Who am I?

Now married for 26 years to my pediatrician husband, our family of five moved to Kyiv, Ukraine in the summer of 2001.

I was raised primarily in Cincinnati, Ohio, but moved to Maryland after marrying Jim. All 3 of our children were born in Salisbury, Maryland: twin daughters and two years later, our son.

After nearly 20 years of private practice, Jim sold his practice, we sold our home, and gave away our van…and made the move to Kyiv. Our mission here is called Ukraine Medical Outreach and we have the goal to reach the medical professionals (an unreached people group, per Jim!) for Christ. He also teaches them how to share their faith with their patients. The Ukrainian physicians will reach many more people in a day than one missionary ever could!

My delight is visiting AIDS orphans who are hospitalized for secondary illnesses. In Ukraine, children are admitted to hospitals along with a parent. The parent attends to all the needs of the child except for the actual medical treatment. This includes feeding them, changing diapers, playing with them, providing clothing and fresh sheets. The children that I visit have no parent — and so no extra attention. The staffs in the hospitals are too sparse and too busy to attend to the extra needs of the orphans. It is a privilege to be able to hold these children as they eat, to tickle them, to kiss them, to toss them in the air, to simply love them.

Our children have busy lives of their own: (from youngest to oldest)

Jamie is a fifth-year student at the Conservatory of Music here, and is a percussionist with the National Philharmonia Orchestra here. He is married to Dasha, a journalist who is completing her final year of English language study.

Jeanne is studying biblical counseling here, and will be marrying Kolya, carpenter/builder, in January 2008, and moving about 90 minutes south of Kyiv.

Anna is a missionary in Asia, and has already served there for 3 of 5 years.