We just had the most amazing road trip here in Ukraine. I was actually dreading this trip. I am not really sure why, but I am so glad that I listened to Pastor Clay, Bill, Alex and most of all God.
We took American Andrey with us as an interpreter. He would like to start interpreting for other American's that come to Ukraine. It was a good deal for both of us. We did not have to pay as much as a trained translator would cost, and Andrey was able to learn from us the things that American's would want.
We first headed to Kramatorsk. We visited a house that is a possibility for a new Center for transitional orphans. I was not looking forward to another small village. As it turns out the village was bigger than anticipated and it was very clean and friendly.
We first met up with Pastor Leo and the contractor, Vladimir. We walked through the house, which is in very bad condition. We were hoping that the foundation would be in good shape so the house could be repaired and updated, but as it turns out the foundation is not safe and we believe in the long run it would cost more to repair than to build new. With that thought in mind, we went with the Pastor and Contractor to a newly built house that was constructed more like an American home than a Ukrainian one. It was absolutely beautiful. The outside had log siding, the inside had wood everywhere; the walls, the floor and the ceiling.
The best part of Kramatorsk was the hospitality. Pastor Leo and Vladimir took us back to their lumber yard, but the great thing is, it is also a rehabilitation center for men and women that are recovering from alcoholism and/or jail. They rehabilitate them through God, love and patience. The construction is part of the rehabilitation for many reasons; it teaches the men and women a skill, plus it keeps them busy and teaches them how to be a part of a family. They have a woman that cooks all three meals a day, and some of the women in rehab are her cooking assistants. Everyone that we met seemed very happy. We were fed dinner in their cafeteria, and I have to say it was some of the best food that we have had since we got here. We had small pieces of beef that were in an aju' that when put over the mashed potatoes was fantastic. There was also chicken and a burrito with a meat inside that was interesting but good. We sat around ad talked for a while and with Andrey translating it was sooooooooooo much easier. They put out some candy and there was one kind that was so yummy, Bill and I kept eating them. I even put a wrapper in my pocket so we could look for some later. The cook noticed and when we got ready to leave she emptied the whole bowl into our hands. Yummy! Needless to say, they did not last very long and we have not found them again yet.
The next morning we met the Pastor, Vladimir, the Pastor's wife and a couple of other gentlemen for breakfast. It consisted of cookies, candy and tea. Bill and I thought it was a very interesting breakfast, but then later learned from Andrey it was more like a tea because we said we had to get going in the morning and not have breakfast. So our own fault and we were looking forward to breakfast after the dinner we had. Oh well.
After Kramatorsk we headed to Berdyansk. There are three more centers there, one being Ruth's house that Grace Place bought last year. Wow, wow, wow what a difference from Joshua's house. At Joshua's house there is much yelling from the house parents to force the boys to do what the house parents want done. At Ruth and Mel's house it is all done with love. At Ruth and Mel's house they are living together as a real family, and they help each other with daily tasks willingly. The house chores are divided differently; instead of a rotation of chores, each person is in charge of a particular task each day that if possible, goes along with that person's interest. For example, Losha (that loves to cook) is in charge of the kitchen every day. He does the cooking as well as the cleaning of the kitchen, but what is nice that we do not see at the Joshua house, is he can ask for help from the others and they all jump up willingly and happily to help.
It is amazing to see God's work at these houses. God even helped us out the first day. We knew that we were going to cook an American style dinner for the kids, but we were planning on doing it on Saturday night and for no particular reason Bill and I decided to do it Friday night when we arrived. We cooked an amazing amount of roast beef, green salad and everyones favorite potato salad. The God part about this is that is was Stas' birthday and I think it is a birthday that he will never forget because the American cooked dinner. We found out later that no other Americans have cooked for them, so it made it extra special.
We had so much fun with the family, and that is what they are; one big 20 person family. The house parents, Vova and Tonya, have three small children of their own and everyone is treated the same. They do not do special things for their kids just because they are birth children. Of all the boys and girls at Mel's and Ruth's house there is only one girl that is not in school or working. We started a game of Uno at about 3:00 p.m. and we found out it continued until 1:00 in the morning. It was great. If you won and had no cards you could just grab 7 more cards and join back in the game. They had a lot of fun giving Bill all the cards that said pick 4 cards, or even using their card that skipped him. Bill ended up with a whole handful of cards... pretty funny. They did take breaks for dinner and praise & worship. It was great - they were not made to join in, but it was great to see they all wanted to join in. Slava Bog (Praise God).
The energy in Berdyansk was so positive, I wish we could have spent more time there. One house I have not told you about is Elisha house. They broke off from Mel's house and have an apartment in the city. Oh, Mel's and Ruth's houses are out in the country about 20 minuets away from the city. Elisha's house has house parent Andrey and he has four boys with him. The cool thing about this house is they have a wood workshop that everyone works at, with Andrey being the boss. They make many things from souvenirs to canopy beds. None of them have formal training. Andrey got inspired to start the business and they have been learning from books and the internet. Andrey lets the boys be creative and come up with designs of their own. Grace Place was blessed with a card basket that we are bringing home with us. It was the first time that they have made this basket and it turned out great.
We've seen that all the houses have a lack of vegetables, so before leaving we left a bag with each house filled with fresh vegetables, sausage, cookies and fruit. They were so excited that they started cutting it up right away.
After Berdyansk we headed to a small village (I cannot remember the name) to David's house. We visited this house in October. David's house is the newest house and just got new house parents. The house parents were orphans themselves and had recently married. The girl comes from Ruth's house. Boy, the difference from October to now is amazing. They have cleaned it up considerably and made it a very warm home. At the moment they have two boys. We talked with both box them and they are very happy there. One of the boys was at Joshua's house for a couple of days when we first got here and he loves being at David's house because he has responsibilities and is encouraged to fine tune natural skills. They have 15 pigs right now. They would have had more but the mother pig that gave birth to 8 babies squished 7 of them. I got to hold the baby. Oh boy, when they were handing him to me he started to squeal and what did I do? I screamed! I had it in my head that he was going to bite me and I don't even know if pig's bite. I did eventually hold him and he quieted right down.... pretty funny. They are raising the pigs for meat for all the centers. Each center will pay David's house for the meat and in this way the meat is cheaper for the centers and David's house makes money.
They boys, Michael and Sergey, like to help elderly people in the village. They will turn their gardens over for them, shovel snow, what ever they see needs to be done. The elderly will try and pay them, but the boys turn them down saying they were doing God's work. The house parents are going to start having the boys preach for short times occasionally so that at some point they will be comfortable preaching for a whole church session. They hold church at the house and they have about 20 members that come over on Sunday. It is wonderful to hear about the evangelism they are doing in their small village. Even though we think they have nothing being so far way and in such a small village, they know they have everything and they don't want to leave. God is at work in David's House.
We left after a couple of hours, leaving them with a bag of groceries and enough money to buy 3 pair of muck boots (badly needed). Thank you Grace Place.
We are back in Kherson, spending the last couple of days with our boys. We will be taking them out to Celentano's, Ukraines pizza chain, tonight for a fun family dinner. Then tomorrow we are packing to catch the 7:45p.m. train to Kiev.
We will see everyone soon.
God Bless
Karen
Monday, April 2, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Nearing The End
This last week has been crazy. We had a wonderful time in Poland. If you ever get a chance to visit Krakow, take it. The people are friendly and courteous (something that is badly lacking here in Ukraine), the food is terrific, the sites are beautiful, and it is rich in history.
Unfortunately their history is, in large part, about the horrific treatment the Poles and the Jews received from the German army in WWII. We spent an entire day visiting the death camps in Auschwitz. Call me naive.... I honestly had no idea that mankind could be so cruel. The German's killed 1,500,000 people in these camps in 5 years. That's over 820 people a day, every day, for 5 years. Most of them had done nothing wrong; they were just simply Jewish. We also spent a day visiting a pharmacy that was in the heart of the Jewish Ghetto that the Nazi's established in Krakow, as well as a tour through Schindler's factory. Fascinating, and sobering.
Our trip back to Ukraine was a long one. We started at 3:00 a.m., caught the hotel car to the airport at 4:00, and then sat in the airport for 3 1/2 hours because our flight was delayed. After arriving, we caught a cab to go get our car, and then had an 8 hour drive to Kherson. After 16 hours of travel we were "home".
Since we were unable to obtain our Visas in Poland, we've searched our hearts, and prayed for God's direction. It has become increasingly difficult to accomplish much of anything here because of the resistance we face from the house parent (who also happens to be in charge of all of the houses). He clearly resents the fact that we are here, and has tried to impede our influence on the Agape ministry. We learned to deal with that weeks ago, and decided that as long as we could continue to love on the boys we would stay. Unfortunately, he has now made it almost impossible to do even that.
So, we believe that our work here is nearly done. We will leave the day after tomorrow for Kramatorsk, to visit the house that the Green children own. We hope to meet with a builder there, and get a comprehensive bid to remodel the house for its future use as a transition home for orphans. We will then drive to Berdyansk and spend a few days at Mel's and Ruth's houses. We've been told by Alex that they are completely different than the Joshua house we now live in. We certainly hope that's the case.
We will then drive back to Kherson where, after a day or two, we will catch a train ride to Kiev, and then find a flight home. This should get us home by Easter Sunday, which we look forward to spending with our family and friends.
Sorry this is so short. I'm not nearly as long-winded as my bride. That being said, I'm sure Karen will post some good stories in the next day or two.
God Bless,
Bill
Unfortunately their history is, in large part, about the horrific treatment the Poles and the Jews received from the German army in WWII. We spent an entire day visiting the death camps in Auschwitz. Call me naive.... I honestly had no idea that mankind could be so cruel. The German's killed 1,500,000 people in these camps in 5 years. That's over 820 people a day, every day, for 5 years. Most of them had done nothing wrong; they were just simply Jewish. We also spent a day visiting a pharmacy that was in the heart of the Jewish Ghetto that the Nazi's established in Krakow, as well as a tour through Schindler's factory. Fascinating, and sobering.
Our trip back to Ukraine was a long one. We started at 3:00 a.m., caught the hotel car to the airport at 4:00, and then sat in the airport for 3 1/2 hours because our flight was delayed. After arriving, we caught a cab to go get our car, and then had an 8 hour drive to Kherson. After 16 hours of travel we were "home".
Since we were unable to obtain our Visas in Poland, we've searched our hearts, and prayed for God's direction. It has become increasingly difficult to accomplish much of anything here because of the resistance we face from the house parent (who also happens to be in charge of all of the houses). He clearly resents the fact that we are here, and has tried to impede our influence on the Agape ministry. We learned to deal with that weeks ago, and decided that as long as we could continue to love on the boys we would stay. Unfortunately, he has now made it almost impossible to do even that.
So, we believe that our work here is nearly done. We will leave the day after tomorrow for Kramatorsk, to visit the house that the Green children own. We hope to meet with a builder there, and get a comprehensive bid to remodel the house for its future use as a transition home for orphans. We will then drive to Berdyansk and spend a few days at Mel's and Ruth's houses. We've been told by Alex that they are completely different than the Joshua house we now live in. We certainly hope that's the case.
We will then drive back to Kherson where, after a day or two, we will catch a train ride to Kiev, and then find a flight home. This should get us home by Easter Sunday, which we look forward to spending with our family and friends.
Sorry this is so short. I'm not nearly as long-winded as my bride. That being said, I'm sure Karen will post some good stories in the next day or two.
God Bless,
Bill
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Poland
Bill and I booked a flight to Krakow Poland a couple of weeks ago because we were told that it is easier to get Visas here. One key to getting our Visas was to get a couple of letters of invitation, one for where we were living and the other for what we were doing in Ukraine. Well, two weeks later, when we left for Poland, we did not have any letters.
Bill and I had been praying for the two weeks before we left that the results of the Visas would be our answer from God as to what we should do; stay until July or go home in April. Not having the documents before going to Poland we knew that we were going home in April, so our to trip to Poland became a holiday. We have never been to Poland and we knew nothing about it, but the moment we got to the city center and saw all the activity, restaurants, the cleanliness, etc..., we extended our stay before we even unpacked. We have found out since being here that our friend of Grace Place, Karen Springs, was unable to obtain a Visa as well. She has been here for 7 years and this is the first time they did not give her an extension. The new Visa regulations are making it harder and harder to stay in Ukraine.
We landed in Katowice Poland early Sunday morning. We thought that we had booked a bus to Krakow (1 1/2 hours away). We got on our bus and realized that the bus only went to the train station in Katowice. There was a gentleman sitting in front of us on the bus that heard our concerns and offered his help when we got to the train station. As it turned out, at the train station there were mini-busses that could take us to Krakow, so the gentleman helped us change some money for tickets and we were off. It was amazing to see so many helpful, smiling faces. In Ukraine it is very rare to have someone approach you and offer their help.
The bus ride opened our eyes to Poland. We saw beautiful buildings that were not in disrepair. The streets were smooth, they even had white lines for lanes. And people were actually following the traffic rules! We saw green grass in yards, dogs as pets, laughter, and much more.
We arrived at the Krakow train station and got directions to our hotel, which was only supposed to be a 10 min. walk. Well, I thought I had the directions good enough to get us to where we were going, but as it turns out I did not. We were supposed to go out of the station and turn right, okay that was easy. Then we were supposed to come to some kind of circle. I assumed it was a round-a-bout; nope, that is not right. We were supposed to go under two tunnels. Well, we found a tunnel that was the tunnel for the trains, but it ended in an amazing underground mall. We started getting excited because we were seeing food that we recognized; signes for McDonalds, KFC, steak, mexican, WOW!!! WOW!!! WOW!!!
We knew we were lost so we asked another lady for directions. She said to go out of the mall, head straight and go under the tunnel and follow the signs for "Old Town". Okay we found the tunnel, but there were no signs that we saw for Old Town. We were walking through a beautiful park and in the middle was an information booth. Yep, we asked for directions again. He gave us a map and drew where we were supposed to go. Yeah! We got to the city center plaza; another WOW. There were people everywhere. The sun is shining, there are outdoor cafes everywhere, there are clowns on stilts doing balloon art. We see families playing, kids are running around chasing pigeons, we got to watch flocks of birds flying up into the air then swooping back down to the plaza. I felt like I was watching a movie.
