A Quick Update w/ More Pics ....

This is a view from our apartment window in Krakow, Poland.  We scheduled our time in Poland to be seven days long to make room for problems with the consulate.  Thankfully, we arrived the first day at the consulate, the gentleman was very patient and kind to us.  We had our documents corrected in three hours!  It was really a blessing,  I can't begin to make you understand how much it meant to us to have a kind person helping us.   That meant we had a few days to leave our stress behind us and focus on family time and A LOT of schooling by way of field trips.  NOTE:  In July, Mike and I planned to work on WWII history since we would be in Ukraine.  Who knew we would be in Poland and two hours from Auschwitz and minutes from Oscar Schindler's factory!?   God's Hand for sure!  Thank you Jesus!

The office and actual desk of Oscar Schindler.   With the children being so young, we opted out of touring Auschwitz but this museum was much closer and meant to be more child friendly.   It even worked out to be a free tour the day we visited. It was a good opportunity for our family to learn about a man making a decision to do the right thing despite the punishment he could incur if caught.   We learned that there were many non Jews who tried everyday to help whenever they had the opportunity. 

Here is a pic back at the Trans. Home during Bible Club.  The kids LOVE  memorizing Bible verses even more so than  the games.  We hand out stickers along with candy.  The stickers are more popular.  It is also good seeing one of the kids choosing to learn the verses in both Ukrainian AND English!   Another child struggles with getting along with others which has been trying at times but has provided a GREAT opportunity to talk to her and others about how Jesus wants us to live and love one another.

These two great guys are two of the workers on lunch break.  They can do just about anything.  A few weeks ago they made the staircase out of who knows what.
They just put on their 'thinking caps' and make it happen.
They are extremely hard workers and  we often have a good laugh about Ukraine vs. America.
We will miss them when we go back home. 

Okay, this is about the cutest picture!  These are all of Liz's Babushkas at church.
She just wonders around quietly Babushka to Babushka.
They all love to take care of her during the service.
 Only she knows which ones have the biggest handfuls of candy in their pockets!

Answers To 'Name That Thing!'

This is a lid sealer for canning.  There are no Ball lid and rings here.  Just one lid with a rubber ring.  Pop this contraption on top of the lid and jar, turn the knob about eight times and your lid should bend down around the jar and be tight.

This is a snack called, Halva (I think that's how you say it.)  You just break pieces off and eat.  We think it is made of sunflower seeds. The first time we tried it, Mike asked our produce lady what it was and if it was good.  She said we must try it.  We ALL said no thanks until she promised we would like it.  I, personally had refused until Mike told me it was very sweet and delicious AND the produce lady also would not let me leave until I tried it too!   It was a fun experience with many laughs.  Now our kids buy it at the little convenience store.  It really is tasty if you can get past its appearance.

Mike was the one who knew exactly what these toilets are for.  They are NOT for indoor plumbing but actually toilets that can be used in an outhouse.  Just put the toilet over the hole, get a seat and lid if you'd like and you are ready to go!  The men who read this will immediately get the picture.

There are no disposable egg cartons in this town that we have seen.  This is a plastic egg holder that we needed to purchase.  Usually you buy eggs by counts of 10 AND they are placed in a very unreliable plastic bag.   We go through many eggs a week.  We have this egg holder and a twenty count egg holder too!

This should be easy.  It's a picture of root cellars behind the apartments.  Yep, even the apartment dwellers need root cellars too!

Okay,  this handy-dandy item is something that will be missed when we go home.  It is an electric water kettle.  
It brings water to a rolling boil in about 1-2 minutes.  
It's been a lifesaver for dinner, dish washing and a quick cup of coffee or tea.

Blue Humor

How can you spot an American in Ukraine?
   
Just look for someone with fly-tape stuck to his head! :P

Blue's Perspective on Ukrainian Living

 "Please help me! I'm about to be squished by an overwhelming amount of apples for winter!"

"This is one of the few priceless appliances that America doesn't have!"

