Adventures in Ukraine

On my adventures I seem to meet all kinds of neat people. One for 2008 is Mr. Bean, aka Jack Duckworth from Winnepeg Canada. I met him and two other Canadians in the Dneper airport when I was leaving for the States. I didn’t catch the resemblance until it was pointed out to me by 4 other Canadians who were staying in Fischmann with us….

The last day in Ukraine was spent finishing off minor details and projects. I had finished packing suitcases and carry on bags mostly the night before. I had to disperse all of the uneaten food goods to those who would use them. Olga loves green tea so I gave her the rest of it, etc. I finished cooking the fresh veggies for a breakfast borsch (Jackie style) and drank the rest of the peach juice as well. Checked in the bathroom and under the bed for any possible left over items that I should take home.

I came with three suitcases weighing in right at 50 lbs apiece, one carry on at 30 lbs, and a computer carry on right at 20 lbs. I managed to give away all of the donated items and supplies and so was able to condense the suitcases down to two. There was a slight weight problem or I could have put them all three into one. I wasn’t sure that we could get the heaviest bag down the stairs if they were all together, so settled for two bags. I carried on only my computer and a backpack with one change of clothes in it.

At the airport Rita and Olga rode with me from my flat, and Jayne met me at the airport with roses. We laughed and took silly pictures and talked of next year. The year seems to fly by each time. I said my goodbyes and gave and received many hugs and blessings from my sisters and brothers in Ukraine, but at last, I was ready to go home. The weather had been beautiful the whole time, just like having God’s A/C on at night, and the days were comfortably cool and mostly dry.

As I walked through the myriad paths to get thru security and passport controls I caught glimpses of my sisters waiting for me. I had given them my left over Ukrainian money and said “lunch is on me”, I hope that they were able to do that together. When I reached the top of the stairs, just before getting to the terminal seating areas, I turned around and gave them all a wave. They were laughing and jumping up and down and waving at me. Laughter, mingled with tears, was the return reply. I am going to miss them so much…and I look forward to seeing my family SO much…what a sweet mixture of joy and pain.

Jack Duckworth is a Presbyterian minister who has been working at a Baptist Christian College in Zaparosia, Ukraine on a short term teaching effort. We flew on the same plane to Vienna and after talking realized that he would be staying at the same hotel. I was able to get him thru the maze at the Vienna airport to the place to get our travel vouchers for the hotel. There was a problem with his voucher and I stayed with him until it was cleared up and showed him where the airport shuttles were. When we arrived at the hotel, he spotted some fellow Canadians who were there for a sports event with their sons and they talked “Canada” stuff for a few minutes. We agreed to walk into town together and eat at the Green Door restaurant. It was nice to have conversation over dinner, and neither one of us felt like braving the “Football” (soccer in Europe) vans here for the European Games. After dinner we walked back and each promptly went to get showers and sleep.

In the morning we were on the same shuttle and shared a table at the cafe. Apparently in Vienna they can not count. There are six gates in a single waiting area, and there are less than thirty places to sit down. This leads to the “shark” method of finding a seat. You silently glide by hoping your prey will get up and you can slide into their slot. Many people sit on the floor and spread out their flotsam around them. The cafe’s nearby are not much better, with the exception of having something to eat, which makes sitting down now very costly!!

I managed to get through the gate and into another waiting area, which actually has seating for the people flying, with out too much trouble. They called the people in the nose bleed seats to come to the gate area early. What really happened was we were just moved to a separate seating area. So if you were fortunate enough to be in the last 10 rows on the air craft you were called to the gate. I wish I had a camera to catch all of the expressions on each face. In being called early, one might assume that we were boarding the air craft on time….aren’t we a silly bunch of people?? We walked past the gang way into another seating area. Each person, as I had done, stopped in the middle area and looked at the blocked entry area and wondered…”where in the world am I supposed to go now?”. Surely they are not just shuffling every one to another seating area to wait? Well….they were. Now we were unable to hear the announcement made by the crew as to when we would be boarding, etc. People would walk over, come back, stare into the next room, walk back, wives would send their husbands (reluctantly) back to ask if they were in the right place…it was hilarious! Of course, it wasn’t that funny when it happened to ME…but I was one of the first to move over, so I got to see the “gate dance” many times. Eventually, we all got boarded and settled down for the “long summers nap”.

I didn’t get to sit by myself, but at least I didn’t have to sit next to the very smelly man who came in late and was seated behind me and to my left. The young man who sat next to me reminded me of my boys! Young, cute, and asleep in five seconds! It was a very pleasant trip. My t.v. moniter actually worked and I got to see “P.S. I love you” on the way back. Definately not one that Rick would have enjoyed!

Dulles was….welllll…Dulles. Very hot in the terminal, and long lines everywhere. We were delayed due to weather and sat on the tarmac for four hours before taxiing back to the gate. We had a departure time of 5:08 and we took off sometime after 11:30, arriving in Dallas after 1:00 in the morning. Only one bag lost, and getting thru Customer Service, left us reaching home at 2:30 a.m. Wow…what a day!

