This is it. maybe.

A whole Lot!

2010-06-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

It has been a couple of weeks since my last blog entry, and a lot has taken place:

First of all I came to Krivoy Rog for a week near the end of May to help with a team. We had a group come to work on a documentary on the work that Ed Dickson does in Ukraine. It was four people, a couple from Sweden and two people from Halifax (my good friend Amanda and her co-worker Dale). It was a really fun time helping take this group around to see the different things that Ed and his team has done here in Ukraine over the last 15 years. Some of the stories and projects that we saw were amazing. I really enjoyed my time with this group.

Then I had to head back to Kiev to spend some time in preparation for my exams. I had 4 exams in Grammar, Literature, History and Geography – all in Russian. For my phonetics class we had a oral test to see whether or not we knew the work. The way the exams worked was we had a long list of things to know, and to prepare for, and then we picked out a ticket at random with a couple of questions on it, they gave us time to prepare an answer and then we had to talk about it orally (with the exception of grammar where there was both an oral and written section. So for example, in History we had 40 different questions to prepare for, and I would pick out a ticket and have 2 questions on my ticket to talk about. It took a lot of preparation but after all 4 exams I got terrific marks! All exams are marked out of 5, and I got 5 on ever single exam! It was only with God’s help, because there were questions that I didn’t know very well, but every time I picked out a ticket I got questions that I knew very well! So I am officially done the Preparatory Faculty in Russian Language studies of the Kiev National Linguistic University.

Then right after my exams I came back down to the city of Krivoy Rog, with a team who had come to do ministry with orphans and a renovation for the entrance of the Children’s Hospital. So I have been down here helping take them around, and visiting kids that I have gotten to know. The weather has been excellent ranging from low to high 20’s every day, very sunny weather. (Sadly I still don’t have much of a tan, but it will come). It is so much fun to spend time playing with the kids, playing soccer, eating ice-cream, watching performances, etc.

I am here in Krivoy Rog right now and will be for most of this week, as it is my last time here. Now that I am finished my Russian Language program I wanted to spend the week here, and then return to Kiev to pack up and say some good-bye’s before heading across the pond next week. There is one place in particular I really enjoy going to, The Boys Rehab center, there is a great group of boys there, and my Halagonian friend Ashley and I are going to make strawberry short cake for them. We bought over 20 lbs of strawberries and are making pound cake and have whip cream, its going to be a lot of fun!

It is crazy how time flies, to think how, in just over a week I will already be heading home!

Keep in touch , God bless

End of break/school/friends

2010-05-15T06:01:00.000-07:00

Me and my good friends Johnny and Ira Semenuik.

The end of my break at school was a good one, I of course would have liked it to go on and on, but we can't live in a dream world, now can we?

I had arrived back from Krivoy Rog early last thursday morning and spent a good part of my day with my good friend Emily Marie. It was her last day in Ukraine before heading back to the states for a couple of months. We had a fun day, eating food, playing games and just hanging out. She has been a good friend while I have been here, supporting me, praying for me, and feeding me! I am glad I had the chance to get to know her.

Then friday evening of the break was The City, our international youth group. It was a lot of fun, and I had the chance to speak to the youth about living a life of purpose, and following God's plan for their lives. It was a good time, I always have fun with the youth. I spent my saturday pretty much just relaxing, taking a day of my break to actually stop and slow down. It was nice. Sunday of course was church and Mothers day... now lets just take a minute to talk about my mother:

I have the best mother in the whole world. She gives so much of herself for me. I always know that I can depend on her and that she will support me in whatever I choose to do. She has been such a support during this whole time in Ukraine, sending me things, emailing me on a regular basis, doing stuff in Canada for me since I couldn't do it from over here. She gives of her time and energy for me. She even went to all the trouble of coming to Ukraine to suprise me for my 20th Birthday, not many mothers would fly to the other side of the world to spend time with their son. It was great. I love my mom and am so thankful for her.

The monday was Passion Kiev 2010. Passion is a group of Christian music artists who have gotten together, and they kicked off their world tour here in Kiev! (Artists included: Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Louie Giglio, Chrisie Nockels, Kristian Stanfill) It was a ton of fun, monday was the last day of the break, and it was a great way to end off the break. There were over 6500 people who came out for the concert and it was great, they sang in both russian and english and the spirit was just electifying in the stadium! It was so much fun, and I was able to be at the very front of the crowd standing in front of the stage. I loved every minute of it!

Me standing in front of Chris Tomlin & Christie Nockets at Passion Kiev 2010

Then this week we were back at school. I was so glad it was a four day weak, going back to school after a break is mentally tiring. We had a lot of quizzes and tests this week , as they want to give us the mid-term marks for this semester before exams in a few weeks. So I was busy studying and trying to get all of my work done. One night though I forgot my key and my room mate was out for the night. The lady at the dorm with the master key was gone for the night too, so I wasn't able to study and had to spend the night in a friends room, thank God for good friends. I was able to get into my room the following morning before school.

