WOW! I want to start this blog off with saying that I am sorry for the length of time it has been since my last post. I will try to inform you what is going on what I have been doing and how life is, and I will try to make it not super long...So here Goes!!!!
First I want to start with a financial report! GOD PROVIDES!!! We are asked to raise $2500 a year to help cover some of the over head cost and salaries of ourselves and other missionaries. I have had trouble raising that money for some different reasons, (Before I left I was so busy leaving I couldn't raise money, I have been raising money for rent, ect. ect.) well the other day I checked my advance account and had a donation from a church that I have never heard of and it more than covered the amount I was to raise.
As for my rent we have raised enough money so far to cover the missing $25 that we will need each month and the first little bit of fees and unexpected monies. And money is still coming in! Thank you for all the support!
VISAS!!!! AHHHHH!!
So we made it to Poland and back safe and sound with very little problems. We are very thankful for all the prayers. We left at midnight on Monday night and arrived early Tuesday morning. We experienced a little change in the time problem. They opened at 9 and we thought it was 9 but didn't know there was a time change of 1 hour so we had an extra hour to wait. Next we went to the bank and had just a small hiccup that we were able to resolve with little frustration. Later that day we received our visas and had planned to leave the next night and do some site seeing but it turned out that we only could get a train the next day at noon. So no site seeing for us :(.
Unfortunately that is not the worst part of the process. The visas we received are only 45 day visas and we now have to register here in L'viv. That means we have lots more paper work and more fees to pay. However the 45days is kind of a joke. The holiday season starts for New Years and everything is closed for nearly 2 weeks and we have to be registered by January 14th. SO PRAY FOR US PLEASE!!!!!
SPEAKING OF HOLIDAYS!!!!
So yesterday was St. Nicholas day! Holidays are a bit different here because they use the orthodox calendar. So my parents sent a box that contained a gift for me and then a gift for each of my roommates, and we decided to wait until yesterday to open them. So I was awaken with my roommates sneaking into my room to deliver a St. Nick gift and then we opened the gift from my parents. It was NERF GUNS which is a tradition in my family and at 7am me and my roommates enjoyed a NERF war!
Other holiday plans! So for western Christmas we are have been invited to celebrate with and American Family on Sunday night and Monday and it is very exciting!
And the last big plan for Holidays. On December 29th we will be joined by Michael another missionary!
ADVENT!
Okay I know I said I would try and write blog to reflect on Advent. However I noticed a few things as I started to think about what I would write. First, I realized that I really don't know much about what is going on because church is in Ukrainian and I don't know Ukrainian. Second, even if I did understand Ukrainian I am not sure I have ever truly appreciated Advent enough to write about differences between advent here and advent in the states.
RABBIT!!!
Last piece of big news. I have always loved having a pet, usually in my life it has been a dog. Living in the City though I would prefer not to have a pet that big (and I don't think my landlord would let me). I was really thinking of getting a pet rat, but my roommate was really not accepting of that so we came to a compromise and got a rabbit. In my creative mind and as a missionary sticking to the religion theme I named him RABBI!!!
THERE YOU HAVE IT!
Thank you all so much for your support and prayer and I would love to hear some of your thoughts and updates from all of you!
GOD BLESS
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
The Great Day of Thanks and more
So I celebrated my first real Holiday in Ukraine on Thursday and it was great. We were invited to Thanksgiving dinner with 23 other Americans at the house of Blessings (that's one of the missionary families last names :P). It was wonderful. The day before I cooked my dads potato salad and then made cucumber salad. As I walked to Katie's on Thursday so that we could journey to the meeting spot together I reflected on what I was thankful for. Many things ran through my head, friends, family, and opportunities were among the first but I also felt they were very cliche things even though I am thankful for them. As I pondered about how cliche they seem I passed a dog that was dancing after using the bathroom and I started to laugh as I looked up still laughing I saw a complete stranger laughing too and we locked eyes and it was then that I knew what I was most thankful for...Sharing laughs with strangers. While this person is still a stranger to me and I may never see them again (and if I do I sure won't recognize them) I realized how it is through laughter that we turn strangers into friends. Everyone we know yes even our parent were at some point a stranger to us but through laughs we have become friends, acquaintances, and family with these people whom we love.
Another thought that has consumed much of my thoughts over the past days: The Body of Christ!
As some of you know and some of you are about to learn, I have a slightly negative attitude toward churches at times. I have seen much arguing over stupid things, lots of division among congregations, and I despise the idea of the separation of the church through denominations. I see these things often as the body of Christ being divided, and as we know a house divided cannot stand so what makes us think a body divided can function. It has been this idea that has had me nervous about ever working in a church. But as I walk around the city (I do it every day to get to work) I think. Today as I walked to the feeding ministry (every 2 weeks we gather with some of the other missionaries and some Ukrainians to deliver a small bag of groceries to some of the poor among the city) I noticed the body of Christ not divided. I am here as a missionary sent by the United Methodist Church, some of the other missionaries are Baptist, and some are Non-Denominational. We are different denominations, we have different theologies, but we work together as the body of Christ, we each have other parts of ministry out side of the feeding ministry that we do as well and I pondered on how wonderful that was. Even more so I begin to think about the Ukrainians that are there with us and the ones that come to our student center...Many of them are Catholic or Orthodox and I realized how the body of Christ is working not only over denominational boundaries but through confessional boundaries as well. I was shocked that I had never realized this before and I thought about just how wonderful God truly is and that no matter what his will be done!
God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving,
PS. Hopefully I will have another blog filled with stuff about my trip to Poland and our visa getting experience.
Another thought that has consumed much of my thoughts over the past days: The Body of Christ!
