I love all the people and the craziness of this place. I am so happy to be here. Thanks for the prayers. I will message later before bed. Now been up 28.5 hours. Starting to get punchy. It is unbelievable how things have changed. I am in awe! We are driving on an 8 lane highway!! In Ukraine!! Ok pass along that we are ok.
At 10:15 a.m. -- It is just after 8 pm here. We are almost to the seminary where we will get settled in, eat dinner and then (mercifully) get some sleep. We are all doing well though so so tired. It is about 56 degrees out and murky and drizzling rain. Perfect weather. Won’t be able to call tonight…the signal is too weak, but I will try to call tomorrow. Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement. Have a good day.
At 11:54 a.m. – How far is 56 kilometers in miles?
(My answer to her 34.7967 miles)
At 11:59 a.m. – Thank you so much. That is how much further we have to go to the seminary. I am starting to think this is a movie and we are just going to keep going forever :)
I replied back to her “LOL. Hopefully you can get some much needed rest soon!”
At 12:06 pm – Yes. I am ready for some sleep. The bus is very nice but the roads are really really rough. Haven’t been able to sleep so hopefully when we get to the seminary. They plan to feed us soup for supper then let us go to bed.
At 6:37 a.m. - All but one luggage got here. We are not on the bus (not train mercifully….using seminary’s bus) for the 6 hour ride to Rivine. Oh Lori! It is wonderful and rainy and I love all the people and the craziness of this place. I am so happy to be here. Thanks for the prayers. I will message later before bed. Now been up 28.5 hours. Starting to get punchy. It is unbelievable how things have changed. I am in awe! We are driving on an 8 lane highway!! In Ukraine!! Ok pass along that we are ok.
At 10:15 a.m. -- It is just after 8 pm here. We are almost to the seminary where we will get settled in, eat dinner and then (mercifully) get some sleep. We are all doing well though so so tired. It is about 56 degrees out and murky and drizzling rain. Perfect weather. Won’t be able to call tonight…the signal is too weak, but I will try to call tomorrow. Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement. Have a good day.
At 11:54 a.m. – How far is 56 kilometers in miles?
(My answer to her 34.7967 miles)
At 11:59 a.m. – Thank you so much. That is how much further we have to go to the seminary. I am starting to think this is a movie and we are just going to keep going forever :)
I replied back to her “LOL. Hopefully you can get some much needed rest soon!”
At 12:06 pm – Yes. I am ready for some sleep. The bus is very nice but the roads are really really rough. Haven’t been able to sleep so hopefully when we get to the seminary. They plan to feed us soup for supper then let us go to bed.
So after a couple of long days of traveling they have made it! I have only talked to her through text messages but she sounds like she is having the best time of her life, even if she is dead tired. Please continue to pray for her and her team as this is just the beginning!
Today's Quote
"The feeling of sleepiness when you are not in bed, and can't get there, is the meanest feeling in the world." ~Edgar Watson Howe
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Bon Voyage, Kristy!
If everything Kristy has planned works out, she will be sending me pictures so I can load them here for all you crafty hat knitters and blog readers to view; thus, making me her guest blogger. I know I won’t be as witty and as funny as Kristy but if you would like the occasional update, please stop by from time to time in the next three weeks.
Kristy has made her first leg of the trip safely. I took her to the airport yesterday morning and she arrived in North Carolina safely. She did tell me that when she was on the plane, her seatmate was praying out loud that this plane wouldn’t crash and they wouldn’t all die in a horrible way. Thankfully, they didn’t. (Kristy has a knack at finding all the “interesting” people).
This evening she will be meeting up with the rest of her mission team and tomorrow they will begin this remarkable journey to the Ukraine.
It seemed just like yesterday when Kristy told me she was going to the Ukraine and her dream to take a “few” hand-knitted hats. I asked her how many hats and she believed if she knit a hat a day for one month and some-here-and-some-there she hoped to have a little over a hundred. Today, because of the generosity of you, her family, her friends and most importantly, God, she has 903 hats! It makes me completely speechless when I consider of the enormity of what everyone has done!
Our local paper wrote an article about Kristy and all the hats. Please read it here. It really is an amazing article. It doesn’t seem like it online, but the article was the entire front page of the “life” section in the paper.
Thank you all for everything you have done to make this possible! You really are amazing!
Guest Blogger and Favorite Sister-in-Law, Lori
Email me at lorihalyburton@hotmail.com
Today's Quote
"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" -- Hudson Taylor
Kristy has made her first leg of the trip safely. I took her to the airport yesterday morning and she arrived in North Carolina safely. She did tell me that when she was on the plane, her seatmate was praying out loud that this plane wouldn’t crash and they wouldn’t all die in a horrible way. Thankfully, they didn’t. (Kristy has a knack at finding all the “interesting” people).
This evening she will be meeting up with the rest of her mission team and tomorrow they will begin this remarkable journey to the Ukraine.
It seemed just like yesterday when Kristy told me she was going to the Ukraine and her dream to take a “few” hand-knitted hats. I asked her how many hats and she believed if she knit a hat a day for one month and some-here-and-some-there she hoped to have a little over a hundred. Today, because of the generosity of you, her family, her friends and most importantly, God, she has 903 hats! It makes me completely speechless when I consider of the enormity of what everyone has done!
