Saturday, November 11, 2006
Scenes from Pylypovichy--Our Village
This morning we went for a walk through the village and some people actually smiled at us. We said good morning to several people and got various responses. One lady found out we were the new Americans and acted very friendly then asked us for money. We stopped in one of the three tiny stores just to see what they had. The lady there was very, very nice and we had a good “conversation”. I am so proud of Richard. He does very well putting sentences together. I on the other hand. . . Let’s not discuss that one.
This afternoon we went for a ride on back roads. It is really beautiful even without leaves on the trees. I can imagine what spring will look like. It snowed the other morning and there were some snowflakes in the air today but not much stuck. Our village is Pylpovichy (that’s the name on the bus stop in the picture.) There are three small stores in the middle of the village and another one on each end. There are about 2000 people—we have heard that anyway—about the size of Cle Elum, Washington where we come from. The streets were paved this summer because a big factory is going in behind our house. It is a large area. We have heard that it is an automobile factory. May be very loud but we hope it will make house values go up. We hope to buy the land that the house sits on in the spring but it may cost too much by then. We own the house and the buildings and rent the land.
Garbage is dumped in holes along the railroad track. There are several garbage “dumps” around the town and actually everywhere you drive in the country. Many people in the villages still use horse and wagon transportation. It is very picturesque but I think it would be cold riding in the wagon. This last picture is the view from our kitchen window.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
The Good and the UGLY
Life in Ukraine lately has been a mixture of very good and very bad and today it was very UGLY.
The Good! We were able to purchase a used van from Germany. It is a 2002 panel van. We take it in next week to have windows and seats put in. I am having a difficult time finding seatbelts here to put in the back. I asked the people who do the refurbishing to put them in but they didn't have a source. Go figure! We actually have WORKING ones in the front. (If you try to put on a seat belt in a taxi or when riding with others it is an insult to the driver who feels that you don't trust his driving.) We are excited. The experiences with the Lada were enough to make us decide that we needed something safer. I told God how scared I was in the Lada and an hour later we got a call that they had finally located a van for us that we could afford. We will use it for the ministry as well although it is our own and not part of the Smile Alliance family. We are asking God to bless it and the people who travel in it. 
Now we are looking for insurance-liability. It is expensive here.
Our new home is mentioned in the Smile Alliance blog. We are very excited about it and moved in two weeks ago. We are having fun being creative, making shelves out of cardboard boxes, using the large kitchen cabinets for storage, etc.. It's almost like having our first home. The picture was taken on our first day in the house. I am too heavy for Richard to carry across thethresholdd but he bought me lots of flowers. Also today I received our new couch and chairs that we ordered from the factory last week. They said the order would take three weeks but it only took one. No THAT would not happen in the US. It is much faster here.
Richard was gone to Zhitomer for three days on a dental mission. Pictures and story are on the dental ministry blog. It was interesting being by myself here for two nights. It seemed like a lot longer. Monday, our electricity was out for 5 ½ hours and there was snow outside. It got kind of cold, not miserable though. The people who had purchased the former owner's couch and chairs, satellite dish, and other things (before we found the house) came and picked their things up so I had no place to sit and no TV to watch. BUT I had our smaller TV and my Gilmore GirDVD'sVDs so I watched them while sitting on cushions on the floor. It was really kind of fun, just me and the beasties, the mice, mosquitoes (I don't know where they are coming from this time of year), and the spiders.
I did go to Kyiv by myself on Tuesday. (Did you know that the US has officially changed the spelling of Kiev-which is Russian-to Kyiv?) What an experience! I will write about that later. Suffice it to say that I spent over four hours on a train, four buses, and in a taxi. I was proud of myself but not sure I want to repeat the experience again any time soon.
