Warning: 9 Months Wrapped Up in a Single Blog

I did it. I survived. And it has been one of the greatest moments in my life and my most amazing accomplishment! I lived through my biggest fear; childbirth. My beautiful daughter, Nyellie Addison Runyan was born September 20, 2010 in Kiev, Ukraine.


Adam and I discovered I was pregnant mid January. It was exciting and terrifying. We had no plans to get pregnant while living in Ukraine and while living so far from family. Our start to the New Year was confronted with making difficult decisions, such as if we should stay in Kiev, move back to the USA, renew a work contract or stay home, and how to share the big news with family.


I had no idea what to expect as I announced my pregnancy to my family. We took a picture of our positive Ukrainian pregnancy test (which we had to learn how to ask for at the pharmacy) and emailed it to family. We called them on Skype and witnessed the reactions to the news as they opened the emails. Mary Lou, Adam's mom, had the best reaction. She has looked forward to a grandbaby since January 2, 2004, when we got married. Her smile stretched ear to ear and she wiggled in her seat as she giggled excitedly and nearly uncontrollably. Then, she would pause for a moment, look at the picture and again start laughing, squealing with delight and shaking. This repeated for the duration of our phone call.


Next we called Kim, my sister. My mom and dad were staying at her home, so we were able to share the news with them all. They gathered around the computer. When the email opened and the picture was revealed my dad asked, "Is this a joke?" Then Kim responded, "Kris wouldn't joke about this." At which my dad then replied, "Well, I better start working on a fishing rod!" Kim and my dad were very excited. However my mom was overtaken by sadness. She longed to be near me to give me a hug and walk through the pregnancy process with me. The distance was just too much for her to think about. Her sadness was soon replaced with joy and anticipation.


The conversations to follow would include my dad asking, "So how is my girl doing?" I would respond and he would snap at me, "I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to my granddaughter!" I loved hearing and seeing my father's excitement and joy in becoming a grandfather. When he and my mom bought a new home, he had it marked out where to build Nyellie's playground. When shopping at pawn shops and garage sales (which is one of my dad's hobbies), normally he would look for things to buy, fix up and sell. Now he is coming home with harmonica playing Mickey Mouse dolls, strollers, and other items for his little granddaughter. She's already captured his heart, and he hasn't even met her yet.... that is, face to face.

I will miss those crazy, vivid pregnancy dreams. Every night I would go to bed excited about what type of adventure I would go on. They were all so detailed and felt so real. I can remember Shere Khan from the Jungle Book chasing me in a village and in a swimming pool. And in another dream I found out my Papa and Granny were Jewish and I found my Papa's hair pin for his Yamika. It was really fancy and worth a lot of money. I wrote my mom the next day asking, "So, did you know Papa was Jewish?" Another dream had me running house to house coloring the floors with colored pencils. However, my favorite dream was when I was running with friends up a hill. I was running slow because I was pregnant. I decided to flap my arms and fly instead. My belly was too big that it weighed me down and bounced on the ground. I woke up laughing. Oh, yes, I will miss those crazy prego dreams!


I found great health care at American Medical Center in Kiev, and ISIDA Hospital. I have nothing else to compare it to as far as pregnancy and birthing care goes, but I felt well cared for. The greatest challenge I would meet would be communication with nurses at ISIDA. The doctors spoke English, but nurses did not. I had a practice run at ISIDA before the actual birth date, when I ate a nut that caused an allergic reaction so sever it threw my body into shock and put me in preterm labor. ISIDA stopped early labor, but it was a scary and overwhelming first experience at the hospital. No one spoke English and I refused to take pills or undergo medical treatment without knowing what it was and why it was being done. This made it very difficult since the nurses could not answer my questions and communicate issues. At first, they refused to let Adam stay in the rooms with me. This was due to the fact that men here do not take part in the pregnancy or delivery of the baby, so it was odd and quite culturally different for Adam to care to stay.


Traditionally men stay at home while the wife goes to the hospital, gives birth, and stays a few days in the hospital. It is not until the wife is released from the hospital that the husband goes and picks up the wife and baby, usually accompanied by the whole extended family and friends, balloons, and presents. The wife puts herself together, putting on make up, high heals and a tight little dress for her grand departure from the hospital. The fact that Ukrainian women can walk out of the hospital in high heals and a smile just days after giving birth made me much more comfortable with the thought of childbirth. It couldn't be as bad as I had imagined it to be.


