Hello again. Just wanted to share something cool I found yesterday. So I was reading through 2 Corinthians (I've been trying to focus on one or two books to study in-depth throughout my time in Ukraine: 2 Corinthians and Colossians) and I saw something cool I've never seen before and thought you might like it too. Or not. In that case, you should probably read it again and again and again until you like it.
So 2 Cor. 2: 12-13 says this: (12) Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, (13) I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye to them and went on to Macedonia.
Paul had an open door to go preach the Gospel in Troas, but decided not to. The text even says that the Lord was the one who opened the door- but Paul says he felt no peace of mind, so he didn't go.
I think it's kind of interesting that even if a door is opened for you to do something, it doesn't mean that you should go through and do it. God gave Paul a good opportunity to do ministry, but Paul held out for what was better: the peace that the Lord gives when you're exactly where He wants you to be. There are plenty of 'good' things to do, and tons of even 'great' opportunities to do ministry. But don't just blindly go through whatever door is open- don't settle for the 'good' when you could have God's best.
I don't think we should take or ditch opportunities based upon feelings, but in the same way, I don't think we should take every single opportunity put in front of us. The Lord helps us to discern what is best, i.e. what He wants us to do, and gives us peace to confirm it. This doesn't mean that the task will be easy, but that the Lord will give us peace and rest in Him to complete it.
So all that to say- I'm currently praying about what's next once I get back to the States. I really want to stay in S.C. and continue to hang out with Young Life kids at Fort Jackson, but I need a job and a place to live. Once I get back home to P.A. (on August 1), I will start looking for a job and a place to live. However, a really great opportunity showed up that I am not qualified for (in my own strength) but might just be a door opening up for the fall. I'm praying that the Lord would show me if this is His best, or if not, then something else is. Pray with me that I might not settle for the open door, or for whatever looks easiest, but that I would wait on the Lord for His best for me in these days ahead.
Being in Ukraine has humbled me so much. Although I am learning to be able to do some things on my own now, like riding the bus and going to the store, I am dependant upon others for so much.
For instance, on the bus, if you stand up near the front where the driver's at, people sitting in the back will pass up their fare to the front and will pass along what stop they want to be let off at. This is pretty confusing if you don't know what they're saying. I generally end up just mumbling the best repetition I can and passing the fare forward, with no idea what they mean and hoping I didn't just cuss someone out accidentally. Luckily for me, I lost my voice last week and couldn't speak louder than a whisper until about Wednesday of this week, which means that I could cop out of passing on their messages by coughing "I'm sorry- my voice...". But now that I'm getting better, my excuse is gone.
There are moments when I feel like I've gotten the hand of things here, but in the very next moment, I'm reminded of how little I know and how often I need help.
Like today- I had been feeling poorly for a while and my coughing was keeping me up at night, so I decided to go to the doctor. I know enough Russian to understand most of what is said to me, but I can't answer back, so my ministry supervisor who I'm staying with went to the doctor's with me and translated for me. I felt like a little kid again, needing help for everything. It's not a good feeling, but it's where I have to start and it requires me to keep my pride in check.
Or the other day- I went to the grocery store to look at some fruit for my lesson at the school and I ended up buying a few things I remembered I needed. I went to the check out and an elderly lady in front of me started talking to me about how the butter they sell here was from Belarus and how the place down the street was not as good, and the salespeople there were more lazy. I just nodded my head and smiled, hoping that she wouldn't ask me anything I couldn't answer. Thankfully, she didn't. Then it was my turn at the cash register, and the girl working there rang up my items and mumbled the total to me. I looked around for a screen to show the amount I needed to pay, but it wasn't there. I asked her to repeat herself, and she did, but I still couldn't understand if it cost 12 griven or 20-something. I decided to play it safe and handed her a 50.
