Friday (St. Petersburg by bus)
This morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast consists of stopping by the front desk and grabbing a tiny container of yogurt and coffee (if you’re so inclined). Needless to say, the meal was not substantial but fortunately we had an early lunch at 1 PM after only walking 2 or 3 miles. We ate at a very nice restaurant and the food was excellent. The meal consisted of bread, salad, vegetable soup, fried potatoes (nicely seasoned) and crepes with a very tasty berry sauce for dessert. This tasty repast would prove to be the only real meal of the day.
The schedule for this morning was the Russian Hermitage which is an excellent museum much like the Louvre in France. However, we did not go the Hermitage but instead visited the summer palace of Catherine the Great. This trip was not in our budget so we each needed to donate $25 to the cause. The palace was very impressive and contains the world-famous Amber room that was captured by the Nazis and has never been seen since. We saw a re-creation of the room based on black and white photos of the original. I had previously read a book about the Amber room and was excited to see it in person. The good news is that we were allowed to take pictures throughout the palace except one room. The bad news is that room was, of course, the Amber Room. So I did the next best thing, I bought a post card of the room and photographed it.
Our English speaking guide on this trip is excellent. By now you should know her name. As with all the English-speaking women of Ukraine and Russia with whom I have conversed her name was Natasha. She really knows here stuff and her English is quite good.
After the palace, we went to see the Church of the Spilled Blood. I gather it was named after a Czar who was killed on the site. The church is incredible and rivals St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow. Roland and I took a quick peek inside and the murals were impressive. We didn’t have time to do the full tour.
At this same spot we also did some shopping at the nearby Tourist Trap, I mean Mart. I found some key chains for my sons and that was all I bought. I’m quite proud of myself.
This morning my roommate, Roland, complained to the hotel management about the lack of hot water in our shower. We had no problem getting hot water from the sink but the shower was always only freezing cold. They promised to send someone to fix it while we were gone which apparently they did because now there is no hot water at all. Problem solved.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Thursday (St. Petersburg here we come)
Today the only thing on our agenda is travel to St. Petersburg. We are going by train and have almost an entire car to ourselves. We have so much luggage, however, that it is pretty crowded. I’m sitting at a bulkhead seat and in front of me are two huge red suitcases. Beside them is another large black suitcase and there’s a small suitcase on the seat beside me and my bag is under the seat. All the overhead luggage areas are crammed with suitcases and most of the under-seat spaces are also filled up. The trip is supposed to take 8 or 9 hours so I bought a small Sudoku book at the train station.
Before we left, I walked down the block from our hotel and found a bank that was open and exchanged some US to Rubles. The exchange rate is 25 to 1 so for $26 I got over 600 Rubles. I also got some nice coins for my collection as well.
We arrived without incident in St. Petersburg at 7 PM and made it safely to our hotel. The hotel is interesting to say the least. After walking through a dark alley you enter a plain metal door that leads to several flights of stairs. Part way up the stairs there is a small room with a desk that is the hotel lobby. The elevator did not work so you can imagine 22 people with all our luggage hauling it up the stairs to the lobby and then further up to our respective rooms. As always, my room was on the top floor. The room has wireless Internet access (after you pay for it) which is a plus although I had very poor success staying connected.
Today the only thing on our agenda is travel to St. Petersburg. We are going by train and have almost an entire car to ourselves. We have so much luggage, however, that it is pretty crowded. I’m sitting at a bulkhead seat and in front of me are two huge red suitcases. Beside them is another large black suitcase and there’s a small suitcase on the seat beside me and my bag is under the seat. All the overhead luggage areas are crammed with suitcases and most of the under-seat spaces are also filled up. The trip is supposed to take 8 or 9 hours so I bought a small Sudoku book at the train station.
Before we left, I walked down the block from our hotel and found a bank that was open and exchanged some US to Rubles. The exchange rate is 25 to 1 so for $26 I got over 600 Rubles. I also got some nice coins for my collection as well.
We arrived without incident in St. Petersburg at 7 PM and made it safely to our hotel. The hotel is interesting to say the least. After walking through a dark alley you enter a plain metal door that leads to several flights of stairs. Part way up the stairs there is a small room with a desk that is the hotel lobby. The elevator did not work so you can imagine 22 people with all our luggage hauling it up the stairs to the lobby and then further up to our respective rooms. As always, my room was on the top floor. The room has wireless Internet access (after you pay for it) which is a plus although I had very poor success staying connected.
Wednesday (Of universities and circuses)
Today we went by bus several hours outside of Moscow to visit Zaoksky Adventist University. This school, of over three hundred students is the only Seventh-day Adventist university in Russia and was built shortly after the fall of communism. The university actually has over 1,200 students if you include its affiliates all over eastern Europe. The campus consists of a large main building that houses the Seminary, a computer lab, library, and administrative offices, another very large building that contains the dormitories/cafeteria/classrooms, and the main church auditorium, a gymnasium, a faculty apartment building, and a farm. The farm grows produce for the university and there are also greenhouses for growing flowers for sale.
Nearby, we toured the publishing house with its impressive million-dollar web press. Both the university and the publishing house came into being through a series of small (and not so small) miracles and they are a great blessing to the work in Russia.
Several hours and many more traffic jams later we were back in Moscow parked beside the famous Moscow circus. We had mid-tier seats for the evening performance and were all very excited. The circus was quite impressive and very diverse. It had clown acts, animals (lions, seals, camels, horses, and birds), high-wire performances, ice skating, acrobatics and even some synchronized swimming. The floor of the circus ring was actually a large hole in the floor and between acts various plug-in modules were inserted from a cavernous basement and lifted up into the hole. In this way they could change the rink from the standard surface, to an acrobatic mat surface, to an ice-skating rink, to a huge swimming pool as needed. The swimming pool came up empty but we could see it being filled while they did a performance from the upper tiers of the auditorium. The whole two and a half hour experience was quite impressive.