"Take cover! The walnut shells are flying!"

Name That Thing!!!!

        This is a fun post for kids of all ages to see things that we have found here in Ukraine that you don't see in America.

    We are going to post the following pics and will give you time to try and figure out what these items are before posting the answer.  We will post the answers in a few days!!!!  Have fun guessing!  You don't need to post anything, it's just for fun!

An Excerpt From 'K''s Journal

First snowfall for us and for Bud and Coty.

10/23/12  Yesterday Dad found four puppies in our yard.  Two of them were black.  The other two were spotted.  Dad said we would keep one of them but then he changed his mind and said we could keep two.

11/5/12  Last week it snowed.  Even though it snowed we still had to go to the Bazaar because we were already a day behind schedule for shopping.  And it just so happened that we told our friend 'L' that she could come with us.  

Game time after Bible Club.

11/7/12  Today 'Y' and 'L', our friends, came over for AWANAS (of course this is not an official Awana program - but it definitely is just as much fun! -Mom).  'Y' had a good time memorizing the Bible verses and learning new songs. 

From Mike - Glory to God!

God has been allowing us to see Him act in so many amazing ways that I am truly excited and feel privileged to be called one of His children through the work of my savior Jesus Christ!  God is amazing.  Of course we knew that, but I have been reminded of that many different ways in the past few weeks.  We are eager to share these stories with you when we return and I am sure that we will have many more by then.

Things are going well, although, they are also going somewhat differently than we expected.  Which I suppose is actually what we expected:-) 

I will attempt to share one really cool story, which is actually the story of how God is weaving many little stories together in a way only He could do.  I apologize in advance for the length of this email!Many of you are familiar with the comparison of the tapestry or need point to our view of what God is doing.  If you look at one side of the tapestry it just looks like a confusing mess of thread and knots, meanwhile, it makes a beautiful picture on the other side.  In the last week God has brought many of the lose threads He has sown into our lives and allowed us to see a very small part of the picture He is making.

Some of the "threads":

* A few years ago we got involved with a ministry in with Ukrainian kids visiting U.S. and in Ukraine.

* The youth pastor at our church at that time mentioned to us that the some people he knew from his seminary in California (a seminary known for its solid Christian theology) had been involved with starting a seminary in Ukraine - Irpin Seminary.  He wondered if we heard of it, if it was near the area we visit and just wanted to make us aware of this connection.

*Joelle and I both read an awesome book that was recommended by the pastor of a Ukrainian Baptist church back home.  The book is called Beyond the Rapids.  I believe I can say for both of us that God used this book to change both Joelle and I as it described the lives a one devoted Christian family who lived through severe persecution in Soviet ruled Ukraine.  The way Alexei Brynza and his family truly trusted God with all aspects of their lives in true and humble submission and the amazing things they witnessed God do as a result was truly convicting and inspiring.  After the collapse of the U.S.S.R.  Alexei went on to found a well known, Biblically solid seminary still in Ukraine today- Irpin Seminary.

*During our time in Ukraine last summer we ended up attending a church that has a love for the Lord, however, even though we couldn't understand much of the teaching due to the language issue, we weren't so sure it was a church where God wanted us to attend regularly.  This happened through the suggestion and introduction of by our helper here in town.

*Upon returning to Ukraine this time we did not want to feel obligated to continue attending this church even though we made some friends there and even kept in contact with them.  We wanted to seek and wait for God's provision of and direction to a solid, Bible teaching church.  We waited until just last Sunday. 

*Also upon arriving to Ukraine we were told that it would be very good if we attended(or least visited) a particular small Baptist church here in town since they sometimes work with the people we are helping here and since this church helped with the paperwork necessary for us to stay in Ukraine beyond 90 days.   

