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.
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Hi Vicki!
I met you last year at the KCWF Christmas party! I am glad that you are surviving in Ukraine and still here! :)
Love your blogs! Keep up the good stories. The good stories will never end here!!!!!
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I met you last year at the KCWF Christmas party! I am glad that you are surviving in Ukraine and still here! :)
Love your blogs! Keep up the good stories. The good stories will never end here!!!!!
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