Unfortunately, Ben, Sharon and Bennett were not able to meet me, so my arrival was not quite so much fun…but being that I couldn’t even utter a coherant sentence to Rick…it was probably better that not everyone was exposed to that scary sight!

I am home…thank you God…I have my family around me…thank you God…I am resting…thank you God…in my own bed…thank you God! Thank you for being a part of this blog! Till next year…and another Adventure in Ukraine…I love you and thank you all!

peace and joy in Jesus,
Jackie

Today is Monday, June the 9, and I am in Vienna, Austria. Sunday was a busy day of tears and goodbyes and ’till we meet agains’. The Bible class was well attended, and the second hour, of preaching, was done by an American who is trying to rehabilitate the Christian College here. He, apparently, preached a good sermon for everyone. We were in children’s classes so did not get to hear him. After wards there were many tears and many hugs and many “give our greetings to…” on all sides.

The ladies here repeatedly said “tell you church thank you” , “tell your husband thank you”, “tell your family thank you”…

So here it is THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

You all are much loved and thanked by me and by your brothers and sisters in Ukraine. I have had a wonderful time here. I think the time was productive and well used. Of course, I always feel like I could have/ should have done more while I was here….but I do what I can! I thank God for the beautiful weather, it was so nice and not too hot or too cold. I kind of enjoyed His A/C while I was here!

Expenses were much higher than in previous years, inflation…exchange rate ratios…price increases on food, etc….but I was still able to leave some money here that will be used this winter for the orphans in the Dawn, the Baby House, and the Childrens Hospital. I had many opportunities to visit with the people in this congregation and encourage them to continue on in their battle, not with flesh and blood, but with the darkness that rules this world! I hope that the words of encouragement reached their mark and were healing. I hope that the Ladies Bible classes were helpful and strengthening in their faith. If that is true, I believe I have done what you all sent me to do. Children were loved on, ladies were fellowshipped with, brothers and sisters were encouraged, Jesus was preached!

I am in Vienna and the weather is holding out to the good. No storms cancelling flights, no heat that is unbearable! They are having soccer “things” here, so the city is full of tourists. In other words, Jackie is not leaving the Fischmein hotel to go into Vienna! I met a Presbyterian minister who was teaching at the Baptist Christian College in Zaparosia. I helped him figure out his hotel accomadations and get to his transportation site. We are staying at the same hotel We walked into town together and had a very pleasant meal at The Green Door. It was so nice to eat  with someone whose native language is English! Although he is Canadian, I could understand every word that he said!   And after a 2 1/2 hour flight sitting next to a Russian man who needs to be “Sure” (as in ‘raise your hand if you are Sure), he was a pleasant person to eat with.

Now I am getting the concert from the people upstairs. So hopefully they will quieten down soon and I will be able to sleep tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day. I arrive in Texas around 7:30 p.m. and I am really looking forward to seeing my family and the friends who come to the airport!

I love you all and will see you soon, Lord willing.

Jackie

I had one of my first REAL Ukrainian experiences this year. I got on a van that was FULL and even more people got on after me! The van is an 18 passenger van…18 seats…there were 18 people sitting…and 7 people in the aisle….and two people in the doorway (Olga and ME)…and several more people got on after wards! No air at all. The windows did not open and there was not a vent hole in the ceiling! It was hot, stinky, and very crowded…I LOVE this country! We had a long trip to get to the Baby House and since we had not seen that number of van (135) in over 25 minutes, we took the crowded one and held on for dear life!

The morning started out bad for me! I put my money in a safe place…Rick…DO NOT START WITH ME…and could not find it. Then I remembered the suitcase we had moved in was now at the church building so we had to go there and get the money (I needed some to buy diapers for the Baby house). After getting to the church building, I discovered that it was not all there. Then I started racking my brain for where my other “safe” place was. We went back to the flat, tore it apart, and GRACE of God, found the other money! Thank you for your continued prayers!

THEN…we exchanged money…left on the crowded van…walked 1/2 mile from van stop to the Baby House…visited with my babies…and…I’ve got great news! Lena, the little deaf girl is only waiting on some paper work, they have found her a family from Italy. We were so excited for her! Sorry Debbie! And we also learned sad news. Joanna is not considered adoptable because she is “sick”. I don’t really know what that means, but the doctors said no, so the family that desparately wanted her, could not adopt! God has plans for that little girl, let us all keep her in our prayers!

