Home and safe

And tired... Thank you once again to all of you who have offered up your love, support, and prayers to our team. We were truly, truly blessed to have had this experience, and each look forward to many more missions in the future!

The last day...

Today everyone was on their own for the first time since we met at the airport. I encouraged (ok, more like insisted) that everyone employ the "buddy system", and not venture out on their own. So, we split into two groups. Dorothy, James, Pat and Emma headed one way down Andrassy Ut, and Gene, Dan and I headed the other.

The first group used to morning to visit the beautiful St. Stepehen's Basillica. It is named after the patron saint of Hungary, and their first king, Stephen (or Istvan in Hungarian, a language that is beyond my scope of understanding), who united and Christianized the country at the end of the 10th century. A beautiful building from the outside, apparently it is large enough to hold 8000 worshipers for one service... An amazing feat in and of itself. They then had a quick lunch and headed to one of the art museums that is around Heroes Square. Pat and Emma left after a little while, and James and Dorothy made plans to meet at a particular place at a particular time... You know what they say about the best laid plans, right? Dorothy inadvertently missed their rendezvous - James came back to the hotel looking for her. Then, went back to the museum. And there she was! When they returned, I asked Dorothy if she knew that she was lost. She replied, "Well, no! I knew right where I was!" :)

Dan, Gene and I spent most of our day at the same museum that the rest of the group went to. It is a fascinating collection that covers many years of art history throughout the world. We participated in a short tour in English of the Flemish and Netherlandish (their term) art housed in the museum, led by a lovely young lady named Holly from Austin. She volunteers at the museum, living in Budapest as a result of her husband's job. The museum has an amazing history - it's only about 100 years old, as are many of the landmarks here in Budapest. They were built around the turn of the century to commemorate the 1000th anniversary (yes, that is supposed to be thousand) of the establisment of the Hungarian state. It was used as a hospital during World War 2 and suffered a direct hit during the bombing of the city, which caved in the ceiling and damaged many of the works of art in the building. While it appears that the roof was repaired during the Soviet regime, not much else was apparently done to the building. The Soviets were not into repairing the national monuments of their occupied states... It is currently, though, under a new curator, who is working diligently to repair and restore the building, and you can see the results of the efforts all over the building.

We are all pretty exhausted; the prospect of a 4 a.m. trip to the airport is not very exciting for any of us, but we are anxious to get home. We have created many friendships, both in Ukraine and among our team, and are looking forward to the future development of those relationships. We will see you all very shortly!!

Hugs and kisses to all!!

Fun in Budapest

The hospitality of Ukraine continues to astound me. Vova's parents, Volodya and Anna, had us to their house for lunch following a powerful service on Sunday in the Perechyn church. Anna is an amazing cook, and they really went out of their way to make sure that we were comfortable and happy during our stay. Their house is beautiful, in the heart of Kamyanitsa. Volodya has done much of the woodwork on the inside of the house, and we were all blown away by his craftsmanship. My new Ukrainian mother sends greetings to all, but especially to my mother - she said to tell you "Privet".

We arrived in Budapest safe and sound last night. The main street near the hotel, Andrassy Ut, has been closed for the past 2 days for a street festival (crazy keyboard, can't find the exclamation point). It looks like our timing was just perfect. The border crossing is the most tedious part of the trip - going from Ukraine to Hungary took us 2 hours (again, imagine exclamation points). But, from there it was smooth sailing. Our driver brought us back to Budapest a different way than we came in, which wasn't as beautiful but was much, much faster. We had been given "Ukrainian takeout" when leaving the Nehemiah Center - sandwiches, boiled eggs, juice, water, yogurt (no spoons), and some wonderful wafery kind of dessert thing, which we ate once we arrived at the hotel. Dan, Gene, James and I decided to investigate the street fair, and upon finding it closed decided to meander our way down to Heroes Square for some nighttime sight seeing. It was beautiful (insert exclamation points). I have been given temporary membership into the boy's club, as I seem to gravitate towards hanging out with them.

This morning, we had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and then went on a "three-hour tour" of Budapest, sans Gilligan. The city is beautiful, and a picture of European grandeur. After the tour, we walked to the indoor market place for a little touristy shopping. Dan and I stayed after the other 5 decided to go back to the hotel, and are now on our way back to the rest of the gang. We will find a great place to eat tonight, and those who are game are going to take a nighttime stroll to the Danube - it is beautiful all lit up at night.

Sorry for the lack of pictures - wireless internet is outrageous at the hotel and I don't have any way to put pics on the computer at this cafe (forgot my cord). We will be home on Wednesday, and I think we are all looking forward to a good night's rest in our own comfortable beds (many exclamation points).

We all love and miss you, and have felt your prayers during our time away.

A play day!

Saturday September 20^th

Today was a tourist day. We visited the ruins of a castle, saw the ruins of one of Kruschev’s dachas and had a picnic. Summer is finished here, judging by the weather we’ve had this week, so we got in a lot of walking in the cold and drizzle. Only after we got here did we learn that September is about the wettest month of the year in this part of Ukraine. August might be a better choice for future trips – if we can afford the airfare.

Tonight we are all getting packed so we can leave for Budapest tomorrow. After a couple of days playing tourist there, we will head home on Wednesday. My speculation is that we are all ready to get on the plane headed for home. It’s been a good mission and we all have created some fantastic memories but all good things must end.

