Our Monday was slam packed with activities and presented more opportunities for us to talk to others about Christianity. This country has a tremendous history, and the people are so welcoming everywhere we go. In my 22 years of coming to Ukraine, I have never ceased to be amazed with the love and joy we find when we travel here.
We started our day off with breakfast at the Mafia Cafe. This is our planned meeting place every morning and we have been stuffed every time we come. Our staple breakfast food is omelets and oatmeal. We cannot get enough coffee as they have much smaller cups…so we have to insist on multiple “big American” cups of coffee. We have continued to be impressed by all the food here, and our breakfast is no different.
After breakfast, we divided up into two different groups. Four of our team went to Starry Lysets to be with the school and Scott, Billy and I stayed with dad to meet with some men who are helping provide assistance to those fighting against the Russian insurgency in the eastern part of the country. It was sobering to hear their pleas for continued help and descriptions of what they were dealing with. Of course it reminds me of the lack of support from many nations when Russia invaded. Please continue to remember those fighting the Russian aggression. Dad and I visited Donetsk for years and that region is experiencing so many tragedies!
Our original plans were to hold evening lectures in Starry Lysets and offer children classes as well to introduce and open doors to the people there to Gods word. On the way, we stopped and ate a delicious dinner at a beautiful restaurant. I presented a lesson on “Love and Joy” to the adults. Unfortunately there were only two persons from the community present, but we had a great turnout from the Ivano-Frankivsk congregation and it was so encouraging to have them present. The Mayor of the village spoke before we started, and he was hugely apologetic for not having more from the village to be present. After we finished, the mayor and principal offered to allow us to change our time to speak in the afternoons so more will be able to come and hear. Of course we jumped at this opportunity. It will change our schedule, and we had to make some changes, but this will be such a great opportunity to speak to more and tell them about the Word of God.
Our day today will be visiting a Police Hospital this morning, the group will be going back to the school in Starry Lysets, and we will speak at the Law School this afternoon. A day full of activities…but more importantly full of opportunities and promise! Read the thoughts below from the rest of the group, and please keep us in your prayers!
Our group is posting some pictures on Facebook and we will show plenty when we get home. Also, you can read our reports and my dad’s reports on his website www.kachelman.com/ukraine and he includes some pictures in his.
– John
Thoughts From Billy:
Ukraine has been an amazing experience. This trip is my first time crossing the Atlantic. I’ve done lots of mission works in the Caribbean and Latin America, but not into Europe. Traveling was quite the experience. It’s much easier to grab a flight from Atlanta to Aruba and be there in 4 hours. It’s a whole another experience when you have a layover that’s longer than an entire flight to and back from Aruba.
Upon arrival we were greeted by the church. It’s a fact that love transcends a multitude of barriers. Even though we couldn’t speak the same language we communicated with hugs, smiles, and care for each other. This affection has carried us through the whole week. Every day we have all grown closer together, and learned more about each other.
Our work here has been nothing in comparison to the impact the church has been making in the communities for years. Our task is to keep taking the love of the church to members, people, and places. John Kachelman (not to be confused with our John at Dalraida…or otherwise called “Johnny” in Ukraine), has laid a foundation that is amazing. The mayor of the village we are working with decided to cancel school, activities, and bring the community into the school for an hour every afternoon to hear lectures. Today I get to speak to everyone in the village about Peace and Patience. It’s amazing we get this opportunity and I’m excited to see the impact of this effort on everyone.
We are just starting our Tuesday, but our whole group is on fire and ready to plan an annual trip. I know I’m excited about my wife and baby coming on future trips!
Thoughts from Malorie:
On Monday, me, Danielle, BJ, and Nick visited the school in Starry Lysets with two of our amazing interpreters (Olga and Susha). The principal, teachers, and children, were so kind and hospitable. Nick and I visited a first and third grade classroom. The children were a little shy at first, but they soon began to ask questions like how much an iPhone is in America, what kind of school classes do we have, and what holidays we celebrate. My favorite part was getting to observe the teacher teaching the children. It amazes me how smart the children are. They are already learning a second language (English) at a very young age.
The entire school put on a production that they performed on one of their country’s holidays a couple days ago. They wore beautiful costumes and proudly told of their country, Ukraine. The children are so talented and confident.
Later in the afternoon, we visited School #23 to deliver desks.
Dinner was delicious! I had mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, and of course the fondue chocolate with pears, apples, and oranges.
Our first night of lecture in Starry Lysets was amazing! Danyel and I had a classroom of 22 precious children. Danyel taught them about love and joy. They completed a craft of baby Jesus, and ate a snack. Words cannot express how much I love children! I look forward to teaching the children about Peace and Patience tonight.
