News from Kiev

I had a special day today.  It was my birthday.  Of course living in another country and only knowing the family and workers that I work with, I didn’t have much expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised.  After starting my day off by knocking both of my toothbrushes into the toilet, it went uphill from there.  As I prepared some of the salads before church I thought of Psalms 139 and 119 and prayed them back to God for his creation of me. The church sang happy birthday to me several times and presented me with roses.  I spent the afternoon preparing the salads for my party and my birthday cake. (The birthday person is responsible for putting on your own birthday party. But everyone was willing and cheerful about helping me.)  The cake which I had never made before turned out wonderfully. Death by chocolate…quite delicious. It was a happy time.  God greatly encouraged me.

Last week I was feeling a little discouraged.  I was sitting in my room when all of a sudden, Vova started singing at the top of his lungs a song about how much he loved me.  I have never been serenaded before…kind of nice.  Then later that night, while I was cooking a late dinner, one of the teenagers was there also.  He told me about his friend’s visit a few days before and how they were intrigued with me, asking all kinds of questions.  He shared with me that they asked if I was a good teacher.  He told me that he told them I was a good teacher and then he emphasized to me…”You are a good teacher.”  Hmmmm….I must have needed that.  Isn’t it nice how God gives to us even when we don’t know that we need it?

The boys have been spending the weekends in the village this last month.  They have been gone for the last three days and I am missing them.  Tomorrow starts a new week of homework patrol.  After three days of fun, they will probably be wild.  We may be ready to send them back to the village.  By Friday, we have them somewhat under control.  I am working on incentive charts to help them listen and learn.  Sometimes my incentives are not as strong as their wills.

One funny episode happened last Friday.  One of the eight year old boys came home announcing he had to memorize a poem.  So we opened the book to the poem, which read “I’ve got a very pretty doll.” Bogdan’s eyes bugged out and he said, “Oh man.  I am not going to learn that poem.” After much laughing and teasing about his having a very pretty doll, he did make some attempt to learn it.  I will see tomorrow if he has or will.  Couldn’t they find a better poem for both boys and girls to learn?  Eight lines describing your pretty doll? Oh man!

This last weekend a pastor, who has a burning desire for Ukrainians to live for the Lord, came from Kiev and held a conference for youth and young people for guy/girl relationships.  The teenage girls and several older girls went and came back so encouraged.  Even though the topic was guy/girl relationships, the center of the message was making God the center of your life and becoming the person that God made you to be instead of concentrating on finding mate.  They were so encouraged in their walk with God.  God is doing a great spiritual work here. 

Sasha was a 3 year old little girl when her parents abandoned her.  She has a hyperactive girl with a foul mouth and none of the family or neighbors wanted her.  Jim and Sandi lived near her and saw what was happening.  After praying about it, they decided to take her in and make her apart of their family.  The older sisters took her to their apartment and loved and trained her.  Now they have a large house so that every one of the 25 + children can live together.  This little girl with a foul mouth and rough character is now a petite little 7 year old girl who is filled with joy and is quick to serve.  Lately I look at her and just marvel how no one wanted her except one family.  As a result of God’s love along with theirs, she is a new person.  She loves her new “parents” and has changed her name to Sandra after the mom.  Someone was teasing her and calling her Sasha the other day.  She yelled back… “I am not Sasha. I am Sandra!” hmmm sounds like 2 Corinthians 5:17

I am sorry to say that I haven’t kept up with my blog.  I got some feedback that made me hesitate blogging but I will try again.  Here it is a year later and again I am waiting for heat.  The usual October 15 date for heat to be turned on has come and gone and we still don’t have heat.  Even though a few weeks ago it was very cold, now we have had a warm spell.  Soon it will officially be winter.  I wonder when the heat will come on.

Of course, my life has changed this year.  I have moved from the capital city of Kiev to a city in western Ukraine.  I had been praying that I could leave the metropolitan city and experience village life.  If you pray according to God’s will, He answers.  I have moved to a historic town which was once a part of Poland before World War 2.  I have really been blessed being here.  I am teaching English/ministering to a family of 25 foster children.  Even though there are many challenges in working with so many children from dysfunctional families, they now have a healthy, loving, Christian family and I am blessed to be with them.  They have been ministering as a family in a village in the mountains and soon we will all move there.

