Ukraine blog!

Hi all,

I wanted to let you know that I have begun a blog for this next year in Ukraine.

It can be found at ukrainejh.blogspot.com, and I'll update it periodically. Feel free to leave encouraging comments!

Also, you'll probably be able to find photos on my Facebook account! :)

If you would like to support me financially, you can do so at You + Me + KCA = Teaching Math in Ukraine.

Have a wonderful day!

It's about time for an update...

Hi to all who actually read this thing,

I figured it was about time for me to reflect on what has been going on in my life lately.

Student Teaching
On Friday, I finished teaching at Atlantic. In the morning, I thought I wouldn't really miss it, but in retrospect, I miss the students and some of the teachers.
My classes included 2 sections of 8th grade pre-algebra, 1 section of algebra 1 (8th grade), and I was supposed to teach a 7th grade math class on the last day, but that never happened, unfortunately.
Yes, it was crazy at times; yes, I need to improve on my classroom management skills; yes, I know that I cannot teach math as abstractly as I can understand. Now that I have this semester (or rather, these 12 weeks) with new ideas and new understandings of old ideas under my belt, I'm ready to implement what I've learned.

Ukraine
This next school year, I will be returning to Ukraine to teach math at Kiev Christian Academy!!! I'll be with the middle/high school students, but I'm not sure which classes I'll have just yet. During the summer, I'll be traveling to churches in MD/DE/PA/WV to raise the $10,000-$12,000 that will be used to pay for my expenses while I am there (KCA does not pay a salary). For more info you can check out http://web.nazarene.org/goto/ukrainejh, and I am working on a Ukraine blog.

Finishing Up ENC Life
During the past few days being back on campus for most of the day, I've not really known what to do with myself. I can stay up late and sleep in because I don't really have to be anywhere until lunchtime. However, I know that I have plenty of schoolwork to do -- my Education portfolio is due next Friday, I have an adolescent psychology test to take, and I have to work on things for my independent study.
It's been strange being back in the middle of the day, and it's almost like reverse culture shock. I've been out of the loop for so long about things, or I've heard about events through the grapevine. ENC is a different world from Atlantic--in fact, ENC is a bit of a bubble when it comes to knowing what's going on in the world!
People have asked if I would spend my free weeks at home, but these are my last few weeks with my ENC friends/family--I want to make every moment count!

Ukrainian History....WWII (6/27/08)

Ukraine site-seeing
Bob’s History Lesson after Caves Monastery (6/27)
-religion at its basic level is a way to make sense of the world
-orthodox worldview- only one person at the top – pyramid-like and top-down
-priests and aristocracy were literate…paintings so people can understand
-hence decorations…also national history
-philosophy of top-down comes from the church – get permission first and then be creative
-in Protestantism, reward creativity
-think outside the box—requires permission first
-influences public education
-faith through hearing the Word of God—requires literacy—Reformation and Sunday SCHOOL—otherwise work during the week
-public education here came in the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, then a high literacy rate
-1895 Spanish-American War- soldiers became teachers and built schools
-masses repeat what they heard from the top (so like apostolic succession?)
-influences the way society functions
-if you have relationships/connections, call the top person up
-take the time to understand the system before doing anything
-Icon curtain—Protestants have direct access to King