It appears that we are over budget already and have been asked for an additional $420 dollars. Originally the budget called for only $270 dollars but I gather that costs are constantly changes and they’re not going down.
Today we went by bus several hours outside of Moscow to visit Zaoksky Adventist University. This school, of over three hundred students is the only Seventh-day Adventist university in Russia and was built shortly after the fall of communism. The university actually has over 1,200 students if you include its affiliates all over eastern Europe. The campus consists of a large main building that houses the Seminary, a computer lab, library, and administrative offices, another very large building that contains the dormitories/cafeteria/classrooms, and the main church auditorium, a gymnasium, a faculty apartment building, and a farm. The farm grows produce for the university and there are also greenhouses for growing flowers for sale.
Nearby, we toured the publishing house with its impressive million-dollar web press. Both the university and the publishing house came into being through a series of small (and not so small) miracles and they are a great blessing to the work in Russia.
Several hours and many more traffic jams later we were back in Moscow parked beside the famous Moscow circus. We had mid-tier seats for the evening performance and were all very excited. The circus was quite impressive and very diverse. It had clown acts, animals (lions, seals, camels, horses, and birds), high-wire performances, ice skating, acrobatics and even some synchronized swimming. The floor of the circus ring was actually a large hole in the floor and between acts various plug-in modules were inserted from a cavernous basement and lifted up into the hole. In this way they could change the rink from the standard surface, to an acrobatic mat surface, to an ice-skating rink, to a huge swimming pool as needed. The swimming pool came up empty but we could see it being filled while they did a performance from the upper tiers of the auditorium. The whole two and a half hour experience was quite impressive.
It appears that we are over budget already and have been asked for an additional $420 dollars. Originally the budget called for only $270 dollars but I gather that costs are constantly changes and they’re not going down.
Tuesday (Moscow)
From the train we went directly to our hotel. The hotel is quite a ways from the center of Moscow and I would rate it two stars. It’s nothing special but it is clean and it has hot water for showers and a nice restaurant.
I had a cookie for breakfast on the train. For lunch I ate a piece of bread and half a slice of cheese at 2pm. After that we went touring the Kremlin and Red Square (over 8 miles of walking according to my pedometer-equipped roommate) and now I’m waiting for supper and I’m hungry--to put it mildly.
The word “Kremlin” in old Russian means “fortress.” Every city had a Kremlin and Moscow was no exception. Several hundred years ago Moscow became the religious and cultural center of Russia and eventually became its capital. The Kremlin started out built of wood but is now all brick and stone. Inside the Kremlin are several churches (we visited the church of the Assumption), the president’s office, a cultural arts center (where Mark Finley preached in 1993) and an armory. We also saw a canon that is supposed to be the largest in the world but it was never fired and a huge bell that weighs over 200 tons but was never rung. The story goes that the bell was involved in a fire and when they were extinguishing the flames, the bell cracked apart. The piece that came off weighs 11 tons.
We toured the armory museum which contains very few arms but lots and lots of jewelry, clothes, carriages, thrones, and gold dinner ware. It was quite interesting but we didn’t spend a lot of time there because we wanted to be sure we had time to see Red Square; which we did, and I got the picture to prove it.
Today has been a very event-full day and after supper I think I’m going to sleep well. My roommate is Roland Smith, he’s a retired financial advisor from Maryland. He’s a nice guy and I expect the room situation to go smoothly. He mentioned, however, that he snores, so we’ll have to see how that goes.
From the train we went directly to our hotel. The hotel is quite a ways from the center of Moscow and I would rate it two stars. It’s nothing special but it is clean and it has hot water for showers and a nice restaurant.
I had a cookie for breakfast on the train. For lunch I ate a piece of bread and half a slice of cheese at 2pm. After that we went touring the Kremlin and Red Square (over 8 miles of walking according to my pedometer-equipped roommate) and now I’m waiting for supper and I’m hungry--to put it mildly.
The word “Kremlin” in old Russian means “fortress.” Every city had a Kremlin and Moscow was no exception. Several hundred years ago Moscow became the religious and cultural center of Russia and eventually became its capital. The Kremlin started out built of wood but is now all brick and stone. Inside the Kremlin are several churches (we visited the church of the Assumption), the president’s office, a cultural arts center (where Mark Finley preached in 1993) and an armory. We also saw a canon that is supposed to be the largest in the world but it was never fired and a huge bell that weighs over 200 tons but was never rung. The story goes that the bell was involved in a fire and when they were extinguishing the flames, the bell cracked apart. The piece that came off weighs 11 tons.
We toured the armory museum which contains very few arms but lots and lots of jewelry, clothes, carriages, thrones, and gold dinner ware. It was quite interesting but we didn’t spend a lot of time there because we wanted to be sure we had time to see Red Square; which we did, and I got the picture to prove it.
Today has been a very event-full day and after supper I think I’m going to sleep well. My roommate is Roland Smith, he’s a retired financial advisor from Maryland. He’s a nice guy and I expect the room situation to go smoothly. He mentioned, however, that he snores, so we’ll have to see how that goes.
Monday (Russia bound)
It’s Tuesday morning and I have just spent a very comfortable and enjoyable night traveling by train from Kiev to Moscow. We arrive in about an hour. Twice during the night we were stopped and boarded by Ukranian and Russian customs officials, The Ukranians came on board at midnight and the Russians four hours later. The stops were fairly painless and we didn’t even need to get out of bed. The Russian stop was longer, however, and they took our passports for about an hour before we got them back. I had no trouble getting back to sleep after the stops and slept soundly until 8:30 in the morning feeling very rested.