As some of you know and some of you are about to learn, I have a slightly negative attitude toward churches at times. I have seen much arguing over stupid things, lots of division among congregations, and I despise the idea of the separation of the church through denominations. I see these things often as the body of Christ being divided, and as we know a house divided cannot stand so what makes us think a body divided can function. It has been this idea that has had me nervous about ever working in a church. But as I walk around the city (I do it every day to get to work) I think. Today as I walked to the feeding ministry (every 2 weeks we gather with some of the other missionaries and some Ukrainians to deliver a small bag of groceries to some of the poor among the city) I noticed the body of Christ not divided. I am here as a missionary sent by the United Methodist Church, some of the other missionaries are Baptist, and some are Non-Denominational. We are different denominations, we have different theologies, but we work together as the body of Christ, we each have other parts of ministry out side of the feeding ministry that we do as well and I pondered on how wonderful that was. Even more so I begin to think about the Ukrainians that are there with us and the ones that come to our student center...Many of them are Catholic or Orthodox and I realized how the body of Christ is working not only over denominational boundaries but through confessional boundaries as well. I was shocked that I had never realized this before and I thought about just how wonderful God truly is and that no matter what his will be done!
God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving,
PS. Hopefully I will have another blog filled with stuff about my trip to Poland and our visa getting experience.
Friday, November 18, 2011
My first Sermon in Ukraine
And here is my transcript version:
Jeremiah 29:11-1311 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
But even with this promise I am still human I still worry and I still have fears. But Saturday I laughed at how amazing God can be with his little reminders that his plans for us are good and are to give us hope and a future.
So here is a little bit more about the milk story. When I lived in America I drank a lot of milk. But since I have been here I barely drink it at all and the last few weeks I have wanted some but just never bought any, I wouldn’t think of it when I was at the store usually or I would get a coke because I know how to say coke in Ukrainian. But Friday night Illya asked me to bring some milk home. I can buy stuff in the store and its usually not that difficult I just point a lot, so I walked in and I asked for some milk and pointed at the bigger bottle cause I knew I really wanted some and then later found out it was Kafir. So for a few weeks I had wanted milk and still had not had any and just as I mentioned it I was given milk!
To me that milk was a desire of my heart, but it was something very small that I just didn’t ask for and the moment I asked for it, it was given to me. I am not saying that every little thing you ask for God will give you but he knows what you truly desire and he knows what is good for you and what will give you hope. That small glass of milk was hope for me that if I desire something so small for such a short amount of time and am blessed with it how much more will I be blessed when God delivers the true desire of my heart.
We can not desire what is outside of God though. We can not think that just because we want it really bad it will be given to us. If we think that then we are ignoring half of both of the passages. In Jeremiah it says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Psalms say first “Take delight in the LORD,” then it says we will get the desires of our heart.
When we seek the Lord, when we earnestly search for him we will find him. That is what we are promised. It is only once we search for him and find him that we can delight in him, and when we delight in him our desires will be for things that are of him and pleasing to him. Its like walking in the sand, at first Jesus is standing there waiting on you to find him. Our foot prints are all over the place, you walk this way then turn around and walk that way, maybe even do a dance that makes no since. Then as we find God and we walk with him our steps are in order with his our foot prints go right along side of his and when you dance your dance makes since, when he chooses to go down a path we go with him because we want to not because we have too. What happens at this point is that what we really desire falls into line with what God wants. We are delighted to be with him.
I am sure many of you have heard this text before, and I might not be telling you anything new tonight but I do want to give you my thoughts because it is something God has been laying on my heart.
Before I get started though there is a quote that I read one time and I use it often when planning things, “If you want to make God laugh tell him your plans”. This applies to me preparing for tonight. I am a very energetic person usually and my mind is always very scattered. That was no different when I was trying to plan for tonight. I started off thinking I was going to use this passage, but I kept jumping away from it to other passages and topics, but every time I did I heard God laugh. The first time I wandered form this passage I started looking at a passage in the book of Acts, then I was on facebook and one of my friends posted Jeremiah 29:11-13 as their status so I started looking at it again and started to write something down but was going in a completely different direction with it. But soon I had changed my plans and was looking at writing about making a joyful noise, and as I was searching for the passage I accidentally came back to Jeremiah 29:11-13. And then again my mind started to wander this time to uncertainty about what I would preach on, I had no ideas. Then Saturday I was at Kings Cross in Oshan and made a very small statement “I really just want a drink of milk” and as I turned around after saying that there was a milk sample table and it felt like God had set it down as I said those words! That really got me thinking about Gods plans for us. That night as I was talking to my friend from America on skype someone posted Jeremiah 29:11-13 on her facebook wall and I knew that I was not getting away from this passage and that I was suppose to talk about it tonight.
I am going to tell you something a little personal about myself, my greatest desire is to have a family, a beautiful wife, energetic loving kids (that hopefully aren’t like me), a house, you know the kind of family you carry pictures of and show off to everyone. My biggest fear though is that I will never have that. But I really hold close to one verse when I think of this, its Psalms 37:4 “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”But even with this promise I am still human I still worry and I still have fears. But Saturday I laughed at how amazing God can be with his little reminders that his plans for us are good and are to give us hope and a future.
So here is a little bit more about the milk story. When I lived in America I drank a lot of milk. But since I have been here I barely drink it at all and the last few weeks I have wanted some but just never bought any, I wouldn’t think of it when I was at the store usually or I would get a coke because I know how to say coke in Ukrainian. But Friday night Illya asked me to bring some milk home. I can buy stuff in the store and its usually not that difficult I just point a lot, so I walked in and I asked for some milk and pointed at the bigger bottle cause I knew I really wanted some and then later found out it was Kafir. So for a few weeks I had wanted milk and still had not had any and just as I mentioned it I was given milk!
To me that milk was a desire of my heart, but it was something very small that I just didn’t ask for and the moment I asked for it, it was given to me. I am not saying that every little thing you ask for God will give you but he knows what you truly desire and he knows what is good for you and what will give you hope. That small glass of milk was hope for me that if I desire something so small for such a short amount of time and am blessed with it how much more will I be blessed when God delivers the true desire of my heart.
We can not desire what is outside of God though. We can not think that just because we want it really bad it will be given to us. If we think that then we are ignoring half of both of the passages. In Jeremiah it says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Psalms say first “Take delight in the LORD,” then it says we will get the desires of our heart.