Some Ukrainians are very cautious, overly careful, and very superstitious; that is, until it comes to smoking, spreading germs, and hygiene. For instance sitting on concrete will freeze your ovaries (I proved that one wrong), it is bad luck to shop for the baby before it is born, and it is bad luck to say that someone's newborn is cute or beautiful.


I was small but healthy throughout my pregnancy, and so was Nyellie. But, due to her small size every time I would go in for a check up nurses would freak out that she was so small. They would speak in Russian with concerned expressions on their faces that would send me into a panic. Eventually I learned that this is the way of traditional Ukrainian health care. They panic and give you the worst case scenarios then quickly follow up with, "But you are fine. You are healthy." I learned to ignore their first reactions and concerns and only listen to my doctor, not the nurses or other healthcare professionals.


I would also have to fight for what I wanted and thought was right. I really had to take my healthcare into my own hands and be very assertive. During the nut allergy they wanted to keep me in the hospital for several days. Each day I would ask to go home and they would say tomorrow I could go. Then the next day I would ask to go home and they would want me to stay another night. In The States, they would have stopped my contractions watched me for a couple hours after and then send me home, no overnight stay. Every time I went in for a check up, I knew they would want me to stay overnight for some reason. When my mom was in town and I had a minor sickness, I told my mom, "Watch, they will want me to stay overnight." And, they did. I just had to stay firm.


I was grateful Mary Lou and my mom were able to come during the final days of my pregancy. Mary Lou is a delivery nurse in New Mexico and made me feel much more comfortable having her with me during my delivery. Mary Lou stayed 3 weeks and my mom stayed 5 weeks. They both took such great care of Nyellie and me. I know that because of them, I got a better start at motherhood. And, thanks to them bringing me meals everyday to the hospital after Nyellie's birth I did not have to eat ground liver, sour milk or cold fish for breakfast. This caused a frenzy with the nursing staff. After two days in the hospital, they asked me why I have not been eating. As we were all enjoying stuffed bell peppers when they asked this question, I apologized for not letting them know food was not necessary because family was feeding me. I felt bad wasting, but, well, if you saw it you'd understand. Then the hospital administrator saw the stuffed bell peppers and said with all seriousness and concern, "You are forbidden to eat anything spicy!" Thanks again for the great food grandmas!


Childbirth was not nearly as bad as I had made it up to be in my head. It was not a walk in the park by any means, but somehow God gives us the ability to turn inside out, get hit by a bus, stand up and walk immediately after, and then gives us amnesia so we will do it all over again someday. Thank you God for giving us birth amnesia, so all we focus on is the joy and gift produced during the childbirth experience. I do remember craving candy (which I never eat), everything smelling like fish and cheap plastic, and my doctor telling me. "Kristen, you are like machine, push slower". But my most memorable moment was the first time I was able to meet my daughter. The doctor immediately placed Nyellie on my chest, we caught each others eyes, and words cannot express the intense emotions in that moment.

Overall I had a great and healthy pregnancy experience. I am happy to say that so far the distance from family has not been too painful, as I was able to spend two months in the summer in the USA, then my mom and Mary Lou came for the birth, and now it is time to pack the bags and spend another month in the USA with family. I can't wait for December 25th! Last year Santa brought my parents to me in Europe. This year Santa is bringing Nyellie to my parents. I am so thrilled to have three generations in my family again. Nyellie has been born into an incredible family. Welcome to the world my precious and beautiful little girl!

Birthday in Style

Alright, so June was quite a while ago, but regardless I think it is time to play catch up with my blog.... again. There are so many great stories and experiences that I need to document, if anything for the sole purpose of remembering in years to come. I hope you enjoy them.


Living in Ukraine has presented us with many opportunities that we would not have in the States. One of those opportunities has been travel. Where else can you ask yourself, "Self, we have nothing to do this weekend, what do you want to do? Well, how about fly into Germany, rent a car and just go were the wind takes us?" This is what Adam and I decided to do over his birthday weekend, June 18, 2010. It is rare that we have a weekend without anything to do; no youth group to lead, gathering to attend, pot luck to bake for, or school extracurricular activity to oversee. We saw an open window of opportunity and decided to make the most of it. We looked online for cheap airfare to anywhere. We stumbled on $100 round trip tickets to Dortmund Germany.


