update #4 -- Kyiv!

Hi everyone,

Today we arrived in Zaporozhe, where we will be for the next two weeks. Last week we spent "relaxing" in Kiev, doing some more sightseeing and resting, and we also had the opportunity to attend a wedding and visit with a Work and Witness team.

Ukrainian Wedding....
We traveled 5 hours to Vapnyarka with some folks from Kiev church for Pasha and Olga's wedding. Pastor Roma spoke, and there was the traditional exchange of rings and vows (following the pattern of western church weddings). Following the ceremony was a reception, where we were able to visit with various pastors we've already met and/or worked with, and we enjoyed good food as well.
On the way back we stopped at a halfway house for men who have just been released from prison, and they gave us a tour of the building. After that, once it got dark, was when the adventures began. Somewhere about 11pm (2 hours from Kiev), we ran over a wedge used to keep semi trucks from rolling. It punctured the fuel line, and the oil, and a few other things (I honestly couldn't tell you details) as it tumbled beneath the van. So we were stuck there for a good 2 hours, waiting for a ride back to Kiev. We finally arrived back at our apartment at 4am, safely. Looking back now, we can see that God had his hand of protection upon us, as the situation could have been much worse.

More siteseeing...
Nadine and I navigated through downtown Kyiv on our own, discovering the Kyiv Dynamo football/soccer stadium, as well as underground malls. One really neat thing was the distance marker, where we saw how many kilometers away various world cities are. On Friday, we also revisited the Caves Monastery and the War Memorial with the Susanville team, which provide a window into understanding the Ukrainian people and their way of life.

Susanville Work and Witness team...
It was great to join the Susanville team on their last day here, and we also met a couple that had graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University--they ended up joining us for most of the day of siteseeing.
In the evening, we all joined in to load a truck with banana boxes to send to Chernivtsi. I was able to see the banana box ministry nearly all the way through to the end. At home, churches on my district pack banana boxes of clothes to ship overseas where there is need. The other night, I saw banana boxes prepared to ship within the country, to an area where I have been. These boxes were going to go to Vera and her ministry with special needs children, so I had a connection and a relationship with the boxes' final destination.

Zaporozhe...
This week we will be preparing for next week's children's day camp. Tomorrow we are preparing flyers and inventorying craft supplies. Next week the children will come to the church from about 9am-3pm, and we will be joined by other leaders. Please keep these two weeks in your prayers, as well as us, the other workers, and the children and families that I hope will be touched by Christ's love. Pray also for any traveling we will be doing.

I must get going now, but thank you again for all your prayers!