Safe Christmas Shopping In Ukraine

This week has flown by! The holiday season has not started yet in Kyiv, but I did notice that there are already some Christmas decorations going up around town which I find really weird. The tree in this photo is outside MegaMart.

David, Lesya and I were there as part of our day's shopping spree for about eighty some children. It was a long but safe day and no one rushed for the clearance tables because....well....there really aren't any here!

Thanksgiving is always a kind of strange event to me in Ukraine as it is an American holiday so it always seems to land in the middle of regular life here and then suddenly all the Americans are frantically pulling together turkey dinners and our Ukrainian friends are like, "What are you doing?"

I had a good Thanksgiving day enjoying Mexican food of all things with my friends. I bought a huge turkey breast today and will cook it later this week for my favorite Thanksgiving leftover, a turkey and cheese sandwich!

75th Anniversary Of The Ukrainian Famine

This past weekend was the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian famine. I have to be honest, I nearly forgot about it. No one was talking about it and I have just been too busy to check much news lately.

But it was an incredibly tragic time in Ukrainian history and a part of history that I think everyone should know about and remember whether they are Ukrainian or not.

So, since Ukrainiana has done a wonderful post on the topic, I recommend you drop by and read about it, just click HERE.

Maidan Before Snow

I took this shot last week at about 3:30pm in the afternoon and you can see it was already getting dark. Today we are having our first real, serious snow so this photo is already obsolete!

Oh No! Not Blogger's Block Again!

I am so glad I did not sign up for National Blog Posting Month on this blog. I would have never made it! I think I have blogger's block again!

I think my blogger's block stems from a lot going on and the need to be creative about others things.

One thing I really love about ministry is that it can be so creative. I love coming up with new ideas or thinking about how to solve problems. This year has been very challenging for me in every way and it looks like things are going to continue along this same track as I head into next year. I have learned a lot and still have a lot to learn!

The other night I found a notebook with my goals for 2008. I don't usually write down goals for my life but last year I did. I think it's helpful living here because I sometimes feel like I'm in a whirlwind of life and it's easy to get off track from what you want to do or think God wants you to do. I was really surprised to find out that I had accomplished everything I wanted to do except for reading more Russian literature (in Russian) and starting to read the Bible in Ukrainian. (Unfortunately I haven't found a Bible in Ukrainian yet!) The other things I listed were personal or ministry goals and I was really encouraged to see what I had accomplished.

So lately, among everything else, I have been praying and thinking a lot about the coming year and what I feel God is leading me to do in ministry and in my life. As I seek his direction for my life, I am learning that he is really a creative God and wants to use our talents and challenge us to grow at the same time.

Talk To Your Cat In Ukrainian Day

I have designated Mondays as "Talk To Your Cat In Ukrainian" Day.

It's the day I have my Ukrainian lesson, study Ukrainian and then spend the rest of the day working on emails, photos and whatever else I need to do ministry wise on the computer.

Since, I'm home and have been geared up for Ukrainian, I have decided that I will also only speak to my cat in Ukrainian. Just so you don't think I'm crazy, I don't have conversations with him, but I need to say things to him like:

"What are you doing?"

"NO!"

"You are a good kitty."

"Why do you want to eat again?"

"There is already food in your cat dish. Why are you begging for more already?"

Mostly he glares at me and gives me a nasty look when I speak to him in Ukrainian.

I think he knows I'm butchering his native tongue.

Street Children In India

The blog, Yesu Garden posts some videos of street children in India. You can see the videos by clicking HERE.

Just A Dream?

Here's a shot of an advertisement for new apartments in Kyiv. With the Ukrainian economy suffering along with every other country in our current world wide economic crisis, purchasing a flat is probably going to be just a dream for the average Ukrainian.

I have noticed that prices for everything, especially food staples like eggs, bread and meat have gone up considerably.

The biggest and most controversial financial change in Kyiv has been the price of a ride on the metro. It went up from .50 Kopeks to 2 hryivna. A huge bite out of the household budget for those who must ride daily to work. This price hike also includes buses.