*Again, we had an unsettled feeling about getting locked into a church here that we really don't know too much about.  We were especially concerned about this since we realized that there may be the possibility that some of the children we are hoping to reach out to here could end up attending church with us.  The Bible is very clear on the severity God places on leading others astray.  With that in mind, we set out to do some research to see if there might be a solid Bible teaching church in the area that shared the same theology that we believe to be God's Truth and prayed for God's direction.

*After researching on the web, seeking to advice of some believing friends back home and emailing an Eastern European Believer working with the Slavic Gospel Association in Chicago; such a church was brought to our attention.  Amazingly, there was a small church plant from this association right here in our small town in Ukraine. We were very eager to visit it and needed to find out the details of when and where they were meeting.  

*My SGA connection in Chicago told me that the pastor of the church did not speak English and said "he was not  friends with his computer", but his son spoke English.

*The next day we spoke to the friends that we came here to help with ministry who reminded us that it was important for us to go to the Baptist church that they told us about when we first arrived.  They said it would be OK to visit this other church, but said it was very important to connect with the church they were recommending.

*Our excitement was brought down a little, but we figured it couldn't hurt to at least make a showing at this Baptist church once in a while, but that we would still try to find this other new church.

*we waited for an email from the pastor's son to tell us where this new church was, but he didn't reply in time so we decided that we really should go to church this Sunday and that we would go visit the recommended Baptist church while we waiting to receive more information about this new church God had answered our prayer with.  Hopefully by next Sunday.

*When we arrived at the little church, surprisingly, I was greeted by someone who spoke perfect English and then by the very friendly Ukrainian pastor who I had met before on a previous trip to Ukraine.  This new man translated my conversation with the pastor for me.  The pastor asked me if I had ever heard of the Slavic Gospel Association?  You may see where this is going - but wait there's more.

*It turned out that we unknowingly were in the very church I had been directed to through prayer and research and I was speaking to the pastor's English speaking son who was there that day.  Later, I found out he hadn't been there in 2 or 3 years since he is on staff and often preaches at his own church about 60 Kilometers away.

*He interpreted for us throughout the service and afterwards as we ate lunch in the tiny back room kitchen of this small house church.  (and for our home church friends - yes we did sit in the front row:-)

*I asked the pastor if he was familiar with the Irpin seminary - it turns out that he was among the first men to attend this seminary!  He knew, had many stories about and much respect for Alexei Brynza and his wife Valentina.  We could not belief how God was bringing all these things together right before us as we shared a meal with someone who personally knew the people we learned so much from through the Beyond the Rapids book.

*The pastor did not realize there was a book written about his friends, but was nearly in tears as he looked through it and the pictures of many people he knew and loved as he sat next to me on the couch in our living room later that afternoon.  This was an amazing experience.

There is even more to this story but this is already getting way longer than I was planning.  Sorry for the length of this email, but I really had to share just how awesome God is (as you already know)and wanted to write it out before I forgot the details.  This and other experiences have just confirmed to us that we are where God wants us.  We are not always clear of exactly why He wants us here or even how long He wants us to stay here, but every time we have doubts or uncertainty and commit to seek and follow Him anyway, He usually reassures us with something like this. Praise Him!

Not much to report, pictures are worth a thousand words...

Meet Bud!  

Happy Birthday!

AWANA night still continues in Ukraine.  This is a pic of the Walnut Cracking Contest.  The Beets vs. The Pierogies.
The Pierogies won by a dozen or so walnuts.
Lord willing, this Wednesday some neighborhood friends will join the fun!  

How many people can you fit into a Lada after church???   Twelve
(you can see all of us if you look closely, expect for 'K')

Joelle was finally able to make C.H.'s granola cereal.  YUM!
The kids and Mike were SO happy to  have some homemade granola!

This is a huge blessing! We finally found a head of lettuce!

