EXPANDED PRAYER LETTER

It has been more than two months since I wrote on the blog.  In February I had a rotten cold and no enthusiasm as well as going to the Field Meetings and helping with hospitality.  In March we moved and everything seemed to be on hold.  It's April, the flowers are beginning to bloom and the trees are budding.  I need to get caught up.  To begin with I am posting here our current prayer letter which I just wrote, although I am expanding it somewhat with more pictures and details.  It will give you a month-by-month rundown of our time in Ukraine so far.  This is my rough draft which has been approved and sent to WGM for formatting and printing, so it won't look as good as the final copy.  However, you will be the first to see it.

TRANSITIONS

MAY, 2010

Wow! When the Lord decides it’s time to do something special in our lives, He really gets to work! In October, 2009, we were not sure we were ever going to get to Ukraine, in November we were packing and closing our house, and the first week of December we arrived in Berdyansk. Hectic? Yes. Wonderful? Definitely.

We have had five months to settle in and adjust to our new surroundings, including our first winter in this northern climate. Actually, our winter here was much milder than in the U.S.  Everytime we heard about another blizzard or storm there, we were doing pretty good here in Ukraine!  So, what have we been doing? Here’s a brief rundown of our time so far.

December: Settling into our small apartment in the Home of Hope, learning to shop, enjoying Christmas. Thank you, Lord, for helping us learn how to shop in another language.

January: We enjoyed Christmas a second time, as we celebrated on January 6 of the Eastern Orthodox Church calendar. We went to Hungary in January, getting our long-term visas to come and go from Ukraine for four years. We got the visas with no problems, saw a little bit of historical Budapest, and got back to Berdyansk without any weather difficulties. Thank you, Lord, for smoothing the way ahead of us.

Filling out our visa applications in the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest.

Enjoying some sight-seeing in Budapest on a very cold day.

February: Important field meetings were held in February to do strategic planning and look ahead to the next phase of work in Ukraine, and at that time missionaries Bill and Betsy Tarr announced that they needed to leave the field for medical reasons. We know they will appreciate your prayers as they look ahead to find the Lord’s plan for them. They will be missed. 

Bill and Betsy live in Ocala, Florida.  What a change for them from the cold weather in Ukraine.

Our other missionary colleagues here are Bill and Oksana Brower. Their main focus is on youth ministries and the bookstore in the ministry center. We thoroughly enjoy working alongside them. We praise you, Lord, for the ten years of service that Bill and Betsy Tarr have given to Ukraine, and we praise you for the outreach ministries of Bill and Oksana Brower.

The Deweys with Oksana and Bill Brower, the current WGM team in Ukraine.

BUT, the departure of Bill and Betsy left gaps in the ministries here, and we were asked to fill those empty places. Frank is now the field treasurer, taking over from Betsy. He had some experience of this in India, so it was not a huge adjustment for him. He is also in charge of the Berdyansk Training Institute. This is one ministry that has great potential, but it has been difficult to get it up and running effectively.

Chris is in charge of the Institute library and will be getting it organized and hopefully training a Ukrainian to do the work in both Russian and English languages. Pray that the right person can be found to do this. Chris also goes to the First Stage Orphanage once a week with Bill Brower to be involved with the small children there. As the hostess for the ministry center, she takes care of overnight guests and their needs. Making beds and doing laundry! Thank you, Lord, for a good washer and dryer.

March: The Tarrs left on March 6 and two weeks later we moved into their large apartment where the treasurer’s office is located in the Home of Hope. As we settled into our new home, Frank settled into the treasurer’s work. Unfortunately his first month on the job was also the last month of the fiscal year, so he had his hands full getting everything done according to the needs of the WGM Accounting Department in the U.S. Thank you, Lord, for helping him with this new work.

April: Spring is here! The tulips, violets, daffodils, crocus and irises are popping out of the ground and the trees are budding. Every day that we walk outside I take along my camera hoping to get some pictures of the first flowers.  The tulip buds are just about ready to bloom.  I'll put pictures on the blog when they do, along with other flowers. We celebrated Easter with the Bethel Church in Berdyansk and participated in an afternoon procession through the downtown area proclaiming that Christ is Risen! It was a cool, but sunny day, and the atmosphere was joyous and uplifting. 

The big sign at the front says, "Jesus Christ, Savior for Ukraine."  Other signs say "Christ is Risen!"

This little girl is the daughter of one of the lay leaders in our church.  Her name is the Russian equivalent of Bethsheba.

In April we began talks with Pastor Arkadi of the Primorsk Church, 25 miles away, to see if there is a way that we can be involved in the ministries of the church there. Please pray that the people of Primorsk will find the right place for us to serve them and build up the congregation through our teaching ministries. We are eager to get with the people and do something practical and long-lasting in the churches here. 

Last weekend Frank and Bill went to Primorsk to help the church clean up the property it is buying for summer camps and other activities.  It is an old farm with the house and other outlaying buildings.  The house is pretty dilapidated, but after it is cleaned up it could be used for the kitchen or even for sleeping.  The ladies of the church actually started planting some potatoes and garlic in one of the fields.  They will probably use the produce in camps, or sell it in the local markets to raise money.  Frank and Bill worked together to prune back the trees of a small apricot orchard on the property.  Bill wielded his chain saw and Frank dragged the lopped-off branches and twigs to one place where they could be taken care of later.  The property is about three kilometers from the seashore, so it won't be quite as convenient for that as we had hoped.  But the church is excited about the possibility of great summer activities there.  We praise you, Lord, for a lively church that is enthusiastic about serving you.

Igor (left) works at the Home of Hope, and Pastor Arkadi.

The ladies planting in the field.

Bill Brower and the chain saw.

Without your help we could not possibly stay here. Your prayers give us strength and grace for every day’s needs. Our biggest challenge right now? The Russian language. English is used very little. We can read the script; we know some vocabulary; actually, Frank has learned a lot of vocabulary, but putting it all together with the proper grammar is a huge struggle. We don’t need to be fluent for the time we will be here, but we would like to be able to have simple conversations with people in shops and at church. Pray for us that the Lord will give us a mind to study and the memory we need, as well as opportunities to practice as much as possible. We trust you, Lord, for help in every need, including the Russian language.

Without your help financially we won’t be able to stay long. As the economy improves in the U.S., perhaps the Lord will ask you to take support in our ministry. You can go online to http://www.wgm.org/ and follow these links: Fields—Ukraine—Those Who Serve—Frank and Christine Dewey—Support our Ministry. That final page will give you various financial options.

Finally, you can keep up with our adventures in Ukraine through our blog, www.deweydiary.blogspot.com, or on Facebook when you look for Christine Taylor Dewey. These websites have more details and more pictures of our lives as we serve the Lord in the place where He has put us.