I have heard that hospitals are shutting down special medical programs like those that help AIDS or TB patients.

People are bracing themselves for hard times ahead.

Country Pumpkin

Yesterday I left the borders of the city of Kyiv and took a day trip with my ministry colleagues to Cherkassy.

I don't know why I am always so shocked when I get out of Kyiv and into the countryside. Any place outside of Kyiv seems like a completely different world and I know that, and have been outside of Kyiv tons of times, but I am still always so shocked when I start seeing goats, cows and hearing roosters crow.

We visited our center in Cherkassy where currently eight children are living. It was super encouraging in many ways. God is really good.

I will post lots of photos of the day over on Scenes From The Sidewalk once I get all the photos organized.

This post features a photo of the pumpkin I bought on the way home. My cat appreciated all the farm smells he found on it. As you drive through a village, people will place food for sale on tables outside their gates. Not only are the prices great, but it's fresh too. We bought pumpkins, parsley, garlic and a squash.

The ride home at sunset was incrediable. The sun was setting on one side of the car and the full moon was rising on the other side. It was only 4pm!

Podil River Skyline

Podil has changed a lot and the skyline continues to grow. Here's a current photo......

Retro Friday

In case anyone is feeling a little "retro Soviet" today.......

CrossRoads Foundation Christmas Gift Project 2008

You've seen all the photos I post on this blog and at Scenes From The Sidewalk. You know they are cute. You know they are adorable. You know they are way past wonderful.

Now is your chance to be "Santa Claus" to one of these children.

Each year, CrossRoads Foundation sponsors a Christmas Gift Project. We find out from each child what special gift they want for Christmas and then we go buy it, wrap it up and have Christmas parties where the children receive their own gift!

It's fun, it's special, it only costs $20 for a gift and its a tangible way to share with them that the best Christmas gift they can ever receive is Jesus.

If you want to help participate this year, go to Scenes From The Sidewalk to get more information.

My Thoughts For Today...

I don't know why exactly, but for the past few weeks, I've been finding it a real challenge to stay positive and focused. I could blame it on a lot of things. I could say it's the shorter daylight hours, the lack of sunshine, being sick, the bouncing economy, plodding through Ukrainian lessons, (like Ukrainian, just don't want to study) the depressing political news on every front, the constant negative news from the ever ongoing US Presidential election which is finally over! (thank goodness for that!)

But I don't feel right blaming these things. I can't change anything that's going on around me. I can only control myself. While I'm generally a positive person, I am not geared that way so that being positive comes naturally all the time. I'm not comfortable being fake and if I feel down, then I feel down. But I am coming to realize that I also need to make an effort because if I allow the atmosphere around me to get me down, then it will.

So lately God is really pushing me to trust in him more and to focus on the positive areas of my life and the positive people in my life. When I do this, I realize I have so much to be thankful for. I do love where I am in my life right now and the people I am ministering with and the friends I have made along the way through my entire life, not just during my time in Ukraine. He has really blessed me in these areas!

I realize that God has turned my life around into a more positive direction many times and that he can do that again and again and he can also do this with any of us if we trust in him to do so. The key thing in all this is faith in him.

One of the most interesting blog posts I read this morning while I perused the after election news was at the conservative blog Gateway Pundit. This post showed class and is inspiring. God has turned America around in the past in amazing ways. I believe he can turn Ukraine around or any country where the people trust in him. We need to remember to pray for our government leaders whether we agree with them or not.

It's all about trusting in God. After all, that's what is written on the American dollar!

Books To Read: Crazy Love

Lots of people ask me why I do what I do. Why I want to help people. Why I am a missionary. Why I live in Ukraine. How did it happen? What inspires me.

Read "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and Danae Yankoski.

I just finished this awesome book and in it you will find these answers.

It's not about having a plan or a forumla or abolishing world wide poverty, or saving the planet. It's about Jesus. If you're a Christian, I highly recommend you get this book, read it and ask yourself some questions that could propel you into a life that is about more than just sitting in the pews.

If you can't get the book, you can see video vignettes about each chapter at www.crazylovebook.com.