           This has been a steady week of improvements.  The house is coming along nicely.  We've even been able to put up drapes, buy some plants, and decorate to make it feel inviting and warm to its guests.  And our children are thankful for the use of the new beds, warm new blankets and pillows.
           During this past week, there were two highlights and reminders of God's love for us (which we really needed).  First, an anonymous person placed a small pile of squash on our doorstep (butternut...just what we had been keeping our eyes open for).   It was such a nice gesture and came at the right time.  Second, on Tuesday we were at the Bazaar and, strangely enough, there was a good ol' horticulture fellow selling all of his most interesting trees and plants. This wasn't your ordinary run of the mill plant guy either.  He even had a lemon tree bearing fruit (about the same size as ours back home)...AND if anyone knows Mike, they know his love for odd fruit trees and exotic plants.  Of all places to run into a fellow hobbiest!!!!  The man also had a jujube plant that Mike's been looking for.  Needless to say, Mike was a happy fellow walking home from the Bazaar with a small fig to plant near the house AND more importantly, his new friends' website!

An Introduction, Shoes, and Ice-Cream (from Jen)

Meet Blue

I have an introduction to make! Everyone, I've posted a picture here, and I'd like you all to meet my little buddy. Her name is Blue. (Creative name, right? :)) She found me before we left the States and she decided to tag along for our trip to Ukraine. Anyway, I've posted some pictures of this adorable, blue friend of mine as she's been hanging around with us, and I hope to continue to do so throughout our stay in Ukraine. She'll hopefully give you a little peek into what we've been up to lately.

Prepared for Landing!

  We've been in Ukraine for nearly a month now and things are going pretty well. So far we've seen several of the kids from the orphanage here just from walking around town. Just the other day while we were waiting outside of a grocery store, we saw a boy we know from the orphanage! He and his friend came over and said hi. We were very excited to see him.  We've known him for a while now, and it was great that we got the chance to reconnect. It was something totally worked out by God.

A Very Old, Beautiful Cathedral in Kyiv

  A friend asked me what big cultural differences there are as far as Ukraine vs. America. One of the differences I've noticed is dress. Women like to dress up much more than they do in America. In Kyiv, very many of the women were wearing dresses or skirts. Dressing stylishly is what these women do well! I even found an ELLE magazine with another fashion magazine (I can't remember it's name) in the apartment we stayed in. And we can't forget shoes now, can we? Despite the fact that most Kyiv residents walk everywhere (including some steep hills!), most of the women were wearing heels- and the new, extremely high style nonetheless! But I did count a few handfuls of 'flats' and an occasional pair of sneakers. Here in the small town we are in now I've noticed that there have been what I would consider more sensible shoe choices: sneakers (Adidas, of course), sandals, 'flats', and heels (usually at more reasonable heights).

  I had plenty of time to observe all this one of our first mornings in Kyiv. Dad had plans to meet at 8am with our missionary friends  at the nearby McDonald's to talk things over. Even though I still felt like 8am was 1am, I decided to tag along. Besides noticing the shoe preferences of the Ukrainians walking by, I also saw people purchasing ice-cream at McDonald's! And it was just 10 in the morning! I must say, Ukrainians do like their ice-cream. And I can't look past the fact that our family is quite okay with that!

  

FROM MIKE....

Hello from cabbage central! 

       Yesterday day we added about 300 pounds of cabbage and near equal rations of onions, potatos and carrots to the winter stock pile which we will store under the "garage".  Apparently, all this stuff will be less available and more expensive come winter.  We see lots of people transporting their sacks of vegetables past the house.  It's funny to see old men with 2 huge sacks of potatos on their bikes riding past the house.  Obviously, we are loving all this!

Adjusting to life in Ukraine.

Finally a moment to sit and write!  This post may seem a little foggy.  ...still backed up on sleep. Okay, here goes!