Then friday night (yesterday) The City all went to Kiev Christian Academy's play. They did a performance called "The Last night of Ballyhoo". It was an excellent play on living in the Jewish society in America a few decades back. And the promlems and things that people faced, the kids did a great job on it. Several of the youth from The City were performers in it.

Well, I think that is all for now. Less than 5 weeks till I'm home in Halifax.

Keep in touch.

кривой рог/каникулы

2010-05-06T01:30:00.000-07:00

Well it has only been half of my break of school, and I have already had a busy time doing lots of fun things.

I Kicked off my break last friday with a great youth group service at The City, Kiev's international english youth group, that I help with a bit. It was a great time! Then had a retreat with the worship team from ICA (the church I attend in Kiev) later friday night into Saturday, it was a good time, spending time with friends and enjoying the beautiful weather. Saturday night we had a games night with the youth from The City, it was a good time, played a game called Mofia... a ton of fun! Sunday was church, which is always great, and making pizza with my friend Ashley from Halifax, and Mary Villa.

Then Sunday night left for Krivoy Rog with Ashley and Vova, friends here in Ukraine. The overnight train is usually not enjoyable for anyone, but I had a great sleep on the train, and enjoyed going down with friends. Monday we were up early and went to visit the boys at the Rehab center, an awesome group of young guys. We spend some time playing soccer with them, it was a lot of fun, especially with all the sunny weather we've been having here in Ukraine, its been mid 20's since last friday, the last day of April.

Then after the Boy's Rehab center we went out to a 3D movie with a group from Sunshine orphanage. It was a movie about turtles, kind of like a documentary, and it was in Russian, I was proud of myself for understanding a lot of it, I actually learned some things about turtles, such as : Turtles don't tell direction with an internatl guide (like birds going south) but they look at the stars to tell direction, isn't that interesting? This was a special treat for this group, to be able to go to a movie at the theater, and then we went to McDonalds after for icecream, it was fun!

Tuesday we were up early again and headed to Sunshine Orphange, where we spend some time playing with the kids. The little boys wanted me to swing them around by the arms like they were flying, and I was quite impressed by myself, at one point I had one kid in each arm swinging them and they were both off the ground "flying". Later that day we went to the TB Hospital to visit with the kids there. We brought them bananas and apples. New bars of soap for each of them. Also some of them were able to get the new slippers that we had bought for them. They were so happy to have us there with them. We were trying to teach them a lesson on friendship, and I got put on the spot and told to tell a story about friendship that had a lesson to it. And I had to make up this story about the wood's people and valley people who couldn't get along, and fought a lot and in the end they were brought together and learned to become friends, it was probably the lamest story in history but it got the point across.

That night we went and saw Iron Man 2 in theaters, Ashley, Vova, my friend Dima and myself. It was in Ukranian not Russian, so it was harder to follow, had to guess what was going on, but it was still a good movie. The next morning we got up and went to a family dorm, with young couples and single mothers who had small kids (babies and toddlers). We had lunch with them, and spent some time with them. It was a good time, the kids were adorable.

Then we celebrated "Sinco De Mayo", the mexican holiday, with two missionaries down there: Amanda and Leann from America. They made Chicken Taco's and we hung out for a while before Vova and I headed to the train station to come back to Kiev. It was a fun few days there, and it was extra awesome because of the great weather. I am going to make the most of the last half of my break from school, although I will have to do some studying at some point. But at least we've got fantastic weather, in shorts a tshirt and sandals today.

Well keep in touch, God bless.

Double Feature

2010-05-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, so its been just under two weeks since my last Blog entry, so this week's entry is a double feature.

First order of business: Sneakers for Soccer! We had a great time delivering the shoes on April 24th. We went to one orphanage with a great group of boys, Orphanage "Ugok". About 20 young boys got new sandals (which was what they wanted). They were so excited about their new sandals that they were quickly tossing aside their old footwear to put on their new sandals and wear them proudly. The joy and smiles on their faces were wonderful! Then we also delivered 33 pairs of sneakers to Dormitory 86. A great group of kids, these are older orphans who live in a dormitory in absolutely horrible conditions. They survive with very little. We were able to get them all a new pair of sneakers, they were very happy for their new footwear. It was such a joy and honor to bless these kids. Thank you to everyone who supported this project, you helped more than you know. The kids and I appreciate the support.

We actually had enough lest over money in the end, that two TB Childrens hospitals will be getting some help. We knew of their need for new slippers for these kids there, and so with the extra money we are getting slippers for over 80 kids! Two different TB Hospitals will all be getting new slippers. We are super excited about that!

