The New Year!

The New Year is upon us. How do I know? I'm flat out exhausted from running around like crazy trying to do too many things! The week up to New Year's Day in Ukraine is always stressful and busy with everyone trying to get as much done as possible both for the holiday and also because life slows to a crawl for the next couple of weeks if not the rest of the month!

New Year's is THE big family holiday in Ukraine much like Christmas is in the western world. Christmas trees are put up for New Year's and presents are exchanged. Grandfather Frost and his side kick the Snow Maiden make lots of appearances and pass out gifts to the children.

Markets get busy selling freshly cut "Yolki" or Christmas trees and decoration stands multiply. Lots of Ukrainians from the outside of Kyiv come to the center to sell food. The prices of food go sky high the few days before New Year's so buy early if you can!

As this tired 2011 year draws to a close I am feeling mixed emotions. I sometimes feel a bit wary and fearful. The world around us seems to be getting crazier and more unstable. The unknown future looms large with either positive or negative possibilities. Other times I feel at peace and know that God is in control and working all things for my good.

Here are a couple of verses that have been on my heart this week:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!".....I Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

and

"Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing? Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.".......Isaiah 43:18,19 (NIV)

HAPPY 2012!!!!!

Teenage Christmas/New Year's Party

Things were a little more sedate, ahem, adult for the teenage party we hosted last weekend. No Grandfather Frost or Snow Maiden. We had some games, gifts, food and a good film to show.

Day Center Christmas Party!

We had a party for younger children at our Day Center. Fancy dress optional.

Yes, the Snow Maiden and Grandfather Frost came to hand out presents and entertain us.

Do you know a Christmas or New Year's poem to recite for Grandfather Frost?

Each child got a photo with the Snow Maiden and Grandfather Frost and a gift!

Young Family Christmas

Last week we had a Young Family Christmas/New Year's Party and we had a good turnout. I'm not sure how many toddlers were running around the room because none of them stood still long enough so they could be counted. My total: Alot! The Mom's got to have some tea and have a good chat while the kids ran around the room.

Grandfather Frost came to visit us too!

And everyone got a present and a chance to pose for a photo with him.

And then came the suiting up in mandatory winter gear for the walk home!

Christmas Is Coming!

Yesterday we had the first of our holiday parties at the Day Center. It was fun but controlled chaos too. I probably won't be posting again before Christmas so please know that I'm sending much love and good wishes to all my blog readers! Enjoy your Christmas holiday or Hanukkah celebrations!

In The Eye Of Deception - Book Review

Nikki Rosen, the author of the book, In the Eye of Deception: A True Story
made a comment on my blog a few weeks ago which led to us "talking" more through the internet. I downloaded her book, (Oh, how I love E book technology!) and finished it last weekend. I was literally unable to put the book down for about the last hour before I finished it!

Nikki shares the true story of her life and details how God powerfully healed her as she left a childhood of abuse and a season in a religious cult.

For anyone who has experienced childhood abuse or has suffered through spiritual abuse, this book will give you great hope.

This book is a testimony of the passion for survival that all human beings can muster up no matter how bad the situation is that we are currently in and a testimony that God can and does heal us physically, psychologically and spiritually.

You can read more about Nikki at her blog, "Gentle Recovery."

Pre Lights Xmas Tree

Down on the main square of Kyiv the New Year's tree has been put up. This is obviously without the lights. I'm not sure when the tree lighting ceremony will be. Probably sometime this weekend or next week. I'm not quite sure what to say about this tree. I am glad it's not purple like last year with advertisements hanging all over it.

Before The Holidays

Many of you in the world have already decked the halls or trimmed your trees and are busy buying presents and getting ready for the biggest holiday of the year, Christmas day!

Here in Ukraine we celebrate Christmas on January 7th and Christmas trees are called "New Year's" trees and usually start appearing the last week or so of December. While Kyiv has started putting more lights for this holiday, they are not yet up and with our heavy overcast weather, (today it' raining of all things) this is the time of the year that always feels the weirdest for me. Like I mentioned in my last post, the days are short and the nights are long and everything seems a little off.