But leaving Kiev has been eye opening.  I only have enough water pressure to wash my clothes or take a mild shower in early morning and early evening.  I had had water all day long even if low pressure, but lately I often haven’t had water during the day.  I can only use my small space heater plus being on the computer, but if I change rooms, I have to turn that heater off and turn on the other one.  If I want to wash clothes, I can’t heat water in the electric kettle or run my heater or I will blow my fuse and have to disturb my old neighbor to turn the switch it back on.  Generally I don’t have hot water but my old boiler in the bathroom will give me about 2-3 minutes of tolerable hot water before it is too hot to shower with.  I found myself mildly complaining earlier and then told myself that my family is planning to move to a little village.  Who knows if I have Internet, indoor toilet, etc.  So I told myself to stop complaining and adjust. Isn’t God good to give me a halfway point to adjust before throwing me into situation that may be even less than what I now have?

This has been a fairly painless fall.  Usually I am praying for heat by the end of September…But of course the heat doesn’t come on until October 15th. Several years ago when the weather was in the lower 40’s my heat didn’t come on entirely for 6 days after the promised date. What a relief when all my radiators were working. This year we didn’t have extremely cold weather until yesterday.  We all wondered if today would really bring heat as promised. What a joy to our hearts to feel hot radiator pipes!!!!!!! Of course now I will probably be warmer than you all in the US…our heat is set at around 74 degrees.

What a world of difference between the present election and the orange revolution.  Yanakovich learned from Yushenko and at the beginning of trouble he immediately set up his stage and tents on the main street like Yushenko had done.  Only he doesn’t have enough people to block traffic as in the orange revolution.  The spirit of the Orange revolution was peace, joy, hope.  The center of the city was a quiet, peaceful place to be even in the midst of 100’s of 100,000’s of people.  I don’t feel so safe with Yanakovich’s followers.  I heard that Yushenko’s followers or maybe Julie’s were going to parade down the street and the communist threatened to block it.  I haven’t even been in the center of the city to see what is going on.

People are so discouraged after not seeing the changes that they had hoped for after the revolution that they are very apathetic at least here in Kiev. Of course out west they are more politically active. I was in western Ukraine the week before the election. They filled their town square with people and flags.  It was like a miniture orange revolution.

  

 

It is a strange time to be in Ukraine now.  We are in the midst of demonstrations because the president dismissed the Parliament and the prime minister and is calling for new elections for these posts.  Politics here are very involved and much is at stake.  Primarily whether the country will move more toward communism/Russia or toward the democracy/ West.  The Orange Revolution brought democracy, but the going has been tough after that.  It finally ended up with 2 opposing parties trying to lead the country.  Even though Yushenko was president, Yanakovich tried to make himself look that way instead of being prime minister. 

 

After Yushenko dismissed the Parliament and Yanakovich, Yanakovich took to the city center like Yushenko did with the Orange Revolution.  Only times have changed. During the Orange Revolution, the main street of Kiev was shutdown for 2-3 weeks with tents housing demonstrators, thousands to 100’s of 1,000 people standing outside day and night in freezing temperatures and snow storms.  People were happy and excited and full of hope.  None of these people received any money to be there.  The streets were filled with the color orange.

 

Now the big stage is back up and there are a few tents but not enough to shut down the main street. Today I was down there.  Speakers were blaring away and only a 100 or less people were standing around listening.  The colors of flags on the streets are blue or red.  I have heard from more than one person that students are coming here and demonstrating because they are being paid $20-30 a day to carry a party flag.  Sergei was offered $20.  So if your news shows how much support Yanakovich has, remember that it is bought in many cases.  When I ask people about what is going on, they just flick their hand and turn their head in disgust.  They have lost hope.

 

So when you think of Ukraine , please pray for her.  The new elections are supposed to be May 27.