Classrooms and Cafés

Welcome to Kiev, Ukraine! This is a city of about three million people, with many internationals.  There are over two dozen universities in this city, which means there is a large number of young adults searching for their identity and purpose in a post-communist society.

This month, my team of five women, along with another team of four women, is serving alongside a college ministry, CCX, an affiliate of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (USA).  We attend weekly English clubs and classes at four of the major universities here in the city. 

Sharing pictures, videos, and stories from our World Race with the students gives us the opportunity to step into their classrooms and connect on a more personal level.  The students are enthusiastic about conversing in English and ask us all kinds of questions. They want to hear what we have to say!  And they even want us to be their friends.

Coffee dates, sightseeing outings, and movie nights have been common occurrences over the last few weeks.  We have made sweet friends and shared life together.  In some ways, this month has felt more like “real life” than any other month. 

• We take the metro each day. 
• We grocery shop and cook our own meals.
• We go to the mall on our day off.
• We make plans to meet our Ukrainian and international friends at a café or to walk around downtown.
• We live in an apartment with a shower, toilet, washing machine, and all the other modern conveniences we have missed during other months (although 9 women in a two bedroom apartment is NOT normal or convenient…).
• We watch movies with students and then discuss what we liked or disliked about the characters, plot, dialogue, etc.
• We talk about life: where we find hope, how to choose joy, and most importantly WHO gives us life everlasting!

Much of our time is spent in classrooms and cafés, but even outside of those places we continue learning about each other, talking about cultural differences, our experiences, beliefs, hopes, and dreams for the future.