I have been given the opportunity to volunteer in Ukraine this summer to help put on a one week summer camp for children in a refugee center.  Their families were forced out of their homes during the last two years due to war.  Their families ended up in Kiev, Ukraine where they are trying to find jobs and permanent housing.  There are approximately 80 children under the age of twelve.  The team I am traveling with will be targeting this age group of children but plan to have games and activities for the older teenagers in the afternoon, mostly in the form of games. 

During the last three years, most of the information American's have heard about Ukraine is the war with Russian separatists and annexation of the Crimea.  This turmoil has created a great need in Ukraine for kindness and compassion and I have accepted the call the serve the Ukrainian people this summer at the end of July. We will be assisting a refugee center being run by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and some other western, Non-Government Organizations. Others teams will be traveling to Kiev this year as well, one providing mental health services and training, and a second providing medical and dental assistance.

The non-profit organization I am volunteering for does not cover any of my expenses.  If you would be interested in assisting me with a donation to the non-profit to help cover the expenses, I would greatly appreciate it.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

I am reminded of the famous line from "Fiddler On The Roof" and the song, "If I Were A Rich Man".  I suppose I am a lot like him in his wishes.

He wished for a big house with one long staircase going up and a "and an even longer one coming down".  He wished for free time to do what he wanted instead of work or go to school.  He wanted to provide good things for his family so they would be happy and not worry.  Of course I would invest some so that my family would be taken care of for the rest of their lives.

There are other people I would help, people we know, people who need help, people who deserve a helping hand to get going, people who will later help others. 

Since I don't know anyone who is rich I don't know what these kind of people are like.  Oh, sure, I recognize some rich people who help others with their money but I don't know them.  This is a little hard for me to imagine because I would not want to hoard the money, I would not want to sit on all my riches and keep it all for myself.

There are some amazing places that I would want to take my family too.  Beautiful places and historical places.  Places like Rome, London, Paris, Beijing.  Other places like the Grand Canyon, the Andes, the Himalayas, the savannas of east Africa.

What would you do with your money if you were rich?

One of the places I have always wanted to go on vacation is Hawaii.  I want to go to one of the islands that is not very busy.  I want to especially spend time swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving.  I want to do this because I enjoy the amazing variety of sea life that you see on a coral reef.  The large turtles, brightly colored fish, eels, sea snakes and small sharks. 

I love the feel of the warm water and the warm sunshine, I enjoy looking for shells or all shapes and sizes that I can add to my collection, and I enjoy spending time with my family.

Another dream vacation for me would be driving race cars...but that is a post for another day.  What is your dream vacation?