Thoughts for today...

As I sit in my office on a Sunday morning I am missing my church, fellowship, music etc... it has been about seven weeks since I have been to a church service in English. Although I spend time with God daily, I am missing the relationships and fellowship with other believers. I am with believers here and I can sense their hearts, however my conversations are limited.

What do my actions say about me? Am I living by the Spirit, am I accomplishing His will, am I being a good and faithful servant? I pray for my actions to speak words lined with selfless love, encouragement and sincerity each day. Since I am limited in my communication here, I speak through my actions and I pray they resemble that of my savior Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

What are my heart’s desires? What is passion fueled by? A few thoughts on that, perhaps it is fueled by change, pain, joy, opportunity, loss of comforts,love, selflessness, faith, trust, discipline, responsibility, obligation, obedience, accountability, respect, giving, caring, genuine, dedication, enjoyment, I do not know but I will keep searching.

What do your actions say about you? What are you communicating?

Russian Language Classes!

This week I started language school on Thursday. It was a milestone week for me as I took the marschutka, metro, changed metros too and walked to the school completely by myself. Two days in a row and I did not get lost, Friday I even took the marschutka back to Bucha alone. I even had to tell the driver where to stop! WOW this is a big step for me.

Attending language school, that is another story for me; I signed up for the intensive class. My morning of public transportation went well I even arrived early and anybody who knows me well knows I am generally a bit late, but not today. So I arrived at the school twenty minutes early, plenty of time, there is a gentleman there speaking English so naturally I slip into my social mode since I can speak and another person will understand me. We started with small talk, what class are you taking, where are you from, what are you doing in Ukraine… that was the magic question, no I did not witness to him, but God was certainly present. I asked him what his name was he said Tyler, I told him my name and said I was here as a missionary working with youth and orphans. Well guess what - Tyler is Christian teaching English at the language school, attending an English speaking church and working with the street kids trying to rescue them and set up an orphanage for them so they might have a place to live. God is so clever; really, I did not even want to go to class I was so tired, a serious dislike of public transportation and all, what a blessing to arrive at the school and encounter yet another divine appointment.

Class was another story; it began with the teacher Leika speaking entirely in Russian after about an hour of that I was frustrated as I did not feel as if I was learning a thing. Jeff the other student agreed, we politely spoke with Leika letting her know we realize we signed up for an intensive class, but it is difficult for us to learn when we are not at all familiar with what you are saying, would you mind for today at least explaining to us what you are saying in Russian? She was extremely receptive to us; she had just moved back to Kiev two days earlier from Canada and was happy to speak in Russian and English.

My second day of language class, I woke up very tired, not enough sleep the entire week and I was not feeling well, but I knew it was Friday and if I could just make it through one more day I would have a full day to relax and rest up for the next week. So I got ready for class, public transportation all over again, it takes almost an hour and a half to get to school and often I will have to stand on the marschutka or the metro due to the number of people traveling so you can imagine how it might be a bit draining on any given day. Needless to say I made it to school, I even arrived thirty minutes early today, so I decided take a walk and see what was around the school. I walked one block away from the school, I cannot tell what direction, but it was not far at all. I stumbled upon a beautiful park, benches, flowers, a fountain, it was gorgeous, and I was so excited to find such a place amongst so many buildings and downtown area. The park is a perfect place to sit, read, take pictures, observe people, whatever, it is a great new discovery and I was happy to stumble upon it. I walked into class only to find my teacher was sick along with the other student; I wished I too was home in bed at that moment. What did I get up and out of bed for this morning feeling the way I did? I had a substitute teacher, Liliya and she will speak in Russian only and for three hours I will have a one on one session with her. I was not really up for this, I wasn’t feeling well, I was tired; I actually started to tear up when I did not understand her. She kept going, I explained I want to learn, but it is difficult when I do not understand. We got over that hump and it was an excellent class I learned so much from her. It was such a blessing to have a one on one lesson by the end of class we were laughing and joking with each other!

The Devil Prowls!

Today is June 2, 2008 the first day of our medical missions outreach clinic. We have one optical doctor here for eye exams for the children and there are many children to see.

The devil is on the prowl today as I could sense as soon as I woke up this morning. I rolled over to look at the clock 6:02 AM, Lord could I just stay in bed a bit longer? I know we chat in the mornings but today would you mind if I cut or chat short or postponed it until evening time? I was at the church the night before getting ready for the clinic and I am tired. I did stay in bed until 6:45 AM, got up put on a pot of coffee and headed to the shower in hopes of the water waking me up a bit. At 7:00 AM I am finished in the bathroom I went into the kitchen fixed a cup of coffee and headed to my room to finish getting ready for the day. Before I knew it, it was 7:20 AM, I ride was supposed to arrive by 7:30 AM so I rushed to the kitchen, purse, jacket and bag in hand ready to go. I thought I better eat something since I am not sure what will happen with the clinic, I may not have a bite to eat until I return home for the night? Needless to say the van did not arrive until after 8:00 AM to pick us up, the clinic starts at 9:00 AM and we are picking up the doctor on the way to the church, traffic, exam equipment, two stops on the way we will be fortunate to make it to the church by 9:00 AM!

We did exactly that! It was 9:00 AM at the church and nothing had been done yet, no tables set up, no people have shown up for appointments yet, the exam room was not ready etc…. you could cut the tension with a knife. I cannot speak the language, but I can sense things. We arrived at the church and we are trying to get things done only to find many people standing around doing NOTHING, hanging around in my office chatting where all the stuff is for the day. Get ‘er done is what I wanted to say, but would anybody understand me- um let me think for a minute – NO!

Our first appointment showed up at about 9:45 AM, I guess that is a part of the culture? I am not quite sure; nobody really seemed surprised by that so I suppose it is normal? Our first appointment arrived, we were expecting three children ages 6 and up, instead we got a grandmother and one child age 5, no problem we will roll with it. Okay now where is Natasha? She is doing all the registration as she is the one who spoke with every individual on the phone, she is cannot be found? No problem the doctor was still not ready to see anybody so it was actually a blessing they were late for their appointment.

So this is the way the day had started! It is now 11:00 AM here and the day is underway. We will be behind, but the joy of the Lord will pull us through. Please pray for the medical outreach this week as it will continue today through Wednesday.