Today, we start another day of adventure. We all are having to be flexible because our schedule is constantly changing. God has opened the door for us to evangelize with hundreds of people, and that is all that matters. Please pray for us as we reach out to others and teach about God today.
Thoughts from Scott:
Yesterday’s visit to the local school was fascinating. It was truly inspiring to engage with the wonderful teachers and students of the school. I was impressed with several aspects. First of all their English skills were excellent. They all strive to learn English and it is part of their curriculum in the school system. At a time in the US when we seem to be embarrassed that we speak English or that our society is based off of English for communication, theses other nation states recognize the utility in learning a language that half of the world recognizes as essential. For instance all air traffic control and most airports have signs in English.
Secondly, the youth here are very polite and clean cut. They are very respectful and remind me of an American scene from the Norman Rockwell era. On the streets of this great city and country you will not see sagging pants, crazy hair and dress but rather children interacting and being respectful, somewhat quiet around adults and definitely interested in all people from the US.
I don’t see the over reliance or indulgence in time on electronics either even though they all own iPhones.
This has been extremely refreshing.
Thoughts from Danyel:
To be honest, Monday started out with me. I did not want to get up. Jet lag and an 8 hour time difference is hard! But, I quickly remembered the plans we had for the day and the children we would be meeting and teaching. I quickly readied myself and off to breakfast we went.
Breakfast was again delicious and as soon as we finished we set off for Starry Lysets. There we were greeted by one of the most jolly men I’ve ever met, the principal of the school in Starry Lysets village. He gave us a quick tour of the school and then showed us to our classrooms that we would be teaching. I had the privilege of teaching English to both 10 and 16 year olds along with BJ Harrah. We spoke about the alphabet and words for each letter (the children are really smart), about Ukraine and America, what it’s like in American schools versus Ukrainian schools, jobs, careers, etc. Many were shy, but many were also very eager to learn. We finished the morning with a school presentation/show from the children. There was dancing, singing, comedy, readings and story tellings of Ukraine and at the end, we were gifted a book mark hand made by the children from our classes. We then gifted the school with a new computer and printer. The joy on their faces was incredible! After we left and returned to Ivano-Frankivsk, we went to another local school, School #23, and delivered some refurbished desks. There we met with the principal, had some speeches from both Scott and John, and then visited with Anya and Kristina’s class. It was a wonderful experience and it’s incredible the amount of knowledge these children have and their eagerness to learn.
We ended our day back in Starry Lysets where Malorie and I, along with our interpreters Kceniy and Inna, taught a children’s bible class on the first two fruits of the spirit, Love and Joy. They were very attentive with lots of questions. They may not have know what the fruits of the spirit were, but they could definitely quote scripture. I started reading Matthew 22:37 about the greatest command and after reading 4 words, Inna told me to stop because they were reciting it word for word. I was very proud of them for knowing this verse. We ended with a craft, a little gift, and a snack. And the best part of it all was when they all expressed there heartfelt thank you’s for teaching their class and the joy you could see on their faces.
I am excited to be with them again today!
Thoughts from Nick:
Yesterday, we went to the village of Starry Lysets to speak with the children in the school there. We sat in an English class and listened to the children learn to speak and write our language. We also had a chance to ask them questions and also answer questions they had for us. Before lunch, the children of the school performed a show which told the story of their village and all about their culture. It was very well done; the children are very talented.
In the afternoon, we went to a school in Ivano-Frankivsk to deliver some desks the church here had worked on. While there we had a chance to visit their computer lab and they only have 33 computers (all of which are > 10 years old) for 1,500 students. In the evening, BJ and I had a chance to talk to 11-17 years old in Starry Lysets about love and peace. The lesson went very well, the children were very interested and I hope they were able to take something positive away from it. It was a long but fulfilling day and I look forward to the rest of the week!
Thoughts from B.J.:
On Monday we hit the ground running again. We started the morning with another great breakfast. Then my group went to the village school at (Starry Lysets). At the school we met with the classes and were able to talk with them about the United States and play games with them to enforce the English that they know. After we visited the classes we went to the gathering hall at the school and they put on a mini cultural festival play for us. We also got to meet and converse with the school principle while we were there. We talked with him for a while about the education of the children there in the village. We also had the opportunity to speak with one of the village priests. The priest was very welcoming toward us and we were able to talk with him about how he (the Catholic church) interacts with the school there.
Doors have been opened up here and if we could put everything we have experienced here in this short time we could write a book. Thank you for your support and please continue to pray for our work here in Ukraine.
