Today was one of those good kinds of days. We were checking up on things at the shelter and started talking to one of the families staying there. It’s a young couple with one child and another on the way. The mom Katya, is beautiful and very pregnant! She was craving apples, and though we don’t typically buy special food for individuals at the shelter, we agreed that in this situation, it was the least we could do for her.

After we got back from the store, we climbed the three flights of stairs to their room and delivered the apples. It was a beautiful moment to see how grateful they were for something so simple.

We went about our day, and a few hours later, we got a message from the husband inviting us back to the shelter for a snack. As we walked in the door, we were hit with the wonderful smell of something baking. That’s a good feeling because the shelter doesn’t usually smell great. Put a bunch of people who came from rough living conditions in one house, and you get a wild variety of smells!

We were welcomed into the kitchen, where Katya pulled a plate of apple bread from the oven. She offered us chai with the warm bread, and we spent the next while trying to have a conversation with the help of Google Translate. Even though there was a big language barrier, we were able to build a friendship that goes beyond language and cultural differences.

I’m so thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to meet and interact with so many beautiful people here in Ukraine.