That will soon change as holiday parties start and hopefully SNOW will fall! Stay tuned for photos of New Year's trees and Grandfather Frost!

Seasons

We have entered the darkest part of the year here in Ukraine. It gets dark at about 4pm and I have to use a sun lamp if I don't want to feel drained.

The last couple of weeks have brought me two amazing blessings. One was talking to one of our young mothers who had been having a rough time. We prayed and counseled with her and the next time I saw her she had a huge smile on her face and gave me a big hug. She said her life and marriage was turning around.

This week we had another mom come visit who was at the end of her rope. I am praying for her every day. It is both a blessing and humbling to know that some things can only be healed through prayer.

It's good to know that even during the darkest time of the year that the days will grow shorter and the sun will shine again.

The Life Of Faith

If you want to have a stable life, don't move to Ukraine.

The last month has been a roller coaster of changes. I started planning my winter and thought about working out needed ministry trips to coincide with cities where friends lived. I began to hatch a plan about when I might visit home again. I excitedly looked forward to ministry plans and projects. Oh, and even more importantly, I had a budget for everything. I was very pleased with myself.

All of those plans have been swept off the table, and every day has a new challenge that has to be solved which completely throws a wrench into everything I planned. Now I am just waiting to see what will happen next. People ask, "When are you doing this? When are you going there?" "What is going to happen if this happens?" etc, etc etc.

I have no clue.

I have no plans.

I don't know what will happen except that I will be eating some very good vegetarian chili for dinner tonight.

What I do know, is that peace and stability need to come from inside us. It needs to begin inside our hearts and through our faith and relationship with God. I cannot force the world to bend to my will. Some people have power and money and can do so, but if you watch their lives for any length of time, eventually life will trip them up.

Sometimes it's frustrating, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and it's actually very invigorating and exciting.

It opens the door for God to do anything!

"Then Job replied to the Lord, 'I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.'".......Job 42:2 (NIV)

What Path Are You Taking?

Don't let anyone or anything take away your compassion for humanity. Ministry is not about focusing on programs, big conferences or success as it appears in the eyes of the world. It's about success from God's perspective. Do you know him? Do you know his vision and his heart for humanity?

He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.".......Micah 6:8 (NIV)

Saturday At The Market

Last Saturday I entered our local market and heard live music! Yes, live music in the market! I followed the sound and found a little horn band playing their hearts out and asking for donations and selling a CD.

I would have loved to stand and listen all day but I had food to buy and buying food in the market is a very serious activity! Here's the meat section. Do you want some salo? (pig fat) I see some here if you want to try it.

I'm not big on eating fish, but here's a section that even has a tank so you know it's super fresh.

This is the sausage section. You can try samples before buying if you want to try different types of sausage.

Here's the band again from behind. If you look at the right side of the photo, theres a tiny little woman standing at the edge of the photo behind the tall man. That's my little babushka friend, Enyssa. She doesn't want her photo taken but I realized today when I downloaded the photos she was in this shot. She's a sweetheart and I always make sure to take time to talk to her when I see her.

If you want to know more about Ukrainian fresh food markets and food in general, check out the awesome blog, "The Pickle Project."

Still Suffering From Culture Shock

I read this blog post this past week from the blog, "Musings From A French Fried Texan" The author writes about being bi-cultural and how for the most part, it's a great thing, but sometimes one can feel torn between two cultures.

I really identified with this post. It made me realize that some of the stress that I've been going through last month was not just from trying to solve difficult life problems but I was actually experiencing culture shock. I was trying to solve problems that had risen from both Ukrainian and American "sides" of my life, so my wires were getting crossed which caused extra stress and feelings of inadequacy.