I've also kept very busy this last week with School, it was the last couple weeks before our 10 day break at the beginning of May. So we had lots of school work and a couple big tests to do before the break. I got 5/5 on my literature test. And 4/5 on my grammer test. It was good to get them finished and access the level that I am at so far. I am pleased with my marks right now, it is a lot of work, but it isn't all that bad.

I also have been in contact with my old job at Second Cup, in Canada. It is looking like I will be going back to work there. Which is a great blessing, to know I have a job when I get home and don't have to worry about it. This will work out good as well, as I am planning to return to Saint Mary's University in the fall, in Halifax.

Today , May 1st, is a beautiful sunny day here in Ukraine. Warm and clear out, mid/high 20's. It is probably the nicest day so far in 2010 over here. I have enjoyed some time out in the sun, biking, playing soccer, spending time with friends.

Well thats about all for now, I know its a double entry, but its not too much longer than usual.

Sneakers/Suprises/С Днем Рождения

2010-04-20T22:47:00.000-07:00

So this last couple of weeks have been busy and exciting weeks for sure!

As many of you know we were raising money for "Shoes for Soccer", to buy kids in a couple orphanages new shoes for spring/summer as many of their shoes are very warn. We had over $1150 come in for this project, which means that over 50 kids will be getting new shoes! We are going down this Saturday the 24th to deliver the shoes to the kids. It will be a very exciting time for sure, I am really looking forward to it.

Then a week ago, last wednesday I had a really big suprise. My homegroup from church had been "cancelled", so I had the evening free, and my good friends Christine and Mary invited me to hang out with them. They were going to pick up a friend of Mary's from the airport and then go out to eat after, and suggested I tag along. It didn't take much to convince me to come along with them. We drove out to the airport, and they were all excited, and they picked up flowers and everything, then Mary said she wanted to video tape her friend coming through the arrival doors, and asked if I would give her friend the flowers. So there I was standing there and the arrival doors, and out walks my MOM! It was such a shock... she says "Are those flowers for me?" , "Apparently so", I replied. The three of them had planned this suprise for me, and it was absolutley wonderful. I would have never expected it.

This last week I've had the chance to show my mom my life here in Ukraine. Where I live, where I study, who my friends are. She has seen what life is like living in Kiev. We were able to see some cathedrals, eat at different restauraunts, go mini golfing and of course go shopping a bit. Its been a fun week. Of course she still insisted I went to school, but I didnt go to all of my classes, my teachers thought it was very good for me to spend time with my mom and show her Kiev.

One of the great things is the fact that she was here for my 20th birthday. This past sunday, April 18th, I turned 20 years old. We woke up and made some pancakes and then headed to church together. There was a guest speaker that sunday at church, Sujo Jon who was a survivor of 9/11. He had an incredible story and encouraging message. Then we went to Aroma cafe for lunch, they have amazing sandwiches, some of the best in the whole world, I loved it. Then that evening we went to my birthday party. About 25 people came out to celebrate my birthday with me, it was a lot of fun. We ate food, played cards, hung out, its was fun. I had two cakes for my party! (I actually had 3 in total, as my friend Emily had made one that we had on saturday). It was a blast! I said to someone, that I think I'm taller now that I'm 20.

The volcano in Iceland has complicated flying in a lot of the world, so mom has the pleasure of staying with me a few days longer, its so good to have her here.

Well that is this last week or so, in a nutshell, keep in touch, God bless!

Время от г. Кривой Рог

2010-04-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

Dima, Me and Johnny at the quarry.

Just over 9 weeks left here in Ukraine. Its exciting to think about because I will get to see family and friends in Canada, but it will be sad at the same time as I have made new friends here in Ukraine and have developed my routine and social life.

This past week was a busy but very good week. I left last wednesday night with friends Johnny and Ira Semenuik from Kiev to go to Krivoy Rog for a couple of days. The director of my faculty has allowed for me to miss two days of classes, provided that I make sure I get caught up in my work. We arrived in Krivoy Rog early thursday morning we spent the day just hanging out, relaxing a bit. Spending some time with our friend Dima, who was also our translator while there. Then Friday we went to the Baby Hospital and met with the Director to see what they really needed, one of the Kiev Schools had donated some money. So we went and found some medicine that they were in need of. We also met with the Director of a Boys Rehab center friday and discussed a program thats going to go on every saturday there with some time with some of the older boys teaching them the basics about Christianity and then playing sports with them. A lot of these boys come from really rough backgrounds, and have been in horrible situations with alcholic parents, drug abuse, sexual abuse, being homeless, seeing things that kids should never have to see. They are a great group of boys though, and a lot of fun. Friday evening I went to my friend Max's place, where he was hosting a small group of youth for a Bible study every friday. I shared at the group discussing a verse from 1 Timothy chapter 6. Also went on a bit of an Adventure on friday with Dima and Johnny, we went to climb this high hill, which overlooked this deep quarry, and at the bottom was this really big, clear lake, it was really cool. It was like this whole little isolated area in the middle of Krivoy Rog, it was fun trying to find it and seeing the view.