Last week went fairly well. Better than the week before.  On Tuesday we woke early and set out to do some early shopping at the Bazaar to purchase as many tomatoes, eggplants, pickles, and any other summer produce we could find to do some canning for the winter.  That took about two hours.  Once all was purchased, we happened upon a taxi driver we knew from last summer. He even remembered Mike's name and was very glad to help.  So Mike loaded the taxi car with all that we purchased while the kids and I waited at the Bazaar for them to return.   Once we achieved that goal, we spent the rest of the day walking ALL over the town's shopping areas to familiarize ourselves with the stores and what they have to sell.   Amazingly, all ten of us were out from 8:30am until 4pm.  Yes, all on foot.  Isn't that funny?  We're always amazed at what can be accomplished in one day.   Mike bought the kids ice cream twice that day! haha!  It's a great motivator and energy booster!  We had lots of fun!

Then on Thursday, while some children finished up school, the rest of us worked together to prepare tomato sauce, salsa, and other things we want to have available for when, Lord willing, some of the children come to visit.   Eventually we all ended up in the kitchen cooking together.  That was a great day!  Hopefully, I can freeze some pizza dough this week or in weeks to come.  And also try to make homemade tortillas for them to experience.  

At this point we haven't had much interaction with the children but they are on our minds as we work to prepare for the winter.

On Saturday, a friend from last year stopped and visited.  It was good to see her.  She speaks English well enough to enjoy a visit.  She also brought her children so our yard had about 15 kids running around. (There is so much potential for this house.)  The children here love to play like children.  Climbing trees, throwing grass up in the air, playing hide and seek, sitting and being silly.  You'd think it was 1950something here in Ukraine.  Jennifer is even fully apart of all the fun.  God has blessed each child with someone their age to get to know!  He is a good and loving God!

Last note, Sunday was a blessing too.  A young couple came to visit us.  They are a kind couple who love the Lord, SO, we had a very good day of fellowship and talking about things of God.  (the husband speaks perfect English) That was the best thing that happened over the weekend.  

We like Ukraine and the people very much!  

'Lil' Banana Boy'

Slava Isuzu Cristu! Glory to Jesus Christ! (UJ : )   This is our second Sunday in Ukraine and we’re still catching up from jet lag.  Finally, no one is around the house working or directing us and we can try to catch up on some rest.  What better day to do that than the Lord’s Day.

     We are adjusting to our home away from home quite well.  Each day is an improvement with a few setbacks here and there.  But it’s nothing that couldn't happen in the states.  (If your hope is in the Lord, who can be disappointed?)

      Getting on a routine for school has been really difficult since we walked into a situation quite different than we expected.  The children have been amazing troopers though and have taken on the responsibility (without prompting) to push for school despite all of our exhaustion and difficult living conditions.  

      I must say, being here is a homeschoolers paradise.   The children have little distractions, plenty of time to concentrate and finish up every day (so far), on time, just as the children from the neighborhood are coming home from school. We are blessed to have very nice children nearby who come and play nicely until dinner time.  Our children love it since they are not used to having neighbors back in the states.   

       AND.... the best part is they have so much more added time that Mike and I are finding them using their creativity to explore ideas they never had the time to explore before.  Matthew independently created his own animated movie by taking photos of drawings he sketched.   Who knew he had all that creativity up there in that big brain of his!  : )   It’s really great because they are teaching themselves things by trial and error.  They are doing fabulously so far.  All this in one week.

        Jennifer and Mike are quickly learning the language. (AND I DO MEAN QUICKLY!)   I’m trying, but having a hard time trying to fit more studying into my usual routine of housework, cooking and little tikes.   We have arranged a family language learning game with CANDY for incentives!  All are geared up for this Friday nights first game night to see who has learned the most Ukrainian words since we’ve been here.

   THE CIRC!   

   It just so happened that when we came into town we saw circus posters all over for a show that took place last night.   Mike being the adventurous type, decided that he was going to take us to our first Ukrainian circus.   It started a 6 pm and, of course, we needed to walk there and back.  So, we packed diapers, sippie cups, flashlights, pumpkin seeds for snacks and fall jackets and set off for our first circus!   We were relieved to get away from the happenings at the home and have an official family evening with cellphones turned off.    Ahhh, nothing but us and the night air and our new community.   