War Memorial… “Their actions will live forever, and the words are eternal”
Museum—you gotta FEEL it…hence music playing
-No women in first relief sculpture – everything is significant
-Water – to get across river – symbolic – Dnieper – Kiev – one of the hero cities
-Great Patriotic War against the Fascists = WWII (what it doesn’t say and does say, says a lot)
-broken Nazi eagle on the ground
-developing war machine in Germany
-onslaught came in June 1941 – destroyed homes, everything everywhere
-The Motherland is Calling!
-3 weeks to capture 11 countries (Germany said this)
-Operation Babarosa – German for Eastern front –Germans had positive outlook
-3 months just for getting Kiev – threw off plans -Germans told them they’d lose soccer game, but they won, so they eliminated the whole team
-May Day parade in Kiev 1941 – peaceful time, wonderful time
-test of what would happen to the people
-parents and grandparents would know these people – nostalgia (photos of famous people of the times)
-destruction, “We’ll be marching in Red Square by Christmas”
-Germans weren’t prepared for one of the coldest winters
-Leningrad portion = bread, sawdust, paper, whatever found
-3 years blockaded the city – never surrendered! Toughed it out
-Navy battles – perfect ship, never lost, never lost a person
-Hitler wanted to get to Caspian Sea – it had oil!
-Concentration camp sign – To each his own
-soap made from human fat, gloves made from human skin
-didn’t really bother with camps, just had a mass grave
-occupation of Kiev – renamed streets
-Hitler wanted a world order – army of murderers – doing whatever to make them submit (took everything, just destroyed)
-couldn’t make them submit and be slaves
-“Eastern workers” – sent back to work in fields – young folks
-there wasn’t safety in the back lines in occupied areas
-towns totally destroyed by fire
-French left their cannons back in the 1800s
-every hit of the hammer = a hit against the enemy
-Soviet flags upstairs now – something (Stalingrad/Volvograd) happened – 100% destroyed
-D-Day happened after that – Volga river dumps into Caspian Sea
-running Germans back, running them out – For Stalin! For Soviet! (look at faces)
-war not fair – this lady lost all 9 sons (village signed up as a group)
-this lady had all 5 sons come back
-captured German banners – battle at Reichstag, Berlin – Red army came, triumph!
-60 million died because of WWII – country breakdown
-China 8.2 million (#2 country for casualties)
-#1 country: Soviet Union lost 30 million people
-US lost 500,000 people, about 5,000 a day over the course of the war
-US and Soviet Union had about the same population (give or take a million) at the time
-everybody lost somebody, and you’d better not forget it
-one of the classes is how to shoot automatic weapon, take apart, shoot again
-better understanding of why they built an iron curtain
-keep out after losing so many – another perspective to Cold War
-wouldn’t let another become greater than them, because last time that it happened…
-they wanted to keep their land theirs, though they hate it (???)

Dreaming of Ukraine....two months later

This morning when my alarm went off, I had just been dreaming that I was in Ukraine. I was so sad that it was just a dream, and that I wasn't there.

Yesterday I had been putting my photos from this summer into an album, and I also saw some photos online of odd buildings/places in Ukraine and Russia. So Ukraine was on the brain.

Here's the story from my dream last night.

For whatever reason, my cousin Jen and I were in downtown Kiev and had 10 minutes until we had to be somewhere else. At the very beginning of my dream, I threw my arms in the air, so excited that I was in Ukraine.

I wanted to take her to the Caves Monastery, to which I insisted I knew the way. She reminded me of a time when we were traveling and I claimed the area looked "vaguely familiar," until we arrived. [However, I wasn't even traveling with her that time!] We proceeded to walk down the street until we got to the next intersection.

I wanted to ask how long of a walk it was till we got to the Caves Monastery, so I proceeded to ask a person passing by. First, I asked, "English?" and she said no, and explained a little bit. I'm not sure how I understood that, if I don't really understand Russian! I knew that I needed to use the word for how much (сколько), but beyond that, I think I was going to make it up as I went along. She told us it was about a 15-20 minute walk, and it was either her or one of our religion professors (not even sure how she got in my dream!!!) that said, "It's a nice walk, so it doesn't seem like that far."

Then we went a little ways farther, and came across a group of Americans, I suppose, including the aforementioned religion professor and my friend Bryan (again, not sure how he was in my dream). At this point, it was time for my cousin and I to turn around and leave, so they all shouted "BYE!" in unison. [Later I thought about how that would not be appropriate in Ukraine and would immediately mark you as a tourist/outsider.] We turned around to leave, and then...

My alarm went off. I wanted to cry! I miss Ukraine!

Ukraine 2008: A Brief Summary of Children's Ministry, Compassion, and Reconciliation

Dear family and friends,
I have recently returned from a Youth in Mission trip to Ukraine, and it was a wonderful time of playing with children, leading and helping with Vacation Bible Schools, and otherwise seeing God’s hand at work in the lives of Ukrainians. Thank you for your financial and/or prayer support that enabled my team and I to participate in this; you have played a part in ministry to others around the world! This letter will give you an overview of the two months I spent in Ukraine and will introduce you to some of the people we met, though it is impossible to fit all the stories from that time into these few pages.

INTRODUCTION TO UKRAINE
Ukrainians have been influenced by three major events/societal structures: World War II, Communism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. Everyone in the Soviet Union lost somebody in the war, and nearly every village/town/city has a war memorial and an Orthodox church. Whenever we were in downtown Kyiv (the capital city) on weekends, we would usually see wedding parties walking or driving around to the various war memorials and churches for photos in honor of their family members who served in the war. Ukraine only recently became independent, and it is mind-boggling that people I met or passed in the streets have lived what I learned about in history classes.

