Our First 3 Weeks in Ukraine...

March 19, 2007

Well, tomorrow marks the end of our third week here. In some ways, I can't believe how quickly it's gone by, and in others, I can't believe how much has happened. You may wonder, what have we been doing the last few weeks...well, here goes...

-We moved. Very quickly we realized that if we continued to live in the apartment we were first at we would be spending a lot of time and money on marshutka's (local transit, basically). All of the main leaders at the Shelter have recently moved to be in the same neighborhood as the Shelter, and live within a 10 minute walk from there. One of the couples, Sasha and Lesya, invited us to live with them until we find an apartment of our own. We've been living with them for the past week, and are having a great time getting to know them. Lesya has been studying English in University and Sasha has a pretty good vocabulary too, so communication isn't a major problem! Many of our conversations are helped with a Russian-English dictionary and charades, which leads to a lot of laughter. I honestly don't think I've ever laughed so much, trying to communicate. Dave and Sasha are having a lot of fun together, as they are both bass players and share a love of music. For the last week, they've been doing "show-and-tell" with each other, playing their favourite bands and music, and discussing plans for the Shelter studio. We are so thankful for their gracious hospitality and light hearted spirits. They've also been informally teaching us Russian at meals...we've learned important words like fork, spoon, knife, plate, cup, mug, kettle, pillow, etc...We know how to say that we want lemon in our tea, or milk in our coffee and that we're tired. Very handy words!

-We spoke at a University and a church: Last week Lesya invited us to come speak to her English class about Canada, and we happily did. Her professors were very happy to have an opportunity to speak with people whose first language is English. Yesterday was our first Ukrainian church experience. About half-way through the singing, someone from the church came and asked us if we would share with the church about how we came to be in Ukraine. We had about 10 minutes to prepare. I hope that in the future we will remember this experience, and be more prepared even before we get to church, just in case!
-We've been participating in Shelter activities and meetings (well, attending meetings, not really participating! Language is a very important part of communication!). We've met many of the youth who come to Shelter throughout the week and are having fun playing "Uno" and "Mennonite Madness" with them. They are very patient with our lack of language, and cheer us on any time we try to say something. Many of the girls give me hugs and kisses when they leave to go home, and have been very friendly to me. We've also been helping a bit with the English classes, and taught the kids at Children's Shelter (Saturdays) the song, "Head and shoulders, knees and toes...".
-Dave has had many musical opportunities already...he's joined a band "Smak soli" (Taste of Salt) with the guys at Shelter, and is playing electric guitar. They are excited to have his input and different sound. Last Thursday we drove to a city about 400km. away so the band could participate in a band competition. It was really good for us to see more of the country side. It's becoming more and more clear that most of the country, except for a few "pockets" of wealth is in poverty...from the potholes, to abandoned homes and construction sites, garbage everywhere, and people stumbling around and falling over from drunkenness, and picking through the garbage. It feels like everywhere we look we can see things falling apart, and that things that once were beautiful are now littered with garbage and broken glass, and crumbling cement. I often still feel like I'm experiencing our surroundings the same way I experience a movie--at arms length, watching from a distance but not really entering in. I hope and pray that I will not be hardened to these things but that my heart would be soft and that I would really be able to have empathy and compassion, and gain understanding for the people who have only known the hopelessness they feel here.
-Tomorrow Dave will begin helping a new band develop songs and grow as musicians. They are called "Dead Spirit". Dave is hoping that by the time he is done working with them they won't be called "Dead Spirit" anymore! This Saturday, if everything works out, Dave is going to begin helping develop an all-girls band and an all-boys band from one of the local orphanages that our friends the Halonen's are very involved at. The idea is to give these kids an opportunity to try something they wouldn't have had the chance to do otherwise, and to inspire their creativity. This is one of the many unique ministry ideas the Halonens have and we are very excited to help them out whenever we can.
-Together, Dave and I are planning to spend time every day on our Russian and praying together for the Shelter ministry, and then participating at the Shelter any way we can. We see these things as the most important things we can spend our time on right now.
Well, thanks for your time and friendship! Sorry no pictures yet! We hope to get some up soon!

Love,Bethany