Our trip yesterday from Dubno to Kiev went very smoothly. The pastor and his wife took Natasha and I to Rivne where we met the van going east with my fellow compatriots. It was an interesting experience to be in a van where almost everyone spoke English. You may have a hard time understanding this unless you’ve lived for over two weeks with almost everyone around you speaking an unintelligible language. When we arrived in Kiev I almost went into culture shock because then we had a whole room full of English speakers jabbering away and I could understand everyone!
In Kiev we spent the day at the East-bank Seventh-day Adventist Christian Center which is a large church and administration center where the conference offices are located. Natasha lives 300 meters from the center so a group of us went over to see how she lives in the real world. Her apartment is incredibly small and consists of a tiny kitchen, living room, and one bedroom/office. Two of my friends (the Garvers) from South Carolina stayed the night with them and (I hope) successfully arrived at the airport this morning.
Since we had a lot of time before our train left, Natasha, the Garvers, Ursula (a lady from California who had lost her SD card and needed our help to buy another one) and I spent about four hours shopping. We took a bus from the Center to central Kiev and toured the souvenir shops and then had some tea and snacks at a local restaurant.
At 7 PM we loaded the vans with our luggage and were off to the train station. I was able to borrow a friend’s phone for a few minutes and contact Julie to let her know that I was safe and happy. I’m hoping to have access to e-mail in Russia so that we can keep in contact this week.
It’s Tuesday morning and I have just spent a very comfortable and enjoyable night traveling by train from Kiev to Moscow. We arrive in about an hour. Twice during the night we were stopped and boarded by Ukranian and Russian customs officials, The Ukranians came on board at midnight and the Russians four hours later. The stops were fairly painless and we didn’t even need to get out of bed. The Russian stop was longer, however, and they took our passports for about an hour before we got them back. I had no trouble getting back to sleep after the stops and slept soundly until 8:30 in the morning feeling very rested.
Our trip yesterday from Dubno to Kiev went very smoothly. The pastor and his wife took Natasha and I to Rivne where we met the van going east with my fellow compatriots. It was an interesting experience to be in a van where almost everyone spoke English. You may have a hard time understanding this unless you’ve lived for over two weeks with almost everyone around you speaking an unintelligible language. When we arrived in Kiev I almost went into culture shock because then we had a whole room full of English speakers jabbering away and I could understand everyone!
In Kiev we spent the day at the East-bank Seventh-day Adventist Christian Center which is a large church and administration center where the conference offices are located. Natasha lives 300 meters from the center so a group of us went over to see how she lives in the real world. Her apartment is incredibly small and consists of a tiny kitchen, living room, and one bedroom/office. Two of my friends (the Garvers) from South Carolina stayed the night with them and (I hope) successfully arrived at the airport this morning.
Since we had a lot of time before our train left, Natasha, the Garvers, Ursula (a lady from California who had lost her SD card and needed our help to buy another one) and I spent about four hours shopping. We took a bus from the Center to central Kiev and toured the souvenir shops and then had some tea and snacks at a local restaurant.
At 7 PM we loaded the vans with our luggage and were off to the train station. I was able to borrow a friend’s phone for a few minutes and contact Julie to let her know that I was safe and happy. I’m hoping to have access to e-mail in Russia so that we can keep in contact this week.
Sunday (Lvev or Bust)
Bust. Today the plan was to tour Lvev which is the city where the pastor lived before coming to Dubno. The van, however, had different ideas and our plans had to be cancelled. This is the same van that is supposed to take us to Kiev early tomorrow morning so I’m not sure what will be done. I’m glad that we found out about the van now and not tomorrow.
We ended up having a very relaxing day, took long walks, and ate great food. Maybe this is what we needed anyway.
Bust. Today the plan was to tour Lvev which is the city where the pastor lived before coming to Dubno. The van, however, had different ideas and our plans had to be cancelled. This is the same van that is supposed to take us to Kiev early tomorrow morning so I’m not sure what will be done. I’m glad that we found out about the van now and not tomorrow.
We ended up having a very relaxing day, took long walks, and ate great food. Maybe this is what we needed anyway.
Sabbath (The End)
Today was a great day. It started off with a little sleeping-in and ended with a baptism. In between was a day of rest and fellowship. We had a very enjoyable Sabbath School and church service and afterwards a “dusia smachno” (very tasty) lunch. The weather was cold, rainy, and windy but after such a big lunch, Natasha and I just had to get out and take a walk. We walked for almost two hours through the woods and over the fields. When we got back all I wanted was a warm bath. Unfortunately, all the warm water had gone to fill the baptismal tank so I had to be satisfied with some hot tea and a warm bed.
In the afternoon, we practiced the evening presentation which was on the reality of heaven. Yesterday was my last presentation preparation and today was our last practice and this evening was our last meeting. It is hard to believe that two weeks of meetings have gone by. After the baptism the church presented us with flowers and gifts and the pastor said very nice things about us and now it is finished. It is a great feeling to rest, knowing that God has wonderfully blessed and that the meetings have ended triumphantly. Now I can relax and enjoy some sight-seeing and know that in only a couple of weeks I’ll see my friends and family again.
Vladimir was here for the last service and I was very glad. I presented him with a gift that I had brought from the states. I had thought about giving the gift to the pastor but realized that Vladimir needed it more. It was a pen that attached to its base by magnetism. The base said “Called by the Lord.” (or something close to that) and I told Vladimir that I would pray that he will always remember that God has called him and is calling him and that no matter how sinful or addicted he might be, God still calls.
Today was a great day. It started off with a little sleeping-in and ended with a baptism. In between was a day of rest and fellowship. We had a very enjoyable Sabbath School and church service and afterwards a “dusia smachno” (very tasty) lunch. The weather was cold, rainy, and windy but after such a big lunch, Natasha and I just had to get out and take a walk. We walked for almost two hours through the woods and over the fields. When we got back all I wanted was a warm bath. Unfortunately, all the warm water had gone to fill the baptismal tank so I had to be satisfied with some hot tea and a warm bed.