During our first week in Kyiv, we met a Canadian girl about our age, Charly, who had been teaching churches how to use puppets in children’s ministry. It was wonderful getting to know her! Later that week, we joined her for a Puppetry Seminar at Kyiv First Church, which gave us skills and puppets to use throughout the rest of our time in Ukraine. We also met Irina (the children’s director) and Deena, who later joined us in Zaporozhe.

CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE IN UKRAINE
The work of the Church of the Nazarene began just after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, when a missionary couple returned to the country and began hosting home Bible studies. Their translator was Vova (Vladimir), who is now the pastor of Kyiv First Church.

I found that the passage of 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 about Christians being given the ministry of reconciliation really relates to how the church is working and growing in Ukraine. Currently there are a number of churches and drug/alcohol rehab centers throughout the country (mostly in the western part) and 2-3 children’s homes. We were also able to visit 2 men’s rehab centers, one women’s rehab center, 2 children’s homes, and a halfway house for men who have been released from prison.

We also helped transfer banana boxes of humanitarian aid from the Kyiv Ministry Center to a truck that would then transfer it to Vira in Chernovtsy. As you will soon read, we had worked with her and met some of the children who would receive that aid, so it was really neat to see the banana boxes travel full-circle and have a personal connection. Also, at our last location, there was a boy who wore t-shirts with names of small towns that are on my district. That gives me reason to think that I have truly seen the final destination of banana boxes from my district.

CHERNOVTSY
On our way to Chernovtsy, we met Vica (our translator/interpreter) and Tiffany (a volunteer in Ukraine), who traveled with us for the rest of our time in Ukraine. It was wonderful having them with us -- to learn from their experiences, have some companions , and have fun with them!

In Chernovtsy, we worked with Vira Kushnir, who is passionate about helping children with special needs and their families. She says, “Compassion is my lifestyle,” and challenged us by saying that compassion is more than simply feeling sorry for a cause or a person – it means DOING something about it!

We met Sveta, who is 30 years old and has Down’s Syndrome. We helped teach her how to tie her shoes, practicing by using toy shoes. We also organized boxes of toys, occupational therapy supplies, personal care items, and school supplies for Vira to distribute.

One of the highlights (for me) of our time in Ukraine was getting to know Katya and her mom and to encourage them. Katya is 18 and has cerebral palsy, and we went to her apartment twice to sing songs, talk to her, play with her (bubbles and “soccer”), and chat with her mom. Life is difficult for her mother, because in Ukraine, very little assistance is given to those with disabilities. Her husband left her a number of years ago, she is a single mom raising 2 children, and she devotes much of her time to caring for Katya. She says that it has been wonderful knowing Vira and joining her children’s clubs, so that she can meet others in a similar situation.

TULCHIN
In the town of Tulchin, we worked with Pastor Victor to host a backyard Vacation Bible School (VBS). For about 4 mornings, we would meet with around 4 children to play games, share a Bible story and lesson, sing some songs, and share a snack. In the evenings, we would simply play with Victor and Olga’s own twin boys after they returned from daycare.

Pastor Victor is one of many Nazarene pastors in Ukraine that has come out of the drug/alcohol culture. He is now sharing that same hope, love, and new life found in Christ with others in Tulchin. He and his wife also shared with us the story of the biggest miracle they’d witnessed: he and Olga were told they would never be able to have children, and now God has given them three young boys!

ZAPOROZHE
Our time in Zaporozhe was a time of really getting to know the kids in the community surrounding the church, and then helping to host a cowboy-themed VBS during our second week. The first week included simply being at the church in the mornings for any children that might stop by to play, and so Nadine and I played basketball, ran around, and played games with them, along with letting them show us tricks they could do. Since we also needed to prepare for the VBS, a number of the kids wanted to help us decorate and advertise, so we welcomed their help in creating a cardboard street front, wall decorations, and flyers.

I got to know 7 year old Vladik throughout the course of the week, as we played basketball. He, of course, would talk to me and I would have next to no idea what he was saying; likewise, I’m sure he had no idea what I was saying either. Once he figured out that my camera could record short videos, he would ask if I could record him jumping off of a small awning, or if he could record someone else saying or doing something. His younger sister Ivana also came to play at the church, and during the VBS I helped her make an origami flower.