At this point we knew the name of the street that our hotel was on so of course we asked for directions again. We had to walk through the plaza and continue on for a couple of blocks and there is our hotel. It is a nice quaint hotel. We have a porch where we can sit and watch all the activity. The only problem that we are having is the internet is very hit or miss, even if the computer is plugged in. So today we are moving to a different hotel for the last two nights.
After we checked in we went walking. Our main goal - EATING. I think Bill and I are going to weigh 10lbs more when we leave than when we got here. At our first cafe (outside of course) we drank a bottle of wine, ate beef carpaccio, vegetable soup, and pasta. Oh so yummy.
We walked around the plaza for a bit, but then exhaustion crept in. We had been awake since 2:00 a.m. so we walked back to the hotel for a quick nap; well Bill napped and I read. We left the hotel again and went walking around the plaza. We were trying to find a spot at a table in the sun to relax, have a drink, and people watch. All the restaurants were packed, but we got lucky and found a table, and sat facing the sun watching people. The most fun was watching the 10 or so horse drawn carriages taking people on rides around the plaza. When we got back to our hotel for the evening I realized that I got a little sunburned on my chest.
Tomorrow I will tell you about our excursions. For now, God Bless and happy dreams.
Karen
Bill and I had been praying for the two weeks before we left that the results of the Visas would be our answer from God as to what we should do; stay until July or go home in April. Not having the documents before going to Poland we knew that we were going home in April, so our to trip to Poland became a holiday. We have never been to Poland and we knew nothing about it, but the moment we got to the city center and saw all the activity, restaurants, the cleanliness, etc..., we extended our stay before we even unpacked. We have found out since being here that our friend of Grace Place, Karen Springs, was unable to obtain a Visa as well. She has been here for 7 years and this is the first time they did not give her an extension. The new Visa regulations are making it harder and harder to stay in Ukraine.
We landed in Katowice Poland early Sunday morning. We thought that we had booked a bus to Krakow (1 1/2 hours away). We got on our bus and realized that the bus only went to the train station in Katowice. There was a gentleman sitting in front of us on the bus that heard our concerns and offered his help when we got to the train station. As it turned out, at the train station there were mini-busses that could take us to Krakow, so the gentleman helped us change some money for tickets and we were off. It was amazing to see so many helpful, smiling faces. In Ukraine it is very rare to have someone approach you and offer their help.
The bus ride opened our eyes to Poland. We saw beautiful buildings that were not in disrepair. The streets were smooth, they even had white lines for lanes. And people were actually following the traffic rules! We saw green grass in yards, dogs as pets, laughter, and much more.
We arrived at the Krakow train station and got directions to our hotel, which was only supposed to be a 10 min. walk. Well, I thought I had the directions good enough to get us to where we were going, but as it turns out I did not. We were supposed to go out of the station and turn right, okay that was easy. Then we were supposed to come to some kind of circle. I assumed it was a round-a-bout; nope, that is not right. We were supposed to go under two tunnels. Well, we found a tunnel that was the tunnel for the trains, but it ended in an amazing underground mall. We started getting excited because we were seeing food that we recognized; signes for McDonalds, KFC, steak, mexican, WOW!!! WOW!!! WOW!!!
We knew we were lost so we asked another lady for directions. She said to go out of the mall, head straight and go under the tunnel and follow the signs for "Old Town". Okay we found the tunnel, but there were no signs that we saw for Old Town. We were walking through a beautiful park and in the middle was an information booth. Yep, we asked for directions again. He gave us a map and drew where we were supposed to go. Yeah! We got to the city center plaza; another WOW. There were people everywhere. The sun is shining, there are outdoor cafes everywhere, there are clowns on stilts doing balloon art. We see families playing, kids are running around chasing pigeons, we got to watch flocks of birds flying up into the air then swooping back down to the plaza. I felt like I was watching a movie.
At this point we knew the name of the street that our hotel was on so of course we asked for directions again. We had to walk through the plaza and continue on for a couple of blocks and there is our hotel. It is a nice quaint hotel. We have a porch where we can sit and watch all the activity. The only problem that we are having is the internet is very hit or miss, even if the computer is plugged in. So today we are moving to a different hotel for the last two nights.
After we checked in we went walking. Our main goal - EATING. I think Bill and I are going to weigh 10lbs more when we leave than when we got here. At our first cafe (outside of course) we drank a bottle of wine, ate beef carpaccio, vegetable soup, and pasta. Oh so yummy.
We walked around the plaza for a bit, but then exhaustion crept in. We had been awake since 2:00 a.m. so we walked back to the hotel for a quick nap; well Bill napped and I read. We left the hotel again and went walking around the plaza. We were trying to find a spot at a table in the sun to relax, have a drink, and people watch. All the restaurants were packed, but we got lucky and found a table, and sat facing the sun watching people. The most fun was watching the 10 or so horse drawn carriages taking people on rides around the plaza. When we got back to our hotel for the evening I realized that I got a little sunburned on my chest.
Tomorrow I will tell you about our excursions. For now, God Bless and happy dreams.
Karen
Monday, March 19, 2012
Mixed Feelings
Today is Sunday, March ???. I have no idea what date it is, but I do know that we missed St. Patricks day. We did not even know it until Pastor Clay sent us a picture and a greetings. Pretty weird. I wish we would have remembered so we could have greened up the house for the boys.
A lot has happened since the last time that I wrote on the blog. First of all I realize that I really don't like writing a blog. It is like a journal, and even though I know that journals are supposed to be a good record of your life, plus a way to release energy, I still struggle with it because of a trigger I have with my past. But that aside I will catch you up on our happenings.
I was away for awhile visiting my friend Tiffany in Nikopol Ukraine. Tiffany's husband had to go home to the States and she was struggling with staying here by herself. I had only met Tiffany one time at church before we came to Ukraine. I believe the Grace Place Family bond is an amazing thing. We became fast, close friends. Please continue your prayers for the Degnan family. Their quest here has been a very difficult one.
Bill and I had planned to visit Tiffany on Sunday, but after calling her on Thursday night we left the next morning and I stayed with her for the next 5 days. I would not say it was all fun and games, but I know we both needed each other at that exact time. God's timeline is not to be questioned. I have to save all my thoughts regarding this visit until after their time here is done. But, if you would like to visit their blog go to degnangirls.blogspot.com
I do know that while I was in Nikopol Bill had 33 extra teenagers from the church at the house on Sunday night, and I am pretty sure he told me he went and read pretty early that night.
In the meantime, Bill and I are in Poland. We decided a couple of weeks ago to come to Poland to try to obtain our Visas, and we asked Alex to get the documents that we needed. Well, he was not able to get them, so Poland has turned into a wonderful vacation.
I have been thinking about it and I am so torn. Am I supposed to be disappointed that we cannot get the Visas, or be overjoyed that I get to come home. Bill and I have spent many hours talking about it. At first, when we started this endeavor, we said prayers to God to please make the Visas happen. Then we changed them to; "Please God, let Alex get the documents that we need for the Visas." Then the prayers finally came to; "Well God, we are going to Poland in two weeks. If Alex gets the documents we know we are supposed to stay, and if he cannot get the documents we know we are supposed to go home by the end of April." We have our answer now, but we have very mixed feelings about coming home sooner, rather than later. We know that we have had an inpact on the boys lives, but there were things we were hoping to accomplish while here and now there is no way to accomplish them. It must be God's way of saying "Karen and Bill, you are not supposed to build a greenhouse here."
Way back when Alex came to Grace Place, and said that they would love to have some Americans come and be house parents, Bill and I both got the call at the same time. We knew that this was what we were supposed to do. We had no idea how long we would be here, but six months kept coming into our heads so we went with that. I wish sometimes God would yell just a little louder for me to hear. Or maybe I just need to be a little quieter.
Well it is now Monday the ???? I still don't know the date. We are having a great time here in Poland. Tomorrow I will tell you some amazing things we are learning about Krakow Poland.
Hugs and Blessings,
Karen
A lot has happened since the last time that I wrote on the blog. First of all I realize that I really don't like writing a blog. It is like a journal, and even though I know that journals are supposed to be a good record of your life, plus a way to release energy, I still struggle with it because of a trigger I have with my past. But that aside I will catch you up on our happenings.
I was away for awhile visiting my friend Tiffany in Nikopol Ukraine. Tiffany's husband had to go home to the States and she was struggling with staying here by herself. I had only met Tiffany one time at church before we came to Ukraine. I believe the Grace Place Family bond is an amazing thing. We became fast, close friends. Please continue your prayers for the Degnan family. Their quest here has been a very difficult one.
Bill and I had planned to visit Tiffany on Sunday, but after calling her on Thursday night we left the next morning and I stayed with her for the next 5 days. I would not say it was all fun and games, but I know we both needed each other at that exact time. God's timeline is not to be questioned. I have to save all my thoughts regarding this visit until after their time here is done. But, if you would like to visit their blog go to degnangirls.blogspot.com
I do know that while I was in Nikopol Bill had 33 extra teenagers from the church at the house on Sunday night, and I am pretty sure he told me he went and read pretty early that night.
In the meantime, Bill and I are in Poland. We decided a couple of weeks ago to come to Poland to try to obtain our Visas, and we asked Alex to get the documents that we needed. Well, he was not able to get them, so Poland has turned into a wonderful vacation.
I have been thinking about it and I am so torn. Am I supposed to be disappointed that we cannot get the Visas, or be overjoyed that I get to come home. Bill and I have spent many hours talking about it. At first, when we started this endeavor, we said prayers to God to please make the Visas happen. Then we changed them to; "Please God, let Alex get the documents that we need for the Visas." Then the prayers finally came to; "Well God, we are going to Poland in two weeks. If Alex gets the documents we know we are supposed to stay, and if he cannot get the documents we know we are supposed to go home by the end of April." We have our answer now, but we have very mixed feelings about coming home sooner, rather than later. We know that we have had an inpact on the boys lives, but there were things we were hoping to accomplish while here and now there is no way to accomplish them. It must be God's way of saying "Karen and Bill, you are not supposed to build a greenhouse here."
Way back when Alex came to Grace Place, and said that they would love to have some Americans come and be house parents, Bill and I both got the call at the same time. We knew that this was what we were supposed to do. We had no idea how long we would be here, but six months kept coming into our heads so we went with that. I wish sometimes God would yell just a little louder for me to hear. Or maybe I just need to be a little quieter.
Well it is now Monday the ???? I still don't know the date. We are having a great time here in Poland. Tomorrow I will tell you some amazing things we are learning about Krakow Poland.
Hugs and Blessings,
Karen
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Another Week......
It's Saturday evening, and I can't believe another week has gone by. The last few days have been fairly busy, but for the most part, it's been o.k.
Karen and I each had our massage Thursday. That was a real treat. I've never had a 2 hour massage before, and certainly not for $37.50. I tipped the masseur 100 grevna ($12.25), and he was so appreciative I thought he was going to cry. Nice!
Yesterday, Karen and I drove to a town about 2 1/2 hours from here, to visit Tiffany Degnan. On the way there, I was pulled over by a policeman. This is the first time I've been pulled over without someone in the car that speaks Russian or Ukrainian. He started asking me questions, and I just played really dumb (obviously that was easy for me to do). I kept saying "no Russian, English". He eventually got tired of this and waved us away. No harm, no foul.
Today was frustrating, in that both of the house parents took off for a few days without telling me that they were both going, and left the kids here with no supervision and very little food. Half of my "day off" was spent driving kids around, and buying them groceries for lunch and dinner. On the bright side, I bought each of the boys a new table tennis racquet, and they are having a great time with them. I even bought a good one for myself, and was surprised that it actually improved my game considerably.
Blessings from Ukraine,
Bill
Karen and I each had our massage Thursday. That was a real treat. I've never had a 2 hour massage before, and certainly not for $37.50. I tipped the masseur 100 grevna ($12.25), and he was so appreciative I thought he was going to cry. Nice!
Yesterday, Karen and I drove to a town about 2 1/2 hours from here, to visit Tiffany Degnan. On the way there, I was pulled over by a policeman. This is the first time I've been pulled over without someone in the car that speaks Russian or Ukrainian. He started asking me questions, and I just played really dumb (obviously that was easy for me to do). I kept saying "no Russian, English". He eventually got tired of this and waved us away. No harm, no foul.
Today was frustrating, in that both of the house parents took off for a few days without telling me that they were both going, and left the kids here with no supervision and very little food. Half of my "day off" was spent driving kids around, and buying them groceries for lunch and dinner. On the bright side, I bought each of the boys a new table tennis racquet, and they are having a great time with them. I even bought a good one for myself, and was surprised that it actually improved my game considerably.
Blessings from Ukraine,
Bill
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Stari Zburivka Orphanage
As many of you know, the Degnan family is in Kiev trying very hard to adopt a 6-9 year old girl. They have run into may problems. I know that at one point Tiffany was ready to go home (boy I know that feeling). They are staying with Karen Springs (I mentioned her in our last blog), and Karen is doing everything she can to help the Degnan's find a child. While Karen was here in Kherson filming the Joshua house she mentioned that there was a 9 year old girl at the Stari Zburivka orphanage.
The orphanage is only about 1 hour away from Kherson, so Bill and I volunteered to go there and visit with this girl. Karen called the director of the orphanage to make sure it was okay for us to visit and evaluate the girl. We took Andrey Kisorets (American Andrey) with us to translate and we had a wonderful time. Not many visitors go to Stari Zburivka so even the teachers were curious about us.
We were ushered into a classroom that was very small (probably about 12' X 20'). We started with at least 20 kids and one teacher - that would make 25 people, 8 desks, and 18 chairs. It got crowded quickly. We were trying to not make it obvious that we were there to see one specific child. We started off putting dominos onto 6 desks that were pushed together. All the kids grabbed some and hesitated. It seemed as if they did not know what to do with the dominos. The teacher showed them how you put them end to end with the number matching, but they did not seem very interested. Instead we stood them up front to back etc... and knocked them down, lots of laughing.