To make the most of our time we decided to make no plans at all. Let's just fly into Dortmund, rent a car and see what happens. No hotels booked, maps printed, or wish list of activities. Plus.... where's Dortmund?


Once we arrived to Dortmund we picked up our car rental. We had reserved a basic economy car and were upgraded to a brand new, top of the line BMW with all the bells and whistles. This car could practically drive it self. Now that we were traveling in style we headed out in one direction to see what awaited us on this spontaneous journey. First thing's first.... find a Starbucks and quench my coffee craving that I patiently endure for months and months. After inserting 'Starbucks' into our friendly British English speaking navigation system, Dorty (that's what we named her) lead us to the center of down town Dortmund. Getting out of the car we were pleasantly surprised by all the noise. The streets were filled with laughter, cheering, shouting, horns, people shouting "Deutschland" over and over, and colorful banners of black, red and yellow adorned cars, people, and even... dogs.

We had planned our trip unintentionally around the World Cup. All the cheering led us to believe that Germany won their game. In search of a good meal and the USA game, we soon found ourselves at Bum Bar, a small pub/cafe. We quickly became the center of attention, as we learned Dortmund is not a hot spot for tourists. Unlike many other cities we had traveled to in the European Union, English was not a widely known language. We sat down and asked for a menu. The waitress signaled for us to wait a minute. She dug through the cupboards above the bar, and reaching far into the bottom and the back pulled out an English menu. She blew the inch thick of settled dust off the cover and handed us the menus. The owner of the Bum approached us and said, "2007. Price changed food same." A man sitting next to us, who had obviously enjoyed his time in the bar previously before we joined him, took great interest in these English speaking foreigners. We tried our best to chat. We congratulated him on his country's win in their World Cup soccer game. He looked at us surprised and informed us that they had lost. Wow, if only we could have that kind of passion and pride in our country that we would cheer like that, even in a loss of an important game. How cool!


After eating a delicious meal and watching part of the USA game, I decided it was time for a change in scenery. While Adam stayed back in the bar, I made my way to the mall. I spent an hour exploring the mall and down town. When I returned to the bar Adam had made friends with everyone in there. Not surprising I know. He had a crowd around him, talking and laughing. One guy even left and bought candy for Adam, as a souvenir. When the man heard we were from Colorado, he left to buy Adam the famous German gummy candy Haribo. They have a version of gummy candy called Colorado.

With the crowd of friendly Germans we left the bar and explored down town. Our new friends paid our way on the city Farris wheel to give us a bird's eye tour of Dortmund.

Originally we thought we would fly into Dortmund and drive west to Amsterdam that night. Little did we know we would find so much to do and be so warmly welcomed by this small town. We found a hotel for the night and tuned in to watch the next World Cup game. Before getting too cozy for the night Adam made mention of cake for his birthday. I quickly made it my duty to find my husband chocolate cake on his birthday. Thinking this would be a fast and easy outing, I set out on foot. I was reminded of how small a town Dortmund was when every store and restaurant I came to was closed or closing, and it was only 9:30pm, on a Friday night! I was determined. I went restaurant to restaurant, bar to bar, cafe to cafe, and grocery store to grocery store. Nothing. I was about to go back to the hotel defeated, but thought I'd stop into one last restaurant along the way. I asked for chocolate cake and the gentleman who greeted me said there was no more cake. I must have looked very disappointed and sad because this waiter asked me why I wanted it so badly. I told him, "It's my husband's birthday and I have been searching for cake for over 2 hours. He's probably worried about me now, but I just don't want to go back empty handed." My family jokes about anywhere you travel there is always that guy who offers... "Amigo, amigo.... you want fishing boat, I get you fishing boat." "Amigo, amigo. You want tour I get you tour." "Mon amie, mon amie, you want Eiffel Tower, I get you Eiffel Tower." Well, this was no exception. The server looked at me and said, "You want chocolate cake? I get you chocolate cake!" He sped off and within 15 minutes returned with a beautiful large piece of chocolate cake with raspberry filling. He even gave me candles and matches! The man walked me to the door and said, "A piece of chocolate cake like this is only for true love!" I returned to the hotel and Adam and I enjoyed an excellent piece of real German chocolate cake.


