Happy New Year! I sure am glad that 2008 is behind us...
Anyhow, I have been working with some folks over at Cahaba Park Church (e.g., Brad Stephens and Tom Saxon) regarding a short-term mission trip to Odessa, Ukraine from March 13 through March 23. Our team will be working at Orphanage #34, which houses many mentally challenged children and children with Autism. We visited #34 on our April 2008 trip, and found it to be an exceptional orphanage, but one that has received limited western assistance/exposure to date. We will be taking several Autism specialists who will be working with teachers and parents of children with Autism (as you can imagine, Ukrainian knowledge of Autism is extremely outdated, if non-existent in some respects). We will also engage in some manual labor and one-on-one work with the children and staff.
We will depart Birmingham on March 13, and return to Birmingham on March 23. Our return plans will include a two-day layover in Prague, Czech Republic.
I would really like for some people from Foundations to consider going on this trip. For those who have never been to Ukraine, you will get the opportunity to see the city (e.g., Opera House and traveling via a marshutka) and experience some of its culture (e.g., any dish with dill and/or cow tongue). You will also get the chance to meet some of the Covenant-assisted missionaries who live in Odessa, including MTW missionary Bob Burnham and his family (http://www.burnhamsnapshots.com/).
Please let me know if you are remotely interested, and I will do my best to talk you into it. If there is enough interest, I will ask Tom Saxon to hold an information session specifically for our class. Either way, we will have two or three meetings before the trip in order to meet everyone on the team, plan and discuss generally.
I am excited about this trip and the opportunities at Orphanage #34.
Thanks,
John
P.S. – Ann and I will be out of town this Sunday, but please feel free to give either Ann (871-3486) or me (987-5578) a call to discuss between now and next Sunday.
John Herbert Roth
Assistant General Counsel
Harbert® Management Corporation
2100 Third Avenue North, Suite 600
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
(205) 987-5578 (voice)
(205) 987-5505 (fax)
jroth@harbert.net
www.harbert.net
