Day 1

Alfie gave two lectures at the seminary and had one Russian language lesson while our electrician, Andrei, tore apart our hallway. He told us there would be a lot of dust and he was right. He said that this first day he was trying to do all the major dust work. He had to search for the existing wires that have been plastered inside the existing walls. That means starting at a junction box and breaking the plaster with a hammer until you can tell where the wires go to. He made a whole for our new breaker box and installed six new plugs, seven new switches and many other things. Here is what the hall looked like at the end of the day. There is also a picture of Andrei our electrician. I will not post picture for Day 2 because I’m just getting day 1 photos up. However, day 2 Andrei’s drill broke but he still got much work done. He ran most of the necessary cables and the hall is now ready for the building to come destroy and rebuild. The looks about the same but a little cleaner with wires hanging everywhere.

Day 0

We have to upgrade our electrical system in our apartment. We can’t do the entire apartment so we are just going to rewire the corridor. And since we are going to have to tear up the hallway we might as well put it back together in better shape than we found it. What that means is that we are about to live through a significant remodel. We will be adding a new breaker box, copper wiring, light switches, plugs, three arches, removing several doors, rebuilding a closet, installing recessed lights, new paint and so one. We hope to be done in about two weeks. We will see…. Here is the current state of our corridor.

A Typical Day?

People often ask me what a typical day in Odessa is like. This is a difficult question to answer. It is difficult to answer because I don’t have many typical days. I have ordinary days, boring days, exciting days, sad days and sometimes even restful days. Every now and then I have extraordinary days. I had two of them recently. The second was on a Thursday.
It started as an ordinary day. There was a medical team here from the US. They arrived the Saturday before and because of my schedule I was not able to accompany them. While I was busy in Odessa they were running clinics in small cities and villages in the northern part of the Odessa region. I was getting good reports and on Thursday I had the opportunity to join them. There was a group of three public school teachers and a missionary making the three hour drive to the city of Krosnii Oknii to present a ministry opportunity to the local public school. The medical team was going to be in the same city so the plan was for me to catch a ride with the teachers and meet up with the team. When we met that morning, one of the teachers, Tanya had a headache. She took a couple of advil; we got in the car and were off. The trip started out normal enough. Two of the teachers I met just that morning so the conversation was just “getting to know you” stuff. After about an hour Tanya didn’t feel any better. She asked to stop the car. We stopped and she got sick. The next time we stopped at a pharmacy and purchased some more medicine. Well the medicine didn’t help and Tanya got worse and worse. She developed a fever, her neck began to hurt and she felt weaker and weaker. When we got to Krosnii Oknii we went straight to the hospital. When we took her in she could barely walk. The doctors were very attentive but she kept getting worse. They needed to run some tests so we went and did the presentation. We figured that we would decide how to get her back to Odessa once we know more from the tests.
The presentation went great. But, by the time we returned to the hospital, Tanya had been moved to the infectious disease unit and had lapsed into a coma. The doctors were not sure what was wrong and said that she needs to get back to a hospital in Odessa right away. As we were discussing options, I began to wonder if we were going to have to take her lifeless body back to Odessa. This was an unsettling thought. I have never faced a situation quite like this. Well, we kept exploring options. After several discussions and phone calls we realized that the only way to get her back to Odessa that same day was to hire a private ambulance company. We called the company and they said that they could come and get her but they wanted the money up front. Her husband didn’t have any money so that started a new flurry of phone calls. Thankfully, Julie was in Odessa. She was able to gather the money and get it to Dima, Tanya’s husband. He got the money to the ambulance company and by 3:00am on Friday, Tanya was in Odessa. We hear that she is doing better. She, at least, is not in a coma. We are praying for her and waiting on test results.
This certainly was not a typical day, but I rarely have a typical day. In fact, my point is, “What is a typical day?” Each day I think I know what will happen but I am learning to hold those plans loosely.

First Days

Our first full day in Kiev was Friday. Alfie went to the SEND office to meet with the area director, Steve and go over some of the events of the last year, make some preliminary plans for the next year and talk about various issues. Julie and the kids enjoyed some reunion time with friends in the afternoon. Friday evening we took the metro to the other side of Kiev and met with our old friend pastor Pavel. We had dinner with him and his family. We talked about America, Ukraine, ministry, Greek, history, language, cars, economy and many other topics. It was an enjoyable evening. We were very tired on the ride home on the metro and probably fit right in with those who were tired from too much drinking.

Saturday afternoon was a time of reunion with more missionary friends.

Sunday was a time of special reunion. We went to our church in Kiev, Ascension church in Bortnichi.

Monday we rested and that evening took the train to Odessa.

Tuesday, we cleaned, organized and visited with guests all day. That evening, Julie and the girls slept while Alfie and Joseph had dinner with friends from IMB and SEND. We enjoyed bbq’d fish, chicken and all the trimmings. Thank you Mliakoff family! After dinner we had a small impromptu concert in the yard and then Alfie and Joseph went home.

Travel to Ukraine

Well we are now here in Ukraine. Our travel was long but went well. Our plane out of Utah was leaving at 7:00am. Since it was an international flight, we decided to arrive at the airport by 4:30am. That meant that we would need to leave by 4:00am. Our day started by getting up late – 3:45am. We were on the road by 4:30am and after several calls from relatives informing us that they were waiting at the airport, we arrived at about 5:00am. Check in was smooth, good-byes were emotional, security was tolerable and we arrived at the gate with about 40 minutes to spare.
Salt Lake City to Chicago went fast. We had a six hour layover but no-worries; we met with Inga and Brittany, our future team-mates. Alfie wanted to go to the Sears Tower and check out the glass balconies, but we opted for a leisurely lunch. We found a food court in the international terminal and had a great time of connection and fellowship.