The next morning we set out in our fancy BMW reaching speeds of 180 on the Audubon toward Amsterdam, Netherlands. Don't get too excited, that is 180 km/hour. The drive to Holland was beautiful with classic traditional windmills, beautiful green fields, and impressive farmhouses. Once again, we made it just in time for the games. We went to a bar/cafe to watch the Netherland game on the big screen, in an ocean of orange. Every cafe was packed with little room for air. Don't even think of moving around once you've found a spot. People watched the games from doorways of restaurants because it was so full. Adam and I looked like quite the outcasts as we were the only people in all of Amsterdam not dressed in orange and painted faces. The owner of the establishment pulled two orange shirts from his cafe van and told us we are obligated to wear orange. We were happy to accept the gift and blend in with the crowd. Holland won.

We toured Amsterdam for the day, complete with a canal boat tour. We were impressed by the massive amounts of bikes throughout the city. Several story parking garages were dedicated to bikes alone. We enjoyed our stay and headed back the next morning to Dortmund to fly home. It was a great spontaneous adventure, and reminded us to live more freely because you never know what you could miss out on if you just stick with the plan.

Open Our Eyes

Life is beautiful. Even if we look around and all seems dim in the world, in the midst of it, God is turning the ugly into something beautiful. He wastes no heartache, turns his back to no one, holds the hand of the lost, cradles the brokenhearted, heals the sick, restores the weary, releases the oppressed, provides for the needy, gives hope to the helpless, forgives the foolish, humbles the proud, punishes the wicked, frees the captive, and deeply and unconditionally loves us ALL. This is my God. May we all see the world through his eyes; eyes of compassion, mercy, love, forgiveness and passion without passing judgment.

What would the world we live in be like if we all saw things through His eyes?

At our church, International Christian Assembly (ICA) in Kiev, Ukraine I can look around and see God stretching his arms and loving the people of Ukraine through the individuals of ICA. He desires to use you in incredible ways to ignite change and restore the world. People ask, "If there is a caring and loving God, why does he not do something about the ugly of the world." He did do something. He created you. "Be the change you wish to see in the world." - St. Francis of Assisi.

As I look around ICA I see a passionate and alive church because the people in it are passionate and doing the work God has called them to. These are people who refuse to sit back and be comfortable with mediocrity and strive to serve God in the everyday to see miracles in the the hearts of humanity.


Look around. Look deeper. What do you see?


I see the orphans of Ukraine adopted and loved into families, finding rest in security, love and belonging.

I see people who dedicate their life work to releasing women and children from slavery.

I see Ben, who gave up 3 years of his life, moved to the other side of the world to bring hope and to love the people on the streets of Ukraine. He has spent 3 years with Teen Challenge, a group that loves the homeless, broken, poor, and addicts of Ukraine.



I see people. All of God's people. Africans, Canadians, Americans, Vietnamese, Italians, Ukrainians, Russians, Koreans, Australians, French, and so many more.


I see a man who courageously goes to the closed parts of the world, not sure if he will return. But to him, giving others the gift of God's message of peace, love, hope and life is worth the sacrifice.


I see Karen. A compassionate and beautiful woman who came to Ukraine with a plan to stay a few months and has now lived here over a few years after being captivated by her "journey to bring healing and hope to orphans of Ukraine." She is making a huge impact in the hearts of the One's left behind.



I see Kirsten. We have known him for 10 months, and he has amazed me by his use of time and his heart. At 19 years old he moved to Ukraine to study Russian and to serve orphans. Within the 10 months he has been here he has made an immense impact on this community. Kirsten has been part of the worship team at church, launched and managed Shoes for Soccer, a drive to bring shoes to orphans (See photo below), served as a youth leader, spent many days caring for children at an orphanage, baked ridiculously good cakes for our Bible study, and has been very successful in his Russian studies. Kirsten returns to Canada June 16th and will be dearly missed by many.


I see Pastor Mark. No, he is not the pastor of our church. He is a passionate and faithful Christian man from Africa. The African culture in Kiev call him "Pastor" because of how he spends his life praying for and leading people. Not long ago Mark went to the hospital for a major back surgery. Adam and I visited him and brought him a meal. The hospital was dark, lights flickered, elevator rattled, beds had exposed mattress pads stained by blood and fluids, a black cat roamed the halls, and an old soda bottle served as 'medical equipment'. Mark would not be able to walk for months. As dim as his situation seemed he greeted us with a large smile and praises. Not a negative word came from his lips. He even prayed for us, when we went there to love and pray for him.

