This very atypical Matthew blog goes out to… well, you know exactly who you are. [You’re welcome Weston, even if it’s not what you really wanted.] In a strange turn of events, I am writing a blog about stuff we are actually doing and experiencing here on the Race. It is neither a poem nor a social critique nor an introspective critique. I know I know… you are astounded. Flabbergasted even. Here we go!
First off, we are in Ukraine. The town of Lutugino in the Lugansk Oblast, to be exact. It is only around 20 miles to the Russian border, the city welcome sign has a hammer-and-sickle sculpture underneath it, and a rather large statue of Lenin in prominently featured in the town square. Yes, we are most definitely in the former Soviet Union. Yes, it most definitely seems far more real now. Yes, I continue to discover more and more of my ignorance of the world outside american borders. [and yes, that is USSR ice cream.]
Our contact here is an american missionary named Bruce Macdonald. We are very similar and very opposite all at the same time, and it helps to remind me that the Church is the one entity where all peope, no matter their differences, can come together and truly love each other. I do believe I could listen to him talk all day. He’s awesome.
- Fact about Bruce: I think he’s about as politically conservative as you can be and still be a Christian.
- Fact about Matthew: I’m about as politically liberal as you can be and still be a Christian.
- Fact about Bruce: he served for almost 30 years in the US Army, is the son of an army vet, and has six kids serving in the armed forces, including two Rangers.
- Fact about Matthew: I’m a pacifist.
- Fact about Bruce: he and his wife Pia have twelve –yes, twelve— children.
- Fact about Matthew: I want like two. Maybe.
[we really are also very similar in many regards…we love sports, we think simplicity in life is far better than the alternative, we think the prosperity gospel and its cute little self-focused spin-offs are crap, we are NOT morning people, etc… but it’s much more entertaining to post the opposites.]
Ukrainians don’t know how to throw a softball. It’s sad, but I suppose it makes sense, seeing as the sport is as foreign to them as learning actual world history is to americans (had to get that social critique in somewhere). But seriously, it’s a lot of fun. One of Bruce’s main ministries is using softball camps as a way to reach kids and preach the Gospel, and he is in pretty high demand in the area. It’s a brilliant tool, really: it’s american so it’s cool, it’s different and difficult so you keep their attention, and most importantly it’s not soccer. Apparently it’s hard to teach a camp when all the ten year-olds are better than you.
Lastly, a dazzling quote from Mike Sanders after coming out of the bathroom: “If that scale’s got nothing good to say, it shouldn’t say anything at all!”