In the afternoon, we practiced the evening presentation which was on the reality of heaven. Yesterday was my last presentation preparation and today was our last practice and this evening was our last meeting. It is hard to believe that two weeks of meetings have gone by. After the baptism the church presented us with flowers and gifts and the pastor said very nice things about us and now it is finished. It is a great feeling to rest, knowing that God has wonderfully blessed and that the meetings have ended triumphantly. Now I can relax and enjoy some sight-seeing and know that in only a couple of weeks I’ll see my friends and family again.
Vladimir was here for the last service and I was very glad. I presented him with a gift that I had brought from the states. I had thought about giving the gift to the pastor but realized that Vladimir needed it more. It was a pen that attached to its base by magnetism. The base said “Called by the Lord.” (or something close to that) and I told Vladimir that I would pray that he will always remember that God has called him and is calling him and that no matter how sinful or addicted he might be, God still calls.
Friday (Light at the end of the tunnel)
Tomorrow night is my last presentation here in Dubno and the thought is bittersweet. It’s been hard work but it’s also been very rewarding. I’ve made new friends but I’m missing my family and friends back home and am looking forward to seeing them. Although it’s not like I’m going to be going home anytime soon because Monday I’m off for a week in Russia doing the tourist thing in Moscow and St. Petersburg. After that I will be spending a week in France on business. Fortunately I will make it home for my youngest son’s birthday…but just barely.
This evening I tried to impress the congregation with my Ukranian. First I said “Good evening (Dobre Ve’cheer) and then I said, “welcome” (Vee tah’ yu vas) and then I asked them how they were (Yahk Spra’vay), good? (Dobre?), very good? (Dusia dobre?) and then to finish off I said “Praise the Lord (Slava Bo’goo). I’m hoping that the appreciative chuckle that I got from the crowd was a good sign and that I didn’t unintentionally tell them that I ate dirt for breakfast or something like that.
Vladimir came back tonight after a couple nights absence. He was perfectly sober and it was really good to see him. After the meeting, he waved at me and said “Do zaftra.” Which means “see you tomorrow” so it looks like he’ll be here for the last meeting as well. Slava Bo’goo!
Tomorrow night is my last presentation here in Dubno and the thought is bittersweet. It’s been hard work but it’s also been very rewarding. I’ve made new friends but I’m missing my family and friends back home and am looking forward to seeing them. Although it’s not like I’m going to be going home anytime soon because Monday I’m off for a week in Russia doing the tourist thing in Moscow and St. Petersburg. After that I will be spending a week in France on business. Fortunately I will make it home for my youngest son’s birthday…but just barely.
This evening I tried to impress the congregation with my Ukranian. First I said “Good evening (Dobre Ve’cheer) and then I said, “welcome” (Vee tah’ yu vas) and then I asked them how they were (Yahk Spra’vay), good? (Dobre?), very good? (Dusia dobre?) and then to finish off I said “Praise the Lord (Slava Bo’goo). I’m hoping that the appreciative chuckle that I got from the crowd was a good sign and that I didn’t unintentionally tell them that I ate dirt for breakfast or something like that.
Vladimir came back tonight after a couple nights absence. He was perfectly sober and it was really good to see him. After the meeting, he waved at me and said “Do zaftra.” Which means “see you tomorrow” so it looks like he’ll be here for the last meeting as well. Slava Bo’goo!
Wednesday (Business as usual)
Today was filled with preparation, practice, and a visit to a man who lives nearby. The man is almost seventy, has never been married and lives with his brother and sister in a very nice home. I gather that he was a hydrostatic engineer (whatever that is) and was born in Dubno. He told us that his brother works very closely with cosmonauts and that he would like to give him a signed copy of a Bible. We told him that we would be happy to help him out.
Today was filled with preparation, practice, and a visit to a man who lives nearby. The man is almost seventy, has never been married and lives with his brother and sister in a very nice home. I gather that he was a hydrostatic engineer (whatever that is) and was born in Dubno. He told us that his brother works very closely with cosmonauts and that he would like to give him a signed copy of a Bible. We told him that we would be happy to help him out.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tuesday (Potato patties)
Today I got a cooking lesson from Luda. She makes these tasty stuffed potato patties and I determined that I would learn how to make them so that I could continue to enjoy them when I got back to the US. The patties are really easy to make and I think that even I can handle them. They are essentially mashed potatoes mixed with flour, wrapped around stuffing and then fried. In some ways they resemble perogies (which we also have quite often) except instead of using dough you use mashed potatoes.
This evening after the meeting we visited a family within walking distance of the church. The wife is baptized but the husband is not and we spent some time talking with him about baptism and answering his questions. The visit went well and as we were leaving we were presented with gifts. Natasha and I each got a very nicely done wooden wall plaque. I don’t know if I have room in my suitcase for too many more visits.
Today I got a cooking lesson from Luda. She makes these tasty stuffed potato patties and I determined that I would learn how to make them so that I could continue to enjoy them when I got back to the US. The patties are really easy to make and I think that even I can handle them. They are essentially mashed potatoes mixed with flour, wrapped around stuffing and then fried. In some ways they resemble perogies (which we also have quite often) except instead of using dough you use mashed potatoes.