We praise you, Lord, for all the people in the U.S. who have supported us through prayers and finances, some of them for many years. Bless them, Lord, and supply their needs through your riches in Christ Jesus. Amen.

UKRAINE WINTER

I've been thinking about all the interesting things we are seeing here in Berdyansk.  I thought I would share a few with you:  winter impressions.

• Hats.  Everyone wears hats.  The middle-aged and older ladies wear what we would consider to be old-fashioned hats, some are shaped like big pillboxes (remember those from the 1950s?), some are asymetrical in shape, some are huge furry creations that have little tails at the back.  The younger women wear cute knitted hats that fit closely to the head, the kind that look great if you have long hair and an unwrinkled face :).  I am dying to take some pictures, but feel a little awkward about pointing my camera in their faces, especially if I'm just out on the street.  At the Primorsk church a few weeks ago one of the ladies insisted I needed to use her long scarf to put over my head to keep warm.  I don't usually wear hats, although I do have several knitted hats.  The men wear hats too.  Remember seeing on TV in the 70s and 80s pictures of Russian leaders standing outside the Kremlin wearing big fur hats?  Well, some men here still wear those hats.  I have heard that the best fur is very expensive now.  Ten years ago it was much cheaper. 
• Coats.  Of course everyone wears coats, even me.  But the style of coats is interesting.  Older women love long, sometimes floor-length coats.  They're no fools, they want to keep their legs warm.  Lots of women wear fur coats, probably faux-fur, but some look real.  The fur coats look like the fur coats of the 1950s-60s.  But they also look warm.  The younger women usually wear hip-length modern style coats, lots of padded coats, often with hoods that are trimmed with fur.  No one has a coat like mine, which I love and which is very warm.  It was given to me by Laura, and is pretty much right in style in the U.S.  It has a hood too, for which I am very grateful since I don't wear hats much.  Some younger women wear long coats trimmed with fur.  Fur is very big here.  I can understand why, but some of the fur is purely decorative and probably doesn't do much to keep people warm.  Besides brown or black fur I have seen purple "fur", red "fur", pink "fur" and blue "fur."
• Cars.  I have yet to see shiny clean cars here.  The weather tends to keep cars dirty, so why take the trouble to wash them?  I guess I have seen one or two clean cars, but it may be that they were dark in color and the dirt didn't show much.  A lot of cars are white, and they look utterly filthy on the outside.  Whenever I get into a car or bus I am very careful about not brushing up against the vehicle and getting dirty.
• We live across the street from a big school and I watch the children play outside.  They don't seem to mind the cold, they are running and talking, sliding on the sheets of ice, just generally doing what kids do in the wintertime.  It is in the low 20s outside now and it is noontime here.  The kids are outside on their lunch break, seemingly unconcerned about the cold.
• I love the strollers for the babies.  They are well padded and have a thick cover that is pulled up over the baby and zipped all around to keep the little ones warm.  Of course the babies have blankets over them too.  The toddlers are bundled up so heavily that they can hardly walk, let alone run.  They have long padded leggings, coats, and thick hats with big flaps that cover their ears and necks.  All you can see is their little round faces.
• From my kitchen window I watch people walking down the street in front of the ministry center, probably going to the nearest bus stop.  The older people tend to walk slowly in the cold.  The young people walk faster, especially when the wind is blowing.  The young women who are concerned about being stylish all wear high boots, usually with very high heels but not always.  They also wear skin-tight jeans or pants and their hip-length coats.  Their legs have to be freezing.  The older ladies wear what I would call normal pants, but sometimes they have boots too with medium-high heels.  Actually, some of them look pretty classy with their boots, pants, knee-length coats, and the omnipresent hat.  Usually their coats are longer though, to the calf at least.
• Everyone takes their shoes off when they enter the house.  The winter streets are dirty and slushy, even with fresh snow.  And the streets aren't very clean even when the weather is dry.  So, like India, shoes come off in the house.  Some people keep extra pairs of slippers near the door for their guests to put on to keep their feet warm.  I haven't bought any extra pairs yet, but they are on my shopping list.  (I have to admit, I keep one pair of shoes that I wear inside.  The tile-covered concrete floors demand some better footwear to keep my legs and feet from hurting.)

I know there must be more things that I haven't thought of yet, but I will stop for now.  I need to go and get a sweater to put on :) because it's getting colder.

TRIP TO HUNGARY

Our trip to Hungary was great!  We needed to go there to get residence visas to stay in Ukraine for an extended period of time.  We entered Ukraine on a 3-month tourist visa.  This meant that we had to do something within that three months to be able to stay longer.  Our deadline was March 4th.  We could have waited, but Frank was concerned that the weather would get very bad in February, which is usually considered to be the harshest winter month.  So, we decided to go as soon as possible after all the holidays were over.  As we checked the weather in Europe we noticed that it was terrible from the British Isles to Germany and beyond.  Two days before we left for Budapest 250 flights were cancelled out of Frankfurt, Germany.  What to do???  We decided to go ahead and make an attempt to get to Budapest where WGM missionaries Dan and Katy Beth Searls live and work. 

We left at 6am on Monday, Jan. 11, and had a four hour bus ride to Donet'sk, the nearest international airport.  It wasn't too bad, the small bus was better than most of the buses in India.  We had a young Ukrainian with us, Sasha, who guided us through the business of buying tickets and getting to the Donet'sk bus stop.  When we arrived there we were ready for something to eat since breakfast had been only a piece of toast.  A McDonald's was close to the bus stand, so we headed there and had Big Mac combos at 10:30 in the morning!  Not exactly breakfast food, but it tasted good at that moment.  The Golden Arches are always a friendly, familiar sight in an unknown place.  Sasha got us to the airport in a taxi and headed back to Berdyansk.  We went inside to an unheated international airport.  It was pretty cold, but after we checked in and got into the gate area we noticed a duty-free shop and just ambled in to check it out.  We stayed quite a while---it had heat!  We then flew to Vienna, Austria, where we had a four-hour layover.  While we were waiting for our flight there were announcements that flights into Germany had been cancelled because of the weather.  How thankful we were that the Lord had put us on a different itinerary.  Everything went as smoothly as it could have. There were no weather delays in any of our flights, and all of them were on time.  We arrived in Budapest about 9:15pm after a long day. 

We stayed at the home of Katy Beth and Dan Searls.   Dan is actually in the U.S. right now for knee surgery, so we didn’t see him. They have four daughters, aged 11 thru 13. The oldest two are twins. Those girls are sweet, pretty and totally unlike the average American girl. They look the same, but have a completely different outlook about life in general. They are an important part of their parents’ ministry and have been raised to love the Lord and family first. I really can’t explain the difference very well, but we were totally impressed by them. The two oldest actually go to a regular Hungarian school, and the two youngest go to an American (?) international school. Katy Beth is enthusiastic, vivacious, joyful and tons of funs to be with. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with her and the girls.  She loves company and she has the house to accommodate it. They use their large home for youth ministry, Bible studies, English classes, etc. etc. etc. You’ll feel like she’s known you forever after a few minutes with her.