When we seek the Lord, when we earnestly search for him we will find him. That is what we are promised. It is only once we search for him and find him that we can delight in him, and when we delight in him our desires will be for things that are of him and pleasing to him. Its like walking in the sand, at first Jesus is standing there waiting on you to find him. Our foot prints are all over the place, you walk this way then turn around and walk that way, maybe even do a dance that makes no since. Then as we find God and we walk with him our steps are in order with his our foot prints go right along side of his and when you dance your dance makes since, when he chooses to go down a path we go with him because we want to not because we have too. What happens at this point is that what we really desire falls into line with what God wants. We are delighted to be with him.
This doesn’t make it wrong to want a house, a job, or a family, or that it is wrong to desire things for ourselves, but what we need to not forget is that God has plans for us that are not to harm us but to give us hope and a future. If you desire a family God may give it to you, but that doesn’t mean you will marry the person you are with or that you won’t adopt children. If you desire a job it might not be the one you have picked out for yourself that you receive but one that will be better for you inside of Gods plan. When the Jewish people were wandering the desert they wanted food and God gave them manna from heaven. They desired food and he gave them food, but not enough to keep for long times he provided it daily.
Often times we are selfish people thinking of only what we want and that we want it now, and not thinking of how that will affect our future or other people. but when we delight in the Lord and allow him to work his plans and stop laughing at ours. Our future will be filled with much more hope and much more meaning. So as we sing and pray think about what plans you have, ask yourself if this is what God wants for you, or is he laughing because he knows there is something better for you.Thursday, November 17, 2011
Lets do it!!
A stressful job? Whats that? I thought this week was stressful but now that everything I thought was stressful about it is done I realize that it really was not stressful at all I just thought it was.
This weekend as Saturday came up and it was an every other Saturday. That means we had the feeding ministry. But before that I journeyed to Kings Cross which is a HUGE mall. But I will tell you more of that adventure later :P. During the feeding ministry we took hot tea with the foods we were handing out and the people seemed so grateful. Many of our regulars were not out this week but we still found nice homes for all of the bags and we had a few more people from our Youth to Jesus show up (still trying to get people outside of our leadership team though). Next time we do it though the Blessing family will there (they are who started the ministry and were gone to Israel for a few weeks) and so we will be staying at the church talking and building the relationships with the people that we meet there!
After the feeding ministry I decided I had neglected cleaning the last week or two and had never really deep cleaned my apartment so I started. I washed every mirror, and table top in my room and then washed all my clothes and sheets and just completely made my room CLEAN! Then did the same for the hall way and living room (it took all day and into the night and I had help). We hid so many fake flowers (it looked like an old lady lived here not 3 young guys). But during that time I realized that we had neglected to plan for English club which is what we are suppose to do on Friday, and I didn't work at the student center again until Tuesday, the day of English club. Also I realized I had not started my sermon for Thursday or small group planning for Wednesday. I was SO STRESSED!!!!
In order to plan for English club and not have to work to much on my day of Monday me and Katie were able to just plan it through emails and it worked out great and I think it was a very successful week at English club.
Small group is starting to draw to a close with only 4 more weeks left, but we finished up Chapter 2 finally discussing the picture of the first church in Acts 2:42-47 (If you have not read this lately you might want to and ask yourself if your church is following this pattern!!). We decided to that since we only have a few weeks left to each pick part of the book that we want to study and work on studying those the next few weeks, next week will be Chapter 10 when Peter had his vision and visited Cornelius.
And for my sermon that I preached tonight!!! Well I won't spoil it just yet, it was recorded and I should have it tomorrow and will try to put it on youtube and on here so I can share it with you. :) If that does not work out I will post what I wrote down on here tomorrow (if your are lucky I might do both). But I fell so alive after it and I felt even more alive during it!!!
One last note I am still trying to raise the extra $100 dollars a month for the rent so that we can have the original agreement we made with my roommates before we realized there was some miscommunications about rent from GBGM. So if you would like to help out with that please go to http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/advance/donate.cfm?id=3016163&code=14055A and let me know how much was donated so that I am able to keep up with it, so far we have raise $400 of the $1700 needed. If you would like to support me and other missionaries please visit here http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/advance/donate.cfm?id=3021336&code=3021336, we are asked to raise $2500 a year to help support overhead cost such as salaries and travel of ourselves and other missionaries (this amount barely covers travel for me to get here so its not unreasonable).
THANK YOU all so very very much I love every one of you who read this and pray for me! May God Bless you and give you the desires of your heart!
This weekend as Saturday came up and it was an every other Saturday. That means we had the feeding ministry. But before that I journeyed to Kings Cross which is a HUGE mall. But I will tell you more of that adventure later :P. During the feeding ministry we took hot tea with the foods we were handing out and the people seemed so grateful. Many of our regulars were not out this week but we still found nice homes for all of the bags and we had a few more people from our Youth to Jesus show up (still trying to get people outside of our leadership team though). Next time we do it though the Blessing family will there (they are who started the ministry and were gone to Israel for a few weeks) and so we will be staying at the church talking and building the relationships with the people that we meet there!
After the feeding ministry I decided I had neglected cleaning the last week or two and had never really deep cleaned my apartment so I started. I washed every mirror, and table top in my room and then washed all my clothes and sheets and just completely made my room CLEAN! Then did the same for the hall way and living room (it took all day and into the night and I had help). We hid so many fake flowers (it looked like an old lady lived here not 3 young guys). But during that time I realized that we had neglected to plan for English club which is what we are suppose to do on Friday, and I didn't work at the student center again until Tuesday, the day of English club. Also I realized I had not started my sermon for Thursday or small group planning for Wednesday. I was SO STRESSED!!!!
In order to plan for English club and not have to work to much on my day of Monday me and Katie were able to just plan it through emails and it worked out great and I think it was a very successful week at English club.
Small group is starting to draw to a close with only 4 more weeks left, but we finished up Chapter 2 finally discussing the picture of the first church in Acts 2:42-47 (If you have not read this lately you might want to and ask yourself if your church is following this pattern!!). We decided to that since we only have a few weeks left to each pick part of the book that we want to study and work on studying those the next few weeks, next week will be Chapter 10 when Peter had his vision and visited Cornelius.
And for my sermon that I preached tonight!!! Well I won't spoil it just yet, it was recorded and I should have it tomorrow and will try to put it on youtube and on here so I can share it with you. :) If that does not work out I will post what I wrote down on here tomorrow (if your are lucky I might do both). But I fell so alive after it and I felt even more alive during it!!!
