Today’s newsletter is brought to you by me, Kim! 👋

What Would You Like to Know?

Hi Friends
Kim here, coming to you from the land of snow and ice. So.Much.Snow. I can’t even with the snow. I know it’s good for the soil and blah blah blah. But I would just really like it to be done now. Can we be done now? 😆
Anyway, enough of my belly achin’. Thankfully, everything is going fine around here. Boys are healthy and happy, the team is working well, two out of the three Dim Hidnosti vehicles are back up and running, the houses are warm, and we pretty much always have electricity! We are blessed and I have no doubt that God is watching over us. So many people in Ukraine are truly suffering in unimaginable ways this winter, so I thank God every day for his hand of protection over the Homestead. I pray we never take it for granted.
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Enough about me, now I’d like to turn to you all. I was wondering what questions you might have for us. Although we are passionate about our work and realize it’s life-saving and necessary, our work/life here isn’t a novelty to us. It’s just our every day life, so it’s hard for me to guess what you might like to read about. Do you have any questions? Is there a part of the work you don’t understand? Is there a topic we have touched on that you would like to hear more about? Are you curious about a certain boy or about an aspect of the boys’ daily life? I would loooooove to hear any and all of your questions or suggestions for newsletter topics. I want to write about the things that are interesting to you, so let er rip! You can send any ideas or questions in a reply to this newsletter.
Thanks!

Wishing you sunny and peaceful skies,
Kim

I know this is poor quality, but I think it’s just so cute! A few of our staff: Tanya, Natasha, Tonya, and Luda on the bus on their way to work. 💙
Bmo- sitting on a couch, cozied in, chewing on a blanket- just how he likes it.
Yarik and Oleg having some sled time. At least the snow is good for something! 😉
Ruslan loves the babies. Here he is with Dem’yan (who is enjoying the experience slightly less…)
And here is Rus 7 years ago with baby Evie. He has always loved babies. It’s sweet.

New Team Member

If you donate to Wide Awake you’ve already seen the news, but I wanted to share with the wider community that we have a new member of the Wide Awake team! We have been in need of a donor relations assistant for a long time (like forever). It’s always been a challenge to communicate well with donors from across the ocean, but we sort of managed the best we could. Then the war started, then our family had to be separated, and the need become more glaringly obvious than ever. We simply can’t give our supporters the communication and thanks they deserve when Jed and I are stretched so thin. Finally we are in a place where we can add a person to the team who can be a touch-point for all of you.

I know I say it here all the time, but I really do mean it from the bottom of my heart: we simply could not do any of this without you. To all you donors who have stuck with us on this crazy journey, thank you so much for being so gracious to us over the years. I know our communication with you hasn’t always been the best and we really want to change that. 💛

All that said, I would like to introduce you to our new donor relations assistant, Addie! If you’ve been around here for a while then you will recognize Addie. She is our oldest daughter and a university student in Montana. Addie has been a part of this work ever since it was just a crazy dream in our hearts. She grew up here, on the Homestead and she understands our vision and values.
Here’s a message from Addie:

Hi! My name is Addie, you probably know me as the second oldest Johnson kid. I’ve been a member of the team my whole childhood but now I have stepped back onto the team as the donor relations assistant! I am so excited to be back and I figured I would do a little introduction.
As some of you may know I have been in Montana the past couple years for college. I am an English major in my junior year and I aim to get my doctorate and become an American Literature professor. I love to crochet, watch movies, and play bass with my band (just like my dad!). I also take after my mom with my love of coffee, puzzles and reading.
Please write to me and say hello! I would love to get to know all of you. If you have any questions related to newsletter signups, contact information, or other communication things I’m your gal. Either way I can’t wait to hear from you!

Here’s Addie’s email: addie@wideawakeinternational.org
I’m so glad she has officially joined the team and I hope you will feel free to reach out to her with any of your questions or concerns. She’s ready for you!

Birthday Girl

Just a quick note to let you know that our sweet baby Lia turned 1 year old this past week. I remember last year, asking for you all to pray for God to spare her life and look at her now! Thank you for joining us in prayer for our special baby girl. We love her so much. She brings us all loads of joy. 🥰
PS: Fun Fact- Addie and Lia share the same birthday!

BeLOVE[d] 🇺🇦