I love how nothing is ever what it seems on the Race. We’re coming
to the end of our stay in the first Ukrainian village of the month
and well…it has definitely not lived up to expectations.
I suppose after all our time in villages throughout Africa and Asia I
had something entirely different in mind when I heard that we were
going to be spending our month traveling in and out of various
villages. I expected funny mud huts and giant bugs and barn yard
animals all over the lawn. I was met with something entirely
different.
Let me first say that the two hour bus ride from Odessa to this
village (sorry, I don’t know the name) was a beautiful one full of
great plains and rolling hill, fields full of bright red poppies and
sights that reminded me of driving through the beautiful parts of
Nebraska or Missouri.
When we arrived that this ‘village’, I was happily surprised to see
that in Ukraine ‘village’ just means small town and instead of
another stay in a mud hut that houses nests of who knows what, I
would be staying in a cozy little home with a room and a bed of my
own.
This place has been one of the most poetic places I’ve ever been.
The wide open spaces and fresh air has made me think that I could
forever live the small town life. The people here remind me of any
small town farmer in America; they love life, love people and love
their food.
…I haven’t eaten this well in approximately ten months.
Our days are spent doing various things with the local church. The
church being a community of about four or five families that meets in one of their homes. We have gone to a rock quarry and dug rocks
out of the side of a mountain to help a church member build his home.
We have climbed up a mountain to clear any garbage that may have
been left there…and fallen down it because of rainy weather. We
have picked fresh cherries and strawberries out of more than one
persons yard and have been invited into house after house to drink
tea and swap stories.
I am not entirely sure why the Lord has brought me here for these
four days, but it’s been a gift. I feel like I can breathe here in a
way that hasn’t happened in a long time. I feel alive here. It’s
beautiful. And more than anything, being here has made me really
ready to come back home.
We leave tomorrow and it’s a sad goodbye. I wish we could be here
all month. I wish that I could spend the month getting to know these
people and invest in their lives. I wish that I could get settled.
I think that’s why being here has made me want to go home. I want to
get settled.
I am ready to be in one place now. To get settled. To be able to
build relationships and have a home. I want to share with people and
invest in people.
We’ll be back in Odessa about a day and a half and then head out for
a one night stay in another village. From there we go again back to
Odessa for a day and then hop on a train for a 20 hour ride across
Ukraine to our third village where we’ll stay for the month.
Lots of moving this month. Lots of good-byes. But it’s okay. There
is something that the Lord is illuminating in this month. Something
that He is highlighting and teaching me through all these transitions
and all this unsettled-ness…
…but I’m going to have to get back to you on that when I figure it
all out.
Love you all. See you soon.