I had decided to stand next to the girl that we were there specifically to see, while Andrey, Bill and Natasha (Andrey's girlfriend) stood at various spots around the table. At first the kids were barley talking to us; well that lasted all of 2 minuets. After about 5-10 the young girl we were there to see pulled me over to a different desk and wanted to play with Barbie dolls. I realized that I was spending all my time with her and decided I had better play with some of the other kids. The girl (sorry I cannot say her name) followed me and even though I was playing and talking with other kids she kept a hand on me. She is very affectionate. I would say she was a little passive, but it is better than some of the aggression that we witnessed. It is so sad to see the damage that has happened to these young kids. By the time we were ready to leave the little girl that we came to see was hugging me tight and telling me niet, niet (no, no). She desperately wanted me to stay. Natasha had two children hanging on her and Andrey had a couple on him as well. Once we got the car turned around Bill had to put on the gas and drive out of the gates quickly because the kids were running after the car and we were afraid that we might run one over. It was so sad to look back at 20 or so faces waving at us and knowing they did not want us to leave.
It is so heart breaking I just asked Bill if we could visit the Kherson orphanage on Saturday morning and then the Stari Zburivka orphanage in the afternoon. It will be up to Andrey, since he is the one doing all the translating.
Today is Sunday and we had a great day as well. House parent Andrey took three of the boys to another city in the van, so to get to church we squished four boys into the back seat of our little car. Bill and I decided to cook another american meal; a beef roast and mashed potatoes. We got a beautiful 5lb roast for $17.00 U.S. (136 grevna).
As you know it takes a while for a roast to cook and most of the boys got impatient waiting so they took off for town. Kola is the only one that waited around with us, so when it was time to eat the three of us sat at the table and had a very wonderful, quiet, pleasant, YUMMY dinner. I am upstairs and I can just hear all the other boys coming home. We will have to see how they enjoyed the dinner.
The orphanage is only about 1 hour away from Kherson, so Bill and I volunteered to go there and visit with this girl. Karen called the director of the orphanage to make sure it was okay for us to visit and evaluate the girl. We took Andrey Kisorets (American Andrey) with us to translate and we had a wonderful time. Not many visitors go to Stari Zburivka so even the teachers were curious about us.
We were ushered into a classroom that was very small (probably about 12' X 20'). We started with at least 20 kids and one teacher - that would make 25 people, 8 desks, and 18 chairs. It got crowded quickly. We were trying to not make it obvious that we were there to see one specific child. We started off putting dominos onto 6 desks that were pushed together. All the kids grabbed some and hesitated. It seemed as if they did not know what to do with the dominos. The teacher showed them how you put them end to end with the number matching, but they did not seem very interested. Instead we stood them up front to back etc... and knocked them down, lots of laughing.
I had decided to stand next to the girl that we were there specifically to see, while Andrey, Bill and Natasha (Andrey's girlfriend) stood at various spots around the table. At first the kids were barley talking to us; well that lasted all of 2 minuets. After about 5-10 the young girl we were there to see pulled me over to a different desk and wanted to play with Barbie dolls. I realized that I was spending all my time with her and decided I had better play with some of the other kids. The girl (sorry I cannot say her name) followed me and even though I was playing and talking with other kids she kept a hand on me. She is very affectionate. I would say she was a little passive, but it is better than some of the aggression that we witnessed. It is so sad to see the damage that has happened to these young kids. By the time we were ready to leave the little girl that we came to see was hugging me tight and telling me niet, niet (no, no). She desperately wanted me to stay. Natasha had two children hanging on her and Andrey had a couple on him as well. Once we got the car turned around Bill had to put on the gas and drive out of the gates quickly because the kids were running after the car and we were afraid that we might run one over. It was so sad to look back at 20 or so faces waving at us and knowing they did not want us to leave.
It is so heart breaking I just asked Bill if we could visit the Kherson orphanage on Saturday morning and then the Stari Zburivka orphanage in the afternoon. It will be up to Andrey, since he is the one doing all the translating.
Today is Sunday and we had a great day as well. House parent Andrey took three of the boys to another city in the van, so to get to church we squished four boys into the back seat of our little car. Bill and I decided to cook another american meal; a beef roast and mashed potatoes. We got a beautiful 5lb roast for $17.00 U.S. (136 grevna).
As you know it takes a while for a roast to cook and most of the boys got impatient waiting so they took off for town. Kola is the only one that waited around with us, so when it was time to eat the three of us sat at the table and had a very wonderful, quiet, pleasant, YUMMY dinner. I am upstairs and I can just hear all the other boys coming home. We will have to see how they enjoyed the dinner.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Evil Spirits
I guess it has been a while since our last blog.... the days are going by quickly.
I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior about 3 years ago and was baptized in July of 2011. During that time I've heard many stories in church, from a variety of people, about how they were being attacked spiritually. They've told us how they would pray and tell the evil spirits to leave them. I really did not know what to think about this, and it felt very foreign to me.
Over the last couple of weeks I have been feeling very depressed and lost. I could not figure out why I was in Ukraine. I was irritated at Bill all the time for some really silly things, and all I wanted to do was just come home. I was teary eyed all the time and could cry at the drop of a hat. When Bill and I would talk there were times I would have to tell him we needed to change the subject because I could not handle the discussion. Then there were times I just did not want to be in Bill's presence, and many times I did not want to be around the boys. I would go up to our room as soon as I felt I could get away with it. I would absorb myself into my book to be somewhere else.
Bill and I decided to go away for a few days to recoup and I thought that would make me feel all better. Well, I was still getting very irritated with Bill, for no reason. It was now Saturday and I knew Grace Place would be taking prayer requests, and I wanted to get on the list. I e-mailed Pastor Clay my request and he not only put in the request, he sent me a wonderful e-mail back. It was full of encouragement and some helpful advise about being spiritually attacked. One of the things that Pastor Clay said to do was to verbally tell the evil spirits to leave.
I had to ask Bill what this really meant. Am I just supposed to say a prayer? I'd been doing that and I did not feel better. Did it mean to yell at the devil, or what? He said no, just talk out loud, and tell the evil spirits to leave. I still felt very foolish. I know I shouldn't feel that way but I did. I waited until Bill was in the shower and I started telling the devil to go away. At first I was timid, and then I realized I was getting angry at the evil one for even being there. It was not until we had been back in Kherson for a couple of days that I realized I was at peace again.
While I was growing up one of the arguments that I had with religious people was that I wanted proof. This week I got proof. My plea to anyone reading this blog is to use the gifts that God has given us to maintain your Christian course, and if yelling at the top of your lungs to get the evil spirits away from you is what you feel like you need to do, then DO IT.
I am very thankful everyday that Bill and I found Grace Place and that the pastors and everyone that I meet is helping me to become who God wanted me to be all along.
Now that I was feeling better the evil spirits decided to attack Bill for a while. This week has been extremely hard on him. Today he is much better and our relationship is thriving better today than it has ever been.
We have four new boys at the house. One of the boys (Arteom) goes to college in Kiev so we only see him every few weeks. The other three boys are Kola (not pronounced like the soda), Losha and Vlad. All of them are great boys. Kola and Vlad both speak pretty good english and it is fun talking to them because when we are all laughing we all know why.
Other than what I've shared, things have been pretty normal around here. Normal for Ukraine any how. Karen Springs from CBN has a film crew here to do some filming of the Joshua house and we were informed that she wants to film Bill and I teaching English. Boy I hope I don't make any bad mistakes.
Karen is a wonderful lady, and everyone coming here from Grace Place usually gets to know her. Part of her ministry is a hospitality ministry. She opens her home up to anyone that is coming to Ukraine to adopt or work with orphans AND she speaks English. She is from Seattle, and has been in Ukraine for 7 years. Karen has a huge heart for people.
To end the blog today we are attaching some pictures from our Odessa trip.
God Bless,
Karen
I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior about 3 years ago and was baptized in July of 2011. During that time I've heard many stories in church, from a variety of people, about how they were being attacked spiritually. They've told us how they would pray and tell the evil spirits to leave them. I really did not know what to think about this, and it felt very foreign to me.
Over the last couple of weeks I have been feeling very depressed and lost. I could not figure out why I was in Ukraine. I was irritated at Bill all the time for some really silly things, and all I wanted to do was just come home. I was teary eyed all the time and could cry at the drop of a hat. When Bill and I would talk there were times I would have to tell him we needed to change the subject because I could not handle the discussion. Then there were times I just did not want to be in Bill's presence, and many times I did not want to be around the boys. I would go up to our room as soon as I felt I could get away with it. I would absorb myself into my book to be somewhere else.
Bill and I decided to go away for a few days to recoup and I thought that would make me feel all better. Well, I was still getting very irritated with Bill, for no reason. It was now Saturday and I knew Grace Place would be taking prayer requests, and I wanted to get on the list. I e-mailed Pastor Clay my request and he not only put in the request, he sent me a wonderful e-mail back. It was full of encouragement and some helpful advise about being spiritually attacked. One of the things that Pastor Clay said to do was to verbally tell the evil spirits to leave.
I had to ask Bill what this really meant. Am I just supposed to say a prayer? I'd been doing that and I did not feel better. Did it mean to yell at the devil, or what? He said no, just talk out loud, and tell the evil spirits to leave. I still felt very foolish. I know I shouldn't feel that way but I did. I waited until Bill was in the shower and I started telling the devil to go away. At first I was timid, and then I realized I was getting angry at the evil one for even being there. It was not until we had been back in Kherson for a couple of days that I realized I was at peace again.
While I was growing up one of the arguments that I had with religious people was that I wanted proof. This week I got proof. My plea to anyone reading this blog is to use the gifts that God has given us to maintain your Christian course, and if yelling at the top of your lungs to get the evil spirits away from you is what you feel like you need to do, then DO IT.
I am very thankful everyday that Bill and I found Grace Place and that the pastors and everyone that I meet is helping me to become who God wanted me to be all along.
Now that I was feeling better the evil spirits decided to attack Bill for a while. This week has been extremely hard on him. Today he is much better and our relationship is thriving better today than it has ever been.
We have four new boys at the house. One of the boys (Arteom) goes to college in Kiev so we only see him every few weeks. The other three boys are Kola (not pronounced like the soda), Losha and Vlad. All of them are great boys. Kola and Vlad both speak pretty good english and it is fun talking to them because when we are all laughing we all know why.
Other than what I've shared, things have been pretty normal around here. Normal for Ukraine any how. Karen Springs from CBN has a film crew here to do some filming of the Joshua house and we were informed that she wants to film Bill and I teaching English. Boy I hope I don't make any bad mistakes.
Karen is a wonderful lady, and everyone coming here from Grace Place usually gets to know her. Part of her ministry is a hospitality ministry. She opens her home up to anyone that is coming to Ukraine to adopt or work with orphans AND she speaks English. She is from Seattle, and has been in Ukraine for 7 years. Karen has a huge heart for people.
To end the blog today we are attaching some pictures from our Odessa trip.
God Bless,
Karen
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Normal Day
Hugs and Blessings to Everyone,
Sorry I have not written for a while, I was getting very home sick so I told Bill that he had to write and for a few days I just did not feel like writing. Please accept my apologies.
I am going to give you a look at a normal day:
5:45 Bill wakes up (Karen sleeps)
6:00 Bill attempts to wake boys
6:15 Most boys up, Bill attempts to wake the rest
6:45 Bill tells whoever is still sleeping he is leaving in 15 minutes
7:00 Bill leaves for Colleges & Universities with whoever is in the van
7:00 - 8:30 Karen gets her lazy butt out of bed
7:45 Bill gets home from dropping off boys
7:45-9:00 Bill and Karen quiet time to drink coffee, talk and read Bibles
9:00 -2:00ish We run errands, look around, have a leisurely breakfast. Help make soup or borsch
2:00-3:00 Hang with boys
3:00 Bill goes and get kids for English class
3:20-4:20 English
4:20-5:15 Bill runs English kids to bus stop, Karen starts cooking with one of the boys.
5:15-6:00 We all hang out
6:00-9:00ish Depending on the day the boys are at; Friends Club, Youth Church, Prayer meeting or regular church.
If we take the boys to their function, Bill and I will go eat, or just grab a drink until it is time to pick up the boys.
If Andrey takes the boys, we might go out to eat or we watch some T.V shows that we downloaded.
This is the basics of what happens each day, what I did not put in here is all the other stuff that happens. Someone needs to go to the Doctor, a special meal needs to be prepared, a meeting no one told us about until that day etc....... There are so many numerous things that can happen in a day at a moments notice, it becomes exhausting.
So, some thoughts that I have been having.
Before Bill and I got to the Ukraine I had all the wonderful ideas that we would be able come here and help all the boys and the house parents to..........I guess to become more Americanized. But, since we have been here I keep waffling back and forth. Do they really need to be like us if they are happy with the way things are for them now.
We (U.S. people) think that everyone should eat like us. The way we hold our silverware to the way we drink liquids. Everyone here, which includes adults and younger people; slurping soup, tea, anything liquid and the slurping is not just a little bit like we would do when something is hot, it is down and out loud, loud slurping. Can you imagine how it is at a table with 7 people that slurp everything? It kind of grates on the nerves. We have been trying to get the boys to not slurp, but holy cow they just do not get it. Then when houseparent Andrey is eating with us, he slurps as well and we do not have the right to tell him in front of the boys to not slurp. One thing I do not know is if the girls slurp also. If so, why do they need to change?
Most people that we have seen eat with their fork in the left hand, knife in the right. But the silverware is upside-down from the way we hold it. We talked to the boys about holding the silverware our way, but when we go out to eat we see that everyone seems to eat this way. Do they need to change?
I am having a hard time getting my deep thoughts down. I will keep trying. The boys are understanding the changes of regular house routine (cleaning, cooking etc..) but the mental change is very hard. It seems that a lot of the orphans and poor people have the attitude that there is nothing better for them, so they will just accept things while everything is good, and when it gets bad - well that is what was going to happen anyway. I would love for them to understand that if they have a smile on their face and work hard they can advance.