Frank, Susannah, Abby, Annie, Sadie, and Chris

The girls with Katy Beth in the center.

Katy Beth made sure she had time to go with us through downtown Budapest and drove us to the Ukraine embassy.  Budapest was sunny and bright most of the time, although it was cold, and we got our visas without any trouble. We were still thinking in India mode----we kept waiting for the Ukrainian consular officer to raise objections, or seem unfriendly, or just generally give us a hard time----but none of that happened. The lady who served us was somewhat friendly and helpful. We did make one mistake on Tuesday. We didn’t realize that the office closed to visitors at noon. We were there in the morning, but had to go to a particular bank to pay for the visas and get back before noon. We didn’t have enough time to get that done before noon, so we had lunch and then went back at 1pm. The lady let us in, told us our mistake, but was good enough to continue with our work. It was during this time that another problem arose---the cost of the visas had jumped from $100 each to $165 each.  If Katy Beth hadn't been with us we would have had to find more money from an ATM or through the bank.  But Katy Beth insisted on helping.  We were able to repay her later for her expense. We had to return to the embassy on Wednesday morning to actually have the visas put into our passports, and because of a computer glitch we had to wait for an hour and a half, but again the lady was nice and apologized for the delay. We were elated to get the visas so easily and left the tiny embassy feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

We had enough time on Tuesday to do a hour or two of sight-seeing. We had lunch at a big modern mall which was where the bank was located.  We insisted that we didn't want American style fast food, so we ate in a small restaurant and had real Hungarian food for lunch.  Katy Beth took us to the hill overlooking the Danube (this was on the Buda side of the city, we didn’t get across the river to the Pest side) and showed us the beautiful Parliament building, and an old cathedral dedicated to one of the early kings. The hill itself was the site of an old palace which was destroyed in WWII by the Nazis and the Soviets, and we walked through the elegant streets leading up the hill. It just made us want to return in warm weather for a longer stay.

Do we look cold?  We were!

The beautiful Parliament building across the Danube River in Pest.

On Wednesday afternoon she took us shopping in a British chain store called Tesco. I guess you could compare it to a super Walmart, except it’s British with Hungarian products as well as other European products. I picked up a few things that I haven’t found in Ukraine but not much.  We travelled with one suitcase and a limit of 20 kilos per bag.  So we didn't have much room and weight left.  At the airport in Budapest I bought a small ceramic dish with a package of paprika in it, and at the airport in Vienna I bought some wonderful European chocolate :).  Nobody does chocolate like Europeans.

We left Budapest on Thursday morning and got to Donet'sk at 2pm that afternoon.  We were able to get to the bus stand by ourselves, buy the tickets and get back to Berdyansk by 7pm that evening.  I made it a point to stop at the McDonald's in Donet'sk before we got on the bus.  I couldn't bear the thought of sitting on a very cold toilet seat in the airport!  (Although it could have had squat toilets, since most public places do.  But it would be too cold for even that. McDonald's was heated.)  The weather was foggy part of the way home, and we did see some snow and ice coming out of Donet'sk, but in Berdyansk it was raining and not too cold.  Another long day.

Our biggest adventure on the trip: the taxi ride from the Donet’sk bus stand to the airport on Monday afternoon! Need I say more??? 

We had put a prayer request on Facebook and Frank had sent another by email to our friends and supporters in the U.S. to pray for us as we made this trip.  Many folks wrote back to us that they were praying.  We know that everything went so smoothly and the weather cooperated because of those prayers.  God really does take care of His people when they trust Him for their needs.  Thank you, Lord, for our trip, for the Searl family, and for the visas you provided.  This is another confirmation that we are where you want us to be.

UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS

It's late to keep talking about Christmas, but that was just a week ago here in Ukraine and I want to tell you about it. Ukraine's history is intertwined with the Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been here for more than a thousand years. In 1988 it celebrated 1000 years here. In Orthodox tradition Christmas is celebrated on January 7. And although some Protestant churches may celebrate on December 25, it really isn't Christmas to Ukrainians. Here in Berdyansk our churches planted by World Gospel Mission celebrate Christmas on January 7.  When communism took over in Russia in 1917, the leaders wanted to end the celebration of Christmas, but they knew that the people would be very reluctant to give up this important part of the Orthodox calendar.  So the communists were very tricky.  They encouraged the people to stop celebrating St. Nicholas and Christmas, and instead began to promote a legendary character, Grandfather Frost.  Grandfather Frost would come and leave presents and check to see if the children were good or bad, and in both Russia and Ukraine the real reason for Christmas was slowly pushed into the background.  Even now, many people are not aware of the birth of Christ in a very personal way.  It is just another holiday to give them a break from their hum-drum lives. 

Our Christmas here really started just before December 25th when the children at the First Stage Orphanage put on a program for us and a few other friends. This program was centered around the stories of Saint Nicholas, whom the Ukrainians call Mikolai. One of the matrons at the orphanage dressed in a long red and white robe and hat (sort of like Santa, but not totally). The children recited poetry and sang songs which were traditional for them. I wish I could have understood it all, but I think they were all about St. Mikolai. WGM in Ukraine had purchased a tall live tree for the orphanage, and the children had decorated it with shiny paper ornaments, balls and garlands. Some of the little girls were dressed up to be stars, but usually the small children sat very, very quietly on their little chairs and watched along with us. This program was interesting to us because among the guests were the representatives of a political candidate who is running for President of the country. (Ukraine has national elections on Jan. 17). The representatives distributed toys and candies to the children, but they wanted to make sure that everyone knew it was from this candidate! The CEO of a large company here in Berdyansk was also there with his wife, and they distributed toys to the kids. We sat back quietly and watched. There wasn't very good light to take pictures, so I really didn't get much to show you. Oh yes, I mustn't forget that two TV channels sent their cameramen to film the program. I hope it got on TV, but we didn't see it.

The children did another program on January 5th, just before Orthodox Christmas. The attendees were fewer in number, but the children were just as adorable as ever. This time they were dressed in traditional Ukrainian outfits and the program was about how Christmas was celebrated in Ukraine. There was a table with examples of the special foods that were prepared and the children sang and recited again. Most of the singing and recitations were done by the older children. . But the little ones were dressed up too and looked beautiful. They were eager for their presents. WGM in Ukraine had brought along toys and candy for the kids this time, and they were distributed to big smiles and eager hands. We were glad to be a part of this day, and hope that Christmas day itself was just as happy for them.

On Christmas Day we attended two church services, one in Berdyansk in the morning and one at Primorsk in the afternoon.  I'm just putting in some pictures, first of Berdyansk, to show you some of the people.