For VBS, we were joined by youth teams from Kyiv and Vinnytsa, as well as another American girl named Ree. The Ukraine teams primarily lead the VBS, whether it was with songs, games, crafts, origami, or Bible studies with each age group. Our role at this time became one of support, filling in wherever someone was needed. As we walked to and from lunch and the games area, we were able to talk to some of the children who also enjoyed practicing their English.

The theme for this summer’s VBS was “God’s Love Changes Everything,” and it is my hope and prayer that what the children learned and saw that week will have an eternal impact on their hearts. I hope that Anya and Marina, two teenage girls who became Christians during that week, will continue to walk with Christ. I hope that Vladik and Ivana will continue attending church, and will find that the love shown there is actually Christ’s love for them.

GORODKIVKA
Our final destination was the small village of Gorodkivka, where we would help Pastor Oleg with a 3 day VBS. This was the first one that we had completely planned ourselves, so we used ideas that we had learned from the other teams at Zaporozhe. “A vot morye” (There’s a Sea, roughly translated) was a big hit with these kids, and we had spent a few hours learning the song ourselves. Roughly translated, the song is “There’s an eye, on the fish, on the pole, in the hand, of the fisherman, on the boat, on the sea of Galilee,” and its repetition helped us to sing most of the words instead of mumbling them like we had in Zaporozhe!

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
During our time in Ukraine, we experienced new foods, traveled on trains, and saw God’s hand of protection at work. God kept us safe as we traveled with a “maniac” driver—I call him that because he was driving far too fast in a thunderstorm for my comfort—to an overnight camp in Chernovtsy. God protected us from any more trouble as we returned from a wedding in Vapnyarka; we had run over some debris in the road that damaged our fuel and oil lines, and we had to sit on the side of the road in the middle of the night for two hours. We also saw God’s provision, as we worked with some wonderful people like Charly, the Kiev/Vinnytsa teams, and Pastor Andriy at Zaporozhe.

CLOSING
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and thank you once again for providing support this summer. It was a time of learning to trust God as well as seeing God’s hand at work within the country of Ukraine.

In Christ,
Jessica

8 reasons why I am a failure at making Ukrainian dumplings

1. I am currently on the wrong side of the Prime Meridian, as my brother says.
2. I tried making vareneky for the first time, and I used too much dough.
3. I am not Ukrainian.
4. When I made said vareneky, I didn't have any sour cream to help with the taste.
5. When I made plemeny, the meat became embedded in the dough.
6. The dough is really sticky.
7. I need more practice.
8. Actually, I need to watch a Ukrainian do it first.

Let's hope that when I try to make borsch (soup), it turns out well. I don't think there's much I can do to botch the soup called borsch. :)

final update from Ukraine!

Hello everyone,

In two days Nadine and I will be returning to the States after over six weeks of ministry and travel here in Ukraine. I am ready to see my friends and family, but at the same time, I don't quite want to say goodbye to this place that has been "home" this month and a half.

I celebrated my 21st birthday in the small town of Vapnyarka. The day consisted of getting off the overnight train and spending most of our time in town before leaving for the village of Gorodkivka. We rested for a while, catching up on sleep, since our train ride was from about 1am to 7 am. Vica took us to see the new children's center--when it is ready, about 100 children and staff will be able to live there. It was great to see that even more children can be helped, and that they will experience Christ's love! We also went to the bazaar to buy a few groceries, and stopped by the meat market for a minute or two. The meat market wasn't as gross as I thought it would be (maybe because we weren't there for long), but seeing pigs' feet and pigs' snouts outside was definitely gross!

To get to Gorodkivka, we traveled about 45 minutes in a van with all our stuff (on the way back, it took close to 2 hours, since we were bumping around on back roads--picture driving through fields). It is a tiny village, in the middle of nowhere, but the views of the surrounding landscape were amazing.

For the 3 days we were there, we hosted an afternoon VBS for about 12-14 kids. Having just done VBS in Zaporozhe, we pulled a number of our activity ideas from those we had done last week: origami patterns, a puppet skit, games, and songs. The kids loved the "A vot morye" song--it is like "There's a hole in the bottom of the sea", but the verses are "There's an eye, on the fish, on the pole, in the hand, of the fisherman, in the boat, on the sea of Galilee." It is very repetitive, with lots of motions, and a few of the kids wanted to sing it by themselves in front of everyone! We told the stories of creation, the fall and Christ's redemption, and Paul's conversion over the course of the 3 days. On the second day, Pastor Oleg prayed with 3 kids who had not yet prayed to become Christians, and it is my hope and prayer that they would remain connected to the church and continue growing in Christ.