I think the reason that most of the boys have bad grades at the Colleges and Universities is that they don't think there is any hope for a future in that field anyway, so why try? I do not think all the boys are stupid just because they are getting bad grades. They just have no drive. So how do you instill drive into boys that are 16-21? Unfortunately a lot of the orphans are very lazy due to the fact that they never had to do anything for themselves during the learning years. This is a very hard habit to break. They are also very, very manipulative. If you have ever had a family member that was a drug addict or alcoholic you will understand the kind of manipulation that is going on. They are sweet and smiley, but this is how they get what they want.
We have learned that people here can advance in a job just by skill alone. They do not necessarily need a degree. So if we can encourage a natural skill in each child, could they not find a small job in that field that could possibly lead to more opportunities? Something to think about.
It is hard to get across to the boys that they are valuable no matter what society says. Very, very frustrating.
We're leaving for Odessa tomorrow. Bill and I are ready for a break. We'll try to write from there.
God Bless,
Karen
Sorry I have not written for a while, I was getting very home sick so I told Bill that he had to write and for a few days I just did not feel like writing. Please accept my apologies.
I am going to give you a look at a normal day:
5:45 Bill wakes up (Karen sleeps)
6:00 Bill attempts to wake boys
6:15 Most boys up, Bill attempts to wake the rest
6:45 Bill tells whoever is still sleeping he is leaving in 15 minutes
7:00 Bill leaves for Colleges & Universities with whoever is in the van
7:00 - 8:30 Karen gets her lazy butt out of bed
7:45 Bill gets home from dropping off boys
7:45-9:00 Bill and Karen quiet time to drink coffee, talk and read Bibles
9:00 -2:00ish We run errands, look around, have a leisurely breakfast. Help make soup or borsch
2:00-3:00 Hang with boys
3:00 Bill goes and get kids for English class
3:20-4:20 English
4:20-5:15 Bill runs English kids to bus stop, Karen starts cooking with one of the boys.
5:15-6:00 We all hang out
6:00-9:00ish Depending on the day the boys are at; Friends Club, Youth Church, Prayer meeting or regular church.
If we take the boys to their function, Bill and I will go eat, or just grab a drink until it is time to pick up the boys.
If Andrey takes the boys, we might go out to eat or we watch some T.V shows that we downloaded.
This is the basics of what happens each day, what I did not put in here is all the other stuff that happens. Someone needs to go to the Doctor, a special meal needs to be prepared, a meeting no one told us about until that day etc....... There are so many numerous things that can happen in a day at a moments notice, it becomes exhausting.
So, some thoughts that I have been having.
Before Bill and I got to the Ukraine I had all the wonderful ideas that we would be able come here and help all the boys and the house parents to..........I guess to become more Americanized. But, since we have been here I keep waffling back and forth. Do they really need to be like us if they are happy with the way things are for them now.
We (U.S. people) think that everyone should eat like us. The way we hold our silverware to the way we drink liquids. Everyone here, which includes adults and younger people; slurping soup, tea, anything liquid and the slurping is not just a little bit like we would do when something is hot, it is down and out loud, loud slurping. Can you imagine how it is at a table with 7 people that slurp everything? It kind of grates on the nerves. We have been trying to get the boys to not slurp, but holy cow they just do not get it. Then when houseparent Andrey is eating with us, he slurps as well and we do not have the right to tell him in front of the boys to not slurp. One thing I do not know is if the girls slurp also. If so, why do they need to change?
Most people that we have seen eat with their fork in the left hand, knife in the right. But the silverware is upside-down from the way we hold it. We talked to the boys about holding the silverware our way, but when we go out to eat we see that everyone seems to eat this way. Do they need to change?
I am having a hard time getting my deep thoughts down. I will keep trying. The boys are understanding the changes of regular house routine (cleaning, cooking etc..) but the mental change is very hard. It seems that a lot of the orphans and poor people have the attitude that there is nothing better for them, so they will just accept things while everything is good, and when it gets bad - well that is what was going to happen anyway. I would love for them to understand that if they have a smile on their face and work hard they can advance.
I think the reason that most of the boys have bad grades at the Colleges and Universities is that they don't think there is any hope for a future in that field anyway, so why try? I do not think all the boys are stupid just because they are getting bad grades. They just have no drive. So how do you instill drive into boys that are 16-21? Unfortunately a lot of the orphans are very lazy due to the fact that they never had to do anything for themselves during the learning years. This is a very hard habit to break. They are also very, very manipulative. If you have ever had a family member that was a drug addict or alcoholic you will understand the kind of manipulation that is going on. They are sweet and smiley, but this is how they get what they want.
We have learned that people here can advance in a job just by skill alone. They do not necessarily need a degree. So if we can encourage a natural skill in each child, could they not find a small job in that field that could possibly lead to more opportunities? Something to think about.
It is hard to get across to the boys that they are valuable no matter what society says. Very, very frustrating.
We're leaving for Odessa tomorrow. Bill and I are ready for a break. We'll try to write from there.
God Bless,
Karen
Friday, February 17, 2012
Friday
Greetings. I was informed by my bride that it is my turn to write a blog. So, I guess I'll share my Friday with you.
I first woke up at 1:45 a.m., to doors slamming and loud voices. Out of bed, and downstairs, I find 3 of the boys eating "dinner". They had gone to the Russian Sauna with Andrey and Steve (with Hearts for Orphans). This is often done when someone of importance is visiting. The Ukrainians view it as a real treat.
Anyhow, back to bed until 5:50 a.m. when my alarm went off. At 6:00 I woke 2 of the boys. They both protested a bit, but I chalked it up to the fact that they only had 4 hours of sleep. As it turns out, none of the boys had school Friday (for some unknown reason), so we all could have slept in if someone had just told me.
It snowed about 6 inches during the night, so we shoveled snow. The challenge with this is that they don't have a snow shovel.... just a regular pointed shovel, and a broom. What a huge pain in the butt!
One of the boys wanted to go shopping for boots, so I loaded two of them up and off we went. We got there at 8:15, and the store doesn't open until 9:00, so I decided to drive to the hardware store to look for a snow shovel. I have my doubts about finding one in this country, since I saw a lot of home made shovels being used - a piece of plywood (12"x 24" +/-), attached to a wooden handle. So off we go. The challenge here is finding the store. I followed the boy's directions for 40 minutes, driving around in circles, until I finally gave up in frustration. I then drove them until they told me to stop, and off they went.
Now I realized that I had no idea where I was, or what direction the house, or any familiar landmarks, may be. Have you ever been alone, behind the wheel, in a foreign country, without a phone, unable to speak the language, and completely lost? I made it home at 10:30 - 2 1/2 hours after leaving the house to drop off the boys.
Fortunately, the rest of the day was much more enjoyable. We went to Oskars for lunch, ran a few errands, and relaxed at home for awhile.
I have been craving onion dip, so I made a batch from some cottage cheese that we bought from a woman in the bazaar, and the closest thing they have here to cream cheese. I was sooo excited to eat something normal! Unfortunately, the cottage cheese here doesn't taste like the cottage cheese in the States, and the cream cheese here is nothing like our cream cheese (I'd give $100 for a bar of Philadelphia cream cheese right now). So long story short, it SUCKED! One bite and I was done.
The fun part of this experience (always looking for the silver lining) was that Karen decided to make the potato chips - from whole potatoes. In addition to snow shovels, and a million other things, there are no unflavored potato chips here. You can buy fish flavored, cheese flavored, tomato flavored, onion flavored, etc....., but no regular chips (I'd give another $100 for a bag of Lays chips right now). The home made chips were wonderful. In fact, they ended up being our dinner.
We were in bed at 9:30, and watched Dexter (season 2) until 11:30, when it was time to call it a day. Sleep well everyone!
God Bless,
Bill
Check this out - http://youtu.be/s80BUIllkCE
I first woke up at 1:45 a.m., to doors slamming and loud voices. Out of bed, and downstairs, I find 3 of the boys eating "dinner". They had gone to the Russian Sauna with Andrey and Steve (with Hearts for Orphans). This is often done when someone of importance is visiting. The Ukrainians view it as a real treat.
Anyhow, back to bed until 5:50 a.m. when my alarm went off. At 6:00 I woke 2 of the boys. They both protested a bit, but I chalked it up to the fact that they only had 4 hours of sleep. As it turns out, none of the boys had school Friday (for some unknown reason), so we all could have slept in if someone had just told me.
It snowed about 6 inches during the night, so we shoveled snow. The challenge with this is that they don't have a snow shovel.... just a regular pointed shovel, and a broom. What a huge pain in the butt!
One of the boys wanted to go shopping for boots, so I loaded two of them up and off we went. We got there at 8:15, and the store doesn't open until 9:00, so I decided to drive to the hardware store to look for a snow shovel. I have my doubts about finding one in this country, since I saw a lot of home made shovels being used - a piece of plywood (12"x 24" +/-), attached to a wooden handle. So off we go. The challenge here is finding the store. I followed the boy's directions for 40 minutes, driving around in circles, until I finally gave up in frustration. I then drove them until they told me to stop, and off they went.
Now I realized that I had no idea where I was, or what direction the house, or any familiar landmarks, may be. Have you ever been alone, behind the wheel, in a foreign country, without a phone, unable to speak the language, and completely lost? I made it home at 10:30 - 2 1/2 hours after leaving the house to drop off the boys.
Fortunately, the rest of the day was much more enjoyable. We went to Oskars for lunch, ran a few errands, and relaxed at home for awhile.
I have been craving onion dip, so I made a batch from some cottage cheese that we bought from a woman in the bazaar, and the closest thing they have here to cream cheese. I was sooo excited to eat something normal! Unfortunately, the cottage cheese here doesn't taste like the cottage cheese in the States, and the cream cheese here is nothing like our cream cheese (I'd give $100 for a bar of Philadelphia cream cheese right now). So long story short, it SUCKED! One bite and I was done.
The fun part of this experience (always looking for the silver lining) was that Karen decided to make the potato chips - from whole potatoes. In addition to snow shovels, and a million other things, there are no unflavored potato chips here. You can buy fish flavored, cheese flavored, tomato flavored, onion flavored, etc....., but no regular chips (I'd give another $100 for a bag of Lays chips right now). The home made chips were wonderful. In fact, they ended up being our dinner.
We were in bed at 9:30, and watched Dexter (season 2) until 11:30, when it was time to call it a day. Sleep well everyone!
God Bless,
Bill
Check this out - http://youtu.be/s80BUIllkCE
Heart for Orphans Visit
We had a great dinner and visit with Nancy and Steve from Hearts for Orphans. We got to hear their adoption stories; it was much different 10 years ago. Back then you got to decided when you were going to come to Ukraine, you did not have to wait for an appointment. The kids were personally brought in one by one, for lack of a better word, to audition. They would sing, recite poetry etc... whatever would make them look desirable.
Before Nancy and Steve saw the kids they prayed that God would lead them to the child that they were supposed to adopt. There was one girl in particular that the orphanage was trying to get Nancy and Steve to take. She was cute, had a beautiful smile, and did a great song and dance. But, they ended adopting a sweet, shy, 9 year old that everyone in the States mistook for a boy because her hair was so short. After they chose her, it was a whirlwind getting the paperwork in order and the child and the child to Poland for her Visa. I cannot remember the exact number of days that they were here, but it was something like 9 days. When they got to the States people were asking them what is she like and they had to answer that they had no idea.
At some point this girl said that she wanted Nancy and Steve to adopt her friend. Well, by August the next year they had two girls. The whole story as Nancy tells it is quite amazing, especially knowing how hard and time consuming it is now. I would love it if Nancy would post her story. The prayers that were answered for their family are amazing to hear.
I am so proud of myself for preparing the dinner that I made for Nancy and Steve. I made homemade bread and rolls - from scratch; we made butter and whipped cream by shaking liquid whipping cream in a jar; I made key lime pie from scratch. I am feeling like a real cook.
It is amazing how we take so many pre-packed things for granted when we cook. Being thrown into a situation where so many of the things we have at home are not available makes one stretch their abilities. The boys really like it when I make a dessert. It is probably their favorite part of the meal.
Today, Friday, we woke up to 5-6 inches of snow. It is okay because that means it is warmer. Another thing that we take for granted - snow shovels. Bill and the boys were out early this morning sweeping the driveway. Bill broke one broom.
Yesterday, even though it was a nice day, I was really struggling with back pain. Sometimes when it comes on I have no idea why. My Father-in-law worked really hard a couple of days before we left getting me some Percocet. I am grateful every time I need one. I ended up staying in my room most of the afternoon and all evening. Thank goodness we downloaded some movies and I have plenty of books.
I am hoping we can get on the road and visit some of the other centers. Right now Andrey is doing it and leaving us in charge of the Joshua house. I am very glad that he is trusting us to get the things done that need to be done.
We still get very confused about the boy's schedules. It seems like each day they go to school at a different time, or they do not have school at all. Or, they might decided to not go to school. We need to have a talk with Alona to figure some of this out. We never know if they are taking advantage of us or not. If we know they are supposed to be in school at a certain time, and they ask us to take them to the store, at least we know when to say no.
Bill and I are looking forward to going to the orphanage tomorrow. We bought some beads because we heard that they like making necklaces and bracelets. We are also going to take Uno and Phase One (Thank you Terry and Linda). Apparently they do know how to play both games. Bill and I are going to have to play tonight because both of us forget how to play Uno and we have never played Phase One. It should be a good day.
We still need to figure out something fun to do with the family on Sunday. I want to figure out fun things to do that don't cost a lot of money. We could probably go sledding using plastic bags if the snow stays and we can find a small hill. Who knows.... we will keep thinking.
Well that's all for now.