The Berdyansk program was rather traditional with the kids singing and reciting and the few youth who were there doing some musical numbers.  Gifts were distributed and everyone seemed to have a great time. 

In Primorsk it was quite different.  The people of the church put on a big Christmas play which was based on the early life of Mary up until the birth of Jesus.  One young woman in the church had written it, arranged all the music, directed it, and probably collapsed when it was all over!  Most of the church people were in the play, and the church was packed with visitors and friends to watch it.  I must mention that the Primorsk church is not heated, so it was cold inside, but the spirit was warm and exciting. The following are just a few of the pictures I took that day.

For some reason, these ladies have taken me to their hearts.  They insisted I must be in a picture with them, and they were hugging me.  I love going to Primorsk!

This little babushka was sitting at the back of the church.  She was so much like my stereotyped image of what a Russian/Ukrainian grandmother should be that I couldn't resist taking her picture.  But she wasn't very happy with me for doing it.

Finally, on the next Sunday one of the young women in the church testified that a large group of the church people had gone out on the main street in downtown Primorsk, stood on the corner and began singing Christmas carols.  People were curious, stopping and asking them what this was all about.  And the church people began to tell them about the real Christmas and the birth of Christ.  What a wonderful evangelistic outreach to people who don't know the love of God.  We were totally impressed with these people!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

What a difference a year makes! A year ago Frank and I were discouraged and downhearted over not being in Ukraine and having a hard time getting our support raised. Other things concerned with India had totally dismayed and shocked us. We wondered what the future held for us. As this New Year begins we are assessing our ministry roles here in Ukraine, planning for outreach, and asking God to open the doors that He wants us to go through. We are satisfied that we are here in God's timing. We are encouraged and content.

New Year's Eve in Ukraine was fun for us. We were invited to an American friend's apartment for supper along with Bill and Betsy Tarr. We had delicious food as well as good conversation and fellowship. We were home before 9pm, watched a movie and went to bed about 11:30. At midnight the fireworks began! Fireworks lit up the sky and for quite a while we could hear the crackers explode. New Year's Day was quiet all day long. We have been told that New Year's Eve is the biggest holiday in Ukraine. The early part of the evening is spent with family and there are lots of special foods and games and special programs on TV. Then the young people go to friends' homes, or out to bars and pubs, and party most of the night. The quietness on New Year's day was probably because most people were recovering from the effects of too much alcohol and too many parties.

I just discovered how to imbed puzzles into our blog, so I'm starting with this one that says it all. Happy New Year to all our friends, loved ones and supporters. May God bless you all throughout 2010.

ADVENTURES IN GROCERY SHOPPING

Perhaps one of the most daunting things a person has to adjust to in a new country is learning how to shop for groceries.  In countries where very little English is spoken, like Ukraine, it can be especially scary.  You have to depend on the pictures which might be on the packages.  But sometime you can make a mistake with that too----I picked up a packet that had a picture of what I thought was celery, dried celery leaves.  When we got home and looked up the word in the dictionary we found that it contained dried parsley leaves.  It wasn't a horrible mistake, but it illustrates how even pictures can mislead you.  It really helps to have a knowledgeable friend along to give guidance the first two or three times.  Fortunately Frank and I had started working on the Russian language before we left the U.S., although I am really poor at picking up new sounds and then pronouncing them.  Frank has really done good, so I like having him along to read the labels in Russian.  Oh-oh, another problem in Ukraine-----Ukrainians are very patriotric and are beginning to use Ukrainian more and more here in the eastern part of the country.  Everyone still speaks Russian, especially the older folks, but many of the products which are being made here in Ukraine have only Ukrainian writing on them.  It's very close to Russian, the writing is similar, but sometimes the words are different.  Okay, so there is the basis for my adventure in grocery shopping.

When I saw the nice supermarkets here in Berdyansk I was very pleased.  They are so much better than the grocery stores in India.  But India has one advantage----most products had English on them, so you knew what you were getting.  (That's due to being a colony of Great Britain for so many years.  Indians are very patriotic and want to use their own languages, but they want to know English too.)  The stores may not have looked as nice as these supermarkets, but they did have almost everything you might need, or want.  Perhaps I should mention here that Frank and I aren't afraid to try new foods (although I did draw the line at fish-head curry in India many years ago---the eye staring up at me was just too much for me to swallow, literally.)  So, what have I learned about grocery shopping in Ukraine?

• Bring along your own shopping bags.  If you need a bag, you'll probably have to pay for it.  And you will bag up your purchases yourself.  No one will help you with that.  I was sort of expecting this, so in our shipment I included a couple of sturdy bags---a black Walmart bag and a larger green one from Joann's Fabrics.  I bought those too, but they are probably stronger than what I have now.
• You can buy fruit and vegetables at the supermarket, but there is a better selection at the regular market, which is in an unheated building with various stalls outside as well.  You can also get meat and other items like spices at the market.  I bought potatoes yesterday, they are really dirty as if they'd just been dug up.  Carrots and onions are like that too.  Even in the supermarket root vegetables have not been cleaned.
• At the supermarket there are lots of items that can be purchased in bulk:  flour, oatmeal, sugar, rice, and other commodities like that.  But there are also delicious cookies and crackers of all kinds that you can buy in bulk.  In the freezer section there are different fish, shrimp (looking up at you with the eyes still in!) mixed vegetables, and various Ukrainian foods including variniky which is somewhat like ravioli except it's stuffed with different things.  I have bought cheese variniky and chicken variniky, both very good.  Yesterday in a small grocery store downtown I saw frozen chicken heads just waiting for someone's soup pot.
• When you buy a carton of eggs here, you get ten eggs, not twelve.  They probably work more on the decimal system here.  The eggs have very dark yellow-orange yolks, but they taste just the same as in the U.S.
• Ukrainians eat a lot of fish, after all we're on the Sea of Azov.  There are many, many different kinds and I don't know hardly any of them!  Slowly, one by one, we will be trying some of them.
• I haven't bought ice cream yet, but I've been told that it melts quickly so you need to get it home fast.  However, if it melts and refreezes it doesn't get ice crystals like that in the U.S.  It stays smooth and creamy.
• The supermarkets have wonderful pastry sections.  We're working our way through different breads and cookies and haven't had one yet that we don't like.
• The deli sections are really good too.  I'm trying a few things at a time.  Our latest discovery was something I bought in the deli last week.  It was a large oval-egg-shaped ball stuffed with something and then deep-fried.  I thought it might be stuffed with potato or other vegetable since I remembered something like that from 2007,  but when we heated it up in the oven and then opened it up, it was stuffed with tender chicken breast.  We each had one for lunch and it was delicious.  I asked our friends for the name, but they didn't know.
• Paprika is a favorite spice here, probably because of the close proximity to Hungary.  I have seen chickens in the meat section marinated in something dark red.  I am guessing the marinade has paprika in it and I plan to buy one in the next week or so and give it a try. 
• There are scads of different sausages in the meat section.  Some are salami, but most of them I don't know.  I hesitate to buy them because I can see big pieces of fat in the cut ends of them.  I want to try them, but we really don't need that high fat content.
• One other thing that we have tried is pickled cabbage.  It's not like saurkraut at all.  It is very tart and I have added a bit of sugar to it to cut that sourness.  It's makes a good salad.  I get it out of the bulk section of the supermarket.
• There are plenty of soft drinks including Coke and Sprite.
• I bought a container of Pringle potato chips this week.  It cost about a dollar.  We have also tried some Ukrainian potato chips.  They are good, with a little different flavor.  Not bad at all.
• We are tea drinkers.  We had the best tea in the world in India, and I was extremely happy to discover some of our favorite brands here in Ukraine.  Ukrainians love tea more than coffee, so they want the best.  There is also coffee, but we haven't tried any of that yet. 