One last note I am still trying to raise the extra $100 dollars a month for the rent so that we can have the original agreement we made with my roommates before we realized there was some miscommunications about rent from GBGM. So if you would like to help out with that please go to http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/advance/donate.cfm?id=3016163&code=14055A and let me know how much was donated so that I am able to keep up with it, so far we have raise $400 of the $1700 needed. If you would like to support me and other missionaries please visit here http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/advance/donate.cfm?id=3021336&code=3021336, we are asked to raise $2500 a year to help support overhead cost such as salaries and travel of ourselves and other missionaries (this amount barely covers travel for me to get here so its not unreasonable).
THANK YOU all so very very much I love every one of you who read this and pray for me! May God Bless you and give you the desires of your heart!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Let the Festivities Begin
What a great time it has been since my last post.
For me the holiday season has always started on Halloween. Just a few days after Halloween is my birthday and then just weeks later is Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years.
This year is a new year with new kind of festivities. Instead of trunk or treat and Halloween parties I celebrated Halloween by watching a movie, then the next day was a Halloween party at English club with face painting, pumpkin carving, and Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Also the very next day I decided that a bit more celebration was in order and listened to Orsen Wells War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast. So what is usually a one night celebration in the States turned into a three day mini celebration in a country where the holiday is not even celebrated :).
Thursday was my Birthday!!! And it was amazing. I made brownies (not from scratch but from brownie mix sent from the states sorry) and took them to pilgrims. At Pilgrims I was very pleasantly surprised with a cake from Katie, the Pilgrims got me a traditional Ukrainian dress shirt and a giant stuffed penguin (for those of you that do not know I love penguins and in fact have a tattoo of chilly willy on my calf). But before I was presented with these gifts I was made to close my eyes as everyone dressed up as chilly willy (wearing caps and scarfs and many having come in black and white and orange socks). After Pilgrims I was met with many hugs and a few more gifts and can honestly say this was an amazing birthday!
But again on Saturday it was time for Halloween again!!! As you know there are a few of us young adult missionaries from the States here in Lviv. We try and meet weekly or every other week for fun and fellowship and due to bad planning we didn't get together for Halloween until the Saturday after, but it was amazing we simply watched The Lost Skeleton of Cadaver. If you have not seen it and you enjoy truly stupid movies this is a must see!!
I am having a blessed holiday season and am excited to see what other blessings God has in store for me as the rest of the holidays arrive (American Thanksgiving, St. Nicholas Day (dec. 19th), American Christmas, New Years, and Ukrainian Christmas (January 7th))
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Blessed for real
So yes this has been a great week, a very long week, and a blessed week!
English Club and Pilgrims have been great as normal, and I continue to build stronger relationships.
Everyone is so friendly and I love being around everyone but I think that might turn into a problem for me soon. I really hate leaving when people are having a good time and sometimes it leads to me sacrificing sleep, chores, and work that I have to catch up on later. But I am working on that for sure.
This week I simply asked a fellow who is a normal here at the student center if he would like to have some tea. It was a seeming small gesture but this is the most we have be able to interact with each other because my Ukrainian is so poor and he know little English. This was only a few minutes after my grammar lesson and so I was really tired from that but as we sat down and did our best to communicate he decided we should have a language lesson together. He grabs a Bible in Ukrainian and one in English that is the same translation (does this make since?) and we took turns reading the same verse, first he would read a verse 2 times in English and then I would read a verse 2 times in Ukrainian and we would help each other with pronouncing the words. I didn't really learn any Ukrainian but it was great speaking practice and even better bonding time that I had not even planned on having! God is so amazing some time!
Another realization that I came across is how much I love my job here. I knew I liked it but didn't realize that I loved it until I was trying to plan to do something and realized I was extremely busy. How does that make me realize I love my job? I didn't feel busy, I was not stressed over having to get stuff done I was excited about the work I get to do, even entering names into a data base for us to contact. Yes I have been truly blessed with my placement and I am extremely thankful!
English Club and Pilgrims have been great as normal, and I continue to build stronger relationships.
Everyone is so friendly and I love being around everyone but I think that might turn into a problem for me soon. I really hate leaving when people are having a good time and sometimes it leads to me sacrificing sleep, chores, and work that I have to catch up on later. But I am working on that for sure.
This week I simply asked a fellow who is a normal here at the student center if he would like to have some tea. It was a seeming small gesture but this is the most we have be able to interact with each other because my Ukrainian is so poor and he know little English. This was only a few minutes after my grammar lesson and so I was really tired from that but as we sat down and did our best to communicate he decided we should have a language lesson together. He grabs a Bible in Ukrainian and one in English that is the same translation (does this make since?) and we took turns reading the same verse, first he would read a verse 2 times in English and then I would read a verse 2 times in Ukrainian and we would help each other with pronouncing the words. I didn't really learn any Ukrainian but it was great speaking practice and even better bonding time that I had not even planned on having! God is so amazing some time!
Another realization that I came across is how much I love my job here. I knew I liked it but didn't realize that I loved it until I was trying to plan to do something and realized I was extremely busy. How does that make me realize I love my job? I didn't feel busy, I was not stressed over having to get stuff done I was excited about the work I get to do, even entering names into a data base for us to contact. Yes I have been truly blessed with my placement and I am extremely thankful!
Monday, October 17, 2011
No use Crying over spilled spaghetti
What an amazing week!
I apologize that last weeks blog was a bit on the less informative side, and that the blog for this week is a day late, but I will be better this time I promise.
I have really fallen into a good community here. Last Sunday we had a lot of people over to Erika's and we had sushi and shared stories. It was great sushi an Asian food in eastern europe!!! It was great, I loved it. The rest of the week was amazing, I have created such great friends both Ukrainian and American. During English club we have lost a few people, but it is still great, last week we had game night and it went great!
For Pilgrims we had John Calhounne, a Unite Methdoist Missionary in Kiev come and preach, we shared lunch and had a good talk just discussing ministries and our lives in Ukraine.