After the Baby House, we went to visit with Natasha and her twins. It was a much needed visit as she has been house bound so often with the babies! She welcomed the fellowship so much. She shared a wonderful fruity cake and tea. Then we went to Tanya Strukulenko’s flat and visited with her and her daughter, Nastya. She is a delightful lady and we enjoyed the fellowship there. She “made” a wonder fruit tart and an ice cream cake. Not the way LaVern Baker “makes” things…but the way I make things…the “WalMart” way! She bought them at a little market and we all laughed about her culinary skills! After we left there, we visited Alexander, Irina, and Vasily Feldman. Vasily is a child prodigy. He is delightful, strong willed, creative, and quite a handful. He has composed and written lyrics for several pieces of music. He is quite accomplised in English, painting, sports, literature, and the piano. He played several classic pieces and sang very “opera” like (laughing all the way). It was an interesting concert. He is the only child of an artist and and an architect. They homeschool him because they do not like the school system here.  He was precious. And all of this at 8 years old!

We left there after having cherries, strawberries and water. I was about “sugared” out! I got home after 10:30 p.m. and fell into bed!

This morning I was up at 6:30 because I needed to buy flowers for Jayne. Her best friend passed away from cancer and she was going to the funeral. In fact, she had to plan it because the woman had not other family. She appreciated the thought, and I didn’t want her to go with out some kind of beauty for a terrible day. I did learn that in funeral the number of flowers have to be able to be divided by 2, so any even number is for a funeral or sad occasion. Any other type of occasion can have an odd number of flowers, but not a funeral. Very interesting.

Well it is time to go to class now. I hope to blog again before I leave here…hoping to have a WIFI moment again. I love you all!

peace and love in HIm,
Jackie

Zoya was happy to report that the squirrel is alive and doing well! Her bite is also healing very nicely. Thank you Cathy for reminding you to give this praise report!

We had a wonderful Lord’s Day and worsipped together with our brothers and sisters. I taught children during their “Bible Hour”. We did the lesson of Moses in the river and the children loved cutting and gluing the picture of baby Moses. It was a good time.

After church services and lunch we visited with Natalie at the hospital, and then went to the home of Galina and visited with her for awhile. It makes me appreciate our health care. We should send our politicians to Ukraine where they can see what fabulous health care we have in the United States!

Natalie was on the fifth floor and the elevator did not work. So anyone wishing to see the patient must climb the stairs. There is NO: electric bed, t.v. in the room, call button, medications given by the hospital (you bring your own with you or have someone bring it to you)(actually, they do give some, but not very many), she had her own dishes from home for her food to be served in, and it looked like sheets from home as well, (but I am not sure about that), there was no A/C, no tray table, no nurses just a few feet away to see to your needs….Thank You God for your provision of health care!

After we were finished visiting with those two shut ins, we went to Jayne’s flat. She had washed my clothes in her washing machine and dried them on her portable clothes line. I didn’t really mean for her to DO my wash, I just wanted to drop them off with her and I would come back later and wash them in her machine and take them wet to my flat and dry them on my line.

By the by…I moved. I only moved down the hall to Julia’s flat, but I did move. Galina has been in London the whole time I have been in her flat, so she is back now. Actually, it was quite a surprise to see her on Sunday morning. I had almost all of my things ready to go at 8:30 a.m., when the doorbell rang at 7:30, I thought my interpreter was very early…so I answered the door in my P.J.’s!!! Who should be standing at the door….Galina…and her lady friend…and her guy friend!! I tried to tell them that I wasn’t dressed to have people in the flat, but they insisted on coming in…so I opened the door wide and ran to the other room for some REAL clothes! They just dropped off their bags and left…thank you…and then I finished showering, brushing, and washing all the things that I was starting to shower, brush and wash before they came!

When Olga arrived, we quickly moved all of my things to Julia’s flat. The bed is shorter by about 4 inches, but it is SO much more comfortable I don’t care if my feet hang off! The flat is cool, clean, and has a good bathroom! I know it will do for the last week of my stay!

Monday morning we went back to the public school and talked with Jayne’s classes. It wasn’t a Bible lesson, but I was able to explain to them why I was there and what I was doing, as well as be an ambassador for the church and the U.S. It was a good class. We went several places after that trying to buy things that were needed for the Baby House, Tamara’s hospital, and the Dawn. I almost have everything that I needed to get.

We then went to Friday’s for lunch. (now I don’t want any of you to think that I am advertising for them, but they give us a discount, and we are working toward getting a meal for 1 grevna, you all know how all of those “buys x amount of meals and get 1 free” deals works!!) AND…since they are a U.S. company, they have chips and salsa that are a pretty fair imitation of the real Texas deal!! So, of course, I bought them. The Ukrainians think it is too hot…Rick…you know the kind of salsa I LOVE…welll…they have it here! So you know that it is NOT too hot! We also ran into the group of Mormon elders who were having a great time. There were 12 of them and one had a birthday so it was very funny to watch them all laughing and talking in English. There was actually one young man from Houston! Of course, we forgave the rest of them for not being from the grea state of TEXAS!

We have skyped some people, emailed some people, and blogged! So, I guess I only have to say how much I love you all and how much I appreciate what you are doing. Please continue to pray for me and my family!

I love you very much.

peace and love in Him,
Jackie