One thing you should know about Ukraine, though, is that salespeople are not as friendly and helpful as in the US. You need to convince them to help you (even though them helping you will give them a profit...) and they are very particular about the way they are paid. They want exact change and will often refuse to help you if you don't have the correct amount. So she got angry at me and started yelling, and then I quickly gave her a 20, hoping it was enough, and she was satisfied. I walked out humiliated, hoping that the people behind me didn't live in the same building as me. I walked the rest of the way home and soon found myself laughing at the ridiculousness of what had just happened... better to laugh than to cry, I guess.
So yeah- being here is great and I'm loving how much Russian I remember and am able to use (and the opportunity I have to learn more with a tutor twice a week), and especially being able to see what it's like to teach ESL, instead of just learning about it in class. At the same time, it's also very challenging- I don't know where I'd be without my hosts- they are so great at pushing me to use my Russian, but also helping me out when I need it. They encourage me about my lessons, even when one hasn't gone so well, and pray with me often.
But seriously- if you want to know if you're even a little bit prideful, go to a foreign country and stay there for a bunch of weeks- you'll figure it out pretty quickly that you probably do. Even though a lesson in humility is not fun, it's important and necessary if I desire to be used by God while I'm here. I'm praying that you, too, will have a lesson in humility, without even leaving home. It's worth it in the end.
So my first (full) week of teaching is coming to a close.
I started teaching ESL to the kids at a nearby school last week, but sickness kept me from being able to teaching the whole week. I think it was a mix of the trip to the Carpathians catching up to me and being around kids all the time. At any rate, I contracted pink eye (not a good time) and am still dealing with some sort of upper respiratory infection. I seem to get the upper respiratory infections every year, at least once or twice, so although it sounds like a big deal, it’s totally not for me. Regardless, coughing all the time has made me lose my voice, which is not good when you’re trying to wrangle children who already don’t understand what you’re saying.
It was a tough first week last week, but thankfully this week has been better. My pink eye is gone (hopefully) and my voice is finally coming back (now I can make more people laugh with my bad Russian!) so life’s getting better for me now, little by little. This week I taught three classes each day (the oldest made up of 12-15 year olds, the middle of 9-11 year olds, and the youngest 6-8 year olds) for 45 minutes each. We played super-fun games, including the classic Four Corners and Red Light, Green Light, and learned new words to describe what we like to do, our favorite animals, articles, plurals, and verb tenses. It’s been cool to see the growth in the students’ speaking ability in just one week.
I have only one more week with this bunch of kids, which is sad because they’re really great. I only had to kick one kid out of class and most of the kids are very eager to learn and to practice their English on me. I’m praying that I am able to shine the light of Christ there, even though I don’t speak the same language. I’m especially praying for the fifteen year old girl from China that I told you all about earlier- I’ve been getting to know her and her sister better, and I’m praying that I can somehow speak into her life in this last week of teaching.
I’ve been able to tutor one of the teachers as well, which has been great, but challenging. She knows only what she has memorized, and it’s tough trying to explain things in Russian when I know so little. It’s also tough to figure out a time to meet, but I’m excited to see how it goes as I try and meet with her a few more times before the end of next week.
As I’m finishing up my time of teaching at this school, Kurt and Rochelle and some friends and I are planning an English camp for two weeks in July at another school. Originally, I was asked to do some tutoring here and there as needed, but so many kids responded that we’re doing a full-fledged camp! The kids will be as young as 4 or 5 and as old as 16 or 17, and they will be at camp at the school from 9-1 every day. The team is meeting together this Sunday after church to talk things over, so hopefully we can get a game plan going.
After settling in Odessa after the backpacking trip, I was able to start teaching English at a local school's day camp. On Tuesday (yesterday), I was able to teach two groups of kids. The older ones learned comparatives (big, bigger, biggest) and played a great racing game, while the younger ones learned verbs and pronouns through a game of charades. It was tough when the kids just didn't get it, but in the end everyone eventually understood. The goal of the lessons is just exposure to English, so as long as the kids are engaged and trying, the goal's been reached.
