This is no ordinary month. The men of our squad have been looking forward to this month the entire race. This month is known as “maninstry.” All the boys from the squad go to one location and do manly things without us ladies. So, the ladies have decided to get excited about this month and we coined it “feministry.” We do nails, hair, walk around in our pjs, watch movies, and spend time talking about things that boys could care less about. It has been a little difficult living in one small apartment with nine girls. There is not much room for personal space, but we make it work. We take turns cooking, we swap clothes, we work with one shower and toilet, and we just about share everything.
We are especially enjoying our time here because we have an awesome ministry. We are doing life with students from four Universities. We take the metro all around town, speak in English classes, and attend English clubs, all while pursuing relationships with students. We also get to hang out in the city of Kyiv with the friends we make throughout the week. They always have something new they want to show us in their city and they take very good care of us.
A typical week this month looks like this:
Tuesday
Speak in a few classes
Have a meeting at CCX office
Go to International Christian Assembly for University bible study
Wednesday
Speak in a few classes
Attend English Club at Shevchenko University
Hang out with students in the café
Attend English Club at KPI University
Watch the movie that we will show on movie night
Thursday
Speak in a few classes
Attend two English Clubs at Linguistics University
Hang out in the café with students
Friday
Meet with CCX staff and do bible study
Time out with students at Linguistics University
Movie Night at Dragomanov University
Saturday
Hang out with students and see Kyiv.This past Saturday I got to go to an Indian festival and have Indian food again! I had missed it!
An event These are photos for our World Nations party. We had everyone bring a dish from their favorite country and wear clothing of their country.
Sunday
Church at International Christian Assembly
Walk the town with friends.
Monday
Sabbath
REST
Woo, it is a busy week but we love it and wake up every Tuesday ready to do it all again! We have the privilege of serving alongside CCX while we are here in Ukraine. CCX’s vision is to raise up men and women of influence for the Gospel and the Kingdom of God. They are a non-governmental organization that holds weekly English clubs to discuss topics and help students practice their English. This is where we come in. We usually get to pick the topics to discuss and talk about our trip because the students have lots of questions for us. Stories about our trip give so much glory to God and the love of Jesus shines through to these students. We aren’t preaching, because the Ukrainian legislation does not allow for religious organizations in the schools; however, I do know that the Lord’s name is becoming known as we share our lives and hearts with these students.
Here are some photos of some of the girlfriends I have gotten close to this month:
Alona
Alyona and Tiana
Oksana and Alina
Emily and Kyra
I am telling you what, when Matthew said he hopes I have 11 hard good-byes and enjoy every bit of these next few months, I didn’t actually know what I was in for. Every month it has been hard to leave new friends. All of them have a story. They have dreams, responsibilities, hardships, success—and I’ve seen glimpses into their lives that I will never forget. These girls have blessed my life and made me sweeter and stronger. They have loved me well and shared their lives with me. I will miss them, but I am glad we will be able to keep in touch.
Back to the topic of feministry. Some ladies on I-squad embraced this month and made it special for us. They have hidden their identity using the name “gospel girl” and send us weekly emails, blogs to discuss, bible studies, challenges, and “girls just want to have fun” ideas. There are some of us enjoying this month more than others, but that is okay because we are women so we need to learn to love women. I personally love investing in women, so I have thoroughly enjoyed this month. Others however feel like they connect more naturally with boys. Either way it is so important to understand that there is richness to the company of women. We have so much to glean from one another.
And here is a picture to show the boys that we can do manly stuff too!
xoxo