I see Johnny and Ira, who selflessly give up every other weekend to travel 8 hours by train to care for others (Trust me, trains in Ukraine are not the most enjoyable). They travel to Krivoy Rog, Ukraine to spend quality time with children at an orphanage, babies at the baby hospital, adults at a mental health facility, and young boys at a rehab center. Johnny and Ira love those whom have been forgotten, left behind, and rejected. The world tells these people they are unwanted, unloved, and not important, but repeated visits and encouragement from Johnny and Ira tell them they matter and they are loved.

These few people mentioned here are living a life of compassion and love. They live a life of making an impact on the world. To turn the ugly things of the world into something beautiful. What more can we see if we just open our eyes? These may look like just ordinary people, but what is their life about? Who are they? What is their story? Look around. Look deeper. What do you see?

Just for Fun... Part 2

You may be asking yourself, "Part 2, what happened to part 1?" You can find Part 1 in the Peru blog post in 2007. While we were in Peru I received an email from a friend that asked questions to get to know me better. I changed the questions a bit to make it pertain to Peru. This time, I am answering the questions regarding to our experience in Ukraine.

1. What is your occupation? Adam and I currently work at Kiev International School (KIS) in Kiev, Ukraine. Kris is a Physical Education teacher and Adam is the High School Counselor. We have been employed since August 2009. This is the first time in our six years of marriage that we are earning two incomes! With the extra pay check, using public transportation ($0.32 a day), housing paid by KIS, and our great central location in Eastern Europe traveling to other countries has become our favorite hobby.


2. Who was the last person you spoke with on the phone? My sister and mom to announce that Baby Runyan is a girl!


3. What color are your socks right now? Oh thank you God, that I do not need socks now! After surviving a harsh, cold, and dark winter it is now spring time and beautiful outside. To prevent frostbite to my toes in winter I had to get a pair of UGGS and wear heating pads in them.


4. What are you listening to right now? I am in parent teacher conferences right now, obviously working really hard. Our conferences are held in a large room with several tables. At the moment I am listening to a teacher speak Ukrainian, and yet another in French, and a family speaking to each other in an Indian dialect. I am surrounded by people all over the globe. This is the International culture. At KIS there are over 56 nationalities and currently sitting in the same room as me are Canadians, Ukrainians, Americans, Russians, Italians, and Indians.

5. What is the strangest thing you've ate? The strangest thing I've eaten in Ukraine so far has been salo. Salo is raw bacon fat. It actually tastes like butter. No chicken feet on this trip.

6. What is your favorite sport? That is a hard one. Rock climbing is definitely my favorite, but Kiev is a flat concrete jungle. There are no rocks to climb around here. However, being a PE teacher has broadened my sports skills and interests. Since August I have learned how to throw a perfect spiral in football, perfected the backhand swing in tennis, started to shoot hoops during breaks, and have become good at catching baseballs.

7. Pets? We brought our Australian Shepherd, Riley, to Ukraine. He has not enjoyed adjusting to apartment and city life, but we are still glad he is with us. When we first moved here he was most apprehensive about the elevator we take to the 16th floor. He would just spin in circles the whole way up and the whole way back down. He did this for about a month. Although we are in the city, we have found some good alternatives to the mountains. We take Riley to the dog park by our house where dog owners enjoy champagne, chocolates, and grapes while dogs play.

Took Riley for a walk in the forest and within seconds clouds came in and we were soaked! We ran home in the rain! I laughed the whole way!

This is our friend Katie. She is awesome and very special to us. Riley loves her too!

8. Favorite food? I am not crazy about the Ukrainian cuisine, other than Borscht (a very tasty beet and cabbage soup). My favorite food is Mexican food made by Americans (us) in Ukraine and shared with our Ukrainian and Canadian friends! Quite the International dish.

9. If you where a crayon, what color would you be? A crayon.....? We work at a very wealthy private school where all students have laptops, iPhones, iPads, and all the latest coolest gadgets. Crayons are a thing of the past. Do they even know what a crayon is?

10. Last movie you watched? Everything is Illuminated with Elijah Wood. It is a well done movie about a young man in the States who travels to Ukraine to find out about his family history. It was a good movie the first time we saw it, but now that we have lived in Ukraine, we appreciate the humor so much more! 'It is premium movie'.