I mentioned the bad in my last blog and don't want to dwell on it. Then today things turned UGLY and brought an end to our hopes that our winter things were still at Mostysche. We noticed that things in our stored boxes had been rifledriffled through. We picked up a bunch of boxes with the moving van and went through them last weekend. I found one wool coat and my good boots, two sweaters, two tops and one pair of warm boots. There were three or four shirts of Richards and that was all. We went back today to get the rest of the boxes and even more things had been taken. NONE of our winter things are left except the things I just mentioned. We had purchased lined jeans, sweaters, coats, robes, etc. to get us through the next few years and we sent them over. Also, every dress, winter skirt, winter pair of pants, hats, wool dress jackets, party dresses etc. is gone. So far I have added up how much it would cost us to replace the things we can think of and it is several thousand dollars at original prices. (I bought most of things on sale and over the years but there was a lot there.) What makes me even sadder is that a lot of the shoes for the kids, beautiful winter coats, socks, and other things have been stolen. And we are just beginning to realize that many of the things for Smile House are also gone.
I don't understand how people can be so cruel and ugly. We feel like we have been kicked in the stomach. I have prayed and prayed that God will help me not to hold it against the orphanage since it is not the kids fault. But I look at the people there and wonder who has my robes, my coats, my other things. I brought extra to share but this is not how I planned to share things.
Yet the kids helped us take the boxes to the van. Some came up and hugged and hugged me. It is not their faults. They are the ones who are being used and abused by someone's greed. The director is on vacation but I am going to let her know about this. I know it will disturb her because she has a kind heart.
This country has many wonderful people in it but there are many, many who are selfish and just down right mean and dishonest. It goes to show that there is a great need for God's love and mercy. I am asking Him to help me show mercy. Please pray for these people and specifically for the ones who had stolen these things. Pray that God will be able to save them from themselves. And pray that forgiveness will fill our injured hearts.
S0. . . an added note. It's interesting how God puts people in our lives who can encourage just when we need it. Last night after writing this we went into Kyiv for a couples study group. It was the first time we went. After prayer, I shared with the ladies what had happened. One gal that I had just met shared a story from I think it was Albania. They were with YWAM several years ago and one morning people came in and destroyed the YWAM base and looted all their personal things while they were fleeing. Everything was taken-all their wedding presents and special things-everything except one suitcase of things they grabbed on their way out. She said that the night before it was as if God spoke to her and asked her if she had given everything to Him and she had replied "I am trying Lord. I really want to." Wow! That's really what I have been thinking about all this. Perhaps I was holding on to these things, trying to do it myself (again), and not letting Him be Lord of my life. When we moved here, we committed ourselves and everything to Him and this is all His STUFF. We will be fine without it. We will survive. And hopefully we will grow closer to Him in the process. We came here for the children-those who need love-those who are hurting and don't know anything better. We are still here for them.
The Good! We were able to purchase a used van from Germany. It is a 2002 panel van. We take it in next week to have windows and seats put in. I am having a difficult time finding seatbelts here to put in the back. I asked the people who do the refurbishing to put them in but they didn't have a source. Go figure! We actually have WORKING ones in the front. (If you try to put on a seat belt in a taxi or when riding with others it is an insult to the driver who feels that you don't trust his driving.) We are excited. The experiences with the Lada were enough to make us decide that we needed something safer. I told God how scared I was in the Lada and an hour later we got a call that they had finally located a van for us that we could afford. We will use it for the ministry as well although it is our own and not part of the Smile Alliance family. We are asking God to bless it and the people who travel in it. 
Now we are looking for insurance-liability. It is expensive here.Our new home is mentioned in the Smile Alliance blog. We are very excited about it and moved in two weeks ago. We are having fun being creative, making shelves out of cardboard boxes, using the large kitchen cabinets for storage, etc.. It's almost like having our first home. The picture was taken on our first day in the house. I am too heavy for Richard to carry across thethresholdd but he bought me lots of flowers. Also today I received our new couch and chairs that we ordered from the factory last week. They said the order would take three weeks but it only took one. No THAT would not happen in the US. It is much faster here.
