Mission to Ukraine

What We’re Up To

Posted on by kimnjed

So, here we are in Ukraine, livin' it up, doing our thing, and you might be wondering,

 

“What are they actually doing there?”

 

That's a valid question with an answer that changes every day. :

When we first arrived, Ira, the Director at Mission to Ukraine (MTU) told us “We have an additional beatitude in Ukraine, 'Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be broken.'” Ha! Bring it on, we're ready.

Making new baby friends to squeeze

We just want to bless MTU and their vision as much as possible, so we have given them ourselves. They are welcome to use us however they want. We just desire to be a blessing and not a burden. Ira wisely decided it would be best to focus on tasks month by month, reevaluating often where there is the most need and where they can use us most effectively.

Discovering new playgrounds

For the month of December we are mostly helping in different classrooms around MTU. Jed and I take turns going to MTU, while the other stays home and teaches our kids. We're only a couple of weeks into it, but so far so good! One thing I do know is that I've got to get more organized with our homeschooling. Yikes. I'm not used to this “team-teaching” thing! I'm just used to teaching the kids while Jed's off at work and he doesn't really have a hand in it. I love the idea of him teaching the kids! I just am realizing it's going to take a lot more organization to be able to pull it off well. All my Homeschool Mama friends are laughing at me right now. Stop it! I see you and that smirk on your face! 🙂 Let's just say I've not been known to be the most organized Type A homeschooler out there. I'm more of the “let's just do the next thing” type, with a good bit of “We don't need to do that” thrown in there (like worksheets and such). I'm not neglectful, I'm just relaxed. Yeah, that doesn't really work with more than one teacher. I realized that I'm going to have to write out lesson plans or else Jed will have no clue what to do and all the schooling will fall on me…which won't work because I'm not always going to be home. Whew. Pray for me and my relaxed, unorganized, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants self!

Reveling in rickety merry-go-rounds

While at MTU we act as extra hands in the various classes they teach. There is a special needs preschool class that we help at, as well as some life skills classes for all ages and abilities. It is so fun!!! I already have a few favorites (if I'm allowed favorites). 😉 I hope to share their pictures with you soon, I just need permission first. The staff at MTU is stretched very thin, so they really need extra hands in every area.

Posing for Mommy

Jed is working with Natasha, one of the staff members who is in charge of development of MTU's volunteer base. His experience at Family Building Blocks is just what Natasha needs and wants. So, that's cool. He's also helping out Tatiana in the communications department with social media stuff. And of course there's Fridays. Woohoo! On Fridays Jed and I take turns volunteering at Romaniv Orphanage with the MTU team. To say it's a highlight of our week would be an understatement. Just tonight we had our friend Olya over for dinner, she's an occupational therapist at MTU, and were brainstorming with her about Romaniv and what we can do for the boys there. The need is overwhelming, but God doesn't call us to fix all the problems. He just calls us to take one step at a time and daily listen to His voice and obey. Whew!

Eating lots of Borscht!

Last Saturday we took the kids to visit Awanas! Ha! Funny right? One of the churches here in town hosts Awanas on Saturday afternoons and the kids had a blast. It's all in Ukrainian, and the teacher said they did just fine! It felt super strange to leave them there, but when we were in the room they were looking to us too much, so we thought they'd do better if we left. I've gotta say, our kids are pretty stinkin' brave. They want to go back too!

Helping Mommy shop

We're trying our best to study the heck outta Russian. We have a wonderful teacher named Sveta who comes to our house three days a week for our lessons. We're also tackling Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur. If one language program is good, 2 plus a tutor must be great, right? Let's hope so.

Making cookies for the staff at Romaniv

 

Other than all that, we're just spending our days learning how to live in Ukraine. It's a new culture, new language, new pace of life, new everything. We seriously feel like babies. I want to scream to people “I'm really not as stupid as I sound! I really am a smart person…I just don't know how to ask for the right kind of cheese at the deli counter.” Haha! Oh dear. We are babies, learning a whole new world, taking baby steps, talking baby talk. It's humbling and invigorating, and humiliating, and frustrating, and wonderful.