Saturday was a good day. We went to the boys Rehab Center and did a program with 17 of the older boys, talking about the fundementals of christian faith and what the Bible says. It was really good, and then we played Kick-ball with them. Once they caught on it was a lot of fun, although it was a clear reminder of the fact that I'm out of shape. We then met with Ed Dickson, who was also in Krivoy, for lunch, and spent some time talking with him. After being there for 15 years, Ed really had good insight and understanding of Ukraine, and has such a good heart. It is always a blessing just to sit and listen and learn from him. We went with Ed to a place called Bouriygli for the afternoon. It was my first time there, my parents had been there and told me a bit about it, but I had never seen it for myself. Its a center for handicapped (mentally or physically) people. The conditions of the place are very poor, and there is not a lot of hope for them. They are kept on the outskirts of the city, its a clear representation of out of sight, out of mind. But they were a good group of people, and I got to talk with a couple of them while we were there. I enjoyed it, although we didn't get to do a lot there. Then saturday night we headed back on the train.

Ed Dickson and I.

This week was supposed to be the last week that we were collecting donations for Shoes for Soccer, where we would like to buy some new shoes for some great kids in Krivoy Rog who need them. We will find out in the next couple of days just how much we were able to raise, and I will give an update on my next blog. School wasn't too busy this week, as last monday was a holiday from Easter, and then thursday and friday I had gone to Krivoy Rog, but school is moving at a quick pace. As we are getting better and having a better grasp of the language they are going a bit faster when teaching us, but I am enjoying it. Not a whole lot else to say about this past week.

Keep in touch and God bless!

Big Break at Big Ben!

2010-04-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

HEy so I left Halifax 31 weeks ago to come to Kiev Ukraine! Thats crazy how time is passing by!

This past weekend I got to take a break from my time in Kiev Ukraine, I took a trip to London England for about 3 days. It was really enjoyable and timely. I had planned the trip back in the fall when there was an incredible ticket sale, it can be really cheap to fly around within (and around) Europe. My friend from Rock Church, back in Canada, Amanda Goodine met me in London and we got to hang out for the weekend.

We got to see some great sights such as Big Ben, London Brindge, Picadelly Circus, Marble Arch, parks and monuments and so much more. We also took an afternoon bus tour out to Stonehenge, which was really interesting to see. Our tour guide was a guy from Scotland and he was pretty funny. When heading back to London from Stonehenge he asked the bus "So how did you like that big pile of rocks you came out here to see?" The only downside, which wansn't even that bad, was that there was a lot of construction being done on the subway, I guess we had chosen to come on the weekend when they were repairing things so many stops were closed. It complicated our transportation but it wasn't that bad, it was neat taking double decker busses everywhere.

A funny thing was, the night that I had got to London, I had forgotten to print out the information about the hotel I was staying at, and so border control had some extra questions for me, to put it mildly. And then on top of that I had got to London a bit late and was supposed to meet Amanda at the Marble Arch because it was a bus stop coming from the airport, but she was back at the hotel waiting for me because she had already waited so long. The problem was I didn't know the name of the hotel or how to get there, so I had to find someone in a cafe to let me use their computer and look up the information I needed and then I took a short Taxi ride... It was funny in the end, but during it at 10ish at night, I was not the happiest.

It was really nice just to take a break from my busy schedule and speak english with everyone. I speak a lot of english with my friends in Kiev, but everything is in Russian there and I do need to speak russian quite a bit, so the english was nice. We went to see an english movie at the theater (if you know me, you know I love movies). Also drank coffee at Starbucks and Costa which are two of my favorite coffee places. Oh, and I got Pizza Hut, one of my other favorites. So it was a blessing to be able to go and see a new country, I had never been to England before.

This past week at school we also got our marks for all of our classes, kind of like mid-term marks. In Grammer, Phenetics and Literature I had 4, and in Geography and History I had 5-. I was pleased with my marks but I know that these last couple months of school will require a lot of work. It has been decent weather here lately, some warm days, a couple rainy ones.

I am also still collecting money for Shoes for Soccer and I will be till mid-april. I plan to go down to Krivoy Rog three or four more times before returning to Canada.

Well thats all for this week, thanks for reading and keep in touch.

Shoes for Soccer

2010-03-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

"Shoes for Soccer" -This is the latest project that I have just launched at the begginning of last week. I really wanted to buy new sneakers for some of the orphans. Many of them don't have a lot of things that bring joy to their lives, but one thing that they all seam to love to do is play soccer.