Friday night was amazing, we had another gathering with people from the student center. It was great we had spaghetti and pizza, it was such a great night. while preparing the meal the dry spaghetti was dropped out of the bottom of the box, but we picked it up and boiled it and it was all good :). We all stayed late playing apples to apples and various other games and just enjoying being around one another.
Saturday I went out with the feeding program and again it was amazing, we went to the church first and and handed out bags to the older ladies who wait there for us and then we went on our route, sadly there was no one out due to the rain and coldness. Next we walked around and then it started snowing which was awesome!! That was followed by a long round of again apples to apples (such a great game),
Yesterday was Church and church meeting. It was great, I have started working with Kids club during the service since it is in Ukrainian and I love it so much. After church there was a meal and we meet as a leadership team.
I feel so welcomed and at home here. I am use to eating just once a day and here I get told I don't eat enough, as I am writing I have been offered cookies, cake, and tea, just to that I won't starve to death. I love the community I have here and really enjoy watching it grow. God is doing great things here and it is so so wonderful.
I apologize that last weeks blog was a bit on the less informative side, and that the blog for this week is a day late, but I will be better this time I promise.
I have really fallen into a good community here. Last Sunday we had a lot of people over to Erika's and we had sushi and shared stories. It was great sushi an Asian food in eastern europe!!! It was great, I loved it. The rest of the week was amazing, I have created such great friends both Ukrainian and American. During English club we have lost a few people, but it is still great, last week we had game night and it went great!
For Pilgrims we had John Calhounne, a Unite Methdoist Missionary in Kiev come and preach, we shared lunch and had a good talk just discussing ministries and our lives in Ukraine.
Friday night was amazing, we had another gathering with people from the student center. It was great we had spaghetti and pizza, it was such a great night. while preparing the meal the dry spaghetti was dropped out of the bottom of the box, but we picked it up and boiled it and it was all good :). We all stayed late playing apples to apples and various other games and just enjoying being around one another.
Saturday I went out with the feeding program and again it was amazing, we went to the church first and and handed out bags to the older ladies who wait there for us and then we went on our route, sadly there was no one out due to the rain and coldness. Next we walked around and then it started snowing which was awesome!! That was followed by a long round of again apples to apples (such a great game),
I feel so welcomed and at home here. I am use to eating just once a day and here I get told I don't eat enough, as I am writing I have been offered cookies, cake, and tea, just to that I won't starve to death. I love the community I have here and really enjoy watching it grow. God is doing great things here and it is so so wonderful.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Falling into the norm
What a week it has been!
This week has felt like my first "normal" week. There was nothing extremely new, no huge cultural surprises or anything that I felt was abnormal.
Let me start with what the week looked like for me. First Monday: Monday is suppose to be my day off, but after working between 30 and 40 hours a week and classes like I have for the last year almost, and working at summer camps every summer I am still learning what a day off means. This Monday I actually did very little work on my day off, we gathered to play cards and fellowship with some other young adult missionaries we have gotten to know and then we had praise and worship with our Student Center Leadership team.
Tuesday we had English club, it was awesome, we had still 30-40 people, and the English lesson was based off of Numbers 22 with the talking donkey, so we mixed Shrek into it as well.
Wednesday I started my small group we are studying the book of Acts, there were five of us and we had a great discussion on the introduction and the first 11 verses.
Thursday was Pilgrims and it also went great, we had a guest speaker and he did extremely well. Also on Thursday I received a package from home, and it was great, I GOT LITTLE DEBBIE COOKIES!! and peanut butter and lots of other goodies.
Friday was a good day for planning for next week, we discussed the plans for English club this Tuesday and then I worked on getting ready for small group.
Saturday was yet another day off, but like I mentioned I am not good at days off, so to start Saturday we had a meeting to plan the future themes and ideas for Kids Club (Childrens Church). To this meeting I wore my sandals like I have every day almost since I have moved here, I was not expecting that the temperature would decide to stay in the 40's all day long :-(. After our meeting I hurried home and changed into wool socks boots and a nice warm jacket. From there we gathered again as a small group of American Missionaries for a day of relaxing. We did a few photos for one of the missionaries to create a slide show then we went and had coffee and lunch followed by a free concert from a christian band from the states.
It has been really great being here and I am excited for the future adventures. Everyone keeps warning me that the winters here will be a brand new thing to me because they are so cold, I guess it will be a new experience.
One observation I have made here is the Pigeons. They are everywhere, sometimes even under your feet, literally. This week I have noticed that often I am having to watch where I step when there are pigeons around so that I do not step on them because they have no fear.
Well that is all I can think of to write now thank you for reading and for praying for me. I apologize that this is very simple I have been feeling a bit under the weather due to our temperature change.
This week has felt like my first "normal" week. There was nothing extremely new, no huge cultural surprises or anything that I felt was abnormal.
Let me start with what the week looked like for me. First Monday: Monday is suppose to be my day off, but after working between 30 and 40 hours a week and classes like I have for the last year almost, and working at summer camps every summer I am still learning what a day off means. This Monday I actually did very little work on my day off, we gathered to play cards and fellowship with some other young adult missionaries we have gotten to know and then we had praise and worship with our Student Center Leadership team.
Tuesday we had English club, it was awesome, we had still 30-40 people, and the English lesson was based off of Numbers 22 with the talking donkey, so we mixed Shrek into it as well.
Wednesday I started my small group we are studying the book of Acts, there were five of us and we had a great discussion on the introduction and the first 11 verses.
Thursday was Pilgrims and it also went great, we had a guest speaker and he did extremely well. Also on Thursday I received a package from home, and it was great, I GOT LITTLE DEBBIE COOKIES!! and peanut butter and lots of other goodies.
Friday was a good day for planning for next week, we discussed the plans for English club this Tuesday and then I worked on getting ready for small group.
Saturday was yet another day off, but like I mentioned I am not good at days off, so to start Saturday we had a meeting to plan the future themes and ideas for Kids Club (Childrens Church). To this meeting I wore my sandals like I have every day almost since I have moved here, I was not expecting that the temperature would decide to stay in the 40's all day long :-(. After our meeting I hurried home and changed into wool socks boots and a nice warm jacket. From there we gathered again as a small group of American Missionaries for a day of relaxing. We did a few photos for one of the missionaries to create a slide show then we went and had coffee and lunch followed by a free concert from a christian band from the states.