A few updates ago, I wrote about helping with banana boxes, and how cool it was to know of the final destination of those boxes. When we were in Gorodkivka, I think I finally found the destination of some of our boxes from my district. One of the boys, Sasha, had shirts with names of Pennsylvania towns on them--towns that are on my district. I am pretty sure that those shirts came from the Mid-Atlantic district!

Yesterday was our last Sunday at the Kiev church, and we said goodbye to Ira (children's worker), the Skinners, Ree (from NNU), and a few of the youth from Kiev, as they left last night for the children's camp. These last few days will consist of finishing up anything we need or want to do in Kiev, like last minute sight-seeing. We will return to El Paso for re-entry camp, and then I will return to MD on the 29th!

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement over these last few weeks. It has been a great summer of getting to know the kids here, and sharing the love of Christ with them. We have been able to partner with the churches here and their work in the communities, so that they can connect with the children. Not to mention, it is encouraging to see all that the Ukraine church is doing for children and adults here.

update #6

Hi everyone,

Nadine and I are in Kiev right now, and will be leaving soon for Gorodkivka in the wee hours of the morning.

Last week was a wonderful week of VBS/camp in Zaporozhe, with the youth from Kiev and Vinnytsia and the local kids. The theme was Tumbleweed Gulch, so we used the Nazarene curriculum from last summer. Each day from 9am to 3pm, we had songs, games, crafts, origami, lunch, and of course Bible stories with about 30-40 kids. I am glad that we were not the only ones there to work with the kids, because the youth here actually know the language. We helped in various ways, whether it was to help supervise the kids as we walked to the schoolyard for games or to the restaurant for lunch. Each morning, all the staff did a sort of dance to one of the songs, and so we were a part of that. We sang the song "God's Love Changes Everything" in Russian, and I think I know most of it....It helped that I knew the tune, but some parts of the song I would just mumble along something that sounded like the Russian. We also learned a few more kids' songs, but I don't have the words written down to be able to practice saying them. We also were asked to do games on Wednesday, so between the 5 of us, we brainstormed games that could be done. We then explained them to Vica, our translator, who then explained them to the Ukrainians.

The kids really liked to practice their English, which was great, sad, and odd to me. Some of the kids would ask me, "What is your name?" or respond to my basic questions in English. A few, like Dasha and Diana, could ask more questions (with help from some of the older girls), like if I had pets. Some of the boys, like Nikita, would ask what my name was, and respond for me, saying it was "Flower"; he was simply practicing the words he had memorized, I think. However, some of the younger boys knew a few swear words in English--I tried to tell them not to say that, but I have limited language skills.

What was really neat throughout the week was that we were able to walk with the kids, and talk to them (or at least try to). A lot of the time, I didn't know what the kids were saying, so I just smiled at them, and tried to understand what they were saying. At lunch one day, a couple of the boys were mimicking me praying (since I hoped that by looking like I was praying, since we were, they would catch on), so I told them--"I talk (to) God; I love God." I hope that God will use the seeds that were planted this week to show them His love and to know that God wants to have a relationship with them.

Two girls, Anya and Marina, were prayed for one morning. As we found out later, those two wanted to pray and become Christians. Praise God! :) Keep them in your prayers, as they begin this new life in Christ, and that they will stay connected to the local church.

On Tuesday we celebrated Nadine's 20th birthday with pizza and ice cream. Tiffany and I went on a quest for a pizza place with Andriy, finally finding one, and then bought the fixings for ice cream sundaes. We had the Ukrainian leaders in on the surprise as well--Vica even talked about the plan in front of Nadine, without her knowing what was being said (of course, it was in Russian!).

Last week we went sightseeing to the Oak Grove park with Max, one of the local guys that knows English. He came to one or two of the days of camp, and I was able to try and answer some of his questions about Jesus, like why doesn't Jesus come back now, and show himself to more people... I let him know I didn't have all the answers, and so I hope that he will find out that crawling into the lap of Jesus won't take away the questions, but it will provide peace and security.

