DBC Ukraine Team 2015

Sheri and I drove back to Dalmeny from Winnipeg today. We landed in Winnipeg yesterday evening and we both enjoyed some very tight hugs from our kids. I think they’ve grown.

Coming home is interesting. It feels totally surreal to be here. Everything is in its place just as we left it, and yet it seems different somehow. The lawn is greener and it needs a mow. Our tree has grown. Dad Pauls fixed our back door while we were gone so that is different too (thanks Dad). But for some reason I don’t think those are the things that are giving me this feeling. I am sure this is my home, but do I still belong here?

How on earth can I come to terms with the fact that I am now back in Canada and all the people who stole a chunk of my heart have remained in Ukraine? Our team made connections and friendships with the people in Talne that I would never have believed possible prior to leaving on our trip. It was amazing to see the relationships that Len & Myra had with many of the people already. It is clear to see that these people love Len & Myra. We anticipate a statue of Len & Myra will be erected at some point in the future in Talne. Sheri and I also began relationships that will last for our lifetime and hopefully beyond.

At almost every home we visited as a team, our host had the same request: “Tell us how you came to Christ.” What an absolutely fundamental question. For so many on our team the answers were much the same – we were born into a Christian home and there were some circumstances in our lives which led to us making our relationship with Jesus Christ real to us. When we asked the same question of our hosts the answers varied greatly. Many of their stories were nothing short of miraculous. This question, for me, embodies a lot of how I came to see our brothers and sisters in Talne. Sincere. Open. Genuine.

What an amazing experience. Come talk to me about it. I know I don’t look or act like a talker – basically that is because I don’t really like talking. But who cares. Don’t let that stop you from coming to talk to me.

Pondering how I am going to go forward from here….
Jon

Is it already Wednesday? I can't believe it. We arrived in Talne last Friday after visiting with Nik and Leah (a translator who came to Canada) in their village. We have been going non-stop since that time. Except for sleep this is our first two hour break since we got here (if we are not doing service projects we are together with people in their homes - I'll try my best for those who know the people
Saturday we participated in an outdoor baptism for six people. Everyone agreed that it was a very moving experience. Afterward we shared a picnic and then returned to the church for a youth meeting - some of us 'may' have been older than the rest but it was good to share some testimonies and sing with them.
The next day was challenging for several of us as we battled with stomach issues and dehydration. Yet, we were able to join in a wonderful service with our friends from Talne - to hear the singing in this vaulted church is amazing.
Lunch with Nadia/Vitalik (Luda/Sasha), short break with Sasha/Aloena) - church service and prep for English camps.
Monday we started English camps late as we had to register over 120 children. We were learning on the fly. So much can be said so I'll let pictures speak. Lunch with Vova/Oksana and then off to the Home for the Aged - we got there late but it was such a joy to present gifts and bless the residents. Since we had finished eating at 3:00 we were so hungry at 5:30 that we went to Helen/Colia's. More than any of the generous and delicious meals has been the incredible bond we have shared - what a joy to pray with all of these people. We were back at the church for Adult English classes and we adapted according to the group - we concluded with conversational English through playing games.
Tuesday's schedule was much similar, except we had MORE kids to teach ( in one of Myra's classes were 40 students). We shared meals with Roma/Anya and then with a couple in Zdobutok named Rosik/Tanya. We concluded with a revised Adult English camp.
Today we had kids camp from 9-12 and then went to the home of Nadya/Vitalik and Sasha/Taya.
Each morning we have carved out time as a team to meet to share, encourage and read through the Gospel of Mark. As need's arise we support one another in prayer - this has been a unifying and valuable time for us.
This is not very personal, but I felt you would like to get a report on how we are doing. The weather has been hot the past three days but it will cool off in a day or two. Pray for health, energy, humility and opportunities to be a witness. Wish you all could be here with us!
We pray for you - especially as word arrives from Canada. Thanks for upholding us in your prayers.

Dennis

Wow, what a day today! Some more beautiful weather with some sun and a cool breeze.

We started the day with a delicious breakfast prepared by the women from the Baptist Seminary we are staying at. This included some orange Fanta that we pretended was freshly squeezed orange juice and some French toast. We followed this up with our morning devotional time led by Dennis. Mark 2 was the passage we read and discussed. We followed this up with some prayer together where we asked God to help us be a light in this land (since many of us felt the heaviness yesterday in Independence Square), for His hand to be on Ashton and Melissa and their family, for safety and health for our team.....and for our lost bag.