I simply would not have it any other way. God is so good it's almost laughable. 🙂

 

Yes, yes, I know, it's a scarf. What can I do?- either choke to death or freeze to death. I choose to not freeze. 😉

 

 

Thankful

Posted on by kimnjed

Happy Thanksgiving (a day late)!

I had a witty post simmering in my brain all about the antics of yesterday. I have a photo diary of potatoes soaking in the bathtub, turkey in it's brine on the covered balcony, cornbread for stuffing, and out-of-this-universe pumpkin pie vareniki that we created. But I just can't go there today. It'll have to wait.
I spent this morning at Romaniv orphanage for boys and men, and I have so much more to share than turkey wit. I wish so badly that you could have come along with me. I know if you did you would never be the same. No one can be the same after spending time at Romaniv.
We first visited Romaniv in April of 2012. Jed and I, our eyes met as we looked over the room of boys, “Yes, this is what we were created for.”
In May we visited again, looking with different eyes, ones that were wise to the fact that soon these boys would become a part of normal life for us.
Today I returned for the first time since our move and I am wrecked.
These are not just boys in pictures. These are not just sad stories to gain your sympathy. These are Zhenya, Vitalik, Misha, Valera, and Sergei. These are little hands that hold mine and walk the halls and throw balls and build legos. These are little hands and big hands that hit themselves and each other for stimulation. These are faces that smile, and frown, and grimace, and bite; faces that are smooth like a baby and faces that are covered with the scars of self-abuse. These are eyes that light up, eyes that are clever and knowing- even when the mouth can't speak, eyes that are blind, and eyes that are distant, almost unaware of the other humans around. These are not just another need that is unmet. These are not just another story to make you feel guilty for your wealth.
These are real boys. They are now a very real part of our life. These are “our” boys. And they are beautiful.
One boy, who is now a man is unable to walk, but there is no wheelchair for him. Day after day he lays in a small room in his bed while life passes him by. The caregivers want so much for that to NOT be his life, but what can they do?
As I sat at his bedside and rubbed his back, unable to speak to him in his language my heart broke and melted at the same time. My heart broke for him, that this is his reality, that when I return home to my Jed and my babies he will still be laying there alone. But my heart melted at the same time with the love of the Father. God sees and He knows. God has brought people to Romaniv for such a time as this. This boy, this man, he is not forgotten. God brought Nina, a volunteer for Mission to Ukraine, to his bedside to hold him like a Mommy and feed him a banana. God is on the move in Romaniv, and God is on the move on behalf of the orphans of Ukraine.
So, today I am thankful for the beautiful boys of Romaniv. I'm thankful for the opportunity to love them, hold them, play with them, and look them in the eye. I'm thankful for Nina, who has her own son with special needs at home, and faithfully visits Romaniv each week and is called “Mama” by many. I'm thankful that although the need looks outrageous, and the situations seems impossible, God has made promises and they WILL be fulfilled. These boys are not beyond His grasp, not too far from His reach. The one with the most scars from continually banging his head on the wall is not beyond hope. Each of these boys is known by the Father and He will have His way.
For these boys, and other boys and girls just like them God asked us to move across the world and be His hands and feet. I'm so, very, very thankful for that. May God have His way in Romaniv and in the lives of the fatherless all across Ukraine. So be it!
 
 
 

 

About Stuff

Posted on by kimnjed

So, before we made the big move to Ukraine I searched the Interwebs (as Jed likes to call it) like a mad woman for any and every blog I could find about life for Americans who had moved to Ukraine. I found some that I really enjoyed, mostly because the writers were working with orphans and I dig that. Obviously. But, what I was really looking for was details about the little things that make up life in Ukraine. I wanted to see daily life so I could *try* to be prepared. I didn't find a whole lot of that, probably because when it's your everyday life you have a hard time believing anyone would find it interesting. I mean, do people really care what your washer machine looks like or how small your rolls of toilet paper are? Well, I cared! 🙂 I wanted to see any and everything. So…I hope to give you glimpses to our everyday life…maybe some of you will find it interesting?? If anything I know my mom will be happy to see it all. Hehe

 

For what it's worth, here are the things of note that I've been thinking I should tell you about. I have to take notes right when the thought comes, like this:

Dogs and Motion Detectors:
You all saw the outside of our house, right? Not so perty. You can't always judge a book by it's cover, and our house is proof of that.
Anyway, on that corner there is a motion-detecting light. We didn't realize it was there till the first night we moved in. I kept waking up all night to the light going off and on because it's literally right outside our bedroom window. The light was off and on, off and on, off and on ALL NIGHT. The entrance to our house isn't exactly on a busy street so I started getting all concerned when night after night it was like a strobe light in my room. Welp, not to worry, I figured out the culprit. Stray dogs.
Ukraine has lots of stray dogs. They are running and sleeping all over town- and especially through our yard at night. I woke up one night and bravely looked out the window, afraid of what I'd see, only to see a group of dogs running back and forth under our light. Ha! I feel better now. 🙂
No Top Sheet:
I love Ukraine. I love Ukraine because people don't use top sheets. If you have little kids you understand. It's like you know your kids should use top sheets, but they are forever crumpled at the bottom of little beds. I'll confess, after a while I just gave up and stopped trying. I felt a bit guilty, like my kids were sleeping in filth, until we moved here! In our house there are bottom sheets (only fitted on one side), and then big blankets in a top sheet material duvet cover. Genius! All the cleanliness of a top sheet, minus the crumple. My guilty mother's heart is now at peace.

Also, the sheet sets never match. Just when I thought it couldn't get easier, it did.

Translate to Russian, then Ukrainian:
There are two languages mostly spoken in Ukraine: Russian and Ukrainian. Even though Ukrainian is the official language and most of the signage and stuff is in Ukrainian, we've decided to focus on learning Russian. The reason for that is that the dreams God has given us are bigger than only Ukraine. The dream He's given us extends to the whole former Soviet Union region. So, it seems more wise to focus on learning Russian since it's more widely spoken worldwide.
Anywaysssss when we go to the store it gets a bit tricky. Some of the labels for the food are in Russian and some are in Ukrainian. When I see a label I don't understand (let's be honest, that would be 97% of them) I first google translate into Russian, and if that comes up with nothing or a totally irrelevant word I then translate it into Ukrainian. As you can imagine, grocery shopping takes a million years. I think I need to start trying to translate to Ukrainian first, it might save me some time. 🙂 Google Translate is my new BFF.

I misspelled the first ingredient on the second line...it should translate flakes. 🙂

Bagged Food:
Tons of the refrigerated food comes in bags. Who'd a thunk it? The kids think it's great. It's all fun and games till someone pokes a hole in the milk (ahem, Seth).

Mayonnaise, ketchup, milk, and sour cream

Mr. Clean:
I just thought this was funny.
Cake for Bfast:
This morning we started at MTU and all the staff got to meet the kids! It was super surreal to have our kids there. Sigh…happy. To welcome us they brought out cake. Way to win over my kids! Anyone who serves cake at 8:30am gains guaranteed hero status at our house.
Boxes Arrived:
Our boxes came today!!! Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to us! We shipped 6 boxes on September 10th and they arrived today. We were hoping and praying they would all make it and that we would beat them here so we could receive them and MTU wouldn't have to store them for us. God is too, too good to us!!! Would you believe the boxes are almost completely filled with just books? Yep. We figured just about everything else we could need we can find here, but all our books in English? Irreplaceable. We got a super amazing shipping deal, and I'm so happy we did it. Books and some school supplies are really all we shipped. Addy, my little book lover, is going to be so happy to be reunited with her friends. 🙂
Ez Pez Bday:
Our little Ezra turns 8 years old on Saturday! My cousin Hannah has been in Western Ukraine since September doing an internship through her university and will be in Ukraine till the middle of December. We are SO EXCITED that she is taking the train to come and visit us this weekend! Ez is convinced Hannah is coming all this way just for his birthday. We won't correct him. Turning 8 is kind of a big deal.
 
Welp, I think that just about covers it. My brain is officially mush. We started Russian lessons today and I'm surprised our heads didn't explode. Jed went to bed long ago and now I better go too before I turn into a pumpkin. 🙂
Happy Wednesday Everyone!