I've been living in L'viv, Ukraine for 2 weeks now, with a lovely American family, a lovely quilt on my bed, a lovely, brand-new kitchen, a lovely coffee pot and lovely wifi anywhere in the house. Still not one blog. I guess I've just been too busy soaking up the lovely-ness. And I'm sorry I'm not sorry.
Few random things I've experienced/learned in the past 2 weeks:
- Having pets in the house even, in another country, makes it feel like home.
- I love to garden barefoot.
- L'viv has an equally intense love for coffee shops as I do.
- I've been storing up a whole lotta English conversation that I haven't been able to use the past 4 months just so I can sit around the table and make meals last for 3 hours with lovely chats with American contacts.
- Ukrainians believe that if a woman sits on the ground she'll render herself barren. Too bad World Racers sit on the floor more than they do chairs.
- I'm not supposed to blow the poofy dandelion orbs but I do anyways…just like I did 20 years ago.
- I think I was European in another lifetime.
- The downtown center of L'viv overflows with charm, cobblestones, coffee, cathedrals, charisma, etc. etc. etc.
- Standing on my tippy toes at the top of a ladder frightens some people on the ground.
- Cats don't recognize the concept of 'unconditional love' whatsoever. It frustrates me beyond belief.
The Blessings came from Houston, TX in 1993 to Ukraine, just 2 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. Ukraine was a dark and oppressed country filled with unemotion and emptiness. They were called by God to come. That's it. Sometimes God just says, "go." So they went. They spent a few months on the eastern side of Ukraine in Lugansk before moving across to the western city of L'viv. Along with pastoring their church, Living Word, the Blessings have been given a heart for Jewish people of L'viv. A big part of this ministry involves building a community home called Bethel House.
"How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God…He called that place Bethel." Genesis 28:17 &19
This home will host Jewish families on their way to Israel, church retreats, youth mission groups, World Race teams:) and many others. This will be a house of rest, a house of hospitality and ultimately a house used to extend the love of Christ to those who come here. Mark, Rhonda and their girls moved into Bethel in 2004 and began construction on the expansion in 2006. They are anticipating completion of renovations next spring.
A normal day for us starts with breakfast around the 12 foot table at 8 or 8:30, group devotion, and then either work around the house, maybe a visit to the orphanage, maybe cooking lunch, maybe errands with Lindsay…but most often (and my most favorite), wandering out to the big garden to sit in the sun and get dirt everywhere. So far my fellow farmers and I have planted
peas
corn
parsley
carrots
cilantro
peppers
spinach
beets
basil
squash
broccoli
green beans &
kale
Impressed? You should be. There's more to come, folks. I'm especially pumped about planting some pumpkins next week! This garden will provide the Blessings with enough produce to help them keep their massive kitchen stocked through the year as they cook and feed those that come and go through Bethel House.
Here's what I really wanted to tell you about. Last week Mark, Rhonda and Lindsay spent the day took us to the Holocaust memorial of L'viv, located in the former Jewish ghetto from the war. We put those new gardening skills to work and planted beautiful azaleas where the pathway was once covered with weeds. That afternoon we were given the opportunity to meet the Blessings' friend Oleg who at age 10 escaped from a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Oleg was taken to a concentration camp outside of Kharkov, Ukraine along with his mother and brother. On December 24, 1941, Oleg was being dragged by a Nazi soldier through the snow to join the rest of the children 10 years old and younger in the 'gas truck.' Aware of his certain death, Oleg bit the hand of the soldier. In retaliation, the soldier began to beat young Oleg within inches of his life. The Nazi soldiers observed his bloody and lifeless body, believed him to be dead and left him there in the snow. Oleg was later dragged back to the barrack by his brother where they realized he was maraculously still alive. God had spared Oleg from the gas truck. Him and his mother and brother crawled to the fence line of the camp ducking spotlights and guards that night and narrowly escaped outside the walls. They spent years hiding from the Nazis and changing their names to stay safe. 70 years later, we sat in his old apartment and listened in awe to his stories. Out of only a few Holocaust survivors in L'viv, Oleg is the only one who is willing to speak to others about his terror-filled past.
I think Oleg lives to tell about his life. Call me crazy, but I think it's true. He's a small, 83-year-old man with a very large, 23-year-old personality. Oleg stood as we sat and waved his arms as he spoke. His eyes lit up as he spoke of his 'darling Mona Lisa', he laughed heartily at his own jokes and he charmed a room full of 20-somethings in an instant. His life is not defined by the Holocaust; that was just one piece. The other pieces include a long a sweet marriage to the love of his life, travel all over Europe, teaching, writing numerous books and more. God blessed him with life and he took that life and lived! He doesn't live with anger, we walks in freedom of forgiveness. How does that make you feel about your crabby morning mood because of that jerk that cut you off in traffic? Just a thought.
Thanks for reading! Until next time…