We left the Seminary compound a little more on the tired side this morning than we did yesterday, but we were ready for the day and it did not disappoint. First we risked our lives driving through Kiev to get to the Chernobyl museum. This was very interesting for most of us, but it is a very solemn story so we definitely left there somewhat subdued and thoughtful. From there we walked to a Ukrainian buffet of sorts for lunch and we were confronted by local culture. Our Canadian nature has a reserved politeness which is not assertive, the Ukrainians were more than happy to press us on all sides at the buffet line and cut in front of us in what we considered to be our orderly single file line. It was neat to see this difference, not in a bad way, but just as a difference in our cultures. We experienced some real Ukrainian cuisine here and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

After lunch we risked our lives again driving through Kiev to visit the Motherland Monument located at the Museum of The History of Ukraine in World War 2. The Monument and the entire War memorial was beautiful in portraying pride in country and honouring their fallen. It rained on us a bit while we were visiting this Monument which allowed us an opportunity to take shelter together and give Myra a hard time about her ancient cell phone. We then risked our lives driving through Kiev to return to the Seminary compound where we spent some time relaxing together while we waited to leave for supper.

Supper was at Oksana and Vitaly's house. They have a beautiful home and three delightful daughters. I think she was under the impression that the entire church had come to Ukraine to visit them this time since the table had an abundance of food we could never have finished. Supper included many tasty dishes, one of which was made from turkey livers. This dish proved to be more than acceptable tasting to me despite my usual aversion to anything containing liver. As good as the food was, the highlight of the evening (and quite possibly the day) was fellowshipping with our fellow believers in Ukraine. Eating, laughing, encouraging, singing, praying. We have brothers and sisters in Christ here in Ukraine that we know very little about. For most of us on the team language is an obstacle, but we have something in common that breaks down all barriers and that is Jesus Christ. This was evident tonight as we got to know Oksana and Vitaly. Len finished our evening off at their home with a prayer for their family and for their work with their local church.

Additional miscellaneous highlights:
1. That pesky lost bag has been found - in Minneapolis. Now we need it to get here quick. I must admit, I wasn't holding out hope that it would be found and I learned that I should really have more faith.
2. None of us died while traversing Kiev today.
3. Sheri is starting to feel better but is still not 100% so please keep that as a prayer request along with the rest of the team.
4. Our translators are gifts from God. Most of you will know Julia from her time with us in Dalmeny and her father Sasha is the other translator who has been with us these past 2 days. They mesh perfectly with our group. I pray that God will pour blessings on these two exponentially more than they have been for our team already.
5. A praise item is that the team is finally starting to understand my sense of humour. I was taking quite a bit of heat for it at the beginning of the trip but now everyone is starting to realize that I am legitimately funny.

Tomorrow we journey to Talnoe! I am very excited to meet everyone there and get on with the reason we are here.

Lord, our hearts are full tonight and we pray that you would pour out your blessings on our brothers and sisters in the church in Ukraine.

Jon

Wow. We are finally here. It is so good to be back. For Len and I, it is trip number 7.
This is another fantastic team.
It is 4:30 am and once again I've been awake for an hour.
The weather was beautiful yesterday, with temperatures about mid twenties and a few rain showers
Like Selena said yesterday, we walked around Independence Square, where the Orange Revolution took place. It brought tears to our eyes to see all the memorials set up to honor the ones who lost their lives.
How thankful we are to live in a land like Canada!
Today is a day of museums.
Tonight Oksana - our former translator- has invited the team to her house for supper. She and Vitaly have 3 girls ages 10, 5 and 3.
Thank you for your prayers.
Sheri felt much better last night
Please pray that our lost bag is at the airport today. Our driver has to go to the airport today and tomorrow we leave for Talnoe. This bag contains all the lesson handouts.
Also, Julia seems to be coming down with a cold.
I just read today's Daily Bread and my prayer is that all our tongues will be seasoned with grace and kind words.
Thanks for your prayers.

Hey, apparently I have the first post. :)
So we are here safe and sound! And Ukraine is beautiful! One of our bags with the craft supplies didn't show up but we aren't too worried yet. After arriving at the airport we met up with Julia and Sasha (our translators) who took us with our driver to Irpin (a nearby town where we are staying). I'm getting so distracted right now since our waitress at the restaurant where we are having lunch in Kiev keeps bringing drinks, food, spoons, etc :). Okay, just tried some fantastic ravioli! So, back on topic, we are touring Kiev today after a good sleep. Most of us are feeling well, though Sheri feeling rotten but seems to be enjoying the food and environment :) It is very good! And I'm having cappuccino :p Let's see what happens in half an hour!
We saw St. Michael's Cathedral and walked around a street with market booths on it, with typical Ukrainian souvenirs. After lunch we are going to the Chernobyl museum and Independence Square. The architecture is so cool and so old compared to ours.
Its been so great to be together as a team and especially spend time reading and reflecting this morning for devotions. We each sharing one word on how we were feeling and it was a good time to connect. Anyways, I'll get back to my lunch and Happy Canada Day everyone!

Selena