This evening after the meeting we visited a family within walking distance of the church. The wife is baptized but the husband is not and we spent some time talking with him about baptism and answering his questions. The visit went well and as we were leaving we were presented with gifts. Natasha and I each got a very nicely done wooden wall plaque. I don’t know if I have room in my suitcase for too many more visits.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Bucha Seventh-Day Adventist Univeristy (Kiev)
The western-Ukraine group (back row: Me (Dubno), Valentine (sponsor), Pastor Garver (Lutsk), front row from left: Charles (Rivne), Natasha (Dubno), Nora (Lutsk), Mrs. Garver (Lutsk), Andre (Vladimir-Volinsky)
Dubno church building
Natasha and I
Inside Dubno church
Monday (Mushrooms again)
Since Natasha’s husband, Vladimir, was here we celebrated by going back to the forest to pick mushrooms. I’m afraid that I was not very helpful. In fact, I talked Vladimir into a long walk and we had a great time while the others slaved away looking under every leaf for the elusive mushroom. We met a man with a horse and cart who was also mushrooming and I got some good pictures of him and his haul of mushrooms. Amazingly, enough, we didn’t even get lost on our walk.
Vladimir stayed for tonight’s meeting and then took the night train back to Kiev. He called this morning saying that he had arrived safely about 7 AM.
Since Natasha’s husband, Vladimir, was here we celebrated by going back to the forest to pick mushrooms. I’m afraid that I was not very helpful. In fact, I talked Vladimir into a long walk and we had a great time while the others slaved away looking under every leaf for the elusive mushroom. We met a man with a horse and cart who was also mushrooming and I got some good pictures of him and his haul of mushrooms. Amazingly, enough, we didn’t even get lost on our walk.
Vladimir stayed for tonight’s meeting and then took the night train back to Kiev. He called this morning saying that he had arrived safely about 7 AM.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Sunday (Dubno)
This afternoon we took a quick tour of Dubno. Our first stop was an ancient castle and palace. It has very large walls and a mote around it. At various points we could go underground and in the walls to see where the troops defended the castle. From there we drove to the market and stopped on the way to take a picture of a beautiful white and gold cathedral. The marketplace was very large and consisted of a myriad stalls all with their own specialties. There were stalls for almost every conceivable need from furniture, to sweets, to flour and grain, to cheese and books.
Vladimir, Natasha’s husband, joined us this afternoon at lunch. He is in charge of the literature evangelists in Ukraine and was meeting with them in Lutsk which is very close to Dubno. On his way home he has stopped by to visit for a couple of days. Needless to say, Natasha, is on cloud nine. She is the kind of person who wears her emotions on her sleeve and you don’t doubt when she’s happy. He came to our meeting last night to see Natasha in action and was very impressed.
Tonight’s meeting was especially difficult because it was very long. It is not easy to explain the prophecies of Daniel 7 in one night. But it went well and those who heard it say that it was clear. After the program Natasha and I stood by the gate greeting people on their way out. It’s amazing how much friendlier everyone is than when we first arrived. Smiles and greetings have replaced the suspicion in their faces and it seems like everyone is anxious to shake our hands and for this we are thankful to God.
After the meeting (and two beautiful songs) Natasha left by train to go back to Lviev. We hope that she will come again next weekend and sing for us. Maybe Natasha can sing a duet.
This afternoon we took a quick tour of Dubno. Our first stop was an ancient castle and palace. It has very large walls and a mote around it. At various points we could go underground and in the walls to see where the troops defended the castle. From there we drove to the market and stopped on the way to take a picture of a beautiful white and gold cathedral. The marketplace was very large and consisted of a myriad stalls all with their own specialties. There were stalls for almost every conceivable need from furniture, to sweets, to flour and grain, to cheese and books.
Vladimir, Natasha’s husband, joined us this afternoon at lunch. He is in charge of the literature evangelists in Ukraine and was meeting with them in Lutsk which is very close to Dubno. On his way home he has stopped by to visit for a couple of days. Needless to say, Natasha, is on cloud nine. She is the kind of person who wears her emotions on her sleeve and you don’t doubt when she’s happy. He came to our meeting last night to see Natasha in action and was very impressed.
Tonight’s meeting was especially difficult because it was very long. It is not easy to explain the prophecies of Daniel 7 in one night. But it went well and those who heard it say that it was clear. After the program Natasha and I stood by the gate greeting people on their way out. It’s amazing how much friendlier everyone is than when we first arrived. Smiles and greetings have replaced the suspicion in their faces and it seems like everyone is anxious to shake our hands and for this we are thankful to God.
After the meeting (and two beautiful songs) Natasha left by train to go back to Lviev. We hope that she will come again next weekend and sing for us. Maybe Natasha can sing a duet.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Sabbath (Blessed rest)
Our days are usually filled with preparation for the evening meetings and even though this is a very spiritual work it can be tiring. Yesterday we worked extra hard and prepared two days worth of presentations so that today we could truly have a day of rest. And it has been a wonderfully relaxing and restful day. I can see that the Lord really knew what He was doing when He gave us the Sabbath.
For the past week it seems like I speak only with Natasha. She is my channel to the other people in my world. But today my horizons expanded somewhat and I was able to talk to Natasha also. She is an English-speaking friend of the pastor and his wife and lives about 4 hours by train due west of us. She came last night to visit and will being staying until tomorrow. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t enjoy talking to Natasha. It’s just that from time to time it is nice to have some variety and so it was a real pleasure to speak to Natasha as well. She, of course, has some different perspectives from Natasha because of her vastly different background. Natasha was born in Russia, whereas Natasha was born in western Ukraine. Natasha is unmarried while Natasha has been married for several years. Natasha is an economist and Natasha is a pastor’s wife. Both Natasha and Natasha sing semi-professionally and that is what brought Natasha here to visit. She sang two songs for us at last night’s meeting. Natasha, on the other hand, hasn’t sung for the meetings yet because her voice is just coming back after her cold but she will sing at the baptism during our last meeting next Sabbath. It really is a great blessing to have Natasha here.