Hugs and Blessings
Karen and Bill
Before Nancy and Steve saw the kids they prayed that God would lead them to the child that they were supposed to adopt. There was one girl in particular that the orphanage was trying to get Nancy and Steve to take. She was cute, had a beautiful smile, and did a great song and dance. But, they ended adopting a sweet, shy, 9 year old that everyone in the States mistook for a boy because her hair was so short. After they chose her, it was a whirlwind getting the paperwork in order and the child and the child to Poland for her Visa. I cannot remember the exact number of days that they were here, but it was something like 9 days. When they got to the States people were asking them what is she like and they had to answer that they had no idea.
At some point this girl said that she wanted Nancy and Steve to adopt her friend. Well, by August the next year they had two girls. The whole story as Nancy tells it is quite amazing, especially knowing how hard and time consuming it is now. I would love it if Nancy would post her story. The prayers that were answered for their family are amazing to hear.
I am so proud of myself for preparing the dinner that I made for Nancy and Steve. I made homemade bread and rolls - from scratch; we made butter and whipped cream by shaking liquid whipping cream in a jar; I made key lime pie from scratch. I am feeling like a real cook.
It is amazing how we take so many pre-packed things for granted when we cook. Being thrown into a situation where so many of the things we have at home are not available makes one stretch their abilities. The boys really like it when I make a dessert. It is probably their favorite part of the meal.
Today, Friday, we woke up to 5-6 inches of snow. It is okay because that means it is warmer. Another thing that we take for granted - snow shovels. Bill and the boys were out early this morning sweeping the driveway. Bill broke one broom.
Yesterday, even though it was a nice day, I was really struggling with back pain. Sometimes when it comes on I have no idea why. My Father-in-law worked really hard a couple of days before we left getting me some Percocet. I am grateful every time I need one. I ended up staying in my room most of the afternoon and all evening. Thank goodness we downloaded some movies and I have plenty of books.
I am hoping we can get on the road and visit some of the other centers. Right now Andrey is doing it and leaving us in charge of the Joshua house. I am very glad that he is trusting us to get the things done that need to be done.
We still get very confused about the boy's schedules. It seems like each day they go to school at a different time, or they do not have school at all. Or, they might decided to not go to school. We need to have a talk with Alona to figure some of this out. We never know if they are taking advantage of us or not. If we know they are supposed to be in school at a certain time, and they ask us to take them to the store, at least we know when to say no.
Bill and I are looking forward to going to the orphanage tomorrow. We bought some beads because we heard that they like making necklaces and bracelets. We are also going to take Uno and Phase One (Thank you Terry and Linda). Apparently they do know how to play both games. Bill and I are going to have to play tonight because both of us forget how to play Uno and we have never played Phase One. It should be a good day.
We still need to figure out something fun to do with the family on Sunday. I want to figure out fun things to do that don't cost a lot of money. We could probably go sledding using plastic bags if the snow stays and we can find a small hill. Who knows.... we will keep thinking.
Well that's all for now.
Hugs and Blessings
Karen and Bill
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Family Fun Day
On Sunday we told Andrey and Alona that we would love to do a family fun day. After church we all went to Oskars and treated everyone to lunch. It was interesting to see the things that each person ordered. I realize now that all the boys really like mushrooms. There are some things that are unrecognizable for Bill and me so we stay away from them.
After lunch we were planning on going bowling, but when we got there all the time slots were taken until 7:00p.m. That was okay. We all went home and most of the boys, including Bill, took naps.
We got to bowling and WOW!!! what an experience. We had no idea that only three of the boys had done any bowling (one other time). Even Andrey or Alona had never been bowling. Can you imagine growing up and never bowling? I remember on the cold days in Colorado, when the kids were small, taking them bowling because it was one thing we could all do.
We had two lanes, the boys on one and the parents on the other. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time. All of them would go up to the line with their ball, bend over, swing their arm with the ball back and forth a few times, then send the ball rolling. At the beginning most of the balls ended up in the gutter. None of them knew that you take two rolls per turn and on the 10th frame we had to stand and watch each bowler in case they got a strike or spare and had to roll again.
We would cringe when they would send the ball rolling when there was a ball stuck in the gutter, or pins had accidentally fallen down. When you sign up to bowl you pay per hour and when the hour is up everything just shuts down, even if you are in the middle of a game.
It was so great watching everyone laughing, especially house parent Andrey. He was like a little boy in the van afterward, giggling and talking with excitement. I wished at that point that I really could understand the language. We went home and it stayed a pleasant atmosphere and I think everyone slept well that night.
To Change Topics!!!
Before we left home, our small group - Terry & Linda Nichols, Bob & Judy Butcher, Dave & Susie Werber and Jerry and Linda Campbell - blessed us with money to use for the centers in whatever way we thought best.
When we were here in October Alex (Agape) told us that they needed pillows, sheets, blankets etc... Well, when we got here we learned that they had enough of these things. I asked Alona what the centers needed; I chose her because she and Andrey were the house parents at Mel's house for two years before coming to Joshua house in August of 2011. She thought about it for a couple of days and made a list. We went shopping yesterday (Tuesday). We were at a kitchen store for three hours picking out everything. Pans, plates, cups, glasses, serving bowls, silverware, buckets, tea pots, sharp knives etc... you name it we bought it. As we shopped the cashier kept a total going for us and occasionally Alona would ask her how much we had spent and when she heard the total she would get excited because she was able to get more. This happened about 8 times. I think we got everything on the list, plus. Bill took a video of all the stuff while it was laid out on the table to be separated for the centers.
http://youtu.be/XFpdGqQTZx8
Small Group, we cannot express in this blog the joy and excitement that Alona showed, while shopping and afterward. Alona and Andrey left this morning to make deliveries to a couple of the centers. Alona told me the other centers are going to be very happy and surprised with all the things that you got for them.
Mel's house has 12 boys at the moment and they never had a pot big enough to make soup for all. Well we got a huge pot. It is bigger than a canning pot. This is one of the items that she did not think she was going to be able to get, and when we were able to I thought she was going to jump up and down and squeal like a little girl. It was so much fun to watch.
Another topic:
Nancy from Hearts for Orphans has been in Ukraine for a few days now visiting all the centers, and she will be in Kherson today. We (the boys and us) will be making an American dinner to share with her. The boys all talk very excitedly about Nancy, so it should be a great visit. I will update you all tomorrow. Until then, God Bless you all.
Karen
After lunch we were planning on going bowling, but when we got there all the time slots were taken until 7:00p.m. That was okay. We all went home and most of the boys, including Bill, took naps.
We got to bowling and WOW!!! what an experience. We had no idea that only three of the boys had done any bowling (one other time). Even Andrey or Alona had never been bowling. Can you imagine growing up and never bowling? I remember on the cold days in Colorado, when the kids were small, taking them bowling because it was one thing we could all do.
We had two lanes, the boys on one and the parents on the other. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time. All of them would go up to the line with their ball, bend over, swing their arm with the ball back and forth a few times, then send the ball rolling. At the beginning most of the balls ended up in the gutter. None of them knew that you take two rolls per turn and on the 10th frame we had to stand and watch each bowler in case they got a strike or spare and had to roll again.
We would cringe when they would send the ball rolling when there was a ball stuck in the gutter, or pins had accidentally fallen down. When you sign up to bowl you pay per hour and when the hour is up everything just shuts down, even if you are in the middle of a game.
It was so great watching everyone laughing, especially house parent Andrey. He was like a little boy in the van afterward, giggling and talking with excitement. I wished at that point that I really could understand the language. We went home and it stayed a pleasant atmosphere and I think everyone slept well that night.
To Change Topics!!!
Before we left home, our small group - Terry & Linda Nichols, Bob & Judy Butcher, Dave & Susie Werber and Jerry and Linda Campbell - blessed us with money to use for the centers in whatever way we thought best.
When we were here in October Alex (Agape) told us that they needed pillows, sheets, blankets etc... Well, when we got here we learned that they had enough of these things. I asked Alona what the centers needed; I chose her because she and Andrey were the house parents at Mel's house for two years before coming to Joshua house in August of 2011. She thought about it for a couple of days and made a list. We went shopping yesterday (Tuesday). We were at a kitchen store for three hours picking out everything. Pans, plates, cups, glasses, serving bowls, silverware, buckets, tea pots, sharp knives etc... you name it we bought it. As we shopped the cashier kept a total going for us and occasionally Alona would ask her how much we had spent and when she heard the total she would get excited because she was able to get more. This happened about 8 times. I think we got everything on the list, plus. Bill took a video of all the stuff while it was laid out on the table to be separated for the centers.
http://youtu.be/XFpdGqQTZx8
Small Group, we cannot express in this blog the joy and excitement that Alona showed, while shopping and afterward. Alona and Andrey left this morning to make deliveries to a couple of the centers. Alona told me the other centers are going to be very happy and surprised with all the things that you got for them.
Mel's house has 12 boys at the moment and they never had a pot big enough to make soup for all. Well we got a huge pot. It is bigger than a canning pot. This is one of the items that she did not think she was going to be able to get, and when we were able to I thought she was going to jump up and down and squeal like a little girl. It was so much fun to watch.
Another topic:
Nancy from Hearts for Orphans has been in Ukraine for a few days now visiting all the centers, and she will be in Kherson today. We (the boys and us) will be making an American dinner to share with her. The boys all talk very excitedly about Nancy, so it should be a great visit. I will update you all tomorrow. Until then, God Bless you all.
Karen
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Reality
I'm sitting here at the kitchen table, alone for the first time in 2+ weeks. Karen is out buying supplies for the other transition homes, and the boys are all playing indoor soccer.
If you've been keeping up with our face book posts you've seen videos of us bowling with the boys, and leg wrestling with the orphans. But as I reflect on the last couple of weeks I realize that, while we're trying hard to make the best of the situation here, the reality is that life here in Ukraine is very bleak compared to the unbelievable blessings we are accustomed to.
The boys that we have come to love so much are getting a lousy education because they are orphans. The sad truth is that orphans get the worst teachers, in the worst schools. That's just the reality here. Once they graduate, the chances of them actually getting a job are slim. at best. Why? Because they've been poorly educated, and are earmarked as orphans.
While we've been posting the videos that show us all having fun, what you haven't seen are the old, old men that we pass on the roads, dragging firewood behind them to heat their homes with. Or the old, old women that stand outside in the freezing cold all day long selling their wares. Or the younger women that stand in a restaurant with their young child, watching you eat, hoping that you'll give them a couple of grivna (25 cents) or a scrap of food.
Life here is very harsh. If you'll go to the you tube address below you'll see what I mean. This was taken this afternoon, at the local dump.
http://youtu.be/4hFHVEolRRo
I hope you'll continue to pray for us, to know what we've been called to do here. But I also hope you'll pray for the Ukrainians that won't be "going home soon"; to a warm house, multiple cars, a refrigerator full of food..... The reality is that, unlike us, they have very little to look forward to.
God Bless,
Bill
If you've been keeping up with our face book posts you've seen videos of us bowling with the boys, and leg wrestling with the orphans. But as I reflect on the last couple of weeks I realize that, while we're trying hard to make the best of the situation here, the reality is that life here in Ukraine is very bleak compared to the unbelievable blessings we are accustomed to.
The boys that we have come to love so much are getting a lousy education because they are orphans. The sad truth is that orphans get the worst teachers, in the worst schools. That's just the reality here. Once they graduate, the chances of them actually getting a job are slim. at best. Why? Because they've been poorly educated, and are earmarked as orphans.
While we've been posting the videos that show us all having fun, what you haven't seen are the old, old men that we pass on the roads, dragging firewood behind them to heat their homes with. Or the old, old women that stand outside in the freezing cold all day long selling their wares. Or the younger women that stand in a restaurant with their young child, watching you eat, hoping that you'll give them a couple of grivna (25 cents) or a scrap of food.
Life here is very harsh. If you'll go to the you tube address below you'll see what I mean. This was taken this afternoon, at the local dump.
http://youtu.be/4hFHVEolRRo
I hope you'll continue to pray for us, to know what we've been called to do here. But I also hope you'll pray for the Ukrainians that won't be "going home soon"; to a warm house, multiple cars, a refrigerator full of food..... The reality is that, unlike us, they have very little to look forward to.
God Bless,
Bill
Monday, February 13, 2012
Fun With Kids
We had a fantastic weekend! We have many videos we are going to attach to the blog, but if for some reason they do not play, we are going to attach them to our Facebook pages also.
Saturday, American Andrey took us to the Kherson Orphanage. We were on the family floor and we got to play with 10-12 kids. It was so amazing. First of all, when they saw Andrey they were beside themselves with joy. They could not get close enough to him and were hanging all over him. Andrey is an amazing person himself. He takes his days off and goes to the orphanages each week. How many 19 or 20 year old young men do that? He is a great Christian doing God's work. Before we went, Andrey told us it is a good idea to bring some fruit for the kids, so that is what we did. The nanny for the day will cut it up and give it to the kids.
We started our time playing a Ukrainian game. We all stood in a circle with our hands not holding but in a position so the person on your left can take their right hand and clap over to their left hand, which your right hand is in and they clap it. The kids sing a song and at the end they say a number (we only know up to 19). We then clap around the circle until that number is reached and the person next to the one saying the number tries to get their hand out of the way of the clap. If the clapper misses they are out. If the clapper gets the next person's hand that person is out. Are you confused yet? Needless to say both Bill and I were not very good at the game. The kids say the number so quickly that we don't really hear it. Lots of laughs.
We then played thumb war. Everyone knows what that one is. I showed them how to do the leg war. Bill and I were doing it, and Bill had a hold of my pants pocket and guess what? He ripped a big hole in my pants! Thank goodness I had some long johns on underneath. One of the girls offered to take my pants and sew them, but I wanted her to stay and play so I declined, and I figured I could sew them later. All the kids had fun playing leg war. We even went up against the little ones and it was so much fun letting them win and rolling us over.
The girls spent a lot of time teaching me clapping games and the boys had a blast wrestling and hanging on Bill. I was surprised that Bill could walk. With all the playing around we were all getting hot and if any of you know Bill well, he sweats. Doma and Victoria thought it was so funny watching Bill comb his wet hair. Bill flicked his comb at them and that became a game of wiping Bills sweat onto who ever they could. Then they went to the bathroom and wet down their hair like Bills and came back modeling and showing that they look like Bill. They kept smoothing their hair back with their hands and laughing. It was fun watching them make fun of us.