11. What is your favorite thing to do in Kiev? I cannot get tired of walking downtown at Kreshadik. I love spending time with friends and Adam downtown. On weekends they close the main street down to cars and is only for pedestrian use. The architecture is outstanding and there is often music or cultural entertainment as well.

Walking downtown Kreshadik with our friends.

12. Favorite day while in Ukraine? I have many favorite days, like when we first moved here and Adam and I spent an evening putting our new home in order, making dinner and then he danced with me in the kitchen. Other favorite days include our 24 hour trip to beach town Odessa, Ukraine with our good friends Ken and Alyssa, and trip to Krivoy Rog to love children at a boys rehab center.

Adam getting some fresh air out the window of the trian to Odessa.

13. Living arrangements? We live in a luxurious apartment on the 16th floor. Our apartment is provided by KIS and is elaborately furnished. We are rustic mountain, earthy colored type people, however our Kiev apartment is adorned with red velvety couches, pink light fixtures, and Ukrainian-Victorian style furniture. Our dining table seats 12 and you feel like a king/queen when you sit in the living room chairs. It really is very nice and somehow we got extremely fortunate with our new home. Many other teachers do not have as nice of accommodations.

14. What are you afraid of? Although I know God has a plan and I have found peace with being pregnant and giving birth in Ukraine, I still fear being so far from home and family.


15. When was the last time you cried? Last night. Every Wednesday we have a Bible study small group with our closest friends. They've become our close family here. January-March I have to say there were many tears. I had tears of sadness, homesickness, and worry about what to do with a baby on the way while in Ukraine. Now I am happy to say last night were tears of happiness, I laughed so hard I cried. The real hard laugh that makes your cheeks hurt and gives you quite an abdominal workout! What a great group of friends we have.

Darkness in the Daylight

To be honest, I've never really experienced a sense of depression until moving to Kiev. Amidst all the amazing travels, culture and life experiences, as well as the surprise of Baby Runyan, I lived in a very depressed state throughout the winter months. I felt guilty for feeling this way because we were on a trip of a lifetime, and I should be on an ultimate high, but was at an all time low.


Of course part of this was influenced by a very dark and extremely cold Ukrainian winter and pregnancy hormones. However, now that I am in a life season of spring, I can reflect on the major issue that caused this emptiness and sadness in the depths of my soul.


I had left a climate of friends, family, a job I absolutely loved, a ministry I fully thrived in, a sense of purpose and worth, and a city I considered home. Generally I have a spirit of spontaneity and adventure. Moving abroad and not knowing what was ahead and what we would see was exhilarating. Although there were many exciting unknowns, I did have a plan for my life in terms of work and ministry.


Learning about Kiev I discovered that Ukraine has the highest rate of human trafficking of women and children in Eastern Europe. Human trafficking is modern day slavery which earns over $32 billion a year. It is the world's third largest organized crime, following arms and drug trafficking. Of the estimated 27 million people enslaved today, 80% are women and girls and 50% are minors. Men and boys are often trafficked for labor. Women and children are trafficked across boarders to service the sex tourism industry, forced into prostitution, or sent to live a life in brothels; at least until they are further tormented by a STD or are deemed undesirable by clients. Then these victims are kicked to the streets with nothing but the haunting of their betrayal and torture.

I learned about this global injustice a few years ago and since then I have sought for ways to get involved in anti-human trafficking efforts. Coming to Ukraine, my plan was to work for a NGO and fight trafficking of persons, through raising awareness and rehabilitation for victims. Once we moved to Kiev, a roadblock was everywhere I looked for opportunities to get involved. I became discouraged. I lost my passion, compassion, I let go of my passionate pursuit of God, and I went numb. I was empty.

Then God rocked my world.......

He called me to surrender my cares, worries, frustrations, and desires and lay them at his feet. I realized how judgemental, negative, lazy, and selfish I had become. I was so nearsighted on what I wanted that I was missing life changing and life impacting moments all around me. During worship at church God called me to my knees. Much more he called me to make a public confession of my surrender to him at the alter. I didn't want to go. I worried what others would think. Why must we care so much about not making others uncomfortable and less about disappointing our Lord? As I walked to the front of the church in obedience and total submission, the closer I got the more I just wanted to run and fall at His feet. I was broken. I fell to my knees praising and worshiping God ready to do his will and go where he leads. It was an amazing moment of cleansing and renewing of my spirit. I was overwhelmed and my peace and passion were restored.


