Hello from Ukraine! and “YA lyublyu vas” (‘yellow blue bus’), which means “I LOVE YOU ALL!” in Ukrainian 🙂
LOVE LOVE LOVE…AND MORE LOVE IN ‘ABOUNDANCE’ – yeah, sometimes I like to make up my own words 😉
“And this is my prayer:
that your love may abound
more and more
in knowledge and depth of insight…”
(Philippians 1:9)
Blog friends, thank you for your patience with my lack of blogging on my Race thus far…we have been very much on the go (with limited wifi access) since we arrived here in Ukraine – landing in Leviv, taking a bus and a then train to Rivne, quickly turning around and hopping on an overnight train to a “Festival by the Sea” in Odessa for a week, where we got to swim in the Black Sea and build relationships with members of the church and others from the festival (so much fun!), only then to hop back on an overnight train back to Rivne to start teaching English classes at a local church. We had only been back in Rivne for 4 days before heading to another small village out of town for a retreat with our English students, where we held more English courses, as well as Master Classes (a fancy term for fun talents and extracurriculars – I’m co-leading 2 courses for dance and cooking – so fun!). Our first month on the Race feels like we’ve been playing a game of ‘catch me if you can’ Ukraine style, running to-and-fro all over the country.
My World Race experience thus far…dreamy? Of course!
Easy?
Not in the least.
Worth it all?
Without a doubt.
In the few short weeks we’ve been here so far, these are some things about Ukraine that have caught my attention…
Genuine LOVE
People here may not seem very friendly on the surface – you pass them by on the street, sit next to them on a trolly, or stand next to them in a grocery line – and they wonder why you’re smiling, saying hi and trying to talk to them. (Apparently smiling a lot gives away that you are ‘an American’ here…who would have thought?!) They are not so quick to warm up. It takes time, reason and relationship for them to open up to you.
Oh, but once they do!
The people here are some of the kindest, most generous and genuinely affectionate souls I’ve yet met.
Squatty Potties…use your imagination
Coffee…kava, kava, kava!!! Delicious and treated like gold here, yet unbelievably affordable to us Americans (with $1 USD converting to about $27 Ukrainian Hryvnias)
Flowers….BAAHHHH!!! SO BEAUTIFUL!! And so so valued here – even the most rundown and whitewashed corners of each city are kissed with color from a vast variety of blooms. ‘The little things’ seem to hold great value here.
Grandma! (“babusya”…?????? in Ukrainian) – If you know me at all, you know my love for the elderly. Here in Ukraine, nursing homes are nearly nonexistent, because older adults live with their families (LOVE THAT!!!). The elderly have a strong place of influence and importance in society and are valued for their wisdom and trustworthiness to care for their family members. Many of them are still hard at work in the fields and on the streets selling flowers, vegetables and other goods…I may or may not have been plotting to adopt a few to bring with me on the rest of my Race… 😉
Hospitality…If you visit someone’s home here, they will feed you until you roll out of the house, feeling like you’ve just left the table from a large Thanksgiving meal. If someone comes to visit you in your home, they will bring you enough delicious sweet treats to feed your household…my team and I are all trying to figure out how it’s possible for us to leave Ukraine without having gained 500 pounds!
Public Display of Affection, or as a middle school youth leader might say, “PDA”. People here are not shy to show the world how they feel about one another. I think it’s really sweet…most of the time…
and maybe my favorite Ukrainian attribute of all…
…CHIVALRY!!!
The men (and even little boys) here are so kind and generous and thoughtful to women. From buying things for you, to giving up their seat on the bus, to opening doors and sharing their coat when it’s cold…I’ve even had a couple of strange men on the street grab my hand and kiss it – still not quite sure what that’s all about haha. When asked about chivalry in Ukraine, one of the men from our church here answered, – “it’s humanity.” – Goodness, we need to learn how to inject this heart and mindset into men in the States. Chivalry in America is “not dead yet! It’s merely a flesh wound!”
I’m so thankful for this beautiful culture and these beautiful people.
I have also already been gobbling up and basking in the blessing of being on a team with so many different insights, beliefs, faith practices, experiences and places in our walks with God. It’s true that differences can lead to ‘iron sharpening iron’, but shaping and sharpening are beautiful and necessary ways to new growth and maturity. God is always so intentional and wise in the flock He chooses to place us with.