I think this is enough about food for now.  I know more things will pop into my mind after I finish this, but I'll write more about food as we continue to try new things.

FIRST DAY AT THE ORPHANAGE

One of the first places Frank and I were invited to go to was the First Stage Orphanage here in Berdyansk.  Bill Brower, our WGM missionary in charge of youth work, goes to the orphanage twice a week in the mornings to play with the kids and be a part of their lives. When he invited us, we were eager because we had been talking about the orphanages for two years and had shared about the spiritual and physical needs of these kids.  So we piled into the van with him and his co-worker, Vika, a young woman who also works in the youth ministries.

At the First Stage Orphanage children are usually brought by their parents or other family members to stay because the family is unable to give them proper care, for various reasons.  The children can stay for three months to begin with, but some stay as long as nine months.  After that if the parents still can't care for them the children are sent to Azmol Orphanage, which is the regular long-term orphanage.  There aren't lots of children in the First Stage Orphanage, but there are enough to break your heart.  We spent time with the younger children who don't go to school yet, and they are as adorable as they can be.  We also saw some of the older children who are probably between the ages of ten and fourteen. 

As soon as we arrived at the orphanage, the small children were peeking through the door and couldn't wait to get their hands on us for some hugs.  Bill and Vika had brought some games and puzzles for the kids to work, and we played with them too.  Sasha, a nickname for Alexandra, took a liking to Frank and he helped her set up the blocks.

Daniel was a cute little guy, but he could be a handful too.  Look at his wonderful smile.

Bill Brower has a special love for these kids.  Look at him and Andrei, who is a first class show-off!

Little Denis seemed very sad and withdrawn.  The matron said he was used to getting a lot of attention from visitors, and today he had to wait his turn.  Whatever, the little guy is so very cute.

Pasha, Ulla, and another girl whose name I missed enjoyed the puzzles.  Pasha worked the same puzzle over and over again, afraid to let any other child have a turn just in case he didn't get it back.

We stayed with them for about two hours in the morning.  They are well taken care of, fed well and kept clean and dressed warmly.  In fact, we had our sweaters on and were pretty warm the whole time, so the kids are kept warm too.  The older children go to the local school, although it was a holiday the first day we went so they were there too although they didn't want to mix with the little kids too much.  The director of the First Stage Orphanage is a kind man who seems to have the well-being of the children as his first priority.

We were told that children who grow up in the orphanages don't want lots of people to know about it because it is somewhat of a stigma for them as they get older.  People of their own age look down on them and it is difficult for them to find their proper place in the world around them.  What an opportunity for ministry! not just in orphanage, but to follow-up on them after they leave and try to help them adjust to their world, as well as to give them the spiritual message that even if no one else cares about them, Jesus will always love them and care for them and give them the security they need.

MORE IMPRESSIONS AGAIN

It's been a week since I wrote and a lot has happened since then.  We have seen more of Berdyansk and continue to learn a little more every day.  Some impressions:

• It snowed last week and the streets are a mess.  We haven't seen a snowplow around our ministry center, and as I look out the window I see people navigating through the ice and slush very carefully.  We did see one snowplow downtown, but the streets were pretty messy there too.  By "navigating" I mean that they are walking, probably to the bus-stop just down the road.  The cars move very carefully.
• We went shopping for some clocks and cell phones.  The cell phones are nice and probably priced about the same as they are at home.  I got one in "romantic pink"----it really is pretty and has a bunch of stuff on it.  Now, if I could only read the instruction leaflet---it's written in two languages, Russian and Ukrainian.  We didn't sign contracts, we got a starter pack which gave us our phone numbers and then we buy cards with a certain amount of time on them and enter them in the phone for use.  Somewhat like what we did in India.
• We learned that the Ukrainian people put a high value on "image."  This includes what you wear and how you behave in public.  You would never go out in public dressed sloppily or with your hair messy.  In summertime you would never wear shorts to go shopping.  At least we understand that's true for men, I'm not sure if it holds true for women.  I guess we'll find out next June. But, you must be dressed "properly".  You must always look good, preferably in the most current fashion.  I'm pretty sure Frank and I haven't reached the proper status yet!  Along with the clothes image, the women wear lots of make-up and do their best to look really good in that respect.  Of course, it's not hard for them because the women are so beautiful anyway.  Lots of blondes, but also a lot of people with very dark, almost black, hair with blue or green eyes.  They are gorgeous.  The dark hair may be a throw-back to the time when the Tartars invaded from the east and stayed in the area of both Ukraine and Russia.
• Ukrainians love bright colors.  Perhaps it is because they often have drab lives.  They live in tall, gray ugly apartment buildings.  In winter everything is gray, cold, and cloudy, with the sunshine only shining now and then.  The clothes are colorful, the shops are colorful, and curtains and other household linens are colorful.  We haven't been inside a Ukrainian apartment yet, but the chances are good that they are  decorated with bright colors.  There is nice furniture in the shops, but it isn't exactly like what we would find in the U.S.  Every country has its own taste in design and functionality.
• At Christmas there are lots of decorations available.  We bought a small tree (made in China), various ornaments, garlands, and lights.  Total cost:  about $30.  Actually, although it's December 22nd here and we are in the mood for Christmas, the Ukrainian Christmas isn't until January 7th.  That's because of the Orthodox church traditions which have a strong influence on the lives of the people.  The missionaries here will have a small dinner together on December 25th, but the big celebrations will be two weeks from now.  Frank and I are looking forward to seeing what happens in the church as well as all around us.  We especially want to try some special Ukrainian foods that are prepared for Christmas. 