        When we arrived we didn’t know what to expect, nor did we really care.   We just were glad to have a Saturday evening of family time.  When we arrived there was a long line of children and we didn’t think anything of it.  We thought it was a line of families.  As we got closer, we realized it was the younger children from the local orphanage.  Kroo-tay (cool!) Here they were,  all lined up and we were able to see them for the first time without anyone arranging it but God!   We wanted to play it low key and just see if there was anyone we recognized.  We also didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves so we went along as if we didn’t know them.  After we were inside, we sat down up in the bleachers behind them.  They were lined up in two rows (about 50-60 children).   This gave us the ability to try to memorize faces and look for already familiar faces.   AND yes, we did recognize them.  AND guess what?  They recognized us!   It was a perfect opportunity to connect without connecting formally.  

        In fact there was a little boy who I became close with last year who sat in the first row.    He was the only child I allowed myself to wave to.  I gave him the tiniest wave ‘hello’ in case he didn’t recognize us.  Well, he did and he melted with excitement.  He gave a tiny wave back and the same smile that melted my heart last summer.   He’s probably about 11 years old but looks a little younger.    We call him Lil’ Banana Boy because of a precious moment that was exchanged last summer at the camp he was staying at.    He clearly wants to be loved.    He’s been on my mind all night and our family talked about it a lot today.   His eyes long for a mommy.   You know, we often hear over and over that these children need a mommy and daddy, it seems very clear to me now that what they are really saying is that there souls are starving for  a mommy and daddy.   God created us to thrive from the love of parents, which, in turn; if they are good God honoring parents, will resemble God.  God is our heavenly parent and he made us in His image to carry out who He is in heaven to these little ones.   Lil’ Banana Boy's soul is starving. I could see it in his eyes and in one or two years his heart could become hard and give up hope that he has any purpose here.   Despite the fact that these children are taken very good care of in the orphanage, they are still 'numbered' and that doesn’t mean you are special.   Family (which God ordained) plays a huge part in what makes you feel you have purpose.   

         I think that is why we came here.   We hope to be vessels to give them hope that they are, in fact, very special until loving people choose to be selfless and adopt them.   They need to know that God’s word, the Bible, says that God is the defender of the fatherless.  That he will protect the orphan.   That they are loved.   The Body needs to love them.  Ultimately, they need a personal relationship with Him.

Late Post...Sept. 27, 2012

Well, today was a lot better than yesterday.   

    Yesterday there was the unexpected loss of electricity which, thankfully, is NOT a normal occurrence.  And then there was extremely low water pressure and did I mention, no hot water for three days.  (I forgot about all the fun of being here and making a game out of it all!)   Apparently the town was working on fixing something with the electricity and our friends fixed the hot water problem.   Phew!  Hope that doesn’t happen too often during the winter months. 

    Today, however, brought many needed bright spots.  Being here for a week and doing nothing, we were all beginning to wonder why we are here.  Especially Mike and me.  We don’t really feel like we have a purpose.  For example, I love to cook and want to serve children that we’re here to see but we seem to be way in over our heads with the mess of cleaning the home we are in.  Mike on the other hand has excellent abilities to work on this home but the men here do not want him to do anything.  That can be trying but we are looking at the positive.  We are spending precious time with our own children.  

    Anyway, back to the bright spot.   One of the men that works on the house walked in this morning with a pretty good sized scrape on his forehead.  “Kohlia!  What happened?”  I asked.   Apparently he fell or something.   Now, this guy isn't the type to baby himself.  He is a good tough hard worker yet he asked if I had any medicine for the cut.  That was a great question to ask a bored Mama!   I came back with Neosporin, peroxide and bandages.  He welcomed my nursing and I wondered about the hospitals around here.  If they are clean and sanitary.  I wondered if he was glad to have someone take care of him the way I so appreciated the nurses who took care of me every time I was in the hospital having a child.   I thanked God for being able to be helpful even for such a small thing like a scrape.   I also learned yesterday that Kohlia and his worker buddy like coffee.   And today I learned that they like STRONG!!! Coffee, so now I can make them each a cup in the morning when they come in.   I feel useful in Ukraine.