It has been really great being here and I am excited for the future adventures. Everyone keeps warning me that the winters here will be a brand new thing to me because they are so cold, I guess it will be a new experience.
One observation I have made here is the Pigeons. They are everywhere, sometimes even under your feet, literally. This week I have noticed that often I am having to watch where I step when there are pigeons around so that I do not step on them because they have no fear.
Well that is all I can think of to write now thank you for reading and for praying for me. I apologize that this is very simple I have been feeling a bit under the weather due to our temperature change.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
So much in 1 month
1 Month Out of the USA. I have been living in Ukraine for a full month now and I still love it. The weather is just starting to get brisk. I have missed a week of blogging and I apologize to all my readers. We have been making adjustments and getting ready for David and Shannon to leave. And they left on Monday Sept. 26.
Since they have left things feel different. Not bad different, not good different just different. I think part of it is because I am now done being trained and I am actually working. English club last week was still at about 45 people, the week before we had 50 (that is a lot for an english club, and almost to many to fit in our student center). This Tuesday I will be leading the discussion in English club about the talking donkey in the Bible (Numbers chapter 22 I promise its there) and then show a small clip from Shrek, I'm kinda excited.
I was a little worried how Pilgrims (Thursday night worship at the student center) would got without David and Shannon, and then I was feeling below the weather. But the students and other leaders did a great job and pilgrims was great.
Yesterday I went out to start looking at a social justice out reach program we hope to get our students involved in. We had met and American Missionary and his family that came about 12 years ago and has since become a freelance missionary. One of the programs their church does is to put together a bag of groceries and every 2 weeks take them around to a few of the beggars (usually old women or disabled persons) they have built relationships with. Sometimes in these bags there are blankets, socks, or gloves as well. Not only do they deliver these bags, but as the ministry grows they have the same bags for other beggars, they do not yet know but are working towards building relationships with, that meet them at a corner near a church.
I had went to help distribute the bags, get to know a few people and to see if it would be a good ministry for our students to help with.
I received a bit more. When I showed up I was greeted warmly by Mark Blessing (the missionary) and his family. Soon others were showing up to help, including a family form Shelby North Carolina (for those of you not familiar this is only an hour or so from my home in the states). Next as we went and delivered these bags we split into groups and headed out. My group delivered 3 bags, one to a pizza shop that makes sure a lady they know needs it gets it, the second to Pani Maria (Pani means ms.) a blind elderly lady who plays the accordion on the streets to survive, and the second to Pani Maria #2 who is another blind elderly lady but she sings on the streets to survive whom we were able to pray with because she was sick. We had 2 more bags to deliver but the recipitants were not out that day.
Also from that experience I made several American friends who live around the city which is great support, it is difficult to live in a city where you are a foreigner.
Again I thank everyone for taking the time time to read this, to pray for me, and to support me in every other way possible.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
It's all Ukrainian to me.
Thursday was the mark of being out of the country longer than I have ever been before. I have now been here 2 weeks and 3 days. It is a completely knew yet familiar feeling. In the last few years I have been very nomadic, moving between summer camp, school, and home. I have not been completely settled in one place for more than a few months. Now I am settled into a city, in another country, in an apartment that I share with two new people. And I love it.
In the last week I have started making plans for leading a small group Bible study on the book of Acts. Together Katie and I have lead English club and started planning for future English clubs (Every Tuesday Night). Also I have started to plan a sermon for one Thursday night, and planing out how to give my testimony for another Thursday night.
There is so much here that I just can't put into words. The friendliness and kindness, the fun, the joy. It is all so great. One of the greatest times I keep experiencing here over and over is with my roommates. One speaks very limited English and it is often hard for us to communicate, but some how we manage to get our ideas across and to have fun, between grocery shopping, cooking and just kidding around it has been an amazing experience, even though what he is saying is all Ukrainian to me.
The weather here has been amazing, we have had a little rain but mostly warm sunny days, though the temperature is starting to drop. It has been a great ally in this change. I have also fallen into what to me feels more like and adult pattern of life than I am use to. No more classes, I cook, I clean, I actually do work (even though work is something I greatly enjoy). Doing laundry is different, everything hang dries, and the washer is smaller so it takes smaller loads. Cooking is becoming fun, everything is cooked from scratch mostly, and over a gas stove. To even have coffee we light the stove to heat up the water in a kettle, it is awesome.
Thank you again everyone who is praying for me during this amazing experience and journey God has sent me on. God Bless.
In the last week I have started making plans for leading a small group Bible study on the book of Acts. Together Katie and I have lead English club and started planning for future English clubs (Every Tuesday Night). Also I have started to plan a sermon for one Thursday night, and planing out how to give my testimony for another Thursday night.
There is so much here that I just can't put into words. The friendliness and kindness, the fun, the joy. It is all so great. One of the greatest times I keep experiencing here over and over is with my roommates. One speaks very limited English and it is often hard for us to communicate, but some how we manage to get our ideas across and to have fun, between grocery shopping, cooking and just kidding around it has been an amazing experience, even though what he is saying is all Ukrainian to me.
The weather here has been amazing, we have had a little rain but mostly warm sunny days, though the temperature is starting to drop. It has been a great ally in this change. I have also fallen into what to me feels more like and adult pattern of life than I am use to. No more classes, I cook, I clean, I actually do work (even though work is something I greatly enjoy). Doing laundry is different, everything hang dries, and the washer is smaller so it takes smaller loads. Cooking is becoming fun, everything is cooked from scratch mostly, and over a gas stove. To even have coffee we light the stove to heat up the water in a kettle, it is awesome.
Thank you again everyone who is praying for me during this amazing experience and journey God has sent me on. God Bless.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
September 11, 2011. It is the ten year anniversary of that day that will always be remembered.
I have been in Ukraine for a little over a week now. I just moved into my apartment last night and it is amazing. My roommates are really awesome, and the place is great. I only have a 10 minute walk to the student center. Right now we don't have internet, but that will get ironed out in the next week or so.