These are just a few of the things we have noticed.  I'll write next about our trip to the orphanage and the Christmas program we saw there.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN PRIMORSK

One of the churches we had visited in 2007 was the Primorsk congregation, which met in the local theater while their building was being constructed.  It was a lively group of people with lots of singing and enthusiasm for participating in the worship service.  It was at Primorsk that we met Larissa Prechunk, the school principal who gave up her secure position to work in the church and serve the Lord full-time.  We shared her story with folks in almost every service we held in the U.S. during our HMA assignment. 

So, when Bill Brower called us on Saturday and asked if we would like to go to Primorsk on Sunday, we had no hesitation if accepting his invitation.  We were really interested to see how the church was doing.  We were warned that although the church building was done and there was electricity, there was no heat in the building and it would be cold.  Okay, we knew this was going to happen sooner or later, so we might has well just get used to it.  On Sunday we dressed very warmly, long underwear, two pairs of socks, etc., etc., and climbed into the van to go to Primorsk.  We drove along through the flat steppe landscape and arrived just in time for the service to begin.  As we settled into our seats, Rev. Arkadi suggested we sit where we could put our feet on the rungs of the seats in front of us to take our feet off the cold floor and help keep them warm.  I'm all for that----I always have cold feet in the wintertime.  The outside temperatures were in the low 30s, so it did feel cold in the church, but we were inside without any wind, so it wasn't too, too bad.  The service began with lively, good singing led by a worship team of six young adults.  There were testimonies and a good sermon, lots of amens in the congregation, and a warm atmosphere.  We were briefly introduced and people were encouraged to meet us after the service.  This is where the story gets good!

As we stood at the back of sanctuary, the first person to come up to us was Larissa!  Even though we had met only briefly in 2007 she remembered us, and she remembered that we were going to be involved in lay leadership development!  I suppose she remembered because this is such an important issue for her since she wants to see the church grow and the people develop into leaders.  Anyway, she told us (through an interpreter) that she had been praying for two years that we would return to Primorsk and begin our ministry of leadership development there.  She had been praying for us specifically.  Wow!  what else can I say?  We were overwhelmed by that.  But there was more----the whole church had been praying that a missionary would come to their church to serve, they wanted a missionary, in particular they wanted the Deweys to come to work in their church.  We are humbled and in a little shock with all this.  We had no idea anyone would even remember that we had been there since it was two years ago and we were only in that one service at Primorsk.  Lots of Americans come to visit the work here, and we were here at a time when one WGM work team was also here, so we were just part of the whole group. 

At this point we have no idea how all this is going to work out.  We live in Berdyansk, about 30 kilometers (about 20 miles) from Primorsk.  Larissa said the church wanted us to move to Primorsk so we could be in the ministry full-time there.  Pastor Arkadi was there with her, although he didn't say a lot, so we want to get to know him better and learn what his thinking is.  We need to work with our missionary team here, and with our field leader, to pray about it and find the Lord's leading in all our decisions about this.  Probably nothing will happen for a while because we are entering the Christmas season here and it lasts through the first week of January.  In fact, Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on January 7th as part of their Orthodox traditions.  Pray with us about this opportunity, that everything will be done as the Lord wants it to be.  To us this is just a confirmation from the Lord that we are where we are supposed to be, and that He has work for us to do here. 

MORE IMPRESSIONS

• We haven't seen the sun yet, although as I sit by the window and write this the sun is trying to shine through the clouds for the first time since we arrived.
• Driving to church on Sunday afternoon, the road was not busy with a lot of traffic.  Our driver, a Norwegian (sp.?) missionary, was stopped for driving too fast!  A patrol officer standing by the road with hand held radar caught him.
• The water in our building was off quite a bit this weekend.  It was off several hours on Saturday afternoon, and then was off again all of Sunday morning .  Frank didn't get his morning shower!
• The ladies here like to be very fashionable.  Knee-high high-heeled boots, nice coats with fur collars (not old-fashioned fur collars, but very trendy looking fur), make-up, hair, etc., all really nice.  I felt rather clunky!
• Drinking water is brought into the building in large 5-gallon containers.  We use this water for drinking and cooking.  We go down to the office and get a new container when we're getting low.  The tap water is used only for laundry, dishwashing, and showers.  The water in our kitchen tap has a distinct sulphur smell. 
• No tv for us at this time.  We could get a satellite dish, but the channels are basically all in Russian or Ukrainian, there is one English-language channel (BBC news), although we could pay more and get some other English channels.  We'll wait and see how we feel about it.  Right now we're getting our news from the internet, watching the nightly broadcast of Katie Couric on CBS News.  Not our favorite, but it works.  Checking other news channels for more stories.
• Having long, long winter evenings is an adjustment.  It's almost dark by 4pm, and by 8pm we're thinking it's bedtime!
• We realized we were spoiled in India.  We could go almost anywhere and find someone who spoke fairly decent English.  In fact, we could go to the city and never have to use Kannada, our local language, at all.  Lots of English bookstores.  In Ukraine very few people speak English, although many want to learn.  No books in English, except for what we have with us or what the other missionaries have. 

More next week.

UKRAINE, FINALLY

On Thursday, December 3rd, we said goodby to Laura, Brent and our grandsons as we headed to the airport to get on our plane.  There were no tears, but it was tough to kiss them goodby.  And we know it was hard for Laura, because she had come to depend on us for backup when things got hectic around her house.  And she always has a hard time saying goodby.  But she also wants us to do what God has planned for us.  So, she was smiling and waving with little Lance as we went through security at the airport and blew them a last kiss.

Our travel was fairly routine except for the part of it that crossed the north Atlantic.  It was rocky!  We had lots of turbulence and a bumpy ride off and on for several hours.  But we arrived in rainy Munich and got our flight to Donetsk which arrived at our destination right on time.  The airport at Donetsk is the smallest international airport we have been in.  One other flight was on the ground, loading passengers for takeoff.  We came down the plane's steps and were taken to the terminal in a bus.  The flight had not been full so there weren't many passengers who had to go through immigration, which was about the easiest we have experienced.  However, when we went to get our luggage (five fairly large suitcases), it was on a cart just outside the terminal, there were no luggage carts for passengers to use, and so we had to move it ourselves one or two at a time into the terminal.  That was a first for us.  The other WGM missionaries in Ukraine were waiting for us and there was a happy time of greeting and shaking hands.  The other missionaries are Bill and Betsy Tarr, and Bill and Oksana Brower.  Bill B. met Oksana here and after some time they were married and she is now also a missionary with World Gospel Mission.  After a drive of 2 1/2 to 3 hours we arrived in Berdyansk and the Home of Hope ministry center.  We both slept very good that night, at least a good ten hours. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

• 
  
  It gets dark early!  It starts to get dark before 4pm and is completely dark by 4:30.  That's because we are so far north, much further north than we have ever lived before, particularly in India.
  