To some of you this may not make sense, unless you've been in this moment yourself. What I want to share with you is this: Be open to God's plan for your life. It is a life of abundance and excitement. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I have loved my Lord since April 2001. The last three years I have been more in love with Him than ever. I desire to live my life as a love song for God. He has taken me on a wild life adventure as I open myself to his will and his plan for my life.

My life since 2007 (after college):

Happily married to the most amazing man
Been jobless and homeless traveling
Served at an orphanage in Peru
Learned Spanish
Learned to love orphans and children
Helped bring water to a village who had none
Been an art teacher
A preschool teacher
An English teacher
A direct sales person
Cable/Internet installer
Event Specialist for Compassion International
Served children living in poverty
Been a youth leader and mentor
Suffered from blood clots
Seen God pay off my hospital debt of over $20,000
Seen my mom come to love God more than I do
Seen an incredible work in my uncle turning from a life of drugs and alcohol to hope in Christ
Seen peace and joy restored to my family after three years of hardship and pain
Host parent to an 18 year old Brazilian
Traveled to Europe, Israel, and Egypt
Been a PE teacher
Taught over 56 nationalities
Studied Russian
Loved orphans in Ukraine
Loved and played with children at a boy's rehab center
And soon to experience life as a mommy.

Currently I am discussing opportunities to get involved in anti-human trafficking with IOM, and things are moving forward. I am excited for what God has in store for my life. Life with Him is a wild, passionate, and exciting ride! Hope you are on board!

Behind the Scenes

I've had a case of writer's block after my last post. This week Adam and I are traveling to an orphanage in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine. I hope that that will stir my heart again and give me the inspiration I need for my blog. I'm sure it will be an experience to share with you all.

I thought this would be a fun addition to the blog in the meantime....

Wonder how we get all those great jumping photos? Well, it doesn't come easy. Finding another tourist who can capture two people in the air at the same time AND get the landmark that we traveled to see comes as a challenge. We've learned to start looking for the young adults with really nice cameras strapped around their necks. Not all tourist are as committed to the quality shot like my father!..

Guess the Answer.....

I want to play a little game with my readers, and dear friends and family.

Can you guess what these photos all have in common?

Paris, France-January 2, 2009

Brussels, Belgium-January 9, 2010

Cairo, Egypt-February 21, 2010

Prague, Czech Republic-April 2, 2010

Aqaba, Jordan-April 7, 2010

Jerusalem, Isreal-April 8, 2010

Answer: I've got a baby in my belly! Adam and I are going to be parents! Baby Runyan was created in Paris and will be delivered in Ukraine around September 25, 2010.

...."Make You Wanna Jump Jump!"

Cheesy title I know, but I couldn't resist. For those of you who now have the song stuck in your head, you are welcome! I have to say it is quite appropriate for the theme of this blog. As you will see Adam and I are jumping place to place, city to city, country to country, and wonder to wonder!


Our travels began on July 21, 2009 in Brazil when we visited Bruno, our foreign exchange student (FES). This photo was taken in Rio de Janiero. Behind us is the famous mountain, Sugar Loaf. Bruno took us to a Corinthian's soccer game in San Paulo, which besides seeing Rio was one of the highlights of the trip. There is nothing as intense as a Brazilian soccer game! Drums and cheering started long before the game began and continued through until well after it ended.

Rio de Janiero, Brazil-One of the 7 New Wonders of the World- Cristo de Redentor.



August 5, 2009 - Our welcome to the EU (European Union) was during our 10 hour layover in Frankfurt Germany. We met up with Ben's family. He was a FES from Germany and a friend of Bruno's. We enjoyed a wonderful tour of Frankfurt by Ben's parents, Markus and Mary Lou. We have improved our jumping form since this photo!


August 7, 2009 - Kiev Ukraine, our new homeland. Architecture like I've never seen before!

October 15, 2009 - Adam, served as a coach for the Kiev International School boys soccer team. In our school most sport teams travel for competitions and games. The soccer team traveled to Finland and Russia this year. Below is Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia. Legend has it that the architect was blinded after he completed the Cathedral so he would not be allowed to create a better masterpiece elsewhere. Sad history for such a beautiful building!

October 25, 2009 - Oslo Norway. We spent a 1 night, 2 day trip to Oslo for only $16 roundtrip airfare. Unfortunately, once you are there it is too expensive to even breathe! Oslo is the city of nakedness. They have hundreds of nude statues throughout the city.



