Puzzle 2004 - Кийлов, Украина

Hey all! I thought I would share some of my past with you. I found some old pictures online from when I used to live in Ukraine. I was serving at a church called "Добрая Пристань" and our youth group went to a camp in the winter. The conference was called "Puzzle" and it was named this because three different churches joined forces to create this conference/camp and it was pretty sweet. We had a good time. One of my most memorable times from this trip was getting to take a hike at night through the village nearby. Kinda spooky, but very beautiful, considering no electricity ran through the village at night, so the stars were very bright.

I was 18 when these pictures were taken, so I suppose you'll notice I look a little different. Plus, I lived in a country where sunshine only showed up in the Spring and Summer seasons, so my hair looks incredibly dark. Besides my physical appearance, I believe I was going through a long depression due to many things. My family had just moved across the entire U.S. and were starting life anew. I didn't get to be a part of that. It was my first time leaving the house on my own, my first time being away for more that a week, it was the first time I ever left the country, AND I was all alone. Besides that, 1-2 weeks before I headed out for Ukraine, I was baptized. So I suppose there could have been a spiritual aspect to my depression (attacks maybe).