Monica had a great time catching up with cousins, aunts and uncles, while the kids had fun in the pool and on boat rides. Here, Monica and Caleb work their legs on a paddle boat.

Our family spent the month of July traveling to conferences and enjoying summertime activities, especially ones not available in Ukriane, such as visiting extended family and BASEBALL! We also assisted with a Vacation Bible School put on as an outreach to a neighboring community. We hope you enjoy catching up with our family's summer-time activities!

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The Matthias Family > The month started with a trip to Iowa to attend a family reunion. Monica and the kids (along with Monica's sister's family) drove about 8 hours to a resort at Okoboji. Mark remained home to help Laura with her chemotherapy treatment. You can see that the kids (and their cousin, Caitlin) slept part of the way!

The Matthias Family > Monica had a great time catching up with cousins, aunts and uncles, while the kids had fun in the pool and on boat rides. Here, Monica and Caleb work their legs on a paddle boat.

The Matthias Family > Monica on the boat with her mother Ruth, aunt Annette and cousin Marcia (from left).

The Matthias Family > Caleb enjoyed attending a skills camp put on by the White Sox organization. As we couldn't watch or practice much baseball in Ukraine, Caleb had a lot to catch up on, but learned quickly and enjoyed being with his coaches.

The Matthias Family > The camp did a great job of teaching fundamentals to the boys. Here Caleb is learning the footwork involved in throwing the ball.

The Matthias Family > Is he ready for the majors or what?? :D

The Matthias Family > The third week of July was spent at 2 different conferences organized by our mission agency, SEND International. First we travelled to Holland, Michigan for SEND's Family conference. This conference is for all of the SEND missionaries currently in the States as well as those interested in finding out if God may want them to serve Him through missions. In additon to the time we spent in prayer for needs around the world (seen above), we also heard presentations from missionaries about how God is "on the move" in countries and places such as Alaska, Romania, Russia, the Phillipines and Japan.

The Matthias Family > At the final night of the conference, all the kid of the missionaries put on a performance for the adults.

The Matthias Family > Corrie Mae enjoyed reconnecting with friends she had made at our conference in Germany last summer. Katrina and her sisters (along with their parents, of course!) are missionaries in Russia.

Monica had a great time catching up with cousins, aunts and uncles, while the kids had fun in the pool and on boat rides. Here, Monica and Caleb work their legs on a paddle boat.