I really love it here. The students are great and David and Shannon have been amazing at helping us to adjust. I still struggle with the time difference a little. I have free time in the mornings, which of course is the middle of the night for everyone back in the states, so it makes talking with them a little difficult. Another challenge is getting use to the idea that this is not the USA, holidays and days of rememberance are not the same. I have now been here through labor day, everyone here was working, and now one at home was, and now today is September 11 and it is the 10th anniversary of that day in 2001 when the towers fell. I can imagine sermons preached on this topic, flags being flown at half mass and people having a cook out or family gatherings, I can see the news coverage all day long replaying the footage of that day and memorial services. But here, it is Sunday, just like any other Sunday. It is slightly disheartening but life does go on.
I have really started to be able to get around the city using reference points to know where I am and where I need to go. I have also started seriously studying Ukrainian. I spent 3 hours in a cafe yesterday immersed in the alphabet...but I still have some work to do with it before I feel 100% on it, but reading has gotten better. I have also started finishing up all my paper work from the last few weeks that need to be turned in. When all of it is done and has been approved that will be a huge burden off my chest. This week is our first week of actually being involved and not observing. Tuesday we will help with English club, and as the rest of the week goes on we will start being more intentional about building relationships and doing research for social justices projects.
A huge highlight in my week last week was that I was able to connect with a fellow Tekoan (a fellow who worked at Camp Tekoa, but on the year that I was not there). Me and Woody have exchanged emails a few times and discussed a few things that way, but on Friday we had a phone conversation about different projects, history, and a little about ourselves. It was great to know there is not only fellow Americans here in Ukraine but a fellow North Carolinian, and it was also good to hear a voice that was some how unfamiliar because we have never spoke before and yet familiar at the same time.
God is doing great things here in Ukraine. It is such a joy to be a part of his plan here and work along side others who are passionate about his plan.
God bless.
I have been in Ukraine for a little over a week now. I just moved into my apartment last night and it is amazing. My roommates are really awesome, and the place is great. I only have a 10 minute walk to the student center. Right now we don't have internet, but that will get ironed out in the next week or so.
I really love it here. The students are great and David and Shannon have been amazing at helping us to adjust. I still struggle with the time difference a little. I have free time in the mornings, which of course is the middle of the night for everyone back in the states, so it makes talking with them a little difficult. Another challenge is getting use to the idea that this is not the USA, holidays and days of rememberance are not the same. I have now been here through labor day, everyone here was working, and now one at home was, and now today is September 11 and it is the 10th anniversary of that day in 2001 when the towers fell. I can imagine sermons preached on this topic, flags being flown at half mass and people having a cook out or family gatherings, I can see the news coverage all day long replaying the footage of that day and memorial services. But here, it is Sunday, just like any other Sunday. It is slightly disheartening but life does go on.
I have really started to be able to get around the city using reference points to know where I am and where I need to go. I have also started seriously studying Ukrainian. I spent 3 hours in a cafe yesterday immersed in the alphabet...but I still have some work to do with it before I feel 100% on it, but reading has gotten better. I have also started finishing up all my paper work from the last few weeks that need to be turned in. When all of it is done and has been approved that will be a huge burden off my chest. This week is our first week of actually being involved and not observing. Tuesday we will help with English club, and as the rest of the week goes on we will start being more intentional about building relationships and doing research for social justices projects.
A huge highlight in my week last week was that I was able to connect with a fellow Tekoan (a fellow who worked at Camp Tekoa, but on the year that I was not there). Me and Woody have exchanged emails a few times and discussed a few things that way, but on Friday we had a phone conversation about different projects, history, and a little about ourselves. It was great to know there is not only fellow Americans here in Ukraine but a fellow North Carolinian, and it was also good to hear a voice that was some how unfamiliar because we have never spoke before and yet familiar at the same time.
God is doing great things here in Ukraine. It is such a joy to be a part of his plan here and work along side others who are passionate about his plan.
God bless.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Safe and sound
Yesterday I finally arrived in Lviv safe and sound. It was a very exciting trip. I was originally scheduled to fly out of Charlotte on Saturday the 27th. Due to hurricane Irene we changed that to leave on Thursday the 24th so that we could be in NY and be ahead of the hurricane. All did not go as planned. New York decided to shut down on Saturday, which meant our flight was canceled. This was a let down but at the same time exciting, for the first time I would have a few free days in NYC and I would have a great story to tell about surviving the hurricane. Unfortunately the hurricane turned out to be not much more than a thunderstorm no bigger than what I was use to at home. On Saturday the city that never sleeps took a nap so there was not much to do but on Monday we were able to get out and walk up to central park. Our flight was rescheduled to Wednesday.
So Wednesday finally arrived and after a small debate with the shuttle driver that I was actually scheduled to be on the shuttle as well we headed to the airport. We got through check in, the flight had a 45min delay, then we boarded the plane and we were off to Istanbul Turkey. It was about an 8.5 hour flight and I only got an hours worth of sleep. After we arrived it was a little confusing but we made our way to our next flight. Two hours later we were landing in Lviv. Going through customs was a breeze, although they searched on piece of luggage to see a binder I had.
Since we arrived it has been great. We arrived and showered and then headed off to worship at the student center. It was great. Everyone is extremely friendly and many speak very good English. I met one of my roommates and am excited to get to know the other. Culture shock has not been to terrible yet. The hardest part so far was bringing up this page to type my blog, it is in Ukrainian.
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/advance/missionaries/biographies/index.cfm?action=details&code=3021336
So Wednesday finally arrived and after a small debate with the shuttle driver that I was actually scheduled to be on the shuttle as well we headed to the airport. We got through check in, the flight had a 45min delay, then we boarded the plane and we were off to Istanbul Turkey. It was about an 8.5 hour flight and I only got an hours worth of sleep. After we arrived it was a little confusing but we made our way to our next flight. Two hours later we were landing in Lviv. Going through customs was a breeze, although they searched on piece of luggage to see a binder I had.
Since we arrived it has been great. We arrived and showered and then headed off to worship at the student center. It was great. Everyone is extremely friendly and many speak very good English. I met one of my roommates and am excited to get to know the other. Culture shock has not been to terrible yet. The hardest part so far was bringing up this page to type my blog, it is in Ukrainian.