Tonight’s meeting was one of the best so far. Everything went very smoothly, we had beautiful music, the tone of the meeting was solemn, and I felt good about the presentation. The topic was baptism and afterwards we gave out response cards so that visitors could indicate their desire to be baptized. Seven people responded and we are praising God. We had over 150 people attending last night, many of whom are visitors, and we will continue to offer them the opportunity to be baptized as the meetings progress. Keep praying!
Our days are usually filled with preparation for the evening meetings and even though this is a very spiritual work it can be tiring. Yesterday we worked extra hard and prepared two days worth of presentations so that today we could truly have a day of rest. And it has been a wonderfully relaxing and restful day. I can see that the Lord really knew what He was doing when He gave us the Sabbath.
For the past week it seems like I speak only with Natasha. She is my channel to the other people in my world. But today my horizons expanded somewhat and I was able to talk to Natasha also. She is an English-speaking friend of the pastor and his wife and lives about 4 hours by train due west of us. She came last night to visit and will being staying until tomorrow. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t enjoy talking to Natasha. It’s just that from time to time it is nice to have some variety and so it was a real pleasure to speak to Natasha as well. She, of course, has some different perspectives from Natasha because of her vastly different background. Natasha was born in Russia, whereas Natasha was born in western Ukraine. Natasha is unmarried while Natasha has been married for several years. Natasha is an economist and Natasha is a pastor’s wife. Both Natasha and Natasha sing semi-professionally and that is what brought Natasha here to visit. She sang two songs for us at last night’s meeting. Natasha, on the other hand, hasn’t sung for the meetings yet because her voice is just coming back after her cold but she will sing at the baptism during our last meeting next Sabbath. It really is a great blessing to have Natasha here.
Tonight’s meeting was one of the best so far. Everything went very smoothly, we had beautiful music, the tone of the meeting was solemn, and I felt good about the presentation. The topic was baptism and afterwards we gave out response cards so that visitors could indicate their desire to be baptized. Seven people responded and we are praising God. We had over 150 people attending last night, many of whom are visitors, and we will continue to offer them the opportunity to be baptized as the meetings progress. Keep praying!
Friday (Milestones)
Tonight, after the meeting we will have been here one week and the series will be half over. The time has gone by fast but the days have been full of hard work with some fun mixed in. Natasha’s husband is coming on Sunday to stay with us for a day and we hope to do some sight-seeing with him. I understand that Dubno has some interesting places of historical significance including a castle and I really don’t want to come all the way here and not see them.
Today, as I was working on tomorrow’s presentation, which is on baptism, I found a place where I could use some pictures that I took while touring in Kiev (pronounced Keeve). The pictures were of Vladimir’s Cathedral and his baptism. Vladimir was a great Russian prince who became a Christian and inside the cathedral there are beautiful murals on almost every flat surface. Beside the door was one of his baptism which took place in 1088 AD in Kiev and was significant to me because he was being baptized by immersion. A couple of hundred years after this the church of that time decided that they would also allow sprinkling and infant baptism as well although these practices are not biblical. I’m really glad I took these pictures because they fit very well into the presentation and they add a strong local flavor.
Tonight, after the meeting we will have been here one week and the series will be half over. The time has gone by fast but the days have been full of hard work with some fun mixed in. Natasha’s husband is coming on Sunday to stay with us for a day and we hope to do some sight-seeing with him. I understand that Dubno has some interesting places of historical significance including a castle and I really don’t want to come all the way here and not see them.
Today, as I was working on tomorrow’s presentation, which is on baptism, I found a place where I could use some pictures that I took while touring in Kiev (pronounced Keeve). The pictures were of Vladimir’s Cathedral and his baptism. Vladimir was a great Russian prince who became a Christian and inside the cathedral there are beautiful murals on almost every flat surface. Beside the door was one of his baptism which took place in 1088 AD in Kiev and was significant to me because he was being baptized by immersion. A couple of hundred years after this the church of that time decided that they would also allow sprinkling and infant baptism as well although these practices are not biblical. I’m really glad I took these pictures because they fit very well into the presentation and they add a strong local flavor.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Thursday (Ukranian mushrooms)
Natasha and I are getting pretty efficient at preparing and practicing our evening presentations and so are having more time to do some other fun things. Today Gennady and Looda took us mushroom picking in a nearby forest. It was a beautiful day and the thrill of the hunt was upon us. At first, Natasha and I picked only the easy ones (that don’t taste as good) while Gennady and Looda worked on the hard-to-find but tasty varieties. After a while we switched over to the harder ones and did respectably. The good ones are small and are usually found peeking through leaves or at the base of trees. I found one tree that was completely surrounded by them. It was the mother lode of mushrooms and it took us a while to pick them all. That tree was rare, however, and most of the time we found only small clumps here and there.
Before the meeting started this evening Vladimir came down and talked to Natasha and I. He was pretty drunk but he invited us to visit him in his home and we said yes. After the meeting, the pastor, his wife, Natasha, and I walked home with him. He is a retired physics teacher, his wife is dead, and it seems that he does not see much of his children. Vladimir doesn’t feel that he has much to live for any more. He lives in a small, one-room apartment, has little money, and is very lonely. I told him how we wanted to be his family. Just a short walk from his apartment is our church, a large home filled with brothers and sisters of God’s family. We invited him to keep coming and to make friends with us and then we prayed for him. We will continue to pray for Him and I hope you will also.
Natasha and I are getting pretty efficient at preparing and practicing our evening presentations and so are having more time to do some other fun things. Today Gennady and Looda took us mushroom picking in a nearby forest. It was a beautiful day and the thrill of the hunt was upon us. At first, Natasha and I picked only the easy ones (that don’t taste as good) while Gennady and Looda worked on the hard-to-find but tasty varieties. After a while we switched over to the harder ones and did respectably. The good ones are small and are usually found peeking through leaves or at the base of trees. I found one tree that was completely surrounded by them. It was the mother lode of mushrooms and it took us a while to pick them all. That tree was rare, however, and most of the time we found only small clumps here and there.