Then later in the day Mike and I met with a few men about furnishing this place.   They were very nice men who tried to be very fair about prices.  ie. they showed us the cheap stuff first!  ; )   While deciding on what needed to be purchased we tried to stay focused on the hope of having young visitors, possible Bible Studies, etc.   It went very well, I thought, and hopefully the furniture will serve a good purpose for those who will be coming here. 

Late Post....Sept 24, 2012 SURVIVING THE TRAIN!

Like it or not, we needed to face Saturday.  It was time for the dreaded train station.  We were in very good company though.  Our wonderful taxi driver, Sergii, from the airport, picked us up from the apartment and took us to the station and stayed with us until we were loaded on board.   We arrived at the station in plenty of time only to find out necessary boarding information 17 minutes before boarding!  I saw Mike coming out of the train station.  We made eye contact and his eyes said, "Move now!"  Ahhh!  Adrenoline was now pumping!!!!   The children and I were still outside at the car with half the kids and luggage in the car!  So. Long story short.  By the grace of God alone,  we managed to get two large carts of luggage and all the kids onto the train by way of following the baggage man through the back ally across the tracks WITH A MOVING TRAIN coming at us! Sergii was yelling, “Go, Go!, to Matthew since we were NOT where passengers were permitted.   We ran the whole way with three minutes to spare.   Everything went very smoothly with a wonderful conductor who was very kind.  Sergii helped us get the children and luggage on board with no stress.  It was fun, exciting, adventurous and unforgettable!    I think Sergii had something fun to talk about too when he got home that day!

        (THE TRAIN EXPERIENCE WAS MUCH, MUCH BETTER THAN LAST YEAR!)

Saturday evening, we finally arrived at our designation and were greeted warmly by two very goodhearted friends!   : ) They had everything arranged for us to get to the house.  You could tell they did their best to have the house ready. Even though it was late, we were eager to organize and clean, and clean, and clean and then start homeschooling in a day or two.    The house still needs a lot of work but we are already seeing God’s direction in what he wants us to do in our daily living for Him.  

         We’ve been here two days and our children are having a blast!!!  No kidding.  They spent an entire day picking walnuts and chestnuts ( a little bit of Daddy in each of them! ) and have already spent a late afternoon playing hide and seek with their friends from last summer. 

          Kyiv was beautiful, but where we are now is where God wants us and that makes it perfect.   Two days here and we are reaping the benefits of more time with God, slowing down, and reading the Bible together as a family.   We look forward to a slower pace to seek Him.

         Where God is where our hearts long to be.    May he grant us the grace to hang in there.

Late Post....Sept. 22, 2012

BEAUTIFUL KYIV!

Hooray!  We have finally made it to Ukraine.  We arrived on Wednesday afternoon in Kyiv without any problems whatsoever.    Our taxi driver, Sergii, was very kind and we stayed in the heart of Kyiv two doors down from some hotel where famous people must frequent.  I say that because, there were always teens hanging around with cameras eagerly awaiting an arrival or departure from the hotel.  In fact, on Thursday there was a motorcade and security all over the place.   Hmmm….maybe it was Jennifer Lopez (poplular here) or maybe the President of Ukraine.   Who knows!  Anyway, it all added to the excitement of being in Kyiv.  This city is BEAUTIFUL!  The architecture, the shops, the people, the artists selling their works, the classically trained musicians playing in the streets...the fashion!  Ukrainians in Kyiv look great in their high fashion clothes!   Even the food was exciting.  Sushi bars everywhere, authentic Ukrainian dishes, and even an Italian/Mexican restaurant.  It’s all a bit romantic (even our apartment was inspiring!)   Everything inspired me to make an authentic Ukrainian dish that Uncle J. shared with us back at home.  I figured if it really truly was an authentic recipe (and I'm was sure it was!)  then all the ingredients should be found easily at the grocer a few stores down from our apartment.  Sure enough!  Mike returned with everything on the list, but with a bonus.  The store had pink horseradish sauce instead of white which made the dish look even better!  Thanks U.J. (it was a perfect way to celebrate our arrival into the country Mike’s grandparents were born in!    