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/advance/missionaries/biographies/index.cfm?action=details&code=3021336
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Ready to leave?
Am I ready to leave? That's the number one question I have been asked over the last week. How do I answer such a complicated question? Am I ready to leave behind my family, my friends, my comfort zone, my sense of security, everything I know, my new friends, the food I`m use too? By no means am I ready for that, no one will ever be ready for that. But is that the question or is it, am I ready for a new adventure, ready to see God work in new ways and places, to make new friends, strengthen bonds with old friends, try new foods, see new places, learn to live a new way, and to discover new things about myself? How can I not be ready for that? How can I not be excited for this new journey.
As I wrote this the other day I was just a few hours from finding out that I will be leaving sooner than I had expected. Tomorrow evening (Thursday) I will leave, as opposed to leaving on Saturday morning. This has made me rush a lot of packing, planning, and meeting with friends. But it has also pushed me to focus and really get stuff done and stop procrastinating. It has also made me realize that I could be talking with everyone online like normal soon after I land or it could be a few days. Either way I know I have some great friends who are going to be there with me through this time of transition and I know that God will provide for me what ever I need, even if it gets rough.
Over the last few days home I have had a great time spending time with all my friends and keeping in touch with those from training. I have been in contact with most of my friends here at home and all of my family. Leaving and going to a time zone 7 hours a head of everyone I know will put a strain on communication but it will also show which relationship are strongest and will continues to grow. I am so thankful for this wonderful opportunity to go to Ukraine and expand my comfort zone and meet new and amazing people and have great experiences to tell everyone about...STAY TUNED FOR MORE ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE!!!
As I wrote this the other day I was just a few hours from finding out that I will be leaving sooner than I had expected. Tomorrow evening (Thursday) I will leave, as opposed to leaving on Saturday morning. This has made me rush a lot of packing, planning, and meeting with friends. But it has also pushed me to focus and really get stuff done and stop procrastinating. It has also made me realize that I could be talking with everyone online like normal soon after I land or it could be a few days. Either way I know I have some great friends who are going to be there with me through this time of transition and I know that God will provide for me what ever I need, even if it gets rough.
Over the last few days home I have had a great time spending time with all my friends and keeping in touch with those from training. I have been in contact with most of my friends here at home and all of my family. Leaving and going to a time zone 7 hours a head of everyone I know will put a strain on communication but it will also show which relationship are strongest and will continues to grow. I am so thankful for this wonderful opportunity to go to Ukraine and expand my comfort zone and meet new and amazing people and have great experiences to tell everyone about...STAY TUNED FOR MORE ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE!!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
It's Closing Time
After 3 weeks of training we are coming up on our date of commissioning. It will be very bittersweet for many of us as we are going our separate ways into the world, some of us leaving very soon for our placement sites others having a few weeks home. Many of us will not see one another for at least eighteen months and for the US-2 and Mission Interns this could possibly be the last time we spend together as a completely whole group. It has been a great 3 weeks, we have had many trials, laughs, tears and smiles and hands down the best time I could have asked for from any group of people
As for me I will be departing Charlotte airport with a fellow Mission Intern Katie Steele on August 27th to begin my trek to Ukraine. It is a very exciting time that is filled with much nervousness as I look at what I should pack and who I need to visit before I depart. I know however that God is going to be with all of us through this journey into new cultures and new ideas about what Gods love really means.
Final food for thought: You can only begin to grasp Christianity when the most important people to you are the people you don’t know and my never know!
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/advance/missionaries/biographies/index.cfm?action=details&code=3021336
As for me I will be departing Charlotte airport with a fellow Mission Intern Katie Steele on August 27th to begin my trek to Ukraine. It is a very exciting time that is filled with much nervousness as I look at what I should pack and who I need to visit before I depart. I know however that God is going to be with all of us through this journey into new cultures and new ideas about what Gods love really means.
Final food for thought: You can only begin to grasp Christianity when the most important people to you are the people you don’t know and my never know!
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/advance/missionaries/biographies/index.cfm?action=details&code=3021336
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Training time!
Wow, here it comes. Less than twenty days until I am in the Ukraine. Training has been such a different experience. We have all learned so much and at times it is extremely overwhelming. It is such a different situation because we are all working on trying to make a balance of professional situation and intentional friendships and relationships to build up our support between one another.
We have such a great group and all of us have been able contribute to the growing dimensions of the group. As each day goes by we are challenging each other with different definitions of what it means to be a community, how are we representing ourselves and our programs, and what we can do to better who we are and live up to the community standards that we have set in place.
As the time comes closer I have began to feel a bit more nervous about my future. I have been working on trying to just figure out all the logistical things that are involved and learning the new terminologies that go along with a new place. During this time of focusing on this new information I have been forgetting to focus on what will be going on in a few weeks in Ukraine, or vis-versa, I try and focus on what is going to happen in the up coming weeks and forget to be present in the learning of what we are doing here.
Even through this small struggle I know things will be great and I am so excited to continue on this journey with all the support of my fellow missionaries and a family and friends.
Just for everyone who is interested I will keep posting my bio and how to support me and the others I will be working with.
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/work/missionaries/biographies/index.cfm?action=details&id=1372
We have such a great group and all of us have been able contribute to the growing dimensions of the group. As each day goes by we are challenging each other with different definitions of what it means to be a community, how are we representing ourselves and our programs, and what we can do to better who we are and live up to the community standards that we have set in place.
As the time comes closer I have began to feel a bit more nervous about my future. I have been working on trying to just figure out all the logistical things that are involved and learning the new terminologies that go along with a new place. During this time of focusing on this new information I have been forgetting to focus on what will be going on in a few weeks in Ukraine, or vis-versa, I try and focus on what is going to happen in the up coming weeks and forget to be present in the learning of what we are doing here.
Even through this small struggle I know things will be great and I am so excited to continue on this journey with all the support of my fellow missionaries and a family and friends.
Just for everyone who is interested I will keep posting my bio and how to support me and the others I will be working with.
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/work/missionaries/biographies/index.cfm?action=details&id=1372
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