Before the meeting started this evening Vladimir came down and talked to Natasha and I. He was pretty drunk but he invited us to visit him in his home and we said yes. After the meeting, the pastor, his wife, Natasha, and I walked home with him. He is a retired physics teacher, his wife is dead, and it seems that he does not see much of his children. Vladimir doesn’t feel that he has much to live for any more. He lives in a small, one-room apartment, has little money, and is very lonely. I told him how we wanted to be his family. Just a short walk from his apartment is our church, a large home filled with brothers and sisters of God’s family. We invited him to keep coming and to make friends with us and then we prayed for him. We will continue to pray for Him and I hope you will also.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Wednesday (A trip to Lutsk)
Yesterday we prepared two presentations so that we could take a trip today to a nearby town named Lutsk. Here we met with five fellow speakers, their translators, and their pastors. It was good to see the team again and to talk about the trials and triumphs of our respective meetings. We were also able to give and take some good ideas about how we can improve. It was a very cold and rainy day today so this was a good day to do this. Otherwise the weather has been fantastic.
Before the meetings each evening we have a health expo and one of the features is free massages. Tonight I wanted to see how the massages worked and ended up getting one for myself. Thank you Vladimir!
My cold is feeling much better these days. So far this cold has been the shortest, least severe cold that I have ever had. It’s either the do-it-yourself treatments or the Lord’s blessing or both. Either way, I’m so glad that is past.
Yesterday we prepared two presentations so that we could take a trip today to a nearby town named Lutsk. Here we met with five fellow speakers, their translators, and their pastors. It was good to see the team again and to talk about the trials and triumphs of our respective meetings. We were also able to give and take some good ideas about how we can improve. It was a very cold and rainy day today so this was a good day to do this. Otherwise the weather has been fantastic.
Before the meetings each evening we have a health expo and one of the features is free massages. Tonight I wanted to see how the massages worked and ended up getting one for myself. Thank you Vladimir!
My cold is feeling much better these days. So far this cold has been the shortest, least severe cold that I have ever had. It’s either the do-it-yourself treatments or the Lord’s blessing or both. Either way, I’m so glad that is past.
Tuesday (Progress)
Valdimir has come back both Monday and tonight even though he had told us that he had to be in Kiev Monday night. He came down afterward and sat with us and we talked. We continue to pray for him.
About 80 people are coming to the meetings each evening. Of these, 50 are not members of the church. The meetings are going very well and we are all very pleased.
First it was eating garlic plain, then it was drinking garlic straight up with hot water and now I’m sniffing garlic smoke. But don’t laugh, this really works. You burn the garlic stalk and sniff deeply of the smoke in each nostril several times and it stops up a runny nose and keeps your head clear. I was having a terrible time with a runny nose and even had to buy more tissue paper. Before my evening presentation I stuffed almost every pocket on my person with tissue paper but I never needed any of it because I had a quick garlic stalk just before I went to the church and I felt great all the way through.
Valdimir has come back both Monday and tonight even though he had told us that he had to be in Kiev Monday night. He came down afterward and sat with us and we talked. We continue to pray for him.
About 80 people are coming to the meetings each evening. Of these, 50 are not members of the church. The meetings are going very well and we are all very pleased.
First it was eating garlic plain, then it was drinking garlic straight up with hot water and now I’m sniffing garlic smoke. But don’t laugh, this really works. You burn the garlic stalk and sniff deeply of the smoke in each nostril several times and it stops up a runny nose and keeps your head clear. I was having a terrible time with a runny nose and even had to buy more tissue paper. Before my evening presentation I stuffed almost every pocket on my person with tissue paper but I never needed any of it because I had a quick garlic stalk just before I went to the church and I felt great all the way through.
Monday (The routine)
What can I say: pray, prepare, pray, practice, pray, preach, pray.
This is probably a good point to tell you more about my hosts in Dubno. I am staying with the pastor of the Dubno church, Gennady, and his wife Looda. They have two grown children who have left home and I think they are enjoying having a son and daughter to take care of again. They are taking excellent care of both Natasha and I and we are very blessed. Gennady worked for many years in business as a manager in a large corporation before he was called to the ministry. He has been a pastor for five years but has only been at Dubno for one month! Looda worked for over 20 years at a hotel and she is an excellent cook! They are both extremely dedicated people and the Lord is working through them.
I’ve also been learning more about Natasha. She was born in Russia although she has Asian heritage and knows English, Ukranian, Russian, and an Arabic dialect that I will not even try to name. She works part-time cleaning homes in Kiev and is also going to university part-time working on philology (the study of languages, English, and Ukranian literature). Before becoming an Adventist and meeting her husband, Vladimir, she lived in Russia where she had completed a five-year degree in chemical engineering and worked at a large oil-processing facility. She and her husband have been married for six years and do not have any children, yet. In her youth she lived close to the Chechnya border and her town was once raided by terrorists who took over the local hospital and shot up the center of town with automatic weapons. Within a short time tanks and soldiers rolled in and the sky was dark with Russian aircraft responding to the attack and they could not leave their homes for three days.
What can I say: pray, prepare, pray, practice, pray, preach, pray.
This is probably a good point to tell you more about my hosts in Dubno. I am staying with the pastor of the Dubno church, Gennady, and his wife Looda. They have two grown children who have left home and I think they are enjoying having a son and daughter to take care of again. They are taking excellent care of both Natasha and I and we are very blessed. Gennady worked for many years in business as a manager in a large corporation before he was called to the ministry. He has been a pastor for five years but has only been at Dubno for one month! Looda worked for over 20 years at a hotel and she is an excellent cook! They are both extremely dedicated people and the Lord is working through them.