As we (the old people) were tired, I got my iPad out and of course it was a big hit. One of the girls kept saying "present" and then laughing. She even sat on it as we were leaving, trying to hide it. We let them know we would bring it again. We are going to find some small games, toy cars etc... that we can bring each week to entertain them. If anyone has any ideas about fun games for kids 6-12 let us know.
One thing we learned about the family floor is if you want to adopt a particular child, you have to adopt the whole family. I think that makes it harder for the kids to get adopted. There was a girl six years old, that is such a sweetie, we thought of Jamie and Tiffany over here looking for that age. Then we found out about the whole family thing. If anyone out there wants a couple of siblings, let us know. We will find them for you.
We still have not been able to start the greenhouse. It is amazing to be here and see the sun shining, but the ground, including the streets and sidewalks, are all covered in ice. The sunshine does not melt things like in Colorado. This week we are excited. It is supposed to snow, which means it will be warmer.
Saturday is our day off from cooking and running boys around, but on our way to town (we live in the country) all the boys needed to get their hair cut. We did not have the van because Alex and Andrey were traveling for a night. We crammed 7 people into a tiny car, equivalent to a Toyota Corolla. I was in the front passenger seat with it all the way up. I felt like my head was in the windshield. But the boys in the back were on top of each other. Of course we did not think to take a picture. Oh well. There were a lot of laughs on the way to town.
I forgot to say that American Andrey's friend (maybe girlfriend) Natasha was at the orphanage with us also, she is a very nice girl. When we left the orphanage Andrey and Natasha took us to the bazaar again to try and find Bill a fur coat. We got some of the weirdest looks from people. Men do not buy full length fur coats. We ended up not buying anything.
After we dropped Andrey and Natasha off at a pizza place, Bill and I were off to be alone. We thought about it and realized that we are together all the time, but the only time we are alone is when we are sleeping. We walked along a walking mall (like the 16th street mall, but much shorter). We were looking for a place to eat and we found a sushi place. Hallelujah. It was so good, although we had a hard time ordering some skewers. On my iPad I have some words that I can press in english and the russian words come up. I pushed all of them and the waitress shook her head no. So we just pointed and got what we got. Then I started thinking and remembered some beef jerkey looking stuff at the grocery store that turned out to be horse meat. So I said to Bill, "what if it is horse"? He said "we will never know, so we might as well enjoy it". After a little moaning and groaning on my part I ate it, and it was good - but tough. I just had to not think of our horses at home.
After that we drove around a bit. Kherson is so much bigger than I realized at first. It just keeps going. We then went to the city center to walk around, but that does not last very long. It's just too cold. We ended up at a coffee shop to warm up and they had a mini bar. Wow!! At Joshua house the boys are taught that drinking is a sin, so Bill and I refrain from any kind of drinking. So it was nice to have a couple of drinks. We ended up staying there about three hours playing backgammon on my iPad. It was nice to feel a little normalcy. We did get some stares because I am a bit loud when I win a game; especially against Bill. One thing that was funny.... Bill ordered a shot of rum and a Coke. Well the rum came and it was a full rocks glass full. We just sat there and laughed. Bill was unable to finish it.
Things we cannot find:
Pepperoni (lots of sausage)
A steak house
Soft toilet paper
Hot sauce
Saturday, American Andrey took us to the Kherson Orphanage. We were on the family floor and we got to play with 10-12 kids. It was so amazing. First of all, when they saw Andrey they were beside themselves with joy. They could not get close enough to him and were hanging all over him. Andrey is an amazing person himself. He takes his days off and goes to the orphanages each week. How many 19 or 20 year old young men do that? He is a great Christian doing God's work. Before we went, Andrey told us it is a good idea to bring some fruit for the kids, so that is what we did. The nanny for the day will cut it up and give it to the kids.
We started our time playing a Ukrainian game. We all stood in a circle with our hands not holding but in a position so the person on your left can take their right hand and clap over to their left hand, which your right hand is in and they clap it. The kids sing a song and at the end they say a number (we only know up to 19). We then clap around the circle until that number is reached and the person next to the one saying the number tries to get their hand out of the way of the clap. If the clapper misses they are out. If the clapper gets the next person's hand that person is out. Are you confused yet? Needless to say both Bill and I were not very good at the game. The kids say the number so quickly that we don't really hear it. Lots of laughs.
We then played thumb war. Everyone knows what that one is. I showed them how to do the leg war. Bill and I were doing it, and Bill had a hold of my pants pocket and guess what? He ripped a big hole in my pants! Thank goodness I had some long johns on underneath. One of the girls offered to take my pants and sew them, but I wanted her to stay and play so I declined, and I figured I could sew them later. All the kids had fun playing leg war. We even went up against the little ones and it was so much fun letting them win and rolling us over.
The girls spent a lot of time teaching me clapping games and the boys had a blast wrestling and hanging on Bill. I was surprised that Bill could walk. With all the playing around we were all getting hot and if any of you know Bill well, he sweats. Doma and Victoria thought it was so funny watching Bill comb his wet hair. Bill flicked his comb at them and that became a game of wiping Bills sweat onto who ever they could. Then they went to the bathroom and wet down their hair like Bills and came back modeling and showing that they look like Bill. They kept smoothing their hair back with their hands and laughing. It was fun watching them make fun of us.
As we (the old people) were tired, I got my iPad out and of course it was a big hit. One of the girls kept saying "present" and then laughing. She even sat on it as we were leaving, trying to hide it. We let them know we would bring it again. We are going to find some small games, toy cars etc... that we can bring each week to entertain them. If anyone has any ideas about fun games for kids 6-12 let us know.
One thing we learned about the family floor is if you want to adopt a particular child, you have to adopt the whole family. I think that makes it harder for the kids to get adopted. There was a girl six years old, that is such a sweetie, we thought of Jamie and Tiffany over here looking for that age. Then we found out about the whole family thing. If anyone out there wants a couple of siblings, let us know. We will find them for you.
We still have not been able to start the greenhouse. It is amazing to be here and see the sun shining, but the ground, including the streets and sidewalks, are all covered in ice. The sunshine does not melt things like in Colorado. This week we are excited. It is supposed to snow, which means it will be warmer.
Saturday is our day off from cooking and running boys around, but on our way to town (we live in the country) all the boys needed to get their hair cut. We did not have the van because Alex and Andrey were traveling for a night. We crammed 7 people into a tiny car, equivalent to a Toyota Corolla. I was in the front passenger seat with it all the way up. I felt like my head was in the windshield. But the boys in the back were on top of each other. Of course we did not think to take a picture. Oh well. There were a lot of laughs on the way to town.
I forgot to say that American Andrey's friend (maybe girlfriend) Natasha was at the orphanage with us also, she is a very nice girl. When we left the orphanage Andrey and Natasha took us to the bazaar again to try and find Bill a fur coat. We got some of the weirdest looks from people. Men do not buy full length fur coats. We ended up not buying anything.
After we dropped Andrey and Natasha off at a pizza place, Bill and I were off to be alone. We thought about it and realized that we are together all the time, but the only time we are alone is when we are sleeping. We walked along a walking mall (like the 16th street mall, but much shorter). We were looking for a place to eat and we found a sushi place. Hallelujah. It was so good, although we had a hard time ordering some skewers. On my iPad I have some words that I can press in english and the russian words come up. I pushed all of them and the waitress shook her head no. So we just pointed and got what we got. Then I started thinking and remembered some beef jerkey looking stuff at the grocery store that turned out to be horse meat. So I said to Bill, "what if it is horse"? He said "we will never know, so we might as well enjoy it". After a little moaning and groaning on my part I ate it, and it was good - but tough. I just had to not think of our horses at home.
After that we drove around a bit. Kherson is so much bigger than I realized at first. It just keeps going. We then went to the city center to walk around, but that does not last very long. It's just too cold. We ended up at a coffee shop to warm up and they had a mini bar. Wow!! At Joshua house the boys are taught that drinking is a sin, so Bill and I refrain from any kind of drinking. So it was nice to have a couple of drinks. We ended up staying there about three hours playing backgammon on my iPad. It was nice to feel a little normalcy. We did get some stares because I am a bit loud when I win a game; especially against Bill. One thing that was funny.... Bill ordered a shot of rum and a Coke. Well the rum came and it was a full rocks glass full. We just sat there and laughed. Bill was unable to finish it.
It was now time for dinner. Andrey told us about a pizza place that was the best. He took Felix there when he was here. We found it and had a fantastic meal again. I had a chicken salad and Bill had pizza. We got a waiter that spoke a bit of English, which is very nice. After dinner we went home and to bed. What a wonderful day.
Things we cannot find:
Pepperoni (lots of sausage)
A steak house
Soft toilet paper
Hot sauce
Friday, February 10, 2012
Straight Hair
Well, I know why all Ukranian women have straight hair. It is because they have a stocking cap on their head all the time. There is no reason to spend time curling and such. At least we all kind of look the same.
Yesterday we had to take Sasha to the hospital. They go to the hospital for all Doctor appointments. We were 10 minutes late so they would not see him. If we were only 6-7 minutes late it would be okay, but not 10, so he had to reschedule the appointment. Their hospitals are not like ours. They are very cold and uninviting. Sasha told us the smell of the hospital, especially the stairway, makes him want to throw up.
Since Sasha was with us we had him take us to the bazaar because I wanted to get a full length fur coat. A lot of women wear them here, and they look so warm. It was an interesting experience going to the bazaar and having a boy that did not speak english help us. Sasha taught us how to say left, right and straight in Russian so we would understand where he wanted us to drive. He said he was teaching us Russian like we teach them English. At one point I was driving and Sasha made the speeding sound, then the police siren sound, and then he started to laugh. It really was pretty comical.
We got to the bazaar and Sasha knew exactly what we wanted. He talked to a couple of the shop owners and then took us right to the area that they have women's clothing. It was so cold to take off my nice warm coat and try on a cold, cold coat. Bill asked me if it was warm and I told him I was not sure because the inside of it was so cold. I hesitated to buy it, so we looked around for a bit. I could see Sasha shaking his head, in my mind he was thinking "What a Crazy Woman". We went back and bought the first coat I had tried on. Later Sasha kept giving me the thumbs up for the way I looked in the coat.
I think I look like a big mama bear, but it is oh so warm. I wore the coat to church that night and the only thing cold on me was my nose and toes. My hands were warm and I did not have gloves on. Bill was so jealous. I have to tell you they do not heat the area where we go to church. Everyone keeps their coat, hat, mittens, scarfs, etc.... on and you are still cold.
Today Alona took Bill and me, plus two boys (Dima & Egor) to Oskars to do some grocery shopping. It is important for us to see the items that she buys on a regular basis so we can stay in budget. Bill really, really tapped into his inner child at the store. He was teaching Dima and Egor how to run then ride on the carts, and how to spin the cart (these carts go forward and sideways). Alona kept rolling her eyes. I kept getting on Bill, but did any of the boys listen? No! They had so much fun. Dima kept watching Alona and trying to do the same thing as Bill without getting caught.
Alona and I have gotten into a routine of cooking every other day. So far the boys, Alona, and Andre all like my cooking. Everyone is supposed to eat soup everyday, so I have been creative. I take a basic recipe that I know and add things that I never would at home. It has been a little challenging, but a great experience.
Tonight is a Bible study here, then tomorrow is our day off. We are going to try and find Bill a fur coat with American Andrey, then take the rest of the day for ourselves. Even though we are with each other everyday, we are never alone.
It seems that every day we are looking for something that can't be found here in Kherson. We thought we'd share this list with you each day, just for fun. It may also make you realize just how good we have things "back home".
Pam Spray Bagels
Artichokes Cheddar Cheese
Celery Boxed Dinners (Mac & Cheese)
Ice Cream sauces Microwave Dinners (We found microwave popcorn, yummy)
Plain Potato Chips Chalk Board (we found chalk - no board)
Corn Chips Maple Syrup
Shortening (Crisco) Baking Powder
Brown Sugar Cake Mixes
God Bless,
Karen
Yesterday we had to take Sasha to the hospital. They go to the hospital for all Doctor appointments. We were 10 minutes late so they would not see him. If we were only 6-7 minutes late it would be okay, but not 10, so he had to reschedule the appointment. Their hospitals are not like ours. They are very cold and uninviting. Sasha told us the smell of the hospital, especially the stairway, makes him want to throw up.
Since Sasha was with us we had him take us to the bazaar because I wanted to get a full length fur coat. A lot of women wear them here, and they look so warm. It was an interesting experience going to the bazaar and having a boy that did not speak english help us. Sasha taught us how to say left, right and straight in Russian so we would understand where he wanted us to drive. He said he was teaching us Russian like we teach them English. At one point I was driving and Sasha made the speeding sound, then the police siren sound, and then he started to laugh. It really was pretty comical.
We got to the bazaar and Sasha knew exactly what we wanted. He talked to a couple of the shop owners and then took us right to the area that they have women's clothing. It was so cold to take off my nice warm coat and try on a cold, cold coat. Bill asked me if it was warm and I told him I was not sure because the inside of it was so cold. I hesitated to buy it, so we looked around for a bit. I could see Sasha shaking his head, in my mind he was thinking "What a Crazy Woman". We went back and bought the first coat I had tried on. Later Sasha kept giving me the thumbs up for the way I looked in the coat.
I think I look like a big mama bear, but it is oh so warm. I wore the coat to church that night and the only thing cold on me was my nose and toes. My hands were warm and I did not have gloves on. Bill was so jealous. I have to tell you they do not heat the area where we go to church. Everyone keeps their coat, hat, mittens, scarfs, etc.... on and you are still cold.