  
  
• 
  
  The land is flat!  After spending a wonderful summer in the mountains, we are now in an area of Ukraine that is part of the steppe of western Asia and eastern Europe.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Our apartment is quite nice.  It is small, but just right for two older missionaries like us.  A living room, bedroom, nice kitchen, bathroom and storage room, which is large enough to accomodate a desk and become Frank's office.  The rooms are all in a line with a fairly wide hallway going alongside them.  The appliances in the kitchen are really good, and the cook (me) is very happy with it.  We have radiator heating in all the rooms, with a second large heating-cooling unit in the living room.  We are comfortable.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Shopping is interesting.  We went to the supermarket on Saturday and were thankful to have Bill Brower and Betsy Tarr along to guide us through the different foods and labels.  Frank can read some of the labels, so he could recognize a lot of foods, but I'm really slow with that.  (Language study!  Language study!)  Lots and lots of fish (Berdyansk is on the Sea of Azov), cabbage, good cheeses, pork products (very fatty pork), chicken, not much beef, delicious-looking breads and cookies.  On Monday Bill Brower took us to the open farmer's market, part of which was indoors, but unheated.  Lots of good vegetables and fruit, nuts, sweets, odds and ends.  The meat market was also in the building----again, a lot of fish and pork, and chicken although there was some beef also.  In the cold weather, it's okay to go to the meat market in the afternoon, but come summertime the morning will be the time to go since there is no heating or cooling in the building.  Outside the building lots of stalls were set up for individual vendors, mostly women, to sell their produce.  I felt sorry for the women because it was a cold day with a brisk wind, and their faces and hands were red and chapped with the cold.  I had on my heavy coat with the hood pulled up over my head, so I wasn't too bad.  They had good coats and hoods too, but their hands were bare so they could do their work.  And in a brisk wind after a while even a good coat is not enough.  My plan is that before I go grocery shopping next time, I will make my list in English and then write it in Russian so I can begin to read the labels for myself and develop my very small vocabulary.
  
  
  
• 
  
  The last time we saw sunshine was Thursday morning in Oklahoma City on our way to the airport.  The sky has been cloudy and sometimes drizzly since we arrived.  The temperatures have been in the lower 30s.  But I comfort myself with the thought that today in Oklahoma, Kansas, and states north and east, the temperatures are much lower and there are heavy snowfalls, sometimes blizzards.  Our turn will definitely come, but not right now.
  
  
  

CHURCH

On Sunday morning we attended our first worship service as missionaries in Ukraine.  The service is held in the Home of Hope ministry center, which is also where our apartment is located.  So we didn't have to go outside, we were quite close to the place where the services are held while the sanctuary is being completed. 

The service was three hours long, which is about par for most mission fields, although we were spoiled in India with shorter services at the seminary.  The service here started with one or two songs, after which Rev. Sergei spoke for fifteen or twenty minutes welcoming everyone and making pertinent comments.  The singing resumed and lasted for at least 45 minutes.  But the music was wonderful!  I loved the melodies, and the Russian words were shown on the screen, so with our little bit of language study we could follow somewhat, although we didn't try to sing except on the refrains.  The music was upbeat, catchy, and easy to follow.  After the music finished, the floor was opened for testimonies, and a number of people got up to testify.  I won't say they got up to say a few words, because it seemed that many of them were telling their life stories!  Actually, except for one person they were usually relating one particular incident where the Lord taught them something new, or worked out a problem for them.  We were fortunate that we had some translation done for us through earphones, since Oksana Brower is Ukrainian and she did the translation. 

After the testimonies, the pastor's message focused on Passover in the Old Testament and how that led to the ritual of communion, and its importance in the family life of the believer.   He is a lively preacher with use of humor and illustrations.  At the end of his message communion was served and so we were able to participate for the first time in a meaningful act of worship with fellow believers in Ukraine.  It was a special moment for us.

WHAT'S COMING UP IN THE NEXT WEEK

Well, we are pretty much settled into our apartment, so the coming week will be spent getting more information about the work here and how we will fit into it.  We want to get Frank's office set up so we will feel more "professional" or at least make it look like we're busy!  We will definitely be getting back into our Russian language study several hours a day so we can understand more and make some primitive attempts at communication. 

If the opportunity arises and the weather permits, I plan to start taking some pictures soon and will try to get some posted here and on Facebook.  Stay tuned for the next installment.

SAYING GOOD-BY

SHIPMENT OFF TO UKRAINE

Well, the last time I wrote was November 15, when we were packing our shipment to send to Ukraine.  That was three weeks ago, so I will just give a fast run-down of events up to December 3, when we actually boarded a plane and headed eastward toward the place where God has been leading us.

We did finally get the shipment packed and sent.  The books (which were giving us the most trouble) were packed separately in smaller boxes and sent along with the main shipment.  When Frank checked at the post office about sending them in one big mail bag, we could still do that.  The big catch:  they would have to go airmail.  The USPS is no longer sending these big bags by sea mail, and the cost of airmail is just toooooo much to send books overseas.  So, we were back to square one and finally decided just to pack the books in separate boxes that would each weigh up to 66 pounds, which was the size limit.  It worked okay and we finished packing.  When we were done we had nine boxes that each weighed about 66 pounds.  A good friend from our Sunday School class, Craig Guy, helped Frank load the boxes into his big pick-up and drove with Frank to Tulsa to the Ukrainian shipping agent.  They went on their way and we could turn our attention to packing up the house and preparing to leave.

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving week was both hectic and fun.  Our son Evan and his wife Lori, with their three little girls came on Tuesday to spend 3 1/2 days with us.  Evan and Frank worked all day Wednesday cleaning out our garage and doing other jobs around the house that needed to be done before we could leave.  They continued the work on Friday and got just about all of it done.  Our garage had not been totally empty since 1992 or earlier!  My mother had left things there, Evan and Lori left things there, and we left things there at various times.  Evan helped move the big pieces of furniture into the the storage units we have rented, so our house began to look more and more bare as the week went by.  Thanksgiving itself was good.  Fourteen of us sat around the table at Laura's house.  Frank's mom, five Tevebaughs (Laura's family), five young Deweys (Evan's family), two of us and a good friend of Laura's.  The food was traditional, turkey, etc.  We divided up the cooking between us, so Laura didn't have to do it all.  She tried an interesting way of roasting the turkey:  around midnight before Thanksgiving Day, put the turkey in a roasting pan, cover it with foil, and put it in a 275 degree oven.  Let it cook slowly all night until noon or so on Thanksgiving Day.  When the foil is removed, the turkey is self-basted and brown, as well as being very tender.  It was delicious.  Thanks to Laura's friend, Melinda, for the new technique---at least it was new to us.  I could write lots more about our granddaughters and grandsons, but there's too much to say.  I'll have to devote one entire blog session to them later.