I’ve also been learning more about Natasha. She was born in Russia although she has Asian heritage and knows English, Ukranian, Russian, and an Arabic dialect that I will not even try to name. She works part-time cleaning homes in Kiev and is also going to university part-time working on philology (the study of languages, English, and Ukranian literature). Before becoming an Adventist and meeting her husband, Vladimir, she lived in Russia where she had completed a five-year degree in chemical engineering and worked at a large oil-processing facility. She and her husband have been married for six years and do not have any children, yet. In her youth she lived close to the Chechnya border and her town was once raided by terrorists who took over the local hospital and shot up the center of town with automatic weapons. Within a short time tanks and soldiers rolled in and the sky was dark with Russian aircraft responding to the attack and they could not leave their homes for three days.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Sunday (Is it true?)
Tonight after the meeting I met Vladimir. He told me (through Natasha, of course) that he had come both nights. Then he asked bluntly, “Is it true?” It turns out that he is a scientist and teaches science at a nearby university. “Is it true?” he asked again. “If so, then I have been teaching a lie to my students all these years.” He went on to say that he has read the bible many times and has read many books about the Bible but he has never understood it. And then he said, “What should I do? I feel guilty. I don’t understand or believe the Bible. What should I do?” We shared with him that we believe in a God who is the God of science and the God of the Bible and that the two can agree. We encouraged him to keep coming and promised that we would pray for him. Please help us pray for him. I hope to have good news about Vladimir in the coming days.
Things were going well and we were in full swing this evening when it suddenly screeched to a grinding halt. I had just read a Bible verse and was waiting for Natasha to interpret when she called my attention to the screen. The verse wasn’t there! Somehow, in the middle of the presentation, the slides had become un-synchronized. I quickly reset the presentation but it didn’t help so for the next several minutes I had to compensate manually any time there was a Bible verse. On a verse slide, I would say my part and then I would back up to the previous slide where verse was displayed. After a while I got pretty good at it. Eventually the slides became synchronized again. I can guarantee that I’m not going to let that happen again! I’m going to personally recheck all slides after all our editing is done to make sure they all make sense together.
After the meeting, I was sitting in my room minding my own business when in walks Natasha and the church doctor. Earlier, I had made the mistake of telling Natasha that my throat was starting to feel scratchy. A word of advice…never tell Natasha you think you might be getting sick. Twenty minutes later the doctor left but not before twisting my body in ways that it was not meant to be twisted, cracking my joints including spine, knuckles and wrists, and rubbing my ears (circulation, I gather), After he left, I was subjected to a do-it-yourself program of disease prevention (or die trying). The first course of treatment consisted of tea. First a cup of chamomile, then lemon (with no sugar), and last (gasp) crushed garlic and hot water straight up. After three slices of raw lemon we moved on to the next step. The plan was to do some hot and cold fomentations on my feet, but, just then, the power went out and I was spared (which just goes to prove that there still is some good in this world). By laptop light, we moved on to the last course which consisted of a foul-smelling compound that I rubbed on my back (the pastor helped with that), chest, neck, and feet. With a vitamin pill for good measure I finally made it into bed. I think the treatments may have worked. Knowing that the treatment is worse then the sickness I have decided that I will just simply not get sick. After all, it’s all mind over matter, right? But seriously, we’re praying hard about this and continue to appreciate your prayers.
Tonight after the meeting I met Vladimir. He told me (through Natasha, of course) that he had come both nights. Then he asked bluntly, “Is it true?” It turns out that he is a scientist and teaches science at a nearby university. “Is it true?” he asked again. “If so, then I have been teaching a lie to my students all these years.” He went on to say that he has read the bible many times and has read many books about the Bible but he has never understood it. And then he said, “What should I do? I feel guilty. I don’t understand or believe the Bible. What should I do?” We shared with him that we believe in a God who is the God of science and the God of the Bible and that the two can agree. We encouraged him to keep coming and promised that we would pray for him. Please help us pray for him. I hope to have good news about Vladimir in the coming days.
Things were going well and we were in full swing this evening when it suddenly screeched to a grinding halt. I had just read a Bible verse and was waiting for Natasha to interpret when she called my attention to the screen. The verse wasn’t there! Somehow, in the middle of the presentation, the slides had become un-synchronized. I quickly reset the presentation but it didn’t help so for the next several minutes I had to compensate manually any time there was a Bible verse. On a verse slide, I would say my part and then I would back up to the previous slide where verse was displayed. After a while I got pretty good at it. Eventually the slides became synchronized again. I can guarantee that I’m not going to let that happen again! I’m going to personally recheck all slides after all our editing is done to make sure they all make sense together.
After the meeting, I was sitting in my room minding my own business when in walks Natasha and the church doctor. Earlier, I had made the mistake of telling Natasha that my throat was starting to feel scratchy. A word of advice…never tell Natasha you think you might be getting sick. Twenty minutes later the doctor left but not before twisting my body in ways that it was not meant to be twisted, cracking my joints including spine, knuckles and wrists, and rubbing my ears (circulation, I gather), After he left, I was subjected to a do-it-yourself program of disease prevention (or die trying). The first course of treatment consisted of tea. First a cup of chamomile, then lemon (with no sugar), and last (gasp) crushed garlic and hot water straight up. After three slices of raw lemon we moved on to the next step. The plan was to do some hot and cold fomentations on my feet, but, just then, the power went out and I was spared (which just goes to prove that there still is some good in this world). By laptop light, we moved on to the last course which consisted of a foul-smelling compound that I rubbed on my back (the pastor helped with that), chest, neck, and feet. With a vitamin pill for good measure I finally made it into bed. I think the treatments may have worked. Knowing that the treatment is worse then the sickness I have decided that I will just simply not get sick. After all, it’s all mind over matter, right? But seriously, we’re praying hard about this and continue to appreciate your prayers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)