The last full day in Kyiv, we took the Metro and bus to an open air history museum about Ukraine’s different regions.  It was HUGE and we couldn’t see everything.   The museum was very informative and kid friendly AND of course we couldn’t leave without visiting the part of the museum that gave an example of the region of Mike’s families’ heritage.  We had a great time there and it will be a treat to visit Kyiv again.

 Oh yeah,and being an admitted McD fan and a mom with little children,  I have to mention that we counted 4 McD’s in Kyiv and two parks.  But we only had time for 1 McD’s and 1 park!  The price was about the same for both – feeding  10…$30; going to the park – free!    The children are very comfortable being here and remember many of the locations from last summer.   They’re good travelers and a very adventurous bunch of kids!

On Saturday, we had to say goodbye to beautiful Kyiv.  That was a difficult thing to do.  I probably liked Kyiv a bit more than the others.   I was getting a little spoiled and unfocused.   

Whoa - we are leaving the country tomorrow!

Hey everyone!  It’s Jen!  I woke up this morning and this crazy realization came over me: “Whoa- we are leaving the country tomorrow!”  It’s the day before we leave and it’s finally hitting me that we are leaving for Ukraine!  I am excited to go back.   I always love it.  There is something so special about being able to be a part of disadvantaged children’s lives.  ‘Who is going to take care of these orphaned kids?  Who will love them and tell them they are special? And most importantly, who will tell them about the greatest Father of all?’  That was basically what I came home with after the first time I visited Ukraine.  I wanted to go back, and I was pretty sure we would.  Now we are finally going to Ukraine for a nearly a year- a trip we've thought about since our return from Ukraine last summer.  I’m excited and I’m looking forward to seeing our little Ukrainian friends yet again, as well as seeing what God will do during this time.

Squeezing it all in!

 We're finally ready to go!   It's been a day of squeezing things in.  Every suitcase seems to be bursting at the seems! Somehow Mike manages to make it all fit!   We squeezed in haircuts last minute, and Matt and Mike squeezed in their first night time fishing excursion.  So funny!  Now it's time to squeeze in a little sleep.  Tomorrow is the big day and we should be at our destination on Wednesday.

Finally, Visas and Airline Tickets

There have been so many things taking place these past two weeks.  We received a call a few days ago from the travel agency that our visas are on their way from the consulate into our possession.  Today, we drove into the city to pick up our visas and airline tickets! FINALLY!  It was a beautiful sight seeing all those visas in our hands at last.   Lately, Mike and I have been thinking about the past 3 months and of what seemed like ups and downs regarding processig these visas.  At times the temptation to be frustrated seemed overwhelming.  We learned that the letters we thought we needed and had been delaying our trip were never really needed in the first place!  "Wow, that's amazing!", was our thought.  Had we known what we know now, we could have left over a month ago.   The Bible tells us that God's timing is perfect, so we reminded ourselves that we can find comfort in knowing that God's hand is on everything, including His choice of when we should depart for Ukraine.   What could be viewed as an inconvenience and extremely frustrating information is really, when we listen and trust God's word,  can clearly be seen that God is saying 'Beloved, not yet in August, but okay, now in September.'   He really does love us deeply, and has good intentions for us.   He is a good and perfect Father.  These past few days have been a good reminder of that.

Why a blog?

Greetings to all of our loved ones!   We are creating this blog with a dual purpose in mind.   Lord willing, it will serve as an update for our trip to Ukraine and also serve as a home school project for our children while away from their desks in the states.   Our hope is to make this a group/family blog so that Mike and I, along with the children, can post updates and fun experiences while living in Ukraine.