I knew that many of the kids had outgrown their previous sneakers or they were just in very poor condition. It doesn't cost a whole lot to buy a new pair of sneakers, just about $20. So I asked all of the Child Care proffessionals I knew if they would like to partner with me for this project. One thing that I enjoy doing is fundraising. (I'm not that great, but I am learning as I go). I asked them to pass out a letter from me , talking about the conditions here. I would like to get families who are able to, to help with kids who don't have families who love and care for them. Many of the orphans here live in such bad conditions and have so little. The government barely puts a roof over their heads, and the workers at the orphanages simply have to do the best that they can. With run down conditions and not much money these children are left in an atmosphere of neglect and hopelessness. Over time different people (Such as Loads of Love, and True Hope Ukraine ... and many others) have stepped in to bring hope to these kids lives, to bring joy and love. That is something that every kid needs.

The goal with this campaign for new shoes is not just to put new footwear on the kids feet, but to show them love and hope. There is nothing that will make your warm like seeing the smiles on these kids faces and the joy they have as they play soccer. We are going to start with one orphanage that has about 20 kids, and depending on the response to the project I have a couple of other orphanages and dorms as a possibility to bless. I'm trusting that God will provide.

I have been keeping busy the last while since my last entry. We have had great weather for the last week here in Kiev. I've been keeping busy between church and school, my small group and so on. The other day a group of us watched one of the basketball games from march madness in the states, and Ira made chickenwings, they were honeygarlic with the sauce from scratch, they were incredible! I also got the priviledge of celebrating Allan and Anne Marie Beckett's 35th anniversary with them. I made a peanut butter pound cake that was reallllly good. (Well I thought it was, it was like a giant fluffy peanut butter cookie). I also got my hair cut, I have had it pretty long for a few months now, I've trimmed it but never cut it as short as I usually keep it. But at homegroup wednesday evening we cut it short, it feels good. Before I thought I felt like a mountain man, and now I feel like an eligible bachelor again. I've also had my friends from Krivoy Rog : Max and Katya in town the last couple days and got to spend some time with them. They were helping a team that had come over working with the kids, the team was a mix of Canadians and Americans.

Well thats all for this week, God bless.

2010-03-17T02:06:00.000-07:00

Time is flying!!!! I am in my 29th week since coming to Ukraine, and I only have 13 weeks till I leave for Canada!

I have been keeping busy as always this past week.
We have finally come up with a name for the English Speaking youth group that I help with: The City. We've got some good scriptures to back it up. Its really cool, there is a great group that has come together from within the city of Kiev. I am having a blast getting to know these awesome youth and the other leaders. I look forward to how this youth group will continue to grow.

Last week was also my good friend Johnny Semenuik's Birthday, he turned 23. There was a suprise for him last thursday night and it was quite fun. It seams that there are a lot of Birthday's in the spring... It was also my Pastor from ICA's birthday, Paul Pierquiet... I dont know how old he turned , but its older than 23. This current week it is Allan Beckett's birthday, an awesome missionary I have gotten to know here in Kiev, he lives here with his wonderful wife and my good friend Emily. He has such a heart for Ukraine and is such a blessing. Also this week is Mary Villa's birthday, she is awesome and so much fun, she lives here working with Assemblies of God, and is quite the cook.

School has been going well this last week. I got a 4 on a grammer test last week, and in Literature we also had a test about one of the stories by Lermontov that we studied, and I was the only one in the group to get a 5 on it! (All marks are out of 5). I feel a little more confident with my russian, although I still have so much to learn, it takes time to really build up a solid base of vocabulary that you are able to use.

I am still pursuing some leads for some fundraising for "Operation Can be Done", you can find more information on that at www.link127.org . I will keep you posted on that. I also have some ideas to get some sneakers for one of the orphanges in Krivoy Rog... many of the kids would have grown out of their footwear from last summer, and good footwear would be good for the summer for playing soccer and other outdoor activities. I will keep you posted on that, or email me if you would like some more information on any of this and would like to get involved.( romans1.20@gmail.com )

Its still winter here in Kiev, a bit of fresh snow every other day this week. Its been a little rediculous, I am ready for spring! But I can't control the weather so I just have to stay happy no matter what. Well Thanks for reading my blog, and keep in touch. God bless!

"Love your neighbour as yourself"

2010-03-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

March already, Time is just flying by.

I have been keeping busy over the last few days. A friend of mine, Emily Marie from America, met up with my good friend Max and came down to the city of Krivoy Rog for 4 days. We took a train out on thursday night... we were in 3rd class which was quite the experience, its basically where they squish as many beds as possible into a train car...it smelled, there was lots of snoring and absolutely no space, but it got us from point A to point B. We almost got off at the wrong stop when almost everyone got off at one stop we thought it was because we were in Krivoy Rog, but apparently it was just the stop before ours, so we were able to get back onto the train in the nic of time.