Today Alona took Bill and me, plus two boys (Dima & Egor) to Oskars to do some grocery shopping. It is important for us to see the items that she buys on a regular basis so we can stay in budget. Bill really, really tapped into his inner child at the store. He was teaching Dima and Egor how to run then ride on the carts, and how to spin the cart (these carts go forward and sideways). Alona kept rolling her eyes. I kept getting on Bill, but did any of the boys listen? No! They had so much fun. Dima kept watching Alona and trying to do the same thing as Bill without getting caught.
Alona and I have gotten into a routine of cooking every other day. So far the boys, Alona, and Andre all like my cooking. Everyone is supposed to eat soup everyday, so I have been creative. I take a basic recipe that I know and add things that I never would at home. It has been a little challenging, but a great experience.
Tonight is a Bible study here, then tomorrow is our day off. We are going to try and find Bill a fur coat with American Andrey, then take the rest of the day for ourselves. Even though we are with each other everyday, we are never alone.
It seems that every day we are looking for something that can't be found here in Kherson. We thought we'd share this list with you each day, just for fun. It may also make you realize just how good we have things "back home".
Pam Spray Bagels
Artichokes Cheddar Cheese
Celery Boxed Dinners (Mac & Cheese)
Ice Cream sauces Microwave Dinners (We found microwave popcorn, yummy)
Plain Potato Chips Chalk Board (we found chalk - no board)
Corn Chips Maple Syrup
Shortening (Crisco) Baking Powder
Brown Sugar Cake Mixes
God Bless,
Karen
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Bill's Birthday
February 8, 2012
Hi Everyone,
What a wonderful day we had today. I felt like I was a stay at home Mom again. I spent the whole day cooking a real American dinner for Bill's birthday. I even made a lentil soup for the boys for their after school snack, and they all liked it. Actually not all of them like lentils, but they liked everything else in it and the flavor.
For dinner we had baked chicken, potato salad, green salad with dressing, bread and a cake from a cake mix that I brought over from the States. We learned that in Ukraine, when there is a celebration dinner, it is usually a 12 course meal, with many different potato and cabbage dishes. Alex (Agape) asked the boys how they liked the American meal and to compare it to the 12 course meal, and they were all in agreement that they liked the American way. Alex was thinking that it is probably easier on the stomach to have only a few different flavors in your stomach rather then a lot. Something to think about.
The house parents and the boys bought Bill a cup with Happy Birthday Bill written on it and a lion made out of fire. Very cool. It will be a nice thing for Bill to bring home for the memories. Alex and Vera also got Bill a present, but as of this writing he has not opened it. I on the other hand got Bill nothing. I told him his present from me was the dinner.
We have been trying hard to find just plain old potato chips. There is every flavor here that you can imagine. Tonight we opened a bag that was mushroom flavored. Not good, and I like mushrooms! I decided that they have so many different flavors because they eat so many potatoes anyway that they don't want just plain chips.
It has been real fun watching the boys and girls learn english. Bill has been teaching his group the ABC song and we hear all the boys at times singing the words out loud and humming it to themselves; fun, fun, fun. Sometimes one of them will approach one of us and ask us to help them finish because they are stuck at a certain spot. Bill has one girl (Nadia), that apparently loves to talk during the lessons. All I know is he maintains control because my group is never interrupted.
My group learned the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song today. We had just a whole bunch of laughs. Alona's English is getting better each day. Even when we are not in class I am working with her on her sentences and I make her tell me or ask me in English rather then getting someone to translate. She did tell me at the beginning that she wanted me to be hard on her. I tell her all the time how proud of her I am.
Today while cooking at various times Alona or one of the boys would ask me what I was doing and the name of the ingredients. I think they had fun watching things come together. I thought the boys would just devour the chicken because they do not get whole pieces of meat. Yes, they ate the chicken, but wow! they loved the lettuce salad. For seconds they would heap the lettuce onto their plates. Some of them were so full that they had a hard time eating cake. It was fun to see their excited faces.
A funny for the day: Yesterday while getting ingredients I found corn meal (so I thought). I was really excited to be able to make corn bread. When I was about to make it Alona asked me if I was going to boil the corn meal, and I said no. From that comment I decided to taste the corn meal. It was not powdery, it was crunchy. Oh My, I have no idea how to make bread from that. But, I remembered seeing what looked like real corn meal at the store. So, Bill was out and about and I asked him to go get it for me. Bill has Sasha with him and Alona told Sasha also what I was looking for. Well, they came home with corn beads or something that I definitely do not know how to cook. Alona said it was okay, she would show me what to do.
We are finally breaking through to Antone. He is the boy that has only been here about two weeks. He got here just before we did. I try and hug him and there is no way he wants me to do it, but today he was comfortable enough to tell me he did not want any hugs. He will let me touch his arm or pat his back and he will talk with me and smile and laugh and want me to help him with things, so I think that is progress. Bill on the other had can put his arm around his shoulders and give him a hug that way and he is okay. Still progress.
Sasha and Dima are our go to guys. When we are trying to talk those two are the ones that usually figure out what we want. And if one of the other boys wants to tell us something it is Sasha or Dima that can usually get across to us what they want. Dima is better at the English talking and Sasha is better at the charades and typing on the translator.
We have not been able to do anything with the greenhouse yet. The ground is so frozen we can not dig and it is so cold it would be dangerous to work outside breathing the cold air. Last night the wind was horrible and there was a metal clanging outside. Bill went out twice and could not figure it out. There was no way he was going out a third time - it was that cold.
The boys are funny. They like being warm, but some of them don't wear stocking caps because they don't like the way they feel on their head. Some don't like the way the gloves feel on their hands, so they will spend time putting on the gloves then taking them off.
It is so great to be able to laugh so much with the boys and the house parents. Even when we tell one of the boys no about something (usually drinking from a bottle instead of using a cup) it ends up in laughter.
Sorry, I just re-read what I wrote and I see that I jumped around from topic to topic a little bit. Bill will tell you it is okay that is how I talk too.
Blessings,
Karen
O.K., it's my turn. I just have one memorable thought to share.
I was asked this evening to sum up my 55 years of life in just a few words, and the words that immediately came to mind were "God has blessed me." As I sit here reflecting on those words I realize just how true they are.
I was blessed to be brought into this world by two of the most incredible, smart, loving role models a child could ever ask for. They provided me with everything I ever needed, and many many things that I just wanted. They also taught me how to work hard, treat people fairly, be honest, and treat my family and friends with respect.
I have a terrific family! Karen and I have now been married for 17 years, and I love her more every day. How many men have a wife that will leave all of the comforts of home and go to Ukraine in the middle of the winter? The kids have all grown up and are learning the ups and downs of life. Each of them has a great heart, and I am proud of all of them. I pray that I have passed along to them the characteristics that my parents taught me. And we have grand-babies! Words can not express how wonderful that is.
I have the best friends any man could have. There isn't a day that goes bye that I don't thank God for my friends.
I am a member of a FANTASTIC church, where the people and Pastor's really care for me. Never before have I felt such an abundance of love in one place. Thank you Grace Place.
And finally, I have a God that knows me, and loves me. A God that cares for me and provides for me. A God that has honored us by allowing us to do His work, in Ukraine and at home.
As you can see, God really has blessed me, and I thank Him for those blessings.
Bill
Hi Everyone,
What a wonderful day we had today. I felt like I was a stay at home Mom again. I spent the whole day cooking a real American dinner for Bill's birthday. I even made a lentil soup for the boys for their after school snack, and they all liked it. Actually not all of them like lentils, but they liked everything else in it and the flavor.
For dinner we had baked chicken, potato salad, green salad with dressing, bread and a cake from a cake mix that I brought over from the States. We learned that in Ukraine, when there is a celebration dinner, it is usually a 12 course meal, with many different potato and cabbage dishes. Alex (Agape) asked the boys how they liked the American meal and to compare it to the 12 course meal, and they were all in agreement that they liked the American way. Alex was thinking that it is probably easier on the stomach to have only a few different flavors in your stomach rather then a lot. Something to think about.
The house parents and the boys bought Bill a cup with Happy Birthday Bill written on it and a lion made out of fire. Very cool. It will be a nice thing for Bill to bring home for the memories. Alex and Vera also got Bill a present, but as of this writing he has not opened it. I on the other hand got Bill nothing. I told him his present from me was the dinner.
We have been trying hard to find just plain old potato chips. There is every flavor here that you can imagine. Tonight we opened a bag that was mushroom flavored. Not good, and I like mushrooms! I decided that they have so many different flavors because they eat so many potatoes anyway that they don't want just plain chips.
It has been real fun watching the boys and girls learn english. Bill has been teaching his group the ABC song and we hear all the boys at times singing the words out loud and humming it to themselves; fun, fun, fun. Sometimes one of them will approach one of us and ask us to help them finish because they are stuck at a certain spot. Bill has one girl (Nadia), that apparently loves to talk during the lessons. All I know is he maintains control because my group is never interrupted.
My group learned the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song today. We had just a whole bunch of laughs. Alona's English is getting better each day. Even when we are not in class I am working with her on her sentences and I make her tell me or ask me in English rather then getting someone to translate. She did tell me at the beginning that she wanted me to be hard on her. I tell her all the time how proud of her I am.
Today while cooking at various times Alona or one of the boys would ask me what I was doing and the name of the ingredients. I think they had fun watching things come together. I thought the boys would just devour the chicken because they do not get whole pieces of meat. Yes, they ate the chicken, but wow! they loved the lettuce salad. For seconds they would heap the lettuce onto their plates. Some of them were so full that they had a hard time eating cake. It was fun to see their excited faces.
A funny for the day: Yesterday while getting ingredients I found corn meal (so I thought). I was really excited to be able to make corn bread. When I was about to make it Alona asked me if I was going to boil the corn meal, and I said no. From that comment I decided to taste the corn meal. It was not powdery, it was crunchy. Oh My, I have no idea how to make bread from that. But, I remembered seeing what looked like real corn meal at the store. So, Bill was out and about and I asked him to go get it for me. Bill has Sasha with him and Alona told Sasha also what I was looking for. Well, they came home with corn beads or something that I definitely do not know how to cook. Alona said it was okay, she would show me what to do.
We are finally breaking through to Antone. He is the boy that has only been here about two weeks. He got here just before we did. I try and hug him and there is no way he wants me to do it, but today he was comfortable enough to tell me he did not want any hugs. He will let me touch his arm or pat his back and he will talk with me and smile and laugh and want me to help him with things, so I think that is progress. Bill on the other had can put his arm around his shoulders and give him a hug that way and he is okay. Still progress.
Sasha and Dima are our go to guys. When we are trying to talk those two are the ones that usually figure out what we want. And if one of the other boys wants to tell us something it is Sasha or Dima that can usually get across to us what they want. Dima is better at the English talking and Sasha is better at the charades and typing on the translator.
We have not been able to do anything with the greenhouse yet. The ground is so frozen we can not dig and it is so cold it would be dangerous to work outside breathing the cold air. Last night the wind was horrible and there was a metal clanging outside. Bill went out twice and could not figure it out. There was no way he was going out a third time - it was that cold.
The boys are funny. They like being warm, but some of them don't wear stocking caps because they don't like the way they feel on their head. Some don't like the way the gloves feel on their hands, so they will spend time putting on the gloves then taking them off.
It is so great to be able to laugh so much with the boys and the house parents. Even when we tell one of the boys no about something (usually drinking from a bottle instead of using a cup) it ends up in laughter.
Sorry, I just re-read what I wrote and I see that I jumped around from topic to topic a little bit. Bill will tell you it is okay that is how I talk too.
Blessings,
Karen
O.K., it's my turn. I just have one memorable thought to share.
I was asked this evening to sum up my 55 years of life in just a few words, and the words that immediately came to mind were "God has blessed me." As I sit here reflecting on those words I realize just how true they are.
I was blessed to be brought into this world by two of the most incredible, smart, loving role models a child could ever ask for. They provided me with everything I ever needed, and many many things that I just wanted. They also taught me how to work hard, treat people fairly, be honest, and treat my family and friends with respect.
I have a terrific family! Karen and I have now been married for 17 years, and I love her more every day. How many men have a wife that will leave all of the comforts of home and go to Ukraine in the middle of the winter? The kids have all grown up and are learning the ups and downs of life. Each of them has a great heart, and I am proud of all of them. I pray that I have passed along to them the characteristics that my parents taught me. And we have grand-babies! Words can not express how wonderful that is.
I have the best friends any man could have. There isn't a day that goes bye that I don't thank God for my friends.
I am a member of a FANTASTIC church, where the people and Pastor's really care for me. Never before have I felt such an abundance of love in one place. Thank you Grace Place.
And finally, I have a God that knows me, and loves me. A God that cares for me and provides for me. A God that has honored us by allowing us to do His work, in Ukraine and at home.
As you can see, God really has blessed me, and I thank Him for those blessings.
Bill
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Another Routine Day (or two)
Today is Tuesday so I will go back a couple of days.
Sunday we got everyone loaded into the van and were off to church. It was a day that they did communion. It is done very differently here than at Grace Place. They do a prayer over the bread, which is three round, flat loaves. Three men break up the bread onto plates, then they bring them into the audience and pass it around. Then they do a prayer over three cups of wine and the men bring the cups into the audience and we all share sipping out of the cups.
Pastor Richard was talking to us while we were in Israel and mentioned the significance of numbers; 3 being one of them. I was wondering during the communion if they had three plates and cups for a specific reason.
Since we do not understand anything that is being said during the service Bill and I are starting with Matthew and SOAPing during service. We decided that is a good way for us to get a lesson for the day.
After Church we went to the grocery store (Oskars). While we were shopping all the lights in the building went out so we just left our cart in the middle of an isle (that is what they do and someone will come by later and put it all away). We went to another grocery store which is a little bit more expensive but Bill and I were in heaven. There were items that we recognized and items that we were not able to get at Oskars. It is a very good experience for the boys to go shopping so they see where to buy certain items and see how much money it takes to buy the them.
We came home and had dinner, then we were off to a surprise birthday party at Alex and Vera's home. The party was for a man that was one of the first boys to live at the Joshua House when the house was not completely built. We forget how many boys were here at the time, but while the house was being finished they lived in a tiny mother-in-law quarters behind the house. There were three men at the party that were among the first boys here, and it was so nice to see how well adjusted they were. They're married, and one couple now has a baby.