Richard was gone to Zhitomer for three days on a dental mission. Pictures and story are on the dental ministry blog. It was interesting being by myself here for two nights. It seemed like a lot longer. Monday, our electricity was out for 5 ½ hours and there was snow outside. It got kind of cold, not miserable though. The people who had purchased the former owner's couch and chairs, satellite dish, and other things (before we found the house) came and picked their things up so I had no place to sit and no TV to watch. BUT I had our smaller TV and my Gilmore GirDVD'sVDs so I watched them while sitting on cushions on the floor. It was really kind of fun, just me and the beasties, the mice, mosquitoes (I don't know where they are coming from this time of year), and the spiders.
I did go to Kyiv by myself on Tuesday. (Did you know that the US has officially changed the spelling of Kiev-which is Russian-to Kyiv?) What an experience! I will write about that later. Suffice it to say that I spent over four hours on a train, four buses, and in a taxi. I was proud of myself but not sure I want to repeat the experience again any time soon.
I mentioned the bad in my last blog and don't want to dwell on it. Then today things turned UGLY and brought an end to our hopes that our winter things were still at Mostysche. We noticed that things in our stored boxes had been rifledriffled through. We picked up a bunch of boxes with the moving van and went through them last weekend. I found one wool coat and my good boots, two sweaters, two tops and one pair of warm boots. There were three or four shirts of Richards and that was all. We went back today to get the rest of the boxes and even more things had been taken. NONE of our winter things are left except the things I just mentioned. We had purchased lined jeans, sweaters, coats, robes, etc. to get us through the next few years and we sent them over. Also, every dress, winter skirt, winter pair of pants, hats, wool dress jackets, party dresses etc. is gone. So far I have added up how much it would cost us to replace the things we can think of and it is several thousand dollars at original prices. (I bought most of things on sale and over the years but there was a lot there.) What makes me even sadder is that a lot of the shoes for the kids, beautiful winter coats, socks, and other things have been stolen. And we are just beginning to realize that many of the things for Smile House are also gone.
I don't understand how people can be so cruel and ugly. We feel like we have been kicked in the stomach. I have prayed and prayed that God will help me not to hold it against the orphanage since it is not the kids fault. But I look at the people there and wonder who has my robes, my coats, my other things. I brought extra to share but this is not how I planned to share things.
Yet the kids helped us take the boxes to the van. Some came up and hugged and hugged me. It is not their faults. They are the ones who are being used and abused by someone's greed. The director is on vacation but I am going to let her know about this. I know it will disturb her because she has a kind heart.
This country has many wonderful people in it but there are many, many who are selfish and just down right mean and dishonest. It goes to show that there is a great need for God's love and mercy. I am asking Him to help me show mercy. Please pray for these people and specifically for the ones who had stolen these things. Pray that God will be able to save them from themselves. And pray that forgiveness will fill our injured hearts.
S0. . . an added note. It's interesting how God puts people in our lives who can encourage just when we need it. Last night after writing this we went into Kyiv for a couples study group. It was the first time we went. After prayer, I shared with the ladies what had happened. One gal that I had just met shared a story from I think it was Albania. They were with YWAM several years ago and one morning people came in and destroyed the YWAM base and looted all their personal things while they were fleeing. Everything was taken-all their wedding presents and special things-everything except one suitcase of things they grabbed on their way out. She said that the night before it was as if God spoke to her and asked her if she had given everything to Him and she had replied "I am trying Lord. I really want to." Wow! That's really what I have been thinking about all this. Perhaps I was holding on to these things, trying to do it myself (again), and not letting Him be Lord of my life. When we moved here, we committed ourselves and everything to Him and this is all His STUFF. We will be fine without it. We will survive. And hopefully we will grow closer to Him in the process. We came here for the children-those who need love-those who are hurting and don't know anything better. We are still here for them.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Up Against Authority
Three recent encounters with authorities have led us realize that our first six months in Ukraine were indeed blessed. I believe we were under a special blanket of protection while we became acclimated to our new way of life. Now, in a small way we are seeing how the people of this land have lived for centuries. Now we are beginning to understand their natural fear of those in authority and their reluctance to trust strangers.
