For those of you who've been following this blog, you've seen some funny things about homicidal cats, some serious things about JC and what He's been teaching me, and some moments of cultural/linguistic confusion that is part of the whole living in another country deal. Hopefully you've enjoyed it, or at least smiled a little :)
For those of you who are more interested in specifics, here's some examples of what I've been up to this month-ish that I've been here in Ukraine:
1.) I've been learning Russian and growing in my use of it. It's hard, but it's been so cool to see my language abilities and understanding grow through living here with Valiya and Tanya. We laugh together (most often at me rather than with me, but I take what I can get), eat together (so.... much..... food...... all the time), and talk about the Lord together. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to live with these two amazing ladies. It's been hard, don't get me wrong, but the hard moments are balanced out by the good moments, so it's all good.
2.) I've been teaching at Эрудит (Erudit school). I teach conversational English at a local school 2 times a week. On Tuesdays, I see grades 1-5, and on Wednesdays, I see 4 classes of kindergarten and then grades 6 & 7. It's been a pretty good time so far, but definitely difficult on many fronts. It's my first year of teaching, which is filled with a lot of unknowns, tons of mistakes, and a whole bunch of inadequacy and doubt thrown in. But God is faithful- He's been at school with me for every minute, helping me through.
Sometimes students get out of control and color on each other's faces with markers, sometimes they cry because they didn't get the color sticker that they wanted, sometimes your boss tells you to speak not a word of Russian to give directions to a class full of 4 year olds (yeah... that's not going to happen), and sometimes there are 4 boys named Kostiya in the same class whose extent of English is saying "I play computer games"... that's just how it goes sometimes. But in other moments, kids learn ordinal numbers, how to spell color words, how to say the names of foreign countries in English, and euphemisms for death like 'kick the bucket', 'gone to the happy hunting ground', and 'take a dirt nap'- sometimes it's just plain amazing.
For those of you who are more interested in specifics, here's some examples of what I've been up to this month-ish that I've been here in Ukraine:
1.) I've been learning Russian and growing in my use of it. It's hard, but it's been so cool to see my language abilities and understanding grow through living here with Valiya and Tanya. We laugh together (most often at me rather than with me, but I take what I can get), eat together (so.... much..... food...... all the time), and talk about the Lord together. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to live with these two amazing ladies. It's been hard, don't get me wrong, but the hard moments are balanced out by the good moments, so it's all good.
2.) I've been teaching at Эрудит (Erudit school). I teach conversational English at a local school 2 times a week. On Tuesdays, I see grades 1-5, and on Wednesdays, I see 4 classes of kindergarten and then grades 6 & 7. It's been a pretty good time so far, but definitely difficult on many fronts. It's my first year of teaching, which is filled with a lot of unknowns, tons of mistakes, and a whole bunch of inadequacy and doubt thrown in. But God is faithful- He's been at school with me for every minute, helping me through.
Sometimes students get out of control and color on each other's faces with markers, sometimes they cry because they didn't get the color sticker that they wanted, sometimes your boss tells you to speak not a word of Russian to give directions to a class full of 4 year olds (yeah... that's not going to happen), and sometimes there are 4 boys named Kostiya in the same class whose extent of English is saying "I play computer games"... that's just how it goes sometimes. But in other moments, kids learn ordinal numbers, how to spell color words, how to say the names of foreign countries in English, and euphemisms for death like 'kick the bucket', 'gone to the happy hunting ground', and 'take a dirt nap'- sometimes it's just plain amazing.
Some beautiful ladies from church/English club at Ladies' Bible study (P.S. My roomie, Tanya, is on the far left)
3.) I've been working with the local Russian/English speaking church called Living Hope. I help out with Saturday English clubs and am also a part of a team that recently began English clubs on Thursday nights at Mechnikov University. I've really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know people at church more and to meet new people at English clubs, and I'm excited to continue working with them this year. It's been such an amazing thing to be able to worship God in English and Russian on Sunday mornings- just a taste of what Heaven will be like. I am seriously so thankful for this group of believers and pray that the Lord will cause it to grow as we reach out to the local community.
4.) I've been enjoying time with great friends. Since I live only 5 blocks or so from the family I stayed with this summer, I am able to visit often (in fact, I'm headed there tomorrow) and hang out with Kurt and Rochelle and their family. It's also been great to spend time with new friends from church that I'm getting to know, and of course hanging out with my awesome roomies.
In conclusion, Odessa is great and I'm loving it here. Though some times are definitely tough and I am constantly aware of my weaknesses, it's been great to be back and to see what God's been doing in this city, and it's so exciting for me to be a part of it!
4.) I've been enjoying time with great friends. Since I live only 5 blocks or so from the family I stayed with this summer, I am able to visit often (in fact, I'm headed there tomorrow) and hang out with Kurt and Rochelle and their family. It's also been great to spend time with new friends from church that I'm getting to know, and of course hanging out with my awesome roomies.
In conclusion, Odessa is great and I'm loving it here. Though some times are definitely tough and I am constantly aware of my weaknesses, it's been great to be back and to see what God's been doing in this city, and it's so exciting for me to be a part of it!