Our local paper wrote an article about Kristy and all the hats. Please read it here. It really is an amazing article. It doesn’t seem like it online, but the article was the entire front page of the “life” section in the paper.
Thank you all for everything you have done to make this possible! You really are amazing!
Guest Blogger and Favorite Sister-in-Law, Lori
Email me at lorihalyburton@hotmail.com
Today's Quote
"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" -- Hudson Taylor
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
And The Winner Is....
ELLIE SHERMAN
Congratulations, Ellie!
Ellie is a local knitter who joined us late in the hat project but contribute a beautiful hat none the less and donated to the cause just last week. Thank you so much Ellie!
Here's how it went down.
My fabulous co-worker Yolanda (who is the wife and daughter-in-law of the generous fellows at Terry's Touch of Gold) brought her adorable offspring by my office (I was working late, imagine that...)
My adorable (if reluctant) models
Sydnee modeling the Hers watch
And Matthew displaying the His watch
I put all of the names in to a hat (a straggler that just arrived today from one of Katy's coworkers) and abra-cadabra
....we have a winner!
....we have a winner!
Congratulations, Ellie!! Thank you so much to all of you for your support. Your generous donations, your monetary support, your time and effort, your encouragement, your willingness to believe in this "little" project....for everything. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Today's Quote
"Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present." Albert Camus
Monday, September 15, 2008
Final Countdown
Wow how time flies! Just 5 days until I leave. Crazy!
Today is the last day for the raffle drawing. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!
I've gotten quite a few hats over the course of the last week. Currently we are at 881. I am still knitting hats and I've asked a few local knitters to make a few more in hopes of making it an even 900. (At this point, I do not doubt for even a minute that this is a very real possibility.) I have pictures but I don't have my camera handy at the moment.
Thanks for all of your comments and emails about the project. It really has been awesome. I am so excited about this trip. So many things to accomplish at home and work between now and Saturday but I know this week is going to be a whirlwind.
Today is the last day for the raffle drawing. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!
I've gotten quite a few hats over the course of the last week. Currently we are at 881. I am still knitting hats and I've asked a few local knitters to make a few more in hopes of making it an even 900. (At this point, I do not doubt for even a minute that this is a very real possibility.) I have pictures but I don't have my camera handy at the moment.
Thanks for all of your comments and emails about the project. It really has been awesome. I am so excited about this trip. So many things to accomplish at home and work between now and Saturday but I know this week is going to be a whirlwind.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Eight Hundred & Twenty
Total Hat Count: 820
2.73 times the original goal of 300.
Approximately 140 pounds. (That means 3 pieces of luggage devoted solely to hats.)
ETA: correct weight.
More than 90 individual knitters/crocheters.
Based on some very scientific figuring, we will have enough hats for...
.....the children and staff at the orphanage in Rivne (the original intended beneficiaries of the Hat Quest),
.....the children other children in the village where we will primarily be staying,
.....the children at another orphanage we will be visiting in another town.
Thank you seems inadequate but really, sincerely THANK YOU ALL! There are not words grand enough to tell you how awesome this project has been and how sincerely moving it is for me to see so many individuals come together from so many corners of the world for this project. I am moved and awed at your enthusiasm and generosity and sheer kindness and decency. Thank you all so much!
Here they are - 787 (which is what I had as of the deadline. The other 33 arrived in today's mail!)
Rear view (nifty, huh?)
An extra special thank you to Kaylee, Deb & Robin (pictured with the hats, below) who braved the absurdly hot Sunday morning with me yesterday and helped to create this display...which took nearly an hour!
2.73 times the original goal of 300.
Approximately 140 pounds. (That means 3 pieces of luggage devoted solely to hats.)
ETA: correct weight.
More than 90 individual knitters/crocheters.
Based on some very scientific figuring, we will have enough hats for...
.....the children and staff at the orphanage in Rivne (the original intended beneficiaries of the Hat Quest),
.....the children other children in the village where we will primarily be staying,
.....the children at another orphanage we will be visiting in another town.
Thank you seems inadequate but really, sincerely THANK YOU ALL! There are not words grand enough to tell you how awesome this project has been and how sincerely moving it is for me to see so many individuals come together from so many corners of the world for this project. I am moved and awed at your enthusiasm and generosity and sheer kindness and decency. Thank you all so much!
Here they are - 787 (which is what I had as of the deadline. The other 33 arrived in today's mail!)
Rear view (nifty, huh?)
An extra special thank you to Kaylee, Deb & Robin (pictured with the hats, below) who braved the absurdly hot Sunday morning with me yesterday and helped to create this display...which took nearly an hour!
Now, might I humbly suggest that each of you who have participated in this project in anyway find someone and show them the picture of the hats above and say proudly, "See? Look what we did!" and smile and hug them with the pride and enthusiasm of a new parent.
Thank You!!
Today's Quote
"Anybody can do just about anything with himself that he really wants to and makes up his mind to do. We are capable of greater things than we realize. " Norman Vincent Peale
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