One Thursday afternoon, we sat for grueling three and a half in the Russian Consulate in Kyiv. A week before we had taken our passports and visa applications in to get visas for this month’s Commission for Children at Risk conference in Vladimir, Russia. The lady we talked to had been very nice. We told her about our organization and she asked if our purpose for going to Russia was religious. We told her it was humanitarian. At that time, I felt I should say that although SAI Soniachnia Svitlo is humanitarian that we are Christians. I felt God wanted me to witness to her but I was afraid to do so. Now I realize that I was being called to witness and I really blew it. Since we needed our passports the next week in order to buy our house, she told us there was plenty of time and to just drop them off when we were ready.
That Thursday, Richard took our passports in while I attended a ladies study group. When he did so, she told him to bring me back that afternoon so she could ask us more questions about why we wanted the visa. She told us to come at 3:30. We were there on time but were told we had to wait until 4:00. I didn’t want to get in trouble with the woman, so I tried to tell them that she had told us to come at 3:30. I probably should have kept my mouth shut. Finally, they told us to come in and sit down. We waited and watched many others in line and after 45 minutes thought they had forgotten us. So I got into the end of the line. A bit later, a man came up to me and told me to go sit down again. Those of you who know me well, know it is very difficult for me sit still for a long time. She never did ask us any more questions. The man told us there were problems with our visas as well as with several other American visas. After 3 ½ hours they told the five remaining people in the large waiting area to come in—we were all Americans. One very nice young woman that we had been talking with had her application ready but they had only taken her passport and written invitation. When we entered the lady’s office, they asked her why she was going to Russia. She told them she was going to see Moscow and attend the conference. This was another mistake we had made—not mentioning the conference. They told her that her letter of invitation was good but the rest of ours were not. This was a lie but they used it as an excuse. One man assured them that he had nothing to do with the rest of us and was going to a different conference. Our letters of invitation all came from the same agency. They didn’t ask us anything else. Anyway, we were denied our visas and now a stamp in our passports basically showing that we are persons non-gratis. I was disappointed but also felt we had been trying to do this on our own and when we are called to take a risk and share our faith, we need to do so. Our visas could not have been denied any more than they were and we would have stood up for our faith. So we learned a valuable lesson. With all that has been going on, I am glad we aren’t going now. There’s just been so much to do and we are both tired and stressed.
The next Thursday, we moved to our new house. We hired a van and Mr. S sent a ProMed truck as well. We filled this truck and took the larger one (which was half full) out to the orphanage to pick up boxes that we had stored there. (We had discovered that our things had been rifled through and many of our winter coats and clothes were missing so we wanted to get them out of there.) The truck wasn’t big enough to get them all but we packed it full. We were driving our “new” twenty-three year old Lada—a Russian built car. It had come with the house and we had chuckled because Richard had often said he thought it would be fun to have an old Lada. It only took him a few days to realize that fun was not exactly the word to describe this vehicle. The top speed is around 50 mph, the clutch sticks, and it bucks and snorts down the road.
Anyway, driving ahead of the moving van, we saw two policemen waving different vehicles over. They ignored us but waved the moving truck over. (This is a common practice. For ten to twenty grivne, they will usually let a driver go. It’s a way to supplement their income—even though it is really illegal.) We stopped and waited for the truck but after a few minutes Richard and our friend Yuliya, a lawyer, who was with us, walked back to see what the hold up was. After another 10 or 15 minutes, Richard called me on the cell phone and said the police were threatening to confiscate all of our things. They said it was contraband and illegal. We have vowed not to pay bribes. This just enables these people. They were looking though boxes and found a box of crayons—these had come on our humanitarian shipment to be used in the dental clinic. We had written permission for all the things—it was in the ProMed truck which was waiting for us out at the house. Yuliya was telling them that what they were doing was illegal. A customs agent appeared—he had to have been waiting down the road to be called to put pressure on detainees. He had a smirk on this face and kept saying they were going to take everything to the station. Yuliya told him that was okay but that we would be documenting everything and we would see how legal this was.