I have been entrusted with the responsibility of leading my team, and it is admittedly a challenge to understand how the Lord wants me to lead in one direction amidst the scattering of directions displayed by our team as a whole, but I am trusting in His leadership to guide me as our Shepherd, to take His flock wherever He wants us to go.
A verse that I’ve been clinging to this month:
1 peter 5:1-7 (NLT)
“And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.
In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
along with Hebrews 13:17 (NLT)
“Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.”
I’ve also been reading a book this month called ‘A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23’ by Phillip Keller. This book is written by a real shepherd who dissects this biblical psalm line by line, uncovering deep insights into what David meant as he was writing the song from his personal experiences as a shepherd boy. It’s been so insightful and helpful in understanding how to relate to Jesus as my Shepherd, and to myself as His sheep.
Here are some of my personal favorite excerpts from the book, giving insight into the last part of Psalm 23, verse 4 – “Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me” :
“Whereas the rod conveys the concept of authority, of power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word “staff” speaks of all that is long-suffering and kind…used for guiding sheep…the tip of the long slender stick is laid gently against the animal’s side, and the pressure applied guides the sheep in the way the owner wants it to go. Thus the sheep is reassured of its proper path…”
“…Just as the rod of God is emblematic of the Word of God, so the staff of God is symbolic of the Spirit of God. In Christ’s dealings with us as individuals there is the essence of the sweetness, the comfort and consolation, the gentle correction brought about by the works of His gracious Spirit.”
“…Sometimes…a shepherd will actually hold his staff against the side of some sheep that is a special pet or favorite, simply so that they are “in touch.” They will walk along this way almost as though it were “hand-in-hand.”‘
“The sheep obviously enjoys this special attention from the shepherd and revels in the close, personal, intimate contact between them. To be treated in this special way by the shepherd is to know comfort in a deep dimension… “
“…It is (Holy Spirit) who comes quietly but emphatically to make the life of Christ, my Shepherd, real and personal and intimate to me. Through Him I am “in touch” with Christ. There steals over me the keen awareness that I am His and He is mine. The gracious Spirit continually brings home to me the acute consciousness that I am God’s child and He is my Father.”
“He is there to direct even in the most minute details of daily living.”
(A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, pages 120-123)
My hope and goal for the Race and beyond:
I want to be so sensitive to the gentle promptings of the staff of the Holy Spirit in my Shepherd’s hand, that I sense Him when He directs me – “Go here, say this, Love that person in this way, show my heart in that way, be willing to change directions at the last minute…” I want to stay close to His side and walk “hand-in-hand” with Him, not only on the Race, but in increasing measure all the days of my life.
Personal Prayer Requests
…something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…
old: please pray that I would learn how to draw closer to the Lord in every season and every circumstance (well-rested or exhausted, in good health or in poor, with everything going right with my team or with things falling apart…) and that in all these things, I would hear His voice more clearly on a moment by moment basis
new: please pray that I would not lose sight of the vision of the reason the Lord brought me on the Race to begin with, and that I would continue dreaming big dreams with Him
borrowed: please pray that the Lord would speak to the silence of my heart the things that are on His heart for others, that I might introduce others to His heart for them
blue:…what does that even mean?!…nothing blue here but the top half of the Ukrainian flag and all of the bold Ukrainian sky
Team Prayer Requests
Please pray that we would continue to grow in unity as a team, and that we would persist in reaching a place of “Vathos” (depth) with one another and with the Lord. That we would live up to our team name and what the leadership of AIM saw in us when they placed us together as a unit.
Please also pray for ‘K’ and for all of our English students, that they would continue to grow in relationship with the Lord and with one another once we leave.
“Ameen” (Amen, in Ukrainian)
In closing…
I’ll try to do a better job of blogging and posting pics and vids more often in the future. I’m finding that I’m more of an observer, a listener, a gatherer, a ponderer, and a long-term formulator before coming to the point of comfort or readiness in sharing much of anything online (not to mention the lack of wifi), but I’m working on getting better at this! I’m still learning to allow the Lord to speak through me and have His way with where the words land in people’s hearts and minds before they are perfectly formed in my own. Let it go, let it goooo…
“Yellow Blue Bus” – Love You All