Living for a long time in Ukraine, and working with three languages, and two cultures can be confusing. One or the other of the cultures dominates the situation I am in. I have to chose to think and react from a specific cultural perspective, either the culture I am living in or my own American cultural expectations and norms. Because all this is going on in my head, sometimes I just can't process problems or situations quickly. Do I look at a situation from the eyes of an ex pat? An Ukrainian? An American? I try to look at problems from the perspective of my faith which is based on the Bible, but how much of my perspective of the Bible comes from my culture? I always have to be asking myself these questions.

Then there's the languages. I speak Russian and am to a certain degree thinking in Russian daily. I read in English, I write in English. I can solve basic problems either language but more creative or abstract ideas means I have to translate the concept into English. I also find my brain switching to English if I am in an emotional situation. Sometimes when having conversations in English, my vocabulary and grasp of language feels stilted and I cannot think quickly. I am also dealing with a fair amount of the Ukrainian language which is thrown into the mix. All of the above is not only at times confusing, but sometimes feels just plain weird. Sometimes my brain just wants to shut down.

What's even weirder is some days I just feel out of sorts and on the outside of life here and on other days I feel totally normal. Some days I want to scarf down a Big Mac and fries at McDonalds and other days I'm craving borscht and salo.

Don't get me wrong, I love living in another culture and being bi cultural. I like it much more than I thought I would and am humble and thankful for my friends from both cultures who are patient with me when I can't express myself or understand something. I have to keep reminding myself to remember to slow down and take the time to process problems from two different cultural views, and languages. I don't think culture shock is going to go away any time soon!

Back Online!

After having the majority of the technological items in my flat falter or fail to work, I am back online and blogging. Despite the chaos and feeling like I've been lost in a spinning vortex of Ukrainian life, lots of good stuff is happening and I can't wait to share more. The biggest news I can share is that our organization has bought an apartment for our ministry to young mothers. This is the best news I've had to share in a long, long time. God is good! I will be sharing more as life unfolds.

Be Thankful For Life

This week was supposed to not be a busy one as most of our leaders are off in another city teaching at an "Ukraine Without Orphans" conference. I wanted to spend the extra time writing for my blog as it seems I have not had enough intellectual energy lately to write posts. Then life got in the way here, I got bad news from home and also was feeling physically down as I have been fighting a cold off all week. Everything will be fine, but sometimes you have to take some time out to appreciate life and the people whom God has blessed you to go through life with.

So, yesterday I took a long walk even though I didn't feel like I wanted to be outside. It was an absolutely gorgeous fall day. Some rain, but sunshine between times. The leaves are changing here so here's some photos to give you an idea of how beautiful it is. We have to soak up the sunshine and colors while we can!

Young Family Club Update

We continue to have a growing ministry with young Moms and their children. ChildRescue has worked with 45 Moms during the last two years and 95 children just in this arm of the organization. I continue to build relationships with Moms who come regularly and lately have been meeting new girls as they hear about how we can help them.

It is a blessing to be able to get to know these girls, encourage them and pray for them. Our ultimate goal is to help keep families together and give these children a chance to stay in a healthy home and not leave for life on the streets.

In addition to a weekly "club" meeting where we talk about life skills and "fellowship" (Tea is mandatory.) we also provide them with individual counseling and whatever kinds of support they may need. Just figuring out how to run through the maze of documents needed here for school, passports, identification papers, and health care is overwhelming and unless you have friends or family who know how to navigate the system, most young people are lost. We pray with them and for their children and help them understand that a spiritual foundation to life is the best way to build healthy lives for themselves and their children.

I previously posted a photo of the building on this blog in which we hope to buy a three room apartment which will house this ministry. (We currently meet in our Day Center.) With a separate space, we will have a place where mothers and children can live as well as have a place for our meetings and counseling.

Borscht Is A Concept

Yesterday I posted this status update on my Facebook page, "Remember, borscht is not just a dish, it's a concept." This produced a long thread of comments and so instead of posting a reply on Facebook, I decided that a blog post on the topic of borscht would be more appropriate. And for such a great response to my status, I will even post my borscht recipe for you all to try to make at home.