Finally, Richard and I did what we should have from the start. We went apart, bowed our heads and prayed. A couple minutes later, I was talking to Galyna at Mr. S’s office and she asked if we had one of Valeriy’s business cards. Richard had his Rada card which shows that he is a consultant to parliament. It is very official looking. We informed them that he is the director of SAI Soniachnia Svitlo. Three minutes later we were on our way. We felt this idea was a direct answer to prayer. It had been a cold, frustrating hour. But it was even harder on Yuliya. She could not sleep that night thinking about the corruption in her country.
Five days later, we left the apartment for good. I had stayed until the last day so I would have high speed internet and our Vonage phone. We have a radio phone in our village house and we are thankful for internet even though it is slow. But my long phone calls with family and friends are now at an end. When I took my modem back to the VoliaCable, I waited in the usual long line. My turn finally arrived but I had to call Richard to bring my passport in. He had been staying with the car because it had all our computers and technical equipment in it. He brought in the passport and almost stayed with me but decided to go back to the car. He had only been gone about three minutes but as he looked toward the car, he saw a large truck by it. Men had put locks on the wheels and they were getting ready to put it on the truck. He ran to it and discovered that he was parked in a no parking zone. (In this town, we didn’t even know they had such things. People park everywhere and every which way.) They finally took pity on him although they were getting a kick out of telling him it would have cost him much money. They also said that he should have parked on the sidewalk—that was okay but parking on along that side of the street was not. Go figure. We are just thankful that Richard didn’t linger in the cable office. We would have just thought the car had been stolen. We would not have known where to look for it or what to do. So we are still being looked after by our guardian angels but we are also experiencing some intense opposition. Things often come in threes. We are glad to have the three times over with. Last Thursday afternoon went well and we are now happily settling into life in a village. I’ll let you know how that that goes.
One Thursday afternoon, we sat for grueling three and a half in the Russian Consulate in Kyiv. A week before we had taken our passports and visa applications in to get visas for this month’s Commission for Children at Risk conference in Vladimir, Russia. The lady we talked to had been very nice. We told her about our organization and she asked if our purpose for going to Russia was religious. We told her it was humanitarian. At that time, I felt I should say that although SAI Soniachnia Svitlo is humanitarian that we are Christians. I felt God wanted me to witness to her but I was afraid to do so. Now I realize that I was being called to witness and I really blew it. Since we needed our passports the next week in order to buy our house, she told us there was plenty of time and to just drop them off when we were ready.
That Thursday, Richard took our passports in while I attended a ladies study group. When he did so, she told him to bring me back that afternoon so she could ask us more questions about why we wanted the visa. She told us to come at 3:30. We were there on time but were told we had to wait until 4:00. I didn’t want to get in trouble with the woman, so I tried to tell them that she had told us to come at 3:30. I probably should have kept my mouth shut. Finally, they told us to come in and sit down. We waited and watched many others in line and after 45 minutes thought they had forgotten us. So I got into the end of the line. A bit later, a man came up to me and told me to go sit down again. Those of you who know me well, know it is very difficult for me sit still for a long time. She never did ask us any more questions. The man told us there were problems with our visas as well as with several other American visas. After 3 ½ hours they told the five remaining people in the large waiting area to come in—we were all Americans. One very nice young woman that we had been talking with had her application ready but they had only taken her passport and written invitation. When we entered the lady’s office, they asked her why she was going to Russia. She told them she was going to see Moscow and attend the conference. This was another mistake we had made—not mentioning the conference. They told her that her letter of invitation was good but the rest of ours were not. This was a lie but they used it as an excuse. One man assured them that he had nothing to do with the rest of us and was going to a different conference. Our letters of invitation all came from the same agency. They didn’t ask us anything else. Anyway, we were denied our visas and now a stamp in our passports basically showing that we are persons non-gratis. I was disappointed but also felt we had been trying to do this on our own and when we are called to take a risk and share our faith, we need to do so. Our visas could not have been denied any more than they were and we would have stood up for our faith. So we learned a valuable lesson. With all that has been going on, I am glad we aren’t going now. There’s just been so much to do and we are both tired and stressed.