We visited an orphange on friday where we got to spend part of the day with a great group of kids. We played games with them, and told then stories... and made crafts and just spent time loving these kids. They has so much energy and were starved for attention. It was such a blessing to be able to be there with them. We had bought each kid a new pair of socks... you should have seen the look on these kids faces when they got their new socks. They were so proud and just estatic over getting something new. Friday night we joined in on a smallgroup from the Church of Praise here in Krivoy. We ate cake and cookies, and discussed some scriptures from the book of Romans, it was very interesting.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to an orphange to have a Birthday Party. It was the first time a birthday party had been done in this particular orphanage. We celebrated everyone who had a birthday in the past few months. Each kid got a present. We had cake, bannanas, candy and juice. It was great, all of the kids seamed to really enjoy themselves. We played some fun games and talked with them a bit. The staff at the orphange were really happy to have someone come in and bless the kids. It was so unlike a North American birthday party... kids were appreciative of getting anything! It didnt matter that they didn't have the latest clothes, or technology or a ton of candy. Just being able to celebrate with good friends and people that cared made a difference. We take so much for granted.

Sunday we were at the Church of Praise for two services. It was good to be there again, it reminds me a bit of my church back in Canada, the worship is very good, and the speaking is good. (its all in Russian but I enjoy it, and can get the gist of it). The second service was the youth service. They had their worship and then my friend Emily played piano and sang a song that she had written and shared a bit. It was really good, and I also got the priviledge of hearing my good friend Max speak.

Monday(today) we visited a dormitory for orphans. We had lunch with a group of kids, maybe about 18. We made sandwiches and brought fruit and of course candy. These orphans are all between 14-19(ish) and are living here in very poor conditions with not a lot of food, and there are rats, etc. It isn't a well kept, safe environment. But these kids are in good spirit, smiles on their faces. We try to bring some hope to them, and share the love of Jesus. I talked with them (with some help with translation) about the story of the good samritan from the Bible. Where there was a guy who had been robbed and beat up and layed on the side of the road. And two people passed him by, they were too busy or important to stop and help. Then a third (a samaritan) stopped and helped the man and took him to be helped... My point with the kids is we need to love our neighbour, and sometimes people don't treat them well or they have hard times but they can still rise above and be good people and love our neighbour. We then proceeded to play a game and call it a day.

I will be returning to Kiev, and will be back in class on wednesday. I missed a day of school, and monday is a holiday due to womens day here in Kiev. Happy Womens day, all of you female readers! It is still cold weather here, but not quite as cold as it was, and the odd sunny day here and there. Well thats all till next time God bless.

What does it take

2010-02-26T22:10:00.000-08:00

As a young person growing up in Canada, I was blessed with a world of choices. Sometimes as youth we even take the opportunities in front of us for granted, we don't see what we've got right in front of us. Upon graduation from high school I had the world as my oyster but I didn't know what to do with it.

This notion gets me on the thought pattern of: Those people that we all admire and that have accomplished so much in their lives... how did they get there? What makes up the charachter of a world changer, because thats what I want to be. We've got the people like Mother Theresa. A woman who gave her life away to do the world some good, always placing others before herself. I read one story about mother Theresa that really impressed me. Her feet were very crippled and one day there was a new volunteer who couldn't help but notice Mother Theresa's feet, so she asked one of the other sisters about it. The sister told her that every time they got a new donation of footwear, Mother Theresa would go through the shoes and find the worst ones, and take them for herself, because she didn't want someone else to have to wear them. After years of doing this it paid a toll on her feet, but she never complained.

Then we've got our Martin Luther King Jr's... "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity". This really makes me think, what do I contribute to the world, a continued struggle to lift myself up, or am I advancing a cause greater than myself? This brings me back around to one of my favorite quotes by Ghandi, "Be the change you wish to see in the world". There is a lot of need in the world, a lot of broken hearts, a lot of hungry stomachs, a lot of people who have never heard about the love of Jesus, I could go on. I know everyone has their own part to play, and can contribute to the world in different ways. It can be something like befriending someone who is lonely. Or bringing someone a pie to cheer someone up. There is fundraising for projects both local and global that need it, or simply volunteering at a local food bank or homeless shelter to help try to meet a need. There are so many ways to help out our neighbour (metaphorically speaking). I don't know what it is, but I feel a sense of responsibility to live a life of a world changer.

I don't know what that means, or will entail, but I know I am trying. Trying to be better than average. Lending a helping hand, putting others before myself, befriending the lonely. In the spirit of the Olympics I'll quote an athlete; Wayne Gretzky "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." I am making every shot count if I can, I'm not perfect and I never be, but I want to try to be the best person that I possibly can be, period.