SAYING GOODBY TO OUR HOME

After Evan and his family left, Frank and I continued cleaning, packing, and moving things to the storage units.  On Monday, Craig Guy came by again and spent the whole day helping Frank move the rest of the furniture and taking trash to the dump as well as taking a big load of things to Goodwill.  (One thing about moving is that it's a great opportunity to get rid of the clutter that accumulates so fast.)  Laura came to the house and helped me empty the kitchen.  She took charge and it was done pretty fast.  Tuesday was the day for cleaning the house and getting it ready for the rental realtor.  Frank and I worked all day, and Laura came in the evening to help finish the mopping and cleaning of the bathrooms.  When Frank turned it over to the realtor on Wednesday morning, it was very clean, the garage was totally empty, and we said goodby to the house for two years.  It was a little sad, but we didn't dwell on it, we looked toward the future and what would be happening in our lives after we got to Ukraine. 

SELLING OUR CAR

I have to devote a whole paragraph to how the Lord worked out the details of deposing of our cars.  We had decided to keep our mini-van:  we like it, it's in good condition, and it will be waiting for us when we return to the U.S. in 2011.  Evan's in-laws in Texas have big barns and storage areas on their farm, and they were glad to help us out by storing our van in one of them.  Evan drove our van back to Texas when he and Lori left us (Lori drove their van with the three girls) and he is taking care of our car for us while we're gone. 

But the truly amazing story is how we sold our little Mazda, which we used around town and on short distance driving.  A friend had been interested in buying it, and we had been keeping it for her.  But at the last minute she felt that she couldn't swing it, so backed out of purchasing it.  We understood, we were not upset.  However, this happened on the Saturday night before we were to leave on Thursday, not much time to sell a car.  On Sunday morning in Sunday School, we mentioned that the car was available, if anyone was aware of someone who might be interested in it, and we were asking about $3000 for it.  No one said a word.  Okay.  On Monday one lady from our class called and knew of a young man who might be interested.  Before he had a chance to see the car, Linda Jergens from our class called and mentioned that her son-in-law, Kevin, might be interested.  She was a little disappointed because the young man was going to look at the car.  Well, he looked, talked to his dad, and finally decided not to buy it.  But God had not left us without hope, because Linda had called and our next step was to get in touch with her again.  It was arranged that Kevin would look at the car on Wednesday night (less than twelve hours before we were getting on that airplane.)  He and his wife had been traveling home on Sunday, and had talked then about how they needed a good second car for him to drive to work.  They needed it to cost about $3000.  Well, enough said.  You can see where this story is going.  They had a need, and we were able to fill it.  We had a need, and they were able to meet it.  God had it all worked out ahead of time, but it would be nice if  He didn't wait until the very last minute to reveal it!  We needed that $3000 because our house taxes are due in December and we didn't want to dip into our savings for that.  And there is enough left to keep a decent balance in our checking account until we begin to receive income from rent on the house.  Thank you Lord for taking care of us.

PACKING UPDATE

Frank checked at the post office about sending the books via sea mail in a book bag.  The book bags are still available, limit of 66 pounds per bag.  The catch is that they no longer ship them sea mail, everything goes airmail.  The cost to send one bag of books---$250.  And we have enough for three bags.  Guess what?  the books are not going to Ukraine in a postal bag.  We'll ship them in boxes separate from our big U-Haul boxes, but along with the total shipment.

Our Sunday School class is a blessing to us.  This morning they decided to take up an offering next week to help us send 700 pounds in our shipment.  That will cover almost the whole cost.  We know they will be praying for us every week that we are in Ukraine.  We praise the Lord for them.

PACKING FOR UKRAINE

Okay, here's the situation.  There are three kinds of packing going on in our house right now.  First, what goes into our shipment at 89 cents a pound to get it to Ukraine.  Second, what should we keep out to pack in our suitcases that go with us----two suitcases each, 50 pounds allowed in each one---all basically warm heavy winter clothes.  Third, what can we live without for at least two two years and leave here in storage.

 Our big problem right now is how to get our books there.  Books are the tools of our trade, we need these books to do our work properly and to share with others on the field.  Books are very heavy.  Our shipping company has said that each box we ship cannot weigh more than 66 pounds.  We're using fairly large dish boxes that we bought at U-Haul, a nice size and sturdy for shipping.  The first box Frank packed with books in the bottom weighed 100 pounds.  Okay, unpack it and start over.  The problem is that the boxes are too big for only 60 pounds.  When we reach that amount the boxes are only half full.  After several attempts to unsuccessfully get the weight now and fill the box at the same time, we decided to consider sending the books through the postal service. You can fill a big postal bag with packages of books and send them by sea mail, which means we won't get them until February or March, but that's okay.  Frank has to check to see if our local post office here in Yukon will handle that sort of thing, or even if the service is still available.

We've basically done all the shopping we need to do to get things to send to Ukraine.  Major items that we definitely needed to take with us include all the vitamins and minerals our doctor wants us to take, as well as 12 months of my prescription for Evista, which prevents osteoporosis (did I spell that right?).  We went to Sam's last week with Laura and got all the vitamins, etc., as well as popcorn, granola bars, and some heavy warm woolen socks.  I don't need to take a lot of kitchen stuff because the apartments in the Ministry Center are furnished with a lot of things already in the kitchen.  So I'm only taking a few things for that.  Food items:  among other things we are packing peanut butter, Crisco, spices for Indian cooking (we need our curry fix every now and then), Pam for easy cooking, minced garlic and onion, and ziploc bags which are useful for everything.  One thing I am taking is my small sewing machine.  It isn't in a box yet, but it soon will be. 

I've decided not to take my quilting stuff with me.  There's just too much that's involved with that.  But I'm sending all my bags of yarn that has accumulated over the years.  It doesn't weigh a lot and it's a good filler in packing.  My knitting needles, crochet hooks, and some patterns are going too.  Fortunately, there are tons of knitting and crochet patterns on the internet, so I don't need to take a lot of those.  I'm also taking some of  my cross-stitch materials and threads.  I have a lot of cross-stitch kits that I have bought on sale at Hobby Lobby through the years, so I stuck some of those into the shipment too.

We asked our church to help some of the kids in orphanages and some adults with warm winter clothing, so we have that to pack as well.  Several coats, a number of nice sweaters, and some hats and gloves have come in for that.  And Frank needs to put in some tools that come in handy now and then around the house or apartment.  And I have some CDs and DVDs that we're taking with us too.

We need to get this finished early in the coming week and take it to Tulsa to a shipping company which ships only to Ukraine and takes care of customs, etc., and delivers it right to your door.  Much easier than having to take it through customs yourself and then make arrangements to get it home afterwards.  Busy week ahead. We have always looked at our going to Ukraine as a new adventure for the Lord.  We need adventures to keep us young and excited about life in general.  I think the adventure has already started in all the issues of packing!