On the evening of the last day of camp, the parents and other family members were invited to come to the church to see the kids sing their songs and recite their verses. There were about 15-20 mothers and other family members there, and as the kids watched the slideshow and shared what they had learned, there was so much energy and excitement in the room. It was great to see some of the kids at church on Sunday morning, and I hope that they continue to come as the weeks continue.

Tomorrow we are traveling to Gorodkivka, which is just outside of Vapnyarka. There we will be working with Pastor Oleg, and I think we will be doing a sort of VBS with local kids. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and work with kids. Also be in prayer for the kids of the community and for their families. This is our last assignment before we leave for the States, as well.

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!

update #3 -- Tulchin!

Hi friends and family,

Nadine and I have just returned from a week in Tulchin, where we spent the week with Victor and Olga N. and their 3 boys. Three of the mornings we were there we held Kids' Club type activities with some neighborhood children, and also spent a lot of time playing with Victor and Olga's 2 and a half year old sons Elijah and Benjamin.

Spending time with the neighborhood children...
Each morning Victor invited them over, and we had about 3-4 different children come. With the help of Vica, our translator, we sang songs, played games, told a Bible story, and had a snack with these kids who were about 10-12 years old. It was also great to have Victor involved, and on the first day two people came from church to help with music--definitely a blessing as we don't know any songs in Russian! Keep these kids in your prayers: Mira, Ina, Tanya, Dennis, and Valya.

Spending time with Victor and Olga and the kids, and their neighbors....
Nadine and I spent a lot of time with Elijah and Benjamin, playing with them, trying to keep them out of trouble. :) One afternoon, I went to where Benja seemed like he was going to climb over the fence, and tried to make sure he didn't. He ended up jabbering away to me in Russian, and I of course had NO idea what he was saying--I just matched my facial expressions to his, and added "Da" (yes) and "Opa" (wow) where it seemed appropriate. Later they told me he was telling me something about the flower that was going to eat me!
We also met their neighbor Mary and her two little children, who we visited with a few times. On Saturday, we went with Victor and the two boys to a river where people go whitewater rafting, for an afternoon of swimming and enjoying the beauty of God's creation. Today (Monday) Victor and Olga's newborn is about 3 weeks old, and we got to hold him every so often! :D

Spending time with the Tulchin church family....
On Saturday evening, Victor invited us to go to a small home group meeting just outside of town, where we met an extended family from the church. I enjoyed being able to talk with the people and see that we encouraged them through our presence and willingness to come and serve. Sunday morning we went to the church service, and though there were few gathered there, one of the congregants reminded us of Jesus saying, "Where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them." There may not always be great statistics in terms of a head count, but what counts is that Christ is here with us.

This week and next...
We are taking a few days of rest in Kyiv before we head out to Zaporozhe (southeastern Ukraine) for a children's day camp. There we will spend about a week building relationships with children and then inviting them to the week of camp. We will be joined by Ira, a children's worker at the Kyiv church, and Tiffany, a volunteer at the Vapnyarka Children's Center, and most likely other children's workers. Before that, however, we will be attending Pasha and Olga's wedding in Vapnyarka on Wednesday!

Prayer requests...
Victor, Olga, and their family
the kids we met in Tulchin and the people of the Tulchin church
Pastor Andrei and Marina of Zaporozhe and the ministry that we will be part of next week
traveling safety

Thanks again for your prayers and messages--I always enjoy hearing from you!

update #2 from Chernivtsi, Ukraine!

Hello from Chernivtsi/Chernovtsy/however you want to transliterate it, about 8 hours from Kyiv, Ukraine! We have been here for most of this week, having arrived by train on Wednesday morning.

Our week began with a visit to Vinnitsya (sp?), where we toured the House of James (children’s home) and men’s and women’s rehab centers. At House of James, you could see that the children were loved and cared for, and at the rehab centers, the leaders were helping others to escape a lifestyle of addiction and enter into a new life with Christ. It reminded me of the following verses from 2 Corinthians: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” God is at work here, through the love and guidance of people. (PS The men’s rehab center we visited was featured in the NMI reading book, “Eight Steps from the Edge of Hell”.)