Well that's my little rant for the week. In other news it has been a busy last week with school, no big tests or anything, just studying a lot. I am making some of my Ukranian friends speak more Russian with me, rather than english, which will obviously help improve my conversational skills. I have gone to Gloria Jeans Cafe a little extra this week as they are closing this sunday, which is sad. I guess I haven't gone their quite enough to keep their business open (although it was probably close). Not a whole lot of news for me... keep in contact, and thanks for reading my blog. God bless.

Я не люблю зиму

2010-02-19T02:04:00.000-08:00

25 weeks!!!!

I am here in the cold country of Ukraine where the sun does not shine, and the sidewalks are not shovelled. The people are ever so glum, and I just want to sit at home to keep from going numb (sorry had to rhyme). As the title of this entry says " I don't like winter". At least not like this. Canada may have some cooler temperatures and snow but they do see the sun sometimes. It seams like forever since the sun has shown its face to the people of Ukraine. Its a grey ol' place, but I am making every effort to have a positive outlook on the matter.

In anticipation of another gloomy week, I decided to schedule something for me to do, every single evening this week, to force myself out of the dark habit I created of sitting in the dorm every evening and watching movies . (Although I did enjoy it, I know it wasn't healthy).

So this last week I have kept busy. On Feb 13th I joined a group of people from my church for an un-official anti-valentines day party. It was basically all the singles having a fun time with good food. It was a really fun night. Then sunday I had a great time at ICA Kiev, the church I attend here (www.icakiev.com). Monday evening I went to Grillitza, a fantastic restauraunt where you fill up a bowl as much as you can with meats and vegetables, pick a sauce and then they grill it altogether for you. Johnny and Ira Semenuik, my friends from church and Bible study met me for dinner there. Tuesday Evening I visited my good friends Allan and AnneMarie and Emily and we watched a couple of the olympic events and had a great dinner together and played cards. Wednesday evening was Bible study where we amazing whitebean/chicken chili and brownies and icecream (sorry to go into detail about the food but it was just sooooo good). Thursday evening I headed to my good friends and Pastors house the Pierquiet family to hang out and join them for dinner. And Friday (today) I will be heading to help out with the Keiv english youth group here.

So that is my evenings in a nutshell, as you see I am pretty sociable. Of course everyday this week I attended my classes for school, moving on with the different cases in grammer and topics in literature and history... it is quite interesting. I can already tell though that this second semster will require a bit more work, but I am okay with that since I came here to study!

I have only been able to watch a couple events from the Olympics which I was able to get off the internet, but I did catch the opening ceremonies. It made me soooo proud to be Canadian! We truly have a great country. They did a phenomanal job. I wore my Canada hoody proudly! I am trying to keep up a little bit on it. I know Canada got gold in Men's moguls. Anyways... enough about the olympics.

I also started the whole scholarship search this week, seeing what I can apply for. As well I am starting to work on a sponsorship letter to start raising some funds for "Operation can be done" where Loads of Love raises the money to have surgeries performed for physically challenges children , these operations can drastically change a life, and bring hope and a future to their lives. I will keep you posted on my progress with this next project.

That is all for now. Thanks for reading , feel free to drop me a line, its always nice to hear from people. God bless.

Back in Kiev Ukraine

2010-02-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

Over 23 weeks.

So I have been back in Ukraine for about a week now since my fantastic visit to Canada. It took some time to get adjusted, I continued to get up at 7:00am halifax time last week (which is 1:00pm Kiev time) Luckily last week was a week off of school so I wasnt missing anything by sleeping in. Monday I was back to school, I didnt forget quite as much as I thought I would, I seamed to be on the ball. I think that this next semester that I've just started will require a bit more work. Learning russian takes a lot of work, but like I said in the fall, I am enjoying it. The main thing I need to work at is speaking on a regular basis. I know too many people that speak english (although I thank God for them everyday). But I don't have the confidence to try and make conversation... I can get around fine and understand but its hard to force myself out of my comfort zone (not that moving to Ukriane for a year wasn't out of my comfort zone).

If feels good to be back in Kiev again, its been good to see my friends and stuff. My Bible study group, classmates, Pastor's , etc. Its like I have two lives now, one in Canada and one in Ukraine. I'm okay with that though, just means I have friends on both sides of the world. One thing I understand a little better now is the concept of being a foreigner. I know its horrible to say, but when I used to work at Second Cup, when a foreigner would come in and struggle with english I would think in the back of my mind 'learn the language before coming here'. But now the roles have been switched and I am the one who doesn't know the langauge... its kinda ironic.

The light in my room has finally been fixed, 7 weeks my room was without a light. Saying that, I was away for half that time between McJoyful and visiting Canada. But either way I am thankful for a light again. It was frustrating being in the dark at like 530 in the evening.