Gene

Busy, busy days

Well, our week in Ukraine is beginning to wind down. Thursday was our last day of bible school, and our last day of work in Perechyn. The weather has been most uncooperative – it’s rained every day, and seems to be getting colder as the week progresses. Despite the rain and the cold, however, we have managed to continue the work of building relationships among the members of the Ukrainian Methodist Churches in this area. On Thursday, several of the members of the Perechyn church came to observe the last day of bible school. One of them, in particular, is a gentleman that we visited in his home last year. He was in the building talking with Gene, but as soon as I walked past his face lit up. He remembered me!! It was extraordinary. We talked about the work that is being done (with the aid of an interpreter, of course) and the visions for the church. He asked if I was coming back next year. I told him I would like to, but that we will see what God has in store for me.
The caretaker of the church, Misha, told me that they would be able to find me a young, handsome husband if I wanted to move to Ukraine! I thanked him for the offer, and told him that I don’t need a husband! But, that it’s good to know that I have a home here should I ever need one.
Friday was supposed to be our last work day, but instead we were treated to a personal tour of the Uzhhorod Castle by Sergei, a nice walk around the outdoor folk museum, and lunch with Vasilly. Sergei says, “With Vova, you work. With Sergei, you have fun!” And fun we had. I cannot say enough how generous and giving of themselves our hosts are.

If anything, everyone has learned two things this week. And they are very important lessons, I think! The first is who the boss is (me!). The second is that said boss is always right! And, I have the pictures to prove it... :)

Another day in Perechyn

Thursday, September 18th

Today we basically did more of the same – sifted sand, ate and helped with Bible school. We did find time to take an hour walk through the neighborhood to take photos. Jennie, Dan and I were the daring three. On our walk we talked to a lady who happened to see us walk by her house. Jennie speaks enough Russian to communicate with her but when I told Dan in English he couldn’t photograph two young ladies who were walking by, she laughed. Apparently she understood at least a little English. We were also able to interact with some workmen building a chimney and some teenagers playing soccer.

The children in Bible school continue to amaze me. They keep coming back to do American crafts in a language they don’t understand, listen to a story in a foreign language and participate in a song – still in a foreign language. They get rowdy, just like all children, but settle down almost immediately when told it’s time to be quiet. I can’t imagine my grandchildren behaving so well. They are beautiful children and I am truly blessed to have been allowed to observe them – and pass out the candy as they left for home.

Tomorrow we go to the Trans-Carpathian Museum to learn something about the history and the people of this part of Ukraine. We will probably do some shopping and get some rest before going to the soup kitchen at the Methodist church to help or observe, depending on what they will allow us to do. No doubt it will be an eye opener for us, but at least it’s not sifting sand.
Lest you sense some complaining about the sand, forget it. We were happy to be doing whatever we could to help get the church built and the only moaning you’ll hear from us is from sore muscles and joints. We are tired but happy people tonight.
Gene

Sifting gravel is fun!

Today was the most exciting day we’ve had all week. The rain let up for most of the morning, and for a brief time the sun actually showed its face! Well, sort of… It was still behind the clouds. Volodya, who is the construction coordinator for the church building and Vova’s father, is convinced that the sun will come out tomorrow. I guess we will see…

In the meantime, Gene, Dan, YuriGeorge, and I worked on shoveling a large pile of gravel through a makeshift sifter to get the largest of the stones out of it. YuriGeorge is one of our translators – his Ukrainian given name is Yuri, the English equivalent of which is George. He goes by George when interpreting, as it is easier for English speakers to pronounce, but was also introduced to us as Yuri. It’s been very difficult for me to call him George, and many of us keep flipping back and forth from calling him Yuri to calling him George. Back to the sifting – the larger stones are being used in the floor of the forming sanctuary to level it out. I’m not quite sure what the rest of the gravel pile is being used for… I’m sure that there is a specific use for it, as nothing in this country seems to go to waste.

Emma, James, Dorothy, Stephan, and Volodya worked on cleaning up the property where a road runs along the side of the church property. There is a drainage ditch that catches not only water but debris, and the grass grows wild and high. They raked up the grass and cleaned the debris out of it, then moved it over to a compost heap on the property. This is quite a job – the property line along the side is quite long. Stephan is our other translator. He worked with the group last year, and really has a passion for ministry. Volodya is like a Ukrainian hummingbird. He has so much energy, and just moves so much! He is also very caring and concerned about us. He will not allow us to work in the rain because he is afraid that we will get sick. It doesn’t help that my allergies have been in full effect since we got here, making it seem more likely that one of us (me, in particular) will get sick. I seem to be collecting parents all over the world… I now have a Ukrainian father and mother in Vova’s parents who are watching out for my welfare here (feel better Mom?)!

Pat used the time we were working to prepare for Bible School. She’s doing a wonderful job with the kids! They are one of the most participatory groups of kids I think I’ve ever seen. They want to be a part of the program. One little boy has showed up early the last two days – yesterday around 4 p.m. for a 5 p.m. program and today even earlier than that. It just makes your heart go out to them. They love to sit and color before we begin the bible story (with the aid of an interpreter, of course), and have really enjoyed the crafts that Pat prepared for them.

We continued our “tour of Ukrainian food” today. One thing is for sure, we are definitely not starving! Vova’s mother, Anna, has been cooking lunch for us all week. Our lunches and dinners both begin with a soup course. Lunch today was stuffed yellow peppers!! Anna is an amazing cook!!! I have never had food as wonderful as I have here on a daily basis…

While we are having a wonderful time building the relationships with our Ukrainian hosts, please pray for sunshine tomorrow! We would really like to continue working on the church, and are so excited to see it take shape.