Yesterday (Monday) schools were back in session. That means that Bill has to get up early and get the boys to the bus stop. By the time I woke up he had been up for three hours. With the boys being gone the house is much quieter. Bill and I went to Oskars and had breakfast and then ran some errands. We like to investigate and figure out where stores are that we might need to go to.
At three we held our first English lesson. Only the boys were here. It went slow and all we got through was the alphabet. After one hour everyones brain was full. I did take a picture, but now we realize that the card from my camera does not fit Bill's computer, so from now on we need to take pictures with the iPhone or iPad. So for today we are going to put some pictures of the boys playing with the photo booth app on the iPad.
Wednesday (Today)
While the boys were at school we had American Andrey take us to the bazaar to try and find some ingredient for Bill's birthday dinner tomorrow. It was so, so, so cold we all started wondering why we were out walking around. But we did find many things. We even found some regular lettuce. Yipee! We get to have a lettuce salad instead of cabbage.
Today we held two English classes; one for the beginners (the girls and Dima) and one for intermediate (Alona and Alosha). Everyone did very well. Alona is good at reading the words but she does not always understand what the word is. Alosha has the same problem but he is more inhibited to say the English words. I think this might work out.
Tonight we take the boys to a youth prayer meeting. They will be there for two hours learning about the Bible and God. Actually there is only one night during the week that they are not doing some sort of Christian learning.
It is 5:00 p.m. and we finally got all the electronics working (iPad, iPhone and Computer) this is going to make it much easier for communicating because now we can use our translators. It helps with English also.
We hope everyone back home is doing well. We're praying for all of you every day!
God Bless,
Karen
Sunday we got everyone loaded into the van and were off to church. It was a day that they did communion. It is done very differently here than at Grace Place. They do a prayer over the bread, which is three round, flat loaves. Three men break up the bread onto plates, then they bring them into the audience and pass it around. Then they do a prayer over three cups of wine and the men bring the cups into the audience and we all share sipping out of the cups.
Pastor Richard was talking to us while we were in Israel and mentioned the significance of numbers; 3 being one of them. I was wondering during the communion if they had three plates and cups for a specific reason.
Since we do not understand anything that is being said during the service Bill and I are starting with Matthew and SOAPing during service. We decided that is a good way for us to get a lesson for the day.
After Church we went to the grocery store (Oskars). While we were shopping all the lights in the building went out so we just left our cart in the middle of an isle (that is what they do and someone will come by later and put it all away). We went to another grocery store which is a little bit more expensive but Bill and I were in heaven. There were items that we recognized and items that we were not able to get at Oskars. It is a very good experience for the boys to go shopping so they see where to buy certain items and see how much money it takes to buy the them.
We came home and had dinner, then we were off to a surprise birthday party at Alex and Vera's home. The party was for a man that was one of the first boys to live at the Joshua House when the house was not completely built. We forget how many boys were here at the time, but while the house was being finished they lived in a tiny mother-in-law quarters behind the house. There were three men at the party that were among the first boys here, and it was so nice to see how well adjusted they were. They're married, and one couple now has a baby.
Yesterday (Monday) schools were back in session. That means that Bill has to get up early and get the boys to the bus stop. By the time I woke up he had been up for three hours. With the boys being gone the house is much quieter. Bill and I went to Oskars and had breakfast and then ran some errands. We like to investigate and figure out where stores are that we might need to go to.
At three we held our first English lesson. Only the boys were here. It went slow and all we got through was the alphabet. After one hour everyones brain was full. I did take a picture, but now we realize that the card from my camera does not fit Bill's computer, so from now on we need to take pictures with the iPhone or iPad. So for today we are going to put some pictures of the boys playing with the photo booth app on the iPad.
Wednesday (Today)
While the boys were at school we had American Andrey take us to the bazaar to try and find some ingredient for Bill's birthday dinner tomorrow. It was so, so, so cold we all started wondering why we were out walking around. But we did find many things. We even found some regular lettuce. Yipee! We get to have a lettuce salad instead of cabbage.
Today we held two English classes; one for the beginners (the girls and Dima) and one for intermediate (Alona and Alosha). Everyone did very well. Alona is good at reading the words but she does not always understand what the word is. Alosha has the same problem but he is more inhibited to say the English words. I think this might work out.
Tonight we take the boys to a youth prayer meeting. They will be there for two hours learning about the Bible and God. Actually there is only one night during the week that they are not doing some sort of Christian learning.
It is 5:00 p.m. and we finally got all the electronics working (iPad, iPhone and Computer) this is going to make it much easier for communicating because now we can use our translators. It helps with English also.
We hope everyone back home is doing well. We're praying for all of you every day!
God Bless,
Saturday, February 4, 2012
More Fun
This is my third attempt to get this blog out. We have been having some internet problems. My iPad will open a window but when I try to do other things it will not respond. I have now realized that I need to write everything directly onto Bills computer.
It has been so cold here lately (I think that you have all heard) we have had problems with the van starting. So a couple of nights ago a gentleman from Agape came over and between him and Bill they were able to get it started. At first we were disappointed that we did not have a van because we were not able to run some errands, but we soon realized what a blessing it was because we got to spend a lot of time reconnecting with the kids that we got to know in September, and we were able to become friends with the new kids.
Yesterday morning I spent about two hours with Alona and three of the kids learning english. At the moment the teaching is a bit scattered until we are able to buy a copier and print copies for homework. We sat around learning until everyone's brain's were full.
We have a a little more time with the kids during the day then we normally will, since all the schools are closed because of the cold. Most of the schools do not have very good heat.
At one point one of the boys remembered the jigsaw puzzle that we bought for them in October, that was about half done when we left, and they wanted us to help them get it started again (Bill had the bright idea of getting a 1,500 piece one and I think it is a bit overwhelming for them at times). I was at the puzzle with a couple of the girls and a couple of the boys and Bill spent most of the night with Sasha being....for lack of a better word... MEN!!!
We have a better understanding of why some of the boys are no longer in the Joshua House (where we're living). Before Andrey and Alona became the house parents there was a different couple here that apparently had no rules, and all of the boys basically did whatever they wanted. This does not go along with what Agape is trying to accomplish at the transitional centers. Agape is trying to give the boys and girls a sense of family that works together in a household, while teaching them Christian values. This means chores, schedules, rules, etc... Some of the boys decided that they liked being able to do what they wanted, so they they have chosen to live on their own. We are happy to say they are all still going to Friends Club, a Christian club that has praise and worship along with life building/Christian building skills.
The above was written yesterday; the below is today's story:
Today we woke up and ran errands. Agape was given some carpets for the house, and we had to run into town to have the ends sewn so they would not unravel. Sasha, Vadim, Anton, Alona, Bill and I all went. We were in the open air market MAZE. I am so very thankful that Bill and I did not have to try and do this alone, as we would have been lost for sure. Wow!!!
I know we were a spectacle. Each one of us had a roll of carpet and people in the shops kept making comment and kind of giggling at us. Can you imagine five people in small, narrow, winding paths with roll's of carpet on their shoulder's making their way to the carpet store? Very, very funny.
While Alona waited for the carpets to be sewn the boys took us shopping. Bill wanted an official Russian fur hat. He decided that he looks very Russian now. Afterward we took the boys and Alona to McDonalds in the next town about 30 minutes away. I wish Bill and I were better at bringing our camera everywhere. After grabbing a table, Bill worked with the boys trying to order. Most of them have never ordered at a fast food restaurant before AND most of them ordered two sandwiches. After we ate we all had ice-cream. I wish, I wish I had a picture to show you the smiles that were on their faces and the wonderful full bellies. They all fell asleep in the van on the way home. God is working!
We got home and everyone took some quiet time in their rooms until dinner. Bill and I watched a movie (yeah english).
It is now after dinner, and we are sitting around doing puzzles and playing with the iPad's photo booth. We will hopefully figure out how to attach some of the photo's.
We are also attaching a picture of the INSIDE of the front door; crazy. That's ice you see! Did we mention that it's cold here?
Bill and I bought six pairs of gloves yesterday (thank you small group). The boys and Andrey were so excited they were wearing them around in the house. Today they came to great use.
Thats it for now. Tomorrow is church and whatever God wants us to do.
Karen & Bill
It has been so cold here lately (I think that you have all heard) we have had problems with the van starting. So a couple of nights ago a gentleman from Agape came over and between him and Bill they were able to get it started. At first we were disappointed that we did not have a van because we were not able to run some errands, but we soon realized what a blessing it was because we got to spend a lot of time reconnecting with the kids that we got to know in September, and we were able to become friends with the new kids.
Yesterday morning I spent about two hours with Alona and three of the kids learning english. At the moment the teaching is a bit scattered until we are able to buy a copier and print copies for homework. We sat around learning until everyone's brain's were full.
We have a a little more time with the kids during the day then we normally will, since all the schools are closed because of the cold. Most of the schools do not have very good heat.
At one point one of the boys remembered the jigsaw puzzle that we bought for them in October, that was about half done when we left, and they wanted us to help them get it started again (Bill had the bright idea of getting a 1,500 piece one and I think it is a bit overwhelming for them at times). I was at the puzzle with a couple of the girls and a couple of the boys and Bill spent most of the night with Sasha being....for lack of a better word... MEN!!!
We have a better understanding of why some of the boys are no longer in the Joshua House (where we're living). Before Andrey and Alona became the house parents there was a different couple here that apparently had no rules, and all of the boys basically did whatever they wanted. This does not go along with what Agape is trying to accomplish at the transitional centers. Agape is trying to give the boys and girls a sense of family that works together in a household, while teaching them Christian values. This means chores, schedules, rules, etc... Some of the boys decided that they liked being able to do what they wanted, so they they have chosen to live on their own. We are happy to say they are all still going to Friends Club, a Christian club that has praise and worship along with life building/Christian building skills.
The above was written yesterday; the below is today's story:
Today we woke up and ran errands. Agape was given some carpets for the house, and we had to run into town to have the ends sewn so they would not unravel. Sasha, Vadim, Anton, Alona, Bill and I all went. We were in the open air market MAZE. I am so very thankful that Bill and I did not have to try and do this alone, as we would have been lost for sure. Wow!!!
I know we were a spectacle. Each one of us had a roll of carpet and people in the shops kept making comment and kind of giggling at us. Can you imagine five people in small, narrow, winding paths with roll's of carpet on their shoulder's making their way to the carpet store? Very, very funny.
While Alona waited for the carpets to be sewn the boys took us shopping. Bill wanted an official Russian fur hat. He decided that he looks very Russian now. Afterward we took the boys and Alona to McDonalds in the next town about 30 minutes away. I wish Bill and I were better at bringing our camera everywhere. After grabbing a table, Bill worked with the boys trying to order. Most of them have never ordered at a fast food restaurant before AND most of them ordered two sandwiches. After we ate we all had ice-cream. I wish, I wish I had a picture to show you the smiles that were on their faces and the wonderful full bellies. They all fell asleep in the van on the way home. God is working!
We got home and everyone took some quiet time in their rooms until dinner. Bill and I watched a movie (yeah english).
It is now after dinner, and we are sitting around doing puzzles and playing with the iPad's photo booth. We will hopefully figure out how to attach some of the photo's.
We are also attaching a picture of the INSIDE of the front door; crazy. That's ice you see! Did we mention that it's cold here?
Bill and I bought six pairs of gloves yesterday (thank you small group). The boys and Andrey were so excited they were wearing them around in the house. Today they came to great use.
Thats it for now. Tomorrow is church and whatever God wants us to do.
Karen & Bill
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Day One
Feb 1, 2012 (Day One in Kherson)
It took us three days but we finally made it to Kherson. We left Colorado on Sunday the 29th and arrived in Kiev on the 30th. From the airport we took a cab to our wonderful friend Karen Springs’ uncles home. We informed her that if she was to show up at Grace Place, most of the members would know her because of the hospitality she has shown all of us. We met her cousins, three very smart, well behaved and friendly children, and had a lot of fun talking with them.
After resting up, and having lunch in Kiev with Karen, we took the 9:45 p.m. train to Kherson. We didn’t have any trouble finding the right train and the right car, but imagine if you can Bill taking two 50# suitcases, at the same time, down a hallway that barely fits one. Oh my. I think it was a bit frustrating, but we kept thinking of Kris Stoesz‘ comment about their giggles on the trains, and that helped. We had many giggles of our own, and a few outbursts of laughter.
We’ve heard many stories about the “shake and bake”, most of them not pleasant, but for me it wasn’t bad at all. First, I like being warm, and I think the rocking of the train put me to sleep. I got into bed, said good night to Bill, and was sound asleep for the night.
Bill, on the other hand, was sweating so much he took the duct tape and taped off the heating vents. The rocking motion woke him up rather than putting him to sleep.
I know God was really watching out for us since we ended up in a train car where no one was smoking so we didn’t need to tape the door shut. Speaking of smoking; do you remember when Coloradans were allowed to smoke in restaurants? When we had lunch with Karen Springs I kept looking for the non-smoking area. It was right next to the smoking area. Funny how we forget...
Wednesday morning, now the first of February, Andre’ (the Kherson house parent) met us at the train station and waited for Alex Fedorchuk with us. It was FREEZING COLD! One degree above zero, and very humid and windy. Welcome to Ukraine!
We arrived at the Joshua House with lots of hugs waiting for us. We’re sad to learn that about half of the boys we lived with in October have moved out, but there are others that have moved in that we will get to love on.
One of the new girls need a lot of hugs. She is not quite sure what to do when I hug her but she is friendly and we started to talk (neither of us speaks the other’s language) and hang out a bit in the evening.
Everyone worked hard prior to our return. Our bedroom and bathroom are very clean and we have curtains in the windows. They have been turning the house into a home, by hanging pictures on the walls and putting plants on the window sills. It really looks great.
The kids seem happy and healthy, and we are excited to start doing God’s work in their lives.
God Bless you all,
Karen
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