Meet the Team: Carter Henderson

Name: Carter Henderson

Age: 28

Occupation: Prosthetics Technician

Favorite Movie: Swingers/ The Dark Night

What is your perfect day?: Coaching a basketball game and spending time with my best friends

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?: Isaac Newton

WHY are you going???: I will know the reason for my going when I return and I say that with sincerity. I know the kids in Ukraine need people to show them that despite all the abandonment they have experienced there are people in the world who care about them and I am looking forward to doing that.

Meet the Team: Michelle Reising

Name: Michelle "Masha" Reising

Age: old enough not to disclose it here

Occupation: Graduate Student in Psychology (please don't ask me if I can read your thoughts - we're not telepathic)

Favorite Movie: anything old, especially anything with Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Gregory Peck, James Stewart, or Montgomery Clift, or Humphrey Bogart

What is your perfect day?: a day on the beach with everyone I love (and where I miraculously don't get sun burned)

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?: my grandmother, Gingie, when she was in her 20s

WHY are you going???: God changed my life 3 years ago when I first went to Ukraine, albeit hesitantly, I don't know how to pass up a chance to see the kids again...and to meet new kids! I've never experienced God's love more strongly than when I have experienced his love for those kids...and how that reflects his love for me as well

Meet the Team: Kenton Gott

Name: Kenton Gott

Age: 20

Occupation: Pizza Maker (Mellow Mushroom)

Favorite Movie: Gladiator

What is your perfect day?: Play hockey until I drop, then read a good book on my back porch in some fine weather. that is all.

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?: Sir Laurence Olivier

WHY are you going???: I heard the call to go back to Ukraine and witness to those I feel need love and affection the most.

Meet the Team: Russell Anderson

Name: Russ Anderson

Age: 29

Occupation: Entrepre-unemployed

Favorite Movie: The Santa Clause

What is your perfect day? The Titans win the Super Bowl

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? CS Lewis

WHY are you going??? Because the Lord has really blessed the call he put on my heart several years ago to lead teams from my church. I'm thankful to Him that He's done so much with it and it's had such a great impact on my life and the lives of those around me.

Meet the Team: Heather Harris

Name: At camp: "Hezzair"

Age: 25

Occupation:Program Coordinator at Vanderbilt University

Favorite Movie: About a Boy

What is your perfect day? My perfect day would involve some of my favorite Ukrainians being able to experience some of my favorite Nashville things. So basically a large group of Ukrainian teenagers wandering down 12th South getting coffee at Frothy Monkey, popsicles at Las Paletas, and having a picnic at Sevier Park. The best of both worlds!

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? Donald Miller

WHY are you going??? In 2009, my first trip to Ukraine affected me greatly and changed my life. A trip I assumed would be a one-time life-changing experience instead threw me into a world where Nashville was my first home and Ukraine became a close second. I am excited to go on my fourth trip to Ukraine and begin the transition from loving these kids as orphans to loving them as graduates heading out into the overwhelming world of adult life. I am thankful every single day to have these kids in my life. They remind me of our Father's incredible, doting love for us and to have an opportunity to be (an unqualified) vessel for that Love has changed me forever.

Meet the Team: Kelly Wendel

Name: Kelly Wendel

Occupation: Special Education Program Coordinator

Age: 30

Favorite Movie: Remember the Titans

What is your perfect day?: My perfect day would include playing in the sunshine, friends, homemade dessert, and

probably a spontaneous dance party.

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?: Paula Deen (we would cook together) – great food, lots of laughs, and a life story to learn from.

WHY are you going???: This will be my fourth trip to Ukraine. When I look back to when I signed up the first time, I think it was mostly because I had always wanted to go on a mission trip and, despite my reservations, I

felt God leading me there. I certainly did not anticipate it resulting in a long-term commitment to the

orphans I met in 2009. However, I have witnessed how Jesus’ love and light are transforming lives in

such a dark and seemingly hopeless place and am grateful for every chance I have to be a part of His

movement there.

Pray for the churches in Ukraine

Like greater post-Soviet society, even the churches and believers of Ukraine don't take an active role in the lives of orphans. Old communist expectations still linger even amongst the church that care of the orphans is the government's responsibility and not their's. They tend to ignore scripture like James 1:27, that "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look afterorphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Pray for the churches of Ukraine that there would be a sweeping change of attitude toward the needy orphans in their country. Pray that church leaders would look to actively engage in the care of orphans, and that church-goers would be compelled to step in and maybe even adopt these children and save their lives. Pray that they would stop looking to the government to address this issue but see the care of them as a way the Lord reveals a better understanding of how we all are his adopted children!

Meet the Team: Betsy Trent

Name: Betsy Trent

Age: 24

Occupation: Nanny

Favorite Movie: Nacho Libre

What is your perfect day?: I would wake up around 7 am, have a nice cup of coffee, read and write in my journal, clean my room, eat a granola bar...then go to the gym (preferably a spin class); after that I would get cleaned up, then hang out with friends at a park after we've gone to Sonic happy hour and gotten half-price drinks. By this time it would be around 5 pm and I would like to have dinner with my friends (potluck, if you will)...then we could hang out in our backyard, sit by the fire pit, play some corn hole, drink some ice cold lemonade and enjoy each others company. I would brush my teeth, wash my face, and be in bed around 10pm....and that, to me, is a perfect day.

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?: My sister

WHY are you going???: My first trip to Ukraine was this past January. I loved every minute of it; even though there were things that took some adjusting to, those very things made the trip all the better. The kids we were able to visit with were so full of life; it was truly amazing to see them so happy to see us and so quick to warm up to us- even me, because I had never met any of them before. As big of an impact as we may make in their lives, they're making just as much of an impact in ours- whether they know that or not- and that, to me, is reason enough to go. Our Father in Heaven is watching those children, and I feel blessed to be part of such a wonderful mission. I can't wait for this summer!

Meet the Team: Lori Martin

Name: Lori Martin

Age: 30

Occupation: Care Partner at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital

Favorite Movie: tie between A River Runs Through It and The Pianist

What is your perfect day?: planting flowers or picking strawberries in the sun while drinking red wine and pondering a trip to Venice the next day...

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?: I mean, really, I should say Jesus, right? I'd love to pick Fiona Apple's brain. Or, talk to Regina Spektor about life in Moscow vs. life in NYC and ask her what "Apres Moi" is about.

WHY are you going???: I feel such a supernatural LOVE for these kids. I see myself in many of them. God has been at work my entire life preparing me for this amazing journey. Although it can feel uncertain at times and I am an emotional sap who gets attached easily, it has become so much more than how it's affecting me. I want to stay in these kids' lives somehow and allow God to glorifiy Himself through me on their behalf and through nothing good in me save HIM.

Meet the Team: Josh McLean

Name: Josh McLean

Age: 30

Occupation: Middle School Teacher

Favorite Movie: Big Fish

What is your perfect day?: Working outside in the yard or hiking

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?: My Aunt Lisa

WHY are you going???: A mission trip has always been something I have wanted to do. I want to be a part of what God is doing in another part of the world, and say that I gave every part of me that I could for him. I also want to witness how life is different for people in countries outside of the U.S