The next Thursday, we moved to our new house. We hired a van and Mr. S sent a ProMed truck as well. We filled this truck and took the larger one (which was half full) out to the orphanage to pick up boxes that we had stored there. (We had discovered that our things had been rifled through and many of our winter coats and clothes were missing so we wanted to get them out of there.) The truck wasn’t big enough to get them all but we packed it full. We were driving our “new” twenty-three year old Lada—a Russian built car. It had come with the house and we had chuckled because Richard had often said he thought it would be fun to have an old Lada. It only took him a few days to realize that fun was not exactly the word to describe this vehicle. The top speed is around 50 mph, the clutch sticks, and it bucks and snorts down the road.
Anyway, driving ahead of the moving van, we saw two policemen waving different vehicles over. They ignored us but waved the moving truck over. (This is a common practice. For ten to twenty grivne, they will usually let a driver go. It’s a way to supplement their income—even though it is really illegal.) We stopped and waited for the truck but after a few minutes Richard and our friend Yuliya, a lawyer, who was with us, walked back to see what the hold up was. After another 10 or 15 minutes, Richard called me on the cell phone and said the police were threatening to confiscate all of our things. They said it was contraband and illegal. We have vowed not to pay bribes. This just enables these people. They were looking though boxes and found a box of crayons—these had come on our humanitarian shipment to be used in the dental clinic. We had written permission for all the things—it was in the ProMed truck which was waiting for us out at the house. Yuliya was telling them that what they were doing was illegal. A customs agent appeared—he had to have been waiting down the road to be called to put pressure on detainees. He had a smirk on this face and kept saying they were going to take everything to the station. Yuliya told him that was okay but that we would be documenting everything and we would see how legal this was.
Finally, Richard and I did what we should have from the start. We went apart, bowed our heads and prayed. A couple minutes later, I was talking to Galyna at Mr. S’s office and she asked if we had one of Valeriy’s business cards. Richard had his Rada card which shows that he is a consultant to parliament. It is very official looking. We informed them that he is the director of SAI Soniachnia Svitlo. Three minutes later we were on our way. We felt this idea was a direct answer to prayer. It had been a cold, frustrating hour. But it was even harder on Yuliya. She could not sleep that night thinking about the corruption in her country.
Five days later, we left the apartment for good. I had stayed until the last day so I would have high speed internet and our Vonage phone. We have a radio phone in our village house and we are thankful for internet even though it is slow. But my long phone calls with family and friends are now at an end. When I took my modem back to the VoliaCable, I waited in the usual long line. My turn finally arrived but I had to call Richard to bring my passport in. He had been staying with the car because it had all our computers and technical equipment in it. He brought in the passport and almost stayed with me but decided to go back to the car. He had only been gone about three minutes but as he looked toward the car, he saw a large truck by it. Men had put locks on the wheels and they were getting ready to put it on the truck. He ran to it and discovered that he was parked in a no parking zone. (In this town, we didn’t even know they had such things. People park everywhere and every which way.) They finally took pity on him although they were getting a kick out of telling him it would have cost him much money. They also said that he should have parked on the sidewalk—that was okay but parking on along that side of the street was not. Go figure. We are just thankful that Richard didn’t linger in the cable office. We would have just thought the car had been stolen. We would not have known where to look for it or what to do. So we are still being looked after by our guardian angels but we are also experiencing some intense opposition. Things often come in threes. We are glad to have the three times over with. Last Thursday afternoon went well and we are now happily settling into life in a village. I’ll let you know how that that goes.