Firstly, I cannot take credit for the quote, "Borscht is not just a dish, it's a concept." That awesome quote came from a dear lady who works in our Day Center. She did not use the word "philosophy" but I think that is one way of translating what she meant. Borscht is a concept, a philosophy, a way of life, a process, an art. There are as many different borscht recipes as there are Ukrainian women. That's probably a whole other blog post!

The ingredients that I use has changed slightly since I was first taught the basic recipe as I've experimented to come up with what I think is a great bowl of borscht.

The one ingredient that is mandatory to make borscht is the beet. Before you think, "euwww," trust me on this. The Ukrainian beet is amazing and tasty. Cut it open and hold your nose to it and take a deep breath and smell the earth the way God originally made it to smell.

Made with beets, and a conglomeration of other vegetables, usually potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, borscht is typically a reddish color. Yes, lots of cabbage makes it less red. In my opinion, a good borscht should be mostly red with a tinge of golden color to it.

I spoke about the "process" of making borscht with my Ukrainian friend and she said it is more common in Eastern Ukraine to boil the beets and vegetables which takes the color out of the beets. In other parts of Ukraine, it is more common to fry the beets before adding it to the stock and this makes the borscht redder in color. She said that if her grandmother knew she fried her beets, she would probably roll over in her grave! My Kyvian neighbor taught me how to make it and she showed me by frying the vegetables. How to prepare your borscht is a serious topic and not to be taken lightly. No, it is not just a bowl of soup. It is borscht! Respect your borscht! It is a concept!

There is a such a thing as green borscht and I have a recipe I use that was given to me by my Ukrainian Mom. It is rather simple and does not include beets but features instead sorrel leaves which make the dish green colored. It is good, but to me, not as tasty as borscht with beets.

Ingredients can vary with some people adding meat or beans. The most exotic borscht dish I've ever tried had fish and stewed plums in it. It sounds gross but it was actually very good.

My Borscht Recipe

Get your soup pot out and add five cups of water to make stock. I just use instant chicken broth.

Chop up a small onion, add butter to a frying pan with the onion and cook until it gets soft. Shred a small beet and two carrots in a grater and add these vegetables to the onion in the frying pan. Add a little oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. I also add a vegetable "spice." I also mince about three cloves of garlic and add it to the vegetables. When the vegetables are cooked well, add them to the stock.

Peel and dice two potatoes and add them to the stock and vegetables. Slice up about half a cabbage and add it to the pot. Cut up fresh dill and add a small handful.

Simmer until the potatoes are soft and cooked well. Check the seasoning.

If possible let it stand for a couple of hours.

When you serve it, don't forget a dab of sour cream!

Beautiful Feet

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Romans 10:15

New Center?

Our dream is to buy a Center where at risk mothers and babies can live while we help them learn life skills. We would then be able to help the moms we are currently working with in an even greater way. Also, having a Center that is owned by our organization would give us much more stability in our work. We currently rent spaces from the government and as we saw with our previous Rehabilitation Center for children, they can very quickly take back the building, leaving us looking again for a new place to house our ministry. This is a very frustrating and redundant cycle.

Please pray that we would be able to put together enough funds to buy a three room apartment in this building.

One Huge Cabbage

This week my friend gave me some cucumbers and one tremendously large cabbage from her dacha garden. I decided to work on eating the cucumbers before they went bad, but there was no way I could eat them AND the cabbage! I hate to waste food and I love a bargain so I checked the internet for an Ukrainian cabbage salad recipe. Cabbage salad is very popular here and very nutritious and tasty!

I found a recipe HERE, complete with a lovely video that explains in detail how to make it.

I was able to make two liters of cabbage salad which is currently fermenting in my kitchen. I'll be able to eat this in the winter. I also have a healthy hunk of fresh cabbage left in my refrigerator which I will cook this weekend.