October 27, 2009 - Venice Italy, City of Romance. I loved the smells, sounds and looks of Venice; people whistling, singing, Italian voices that sounded much like something off the God Father, ringing bell towers throughout the city, creamy gelato, cheesy calzones.... oh and so much more! Truly an amazing city.


Verona, Italy-Verona is a great little city just outside of Venice. Some of the highlights included the balcony and courtyard where Shakespeare got his inspiration for Romeo and Juliet, a colosseum from 60AD, amazing food, wine and culture. It was a great city to grab a patio table, enjoy great Italian wine, people watch, and look out at the colosseum. As we relaxed we noticed a couple of guards taking photos with tourist. We convinced them to jump with us in our photo, but unfortunately their armor must have weighed them down. We just couldn't get all of us in the air. Well ..... maybe we'll try this again in Rome.
December 22, 2009 - Krakow, Poland. Once again we found great deals on flights for our Christmas vacation. We planned to meet my parents in Spain Christmas morning. However, we managed to find a $ 30 flight to Poland which allowed for three days in Krakow before flying to Spain. Poland was a great experience for history, culture, and of course as with anywhere in Europe, architecture! We also took this opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. It was a very sobering experience and very educational.



December 24, 2009 - Barcelona, Spain. Merry Christmas! Santa gave me my parents for Christmas morning! We met my mom and dad at the airport in Barcelona at 8am on the 25th! It was perfect! I had missed my family so much and it was great to be with them again .... and in warm weather! Barcelona has to be one of my favorite cities we have visited.


December 28, 2009 - Valencia, Spain.

December 31, 2009 - Happy New Year! We spent New Year's Eve in Madrid and in the main square for the countdown. It was almost like being at Times Square on New Years! A fun new tradition we picked up in Spain was eating 12 grapes in the last 12 seconds of the year. They say if you can eat and swallow all 12 grapes before midnight then you will have a prosperous year. I didn't make it, and nor did the person standing behind me! He had his mouthful of chewed grapes and couldn't breathe, so he spit them out all over my back! Sick! Then came all the Champagne bottles. We were soaked. It was still worth it.

January 2, 2010 - Paris, France! Happy Anniversary ...... to us! January 2nd marked our 6th wedding anniversary. This was an extra special day because we were in Paris, it was our anniversary, AND Kim and Brian (my sister and her husband) traveled to Paris to see us. It was a great time, and we created many special memories as a family on this trip.

January 5, 2010 - Brussels, Belgium.

February 21, 2010 - Sharm el Sheikh and Cairo, Egypt. I love all these teacher breaks! For February break we relaxed by the Red Sea, soaked in the sun, toured the great Pyramids, and even rode a camel! It was incredible to sit on the beach of the Red Sea and read our Bibles about the parting of the sea and how Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. Reading history where it really happened.

April 2, 2009 - Prague, Czech Republic. We kicked off our Spring Break with a 15 hour layover in Prague on our way to Israel. It was the perfect amount of time to see many of the amazing sights in this beautiful city. It is the city of a thousand spires.

April 3, 2010- Jerusalem, Israel. What better place to spend the Passover and Easter holiday than in the Holy Land? Although we were tired from our 15 hour trip to Prague and had a lack of sleep we arrived in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday just in time for an Easter service at the Garden Tomb. This site is declared by Christians to be the actual place where Jesus was burried and rose again. It was an increadible start to our vacation in the Promissed Land. Below is a photo of us at the Wailing Wall, or also known as the Western Wall.

April 6, 2010- Petra, Jordan. Being so close to the Jordan border we took a one day trip to Petra. There we had many interesting cultural experiences, for only being there such a short amount of time. Upon arrival we went to a gas station where there was a man laying outside in his robe-like clothing smoking hooka, while hummus and falafel were served inside. Then at 4:30am we were awakend by a prayer call. I think the speakers for the city were situated just below the window of our hotel. But, since it was peak season the only other available room was at a place called 'Valentine Hotel', for about $20 (ummmm I'll pass)! We spent that morning at Petra, another one of the 7 Wonders of the World.

Next on the list.... well for now, it is the USA. I'm okay with that. Although traveling has been an amazing experience and we have learned so much about countries, cultures, traditions, and the beautiful world God created, we are ready for a taste of home. We will be returning home for the summer in July 2010.