Some of the older kids
Today (wednesday) I went with the kids on a bus tour of the city. It was a great opportunity to see more of Odessa and the Black Sea, and to learn more about the history of the city. We went into an Orthodox cathedral, which was beautiful and ornate, and one of the girls (who is from China) asked me in English if I was Christian. I told her that I follow Jesus, and asked if she knew who He was. She didn't- so I saw a painting of Jesus in the church and I pointed to it, saying "I follow Him- only Jesus". She told me that she was not a Christian, and that in China they have a different religion, but was at the end of her English abilities.
I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with her about Christ, even if she couldn't understand everything. Please pray that as I teach and hang out with her, that the Lord would work in her heart.
Here's some more pictures from today:
Military trainees practicing the changing of the guard at a monument
Beautiful Ukrainian architecture
It's also been fun to be able to be more independent. I am so thankful for the family I'm staying with- they have been so great and helpful to me as I've gotten settled in. Now I have use of a cell phone, which means I can ride the marshuka (bus) by myself, and getting the know the bus routes means building my sense of direction. Now I know my way around a bit more and am able to get where I need to go. I know enough Russian to get me in trouble, but it's been amazing to see how much I remember now that I'm hearing it and using it. Hopefully the lessons and language helper will help me even more in Russian.
My first week in Ukraine flew by. I arrived last Saturday night in to Odessa after a great flight to Munich which included a hot towel (for what, I still don’t know) and Toblerone. I like how the Germans do things. I got to meet the zurBurg family, my hosts for my time in Odessa, and talk over the plans for the week, which included a backpacking trip in the Carpathians.
On Sunday afternoon, Kurt and two of his daughters and I joined a group of 13 university students (mostly guys) for a week of backpacking in the mountains. We all got on the overnight train to get us to where our trip would start. The next morning, we boarded a marshuka (bus) and rode the 2-hour drive to the base of the mountain. From there, we walked 8 kilometers to the real base camp. What a way to start a week of backpacking. Our first day in the Carpathians, we decided to climb the highest peak in Ukraine, called Gaverla, which is about 6,000 ft. high. We climbed it in 4 hours. Yes, it sounds insane, because it was insane.
Eventually, we reached the top… or so we thought. What we thought was the top of the mountain was really about half-way. It was the worst joke ever. We finally made it to the top, which was completely hidden within a cloud. Once we made it, we all just fell in a heap at the top and rested, proud yet still in shock that we survived the climb.
Climbing down was no small task either, but I managed. We camped at a low spot in the mountains for the night. The second day in the mountains consisted of ridgeline hiking… about 7 kilometers of it. The wind was whipping so hard that it nearly blew us off the side of the mountain, but we survived and made it to a lake where we camped for two days.
It was so cold in the mountains, and very rainy. It was wet and gross during the day and bitter cold at night. On the last day of our trip, we hiked 7 kilometers down through the mountains to catch the bus to get on the train back to Odessa again. This last day was so beautiful- the clouds and rain lifted so that I could really see the mountains, trees, and wildflowers. All the effort we put forth was worth it for that last day of hiking- I really saw how beautiful the Carpathians are.
We made the bus and train and got back into Odessa the next morning (Friday).
So yeah- backpacking in the Carpathians… that’s one way to cure jet lag. I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, but it definitely was a great time of hiking, hanging out with some great new friends, and enjoying God’s creation around us.
I made it to Ukraine safe and sound. Still trying to figure out how to get facebook and gmail to work, so bear with me.
I won't be around for a few days as I will be backpacking in the mountains with some church people and the missionary family I'm staying with. I'll post all kinds of pictures and stories once I get back. For now, pray that I would get over jet lag quickly and that I'll have the strength to hike all week.
it's me. This is my blog. I had an amazing experience in Odessa, Ukraine this past summer, and I'm excited to go back this school year as a teacher! Follow my adventures here.