'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.