We said good-by to Brittany and Inga and hello to more security. “Yes that is my computer, yes it has been with me since I left home, yes those are my shoes, that is a lovely wand and no I have nothing hidden in my clothes but I guess you need to check. If this wasn’t an airport security point, I think you could be arrested for that. Huh, I guess humor isn’t part of your training.” OK, so we made it.
The Chicago to London flight was long but uneventful. We had our personal movie screens and too many movies to watch. Joseph and Micah got the most sleep; the rest of us kept watch movies and paid for it later. Anya especially had a rough time in London. Her ears hurt during the descent and she was too tired to do anything but cry.

We had a two hour layover in London. After more security we went to get something to eat. We found a little bagel shop and paid exorbitant amounts of money for humble but tasty bagels, fruit and caffeinated libations. After eating, as we walked to our gate, I heard someone call my name. I turned and it was Michael Kuvshinikov, our team-mate from Kiev. He was returning to Kiev on the same flight. We enjoyed some catch up time then got on the plane. The flight from London to Kiev was filled mostly with sleep.In Kiev, passport control, baggage claim then customs all went smoothly. Steve was waiting when we walked out the double doors and we were back in Ukraine.

Runaway Schedule

Sometimes your schedule seems to have a mind of its own. When that happens to us our life often becomes a series of “drive-by” experiences. This last weekend was one of those times. We were planning on leaving for a road trip on Monday so, instead of packing our bags, we mistakenly packed our schedule.

Friday morning (June 19), we rise, breakfast and leave for Oceanside beach to celebrate Rachel Bushrow’s 13th birthday. We love the beach and we love Rachel so there is no question about attendance. No problem, we’ll pack later. After a day at the beach, we return home to clean up and pack. Or so I thought. I forgot about a long planned trip to Tommy’s in LA with Dino (friend and brother-in-law). I’m pretty tired at this point, but this would be Joseph’s first Tommy-burger….OK so Tommy’s is a go. 10pm, Joseph, Dino, Lee (long time Dino friend) and I leave to fill ourselves with indigestible joy. After a midnight return to home, a couple of Tums to take the edge off, it was time for a short nap and up again on Saturday.

No time to pack on Saturday. Since we would be busy on Sunday, Julie and the kids prepared breakfast in bed for me to have an early father’s day celebration. They gave me sausage, fruit, coffee and juice. The fruit was just the thing to help my internal organs try to process the aftermath of the Tommy burger. Oh yea, our friends from Tennessee are visiting and this is the only time we will be able to see them. After a flurry of phone calls we decide to meet in Cerritos. Then after another flurry of phone calls they decide to come to our house. ...time to transition into pre-guest mode (vacuuming, dusting, dishes, sweeping, food check, etc.). Our guests arrive with more guests. The party grows and is a lot of fun but we need to leave. We have tickets for a production of “Sound of Music” featuring my little sister Cassie. She is mother abbes and the show starts at 2:00pm. The daughter of another friend, Janie Green, is also in the production. It’s 1:30 and the pizza arrives. Decision time!

Well we leave the party at our house to go to the play. We are sorry we can’t spend more time with our friends but Cassie does not disappoint. During the production, I was thinking that Cassie’s acting was really good. Then, she sang, “Climb Every Mountain” and absolutely nailed it. This isn’t just brother/relative bias, when that last note was released the house erupted. Cassie, you were simply remarkable!! That’s my sister people!! Yea baby!

OK, so back to the 21st century, where was I? Oh yea, afterwards we went to the Joseph house to celebrate the Cassie talent, oddly enough, without Cassie…go figure. After some good food, comedy and family sarcasm, we returned home to pack. I was too tired to pack and Julie came to me and said, “What do you think about letting the girls sleep in tomorrow?” “I wish we could but we are visiting a supporting church and I’m giving the message. We’ll pack tomorrow.”

Well Sunday morning comes quick. We get ready go to church, have a good time at church and return home. Let’s pack, oh wait…we planned to go to Chuck and Lois’s house to celebrate father’s day and we still need to burn Chuck’s DVD (his father’s day gift). I sit down to burn the DVD and realize the DVD burner is not working. Two hours later, the CD is ready and we leave for Fullerton. We enjoy some more good food and family comedy and return home at 11:00pm. No we have to pack because we leave tomorrow morning. OK, so this time we have to stay up late and pack. Will we make it and if we do, will we be able to drive? Did I mention that Julie has a doctor’s appointment at 8:00am?

Dr. Livingstone, I Presume

Far out in the jungles,
Of deep Timbuktu,
I’m Henry M Stanly,
Prey, tell, who are you?

I’m in search of a man,
Dr Livingstone’s his name,
I hope he’s safe from man-eaters,
That hunt, thrash and maim.

Would you care to come with me?
We’ll search far and wide,
A journey’s less difficult,
With a friend at your side.

So take courage and come,
No beast shall we fear,
Yet keep your gun ready,
If roars you do hear.

The journey’s been long,
Yet now in this room,
I believe that I’ve found him,
“Dr Livingstone I presume.”