Category: Updates

It is 2011- a new year, new goals, big dreams, exciting changes! I love New Years!!!! I love fresh starts and new beginnings. Last night a friend of mine here named Yulia and I went to downtown Kyiv to watch the fireworks! It was super fun and they were beautiful! I’ve posted a little video of them if you scroll down. Poor Ben had to stay home with the kids but I think he was secretly thankful not to be out until 1:30am. Hope you had a great time celebrating New Years too! Any New Years resolutions out there?

Hypocrisy. It is a problem.
We just finished our first quarter of SBS. The students have almost finished studying the New Testament and they have done amazing. I (Angela) taught on the last day of lecture- the book of James.

James is a book that is like going into a room of mirrors. He holds up a mirror at all different angles and allows you to look at yourself from multiple perspectives and topics. It is an awesome book that challenges every believer to really live out his faith in practical ways dealing with issues like perseverance in trials, wisdom, and watching our words to name a few. I love this quote:

Whenever faith does not issue in love, and doctrine, no matter how orthodox, is unrelated to life; whenever Christians are tempted to settle down to a self–centered religion, and become oblivious of the social and material needs of others. Or whenever they deny by their manner of living the creed they profess, and seem more anxious to be friends of the world than friends of God, then the epistle of James has something to say to them which they reject at their own peril.-R.V.G Tasker 1956.

I was challenged as I studied and taught this book written by the brother of Jesus to be open to seeing any areas in my life that are not in alignment with what I profess to believe. I am always open to feedback (given in love of course) so if anytime you see something you would deem ‘hypocrisy’ please let me know.

A picture is worth 1000 words so they say. Instead of a letter, here is our year in 30 pictures. Enjoy!
** To have it play automatically, click play arrow, then “MORE” and then “autoplay”.

A picture is worth 1000 words so they say. Instead of a letter, here is our year in 30 pictures. Enjoy!
** To have it play automatically, click play arrow, then “MORE” and then “autoplay”.

Life in Ukraine is very similar in a lot of ways … but in some, it is just different.

We’ve been in the 0 to -10 degree celcius weather the last couple weeks. Not really cold, but still cold. The ministry we work with has a boat that floats and is basically docked on the shoreline. It’s been there for a long time – not less than 10 years from what I figure. It has an electrical connection to the shore. Here is where it gets different (as quoted by our director):

“We (our electricity) got cut off twice today again because of corrupt crazy mafia dudes who live in England! The transformer is locked inside a building bought by some guy. The transformer is state owned and the building should be. So what happened is some corrupt official sold the building to a private owner with a lot of money, and walla, we get screwed by being dependent on this private owner who doesn’t even live in Ukraine. We have to literally run water constantly through our pipes so they don’t freeze.”

I just can’t see this happening at home in Canada. Somethings here … well, they’re just different.

We have been having a lot of fun with the DTS here in Kyiv! We’ve painted, prayed, played jeapordy, cut up maps, drawn pictures, and all for the purpose of understanding how the bible is one big love story of God pursuing man! This class is unique because it has many people that did not grow up in the church, including some who were orphans and because now they are too old for the orphanage (they are kicked out at 16) are here doing a DTS. That means their knowledge of the bible and God’s love is very small. Thank you to everyone who makes it possible for us to be here in Ukraine teaching. We couldn’t be here without you and 14 DTS students are being trained and discipled because of you!

This last week we had the privilege of getting to know some really great DTS students and staff in Ternopil. We took a night train there (sleeping with kids on a train is definitely an experience!) and then taught every morning. We took them on a journey from the beginning of the bible to the end. It was a lot of fun. In the evenings we played lots of games and they played with our kids. Cassie and Jay sure had a lot of love and attention showered on them. We made a little video and have posted some pictures so don’t forget to scroll down and check them out! In a few weeks those DTS’ers will be heading to India and Ethiopia! Very exciting! We teach next week in the DTS here in Kyiv so that will be lots of fun!

Date night…
Every Tuesday Alla, our babysitter, comes over and we head to our Russian tutor.
Every Friday, she comes again, but this time it is date night.

Last night we went downtown and walked around, people watching. We got on a retro metro (no really, it was a fixed up old metro car – but you’ve got to love my rhyme!) car and rode downtown. We walked past the Gucci store, Louis Vitton and a few other ritzy flipzy types. We strolled through a traditional market and then into the tsum department store (apparently there is one in every post-soviet country). We laughed at how hard it is to read Russian cursive … we’ve got the printing, that’s a piece of cake compared to the handwriting – you should see this stuff (click on pics for a better taste). We found this really cool bakery (still can’t find cinnamon buns though). Did some jeans shopping for Ang – happy birthday present!

Life just changes when the kids come around. Family time is really great .. but it sure is wonderful to hang out with my best friend and have lots of fun with her! So Alla comes every Friday so we can have date night … do you have any suggestions for us?

** This pic of Russian handwriting says “deeshish” which means breathe – thanks to Christine Pierquet for the photo.

One of the things we want this blog to do is to help you feel closer to us, so here is a little glimpse into my day:

7.30am I woke up, went and got Jay and kept him quiet so that Ang could get a little more sleep.
8am Breakfast time with the family, yummy cereal!
8:45am I walk to the boat where we work. After an hour of worship focusing on the character of God, I then evaluated the teaching of my coworker as he taught through the book of 2 Thessalonians.
1:35pm Now my tummy is growling- time for lunch!
2:10pm My friend asks me to pose for some pictures – she is teaching later this week and needed a ‘poster boy’ for some illustrations (check out the pictures section).
2:20pm I walk home and Angela gives me a quick hug before she leaves for a staff meeting at the boat. I put Jay down for his nap, put Cassie down for hers and tidy up.
2:40pm The doorbell rings and one of our students arrives for personal discussion.
4:30pm Just as he is leaving, Angela gets home and the kids wake up. Angela makes a yummy dinner for us and decides that there is lots so we should invite some friends over.
5:30pm Two of our coworkers come over for dinner and we have fun time together. We have been blessed with great friends here.
8:00pm Time to put the kids to bed. I take care of Jay while Ang reads Cassie some new Dora books she got in the mail and puts her to sleep. After Ang feeds Jay he is off to bed too (oops, no bath tonight).
9:05pm While the kids sleep it is a great time to get work done. I mark some of the student’s homework and post this blog entry.
Bedtime: soon!

What was your day like today? Leave a comment :)