Soccer Competition

Recently we had the opportunity to help put on a soccer tournament for orphanages in the Odessa area. Eight orphanages participated (some travelling as far as 3 hours), and the winner now gets to travel to Kyiv to represent our region in a national competition. It was thrilling to see so many people work together to give these young boys a chance to play organized sports. I enjoyed being on a team that visited 4 of these orphanages in preparation for this event. It was very interesting to mingle with the kids in their own setting & get a glimpse of what life is like for them. Sometimes on these excursions, after we got off the main highway the only traffic we saw was a lone bicycle or horse & wagon. But these kids proved you don’t have to live in the big city to play soccer well… on one occasion they used the muddy conditions of their “home field” advantage to great effect as they thrashed us adults!

For the actual tournament I was assigned to one of the teams to assist them with any questions they had. I was nervous with my language and copied down any soccer terms I could think of to carry in my pocket. When this team realized I was their coordinator, their expression seemed to convey that they were getting a raw deal. For the first half of the day they said very little to me, but by the end of the day they were asking me every question they could think of, from why an American would come to Ukraine when half of Ukraine is trying to get to America, to how many movie stars I’ve met (since Quincy is a popular retreat destination for Hollywood). When one of the boys found out we want to work in orphanages, he got very excited and asked which orphanages. I replied that we’ll go anywhere where the doors are open. His eyes got very big & and said the doors to his orphanage are always open! Now if we can just get the orphanage director to feel the same way….

Success or Surrender

Living in America often gave us the illusion that we controlled more of our life than we really did. That illusion is shattered here, however. In 2 Corinthians 2:1-5, Paul writes about a philosophy of missions and ministry that runs counter to our natural desires… “When I came to you, I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

         This is not a way of life that I naturally embrace. I want to come to the people here with excellence of speech and wisdom. I do not want to be here in weakness, fear, or trembling. I want to impress others with persuasive words of human wisdom, and my default mode is to place faith in my own abilities instead of in the power of God. However, I am gradually (and sometimes painfully) realizing that success here will depend far more on faithful and humble dependence than on any talent or ability I may think I have. When our limitations seem overpowering, and our presence here so insignificant, God is at work shifting the center of our confidence from what we think we can control to Him.

Banya Bonding

  The process of making friends here has proven to be challenging so far, so when I received an invitation to the Banya (bathouse/sauna) I figured I should go.  The guys all enter in their speedos (or less) but I wear trunks.... my cultural assimilation only goes so far!  It's very hot and you stay in there as long as you can stand it.  When you are dripping sweat you then run outside to roll around in the snow.  After you repeat this process a few times, you lie face down and receive a Russian "massage", which means getting beaten with tree branches all over your body.  Then they dump ice cold water on you.  It is an invigorating experience, I'll say that much.  I had some horrific nightmares about big ugly men with hairy backs after the first time I went, but I recovered sufficiently to go again.  I would prefer my male bonding over Monday Night Football, but I guess you have to go where the locals go.  The atmosphere is definitely less formal than an office or church Bible Study, and as a result of this "Banya Bonding" I have received an invitation to preach and visit an orphanage.  It is also good language practice (I've certainly learned some new words) and fellowship, so I trust God is using it! 

Stuck

I was taking our dog outside for a walk. I chose to use the elevator because Gabe saw a big, fat rat in the stairwell and I would rather not run into one. Fortunately, I've never seen one in there but I've see many right outside our apartment entrance. Our elevators work about half the time but I never thought I would end up getting stuck in one! The elevator stopped between the 4th and 5th floor. I tried to open the doors but to no avail. My next option was to call Gabe and NOT panic because that never helps the situation. I was glad that Esther was sleeping and that she wasn't stuck with us. It was cold as I could see my own breath. Gabe tried to find someone to ask who to call.  One man helpfully told Gabe the elevator didn't work.  Gabe told him that yes we know, and asked what to do since I was stuck in it.  The man just shrugged & left....thanks so much. Gabe went back to grab a crowbar to pry open the doors but that didn't work. I pushed the old, rusted "call" button not thinking someone would answer. She asked, "what happened?" I realized quite quickly that I have no idea how to say, "I'm stuck in the elevator". I told her that the elevator didn't work. She kept saying something else to me so I assumed she wanted me to describe the situation more. I told her that, "I not open the door." I should've said that I couldn't open the door but oh well, she understood me and sent a guy to come help! So Hanjik and I were in there for about 30 minutes.  Next time, I think I'll risk the rats.

Returning "Home"

Yesterday we returned to Odessa. I don't know if this place will ever really feel like home, but it's getting better.  The fear factor of approaching something completely unkown & foreign has somewhat dissipated.  Getting snapped at by a rather large Russian woman at the airport in Warsaw was a helpful wake-up call to readjust my expectations to where I was going.  After that reminder, things that used to bother us didn't matter quite as much.  Esther was very tired and cranky but that worked to our advantage as we were ushered to the front of every inspection line.  I was initially upset that our taxi driver over-charged us, but then I was able to have a brief conversation with him about why we are here.  We were able to laugh at the fact that our elevator was smeared with dog poop and never seems to work when we have luggage (although Esther wasn't laughing as she had by then wet through her clothes and had to stay outside with Sarah and the bags while I took trips carting them up 5 flights of stairs). 
        These are very minor inconveniences, but responding to them with an uncomplaining spirit is a critical aspect of living here (or anywhere for that matter).  We need to grow in this area and be at peace with the daily realities of life where God has called us.  The interaction and prayer we have received from many of you over this last month helped us toward this goal, and it made the process of returning "home" more pleasant than we anticipated.

Thanksgiving in Ukraine

We were able to have Thanksgiving with missionaries and Ukrainian seminary students. In total, we had about 60 people! We introduced these seminary students to our holiday traditions; food, food and more food! And of course a football game that one of the missionaries downloaded on his computer so that they could watch it (as well as the Macy’s parade from last year). They weren’t sure what to make of American football. A few of the guys wanted to start a game right then and there, while some of the others watched in horrified fascination before agreeing that Americans are a little odd!



We were able to have turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and even pumpkin pie! The students didn’t know what to do with the stuffing & the gravy, but the rest of the food disappeared quickly. Esther thought the cafeteria was her personal dance floor & had a lot of fun running around. Before I knew it she found a 2 liter bottle of sprite and was trying to drink out of it. Fortunately the cap was on and it was empty. 


At the end of the evening one of the students came up to me with a confused smile on his face. “I don’t think I understand the meaning of your holiday. In Ukraine for our holidays we have programs, services and rituals but all you do is get together & eat!” We really did try to explain the meaning behind Thanksgiving, but I think the food distracted him. Overall it was a wonderful evening of fellowship with brothers & sisters from all over America, as well as the former Soviet Union!




Somebody beat me to it!