When we arrived in Chernivtsi, we met with Vera, who has been leading children’s clubs for folks with disabilities. She actually recently spent some time in the hospital, due to something stress-related, so keep her in your prayers as she tries to do a lot for these kids. “Compassion is my lifestyle,” and is not just about feeling sorry for someone—it involves taking action—she said as she told us her story, and she is passionate about helping children and families of children with special needs. She would love to be able to visit with each family, but she can only do so much.
We visited Katya, an 18 year old with cerebral palsy, and her mom on Thursday and Friday. We went outside for a little while and played catch and blew bubbles together, and also were able to have tea together. Nadine and I also “sang” a song with our puppets, to a song for kids from Hillsong. Katya’s mom said that life has been difficult, because society is unfamiliar with those with special needs and does not always provide support. She really enjoyed just being able to talk to someone—she is thankful for Vera’s presence in her life as well. I pray that they were encouraged by our presence, and that God will continue to work in their lives. When we visited Sveta (who has Down syndrome), we taught her how to tie shoes, and practiced with her. We also played catch, and gave her a pink hairbrush of her very own, so that she would begin to do some more things on her own. Please keep these families in your prayers, as well as the Ukraine society as a whole, so that these individuals will one day become integrated into society.

Last night we went to a local children’s camp, and watched their final evening service, with skits and songs performed by various groups. It was good to meet some of the kids (despite the language barrier) and youth, and we also did our puppet song again.

Our traveling companions have been Victoria and Tiffany, and it has been great having them along. Victoria, 15, is our translator, and Tiffany is a volunteer at the Vapnyarka Children’s Center. We have done a lot of walking during our time here, and also visited the Chernovtsy university.

Next week (Sunday evening) we will be traveling by train and then bus to Tulchin, and we will be working with Victor and Olga (we’re likely to be working with children). Pray for our safety while traveling, and for the families and church in Tulchin. I’ve appreciated your prayers and emails so far—keep them coming! :)

In Christ,
Jessica

update #1 from Kiev, Ukraine

Hello from Kiev, Ukraine!

This week Nadine and I have been settling in and getting acclimated to life in the capital city of Ukraine. We have visited many "touristy" places and have tried the Ukrainian dishes of vareneeky (dumplings) and borsch (soup). Also, we have spent a good bit of time with Cliff and Heike, our site coordinator and his wife, and enjoyed their company. Charly, our friend from Canada, has taken us on public transportation and has been a great friend this first week here. One aspect of life here that is definitely not seen in the States is the use of sidewalks for parking and even driving--whatever it takes to find a space or get where they need to go! We have been doing a lot of walking and so it has become important to watch out for cars even on the sidewalks. :)

Charly is a children's ministries director from Canada, and she was here this week leading a seminar in basic puppetry skills for the folks at the church. This was great because we learned how to make simple puppets and how to use puppets, a skill that may come in handy later this summer. We have also been able to meet people from this church and a couple other local Nazarene churches. Tomorrow (Sunday) we will be presenting a short skit and song ("Big House") with our puppets for the kids here at the Kiev church during Sunday school.

Please be praying for us as next week (Monday) we leave for ten days to Chernovtsy. While there, we will be working with disabled children. Also, be praying for us as we work to learn the language. We have a few basic phrases down, but still have a long way to go!

Anyway, I hope you have a great day, and thanks for your prayers and support!

In Christ,
Jessica

I sing for joy at the work of Your hands

Right now I am sitting in my room and I can hear a bird singing outside. Perhaps spring IS finally reaching the Boston area.

I was in Maryland Friday and Saturday for my district missions convention, and the weather was AMAZING! Sunny, upwards of 70 degrees, not much rain...and the grass was green and the trees were blossoming. It was also great to see friends from all places, whether they were teens that I've known from camp, people from my old church that I haven't seen in a good number of years, my own family, or missionaries that happen to know other people that I know.

I went to share some about my trip this summer to Ukraine, and that (at that time) I still needed to raise $2200. Bob (our missions president) gave me the chance to set up a display with photos/stories from last summer, as well as information about my trip this year and a place for people to leave contributions if they so desired.

Once I got back to ENC and started adding the checks along with what has already come in over the website, I saw that the balance was at $2,445, leaving me with only $1,355 to go! (That's not even counting the money from our YIM bake sale that I haven't deposited yet.) God is still providing! (Of course :). ) Next weekend I am going to Worcester, MA to share about last summer and also this summer, and the pastor at Denton, MD has asked me to come visit in May during their monthly missions luncheon. Man. It's like I'm on deputation/home assignment or something. :P