I don't have too much news as I've just been settling into the routine of being back in Ukraine again. Its been cold here, not a lot of snow, but their is still a ton of ice everywhere that didn't melt yet. Its so tricky to walk anywhere cause you'll think your on pavement or snow but its shear ice. I'll just say I have fallen at least once... a day. Well not that much, but close. One thing I have devided though, is I might like pizza in Ukraine better... its different than Canada but I'm not quite sure which I like better, at the moment I'm leaning towards Ukrainian. (although not much beats a good Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza).

Well thats all for now, until next week.
God bless.

Canada, eh?!

2010-01-29T05:42:00.000-08:00

22 weeks since I started this incredible adventure in the Ukraine. (over 5 Months)
Its been 4 weeks since my last post, and much has taken place in that amount of time.

First of all I wrote my exam and quizzes for the first semester of my Russian studies course. There was one main exam in grammer, and it was marked out of 5, I got a '5-' which I was quite pleased with. I then had a series of quizzes in my other courses (Geography, History, Literature) and passed them all.

Then on the 14th of January I set out from Kiev to return to Canada for a visit. It was a suprise to many friends and relatives. Only a handful of people knew that I was coming for a visit. It was a much anticipated tri[, I had a countdown to the hour I left, going on my computer. It has been good to see many of my friends and relatives while I've been back in Canada. We have had many nice days while I have been home, with some sunny weather and positive temperatures. Its been a break from the cold Ukraine.

The way I suprised my friends was by showing up to the Shiloh University Service on Friday the 15th. The reactions of some of my friends was priceless. I have been busy with my friends seeing movies, going out to restauraunts, coffee, etc. An awesome road trip to Moncton, New Brunswick with my good friend Amanda. It was really great to get back to visit Rock Church... I love my church in Kiev but its always nice to be at your home church. I had an awesome taco day with my old small group from Church that I used to co-lead . I also had the priviledge of preaching at Shiloh Youth Group on Wed. 20th on my moms birthday (she turned 29).

I have spent lots of time with my family skiiing, family dinners, visits in Truro, etc. Its been a blast, so good to see them, and I was able to see my sisters new house that she had got while I was away. It was a little surreal at first being back in Canada, in the North American culture. Where everything is bigger and better (or so they say). But not a whole lot has really changed while I've been gone, much is still the same. Although I feel like I am much different, after being away for so long, I'm still the same Kirsten, just with a broader perspective and a little more experience. I've really learned a lot while away, and not just the russian.

I'm here in Canada till the 1st of February when I will make the trip back to Kiev, I am looking forward to getting back, into my routine, etc. Seeing all of my good friends in Kiev and some from Krivoy Rog.

Well I think thats all for now, until next week! God bless.

Endings and Beginnings

2010-01-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

18 weeks here in the Ukraine.

The beginning of this week we did a couple more days of McJoyful Christmas down in Krivoy Rog. Taking tons of kids to McDonalds, spreading the joy and the message of hope. God really worked everything out for McJoyful and all ran smoothly, we had a great team working with us running the program. It really is a remarkable program that Ed Dickson started up a few years ago.

Wednesday I returned to Kiev with Ed for New Years, there is a break in the McJoyful due to the New Year festivities taking place. The program will continue with more kids, but I will not be returning due to school. Coming into Kiev on wednesday evening we came into some messy driving. There was a lot of snow that came down while we were away and the streets were still not all cleared. The city looked great though dressed in a clean white layer of snow. It really looked like a winter wonderland with all the New Years Decorations around the city.

Thursday was New Year eve. I celebrated wih a wonderful group of people at my Pastors house. We ate a lot off food, played on the wii, played games... at midnight we had a toast and lit off fireworks. In Ukraine everyone and their dog lights of fireworks from their backyards or balconies or just where ever you are. The fireworks were great, it was a grand old time. We then continued to play games and party into the wee hours of the morning. It was good to spend new years with many of my friends from church. The next morning we had a wonderful pancake breakfast... and then we got a suprise. Around 2 oclock on New Years day a pipe in the basement of the house ruptured and the septic pipes contents went gushing into the basement. It wasnt pleasant to say the least. Eric (one of the guys from the church) was able to clog the pipe with a christmas table cloth... but sadly much of the damage had already taken place. It took all hands on deck to deal with the major problem. The carpet had to be taken up, and stuff thrown out. As it was new years there was no one working to come fix the pipe and pump the septic tank out. But the mess was at least taken care of with many hours of work... our new years party had turned into a cleaning party. Everyone remained in good spirts though, and it was a memorable new years day to say the least.

It is amazing to look back at the past year and see everything that had taken place, I finished my first year of University, worked at Second Cup, Visited Scotland, Saw Bluetree and Backstreet Boys in Concert, many roadtrips around the Atlantic Provinces, moved to Ukraine to learn Russian and learn from Ed Dickson (Loads of Love)... and many, many other things that took place this year.
As one year ends another begins, and I look at this year and see how different it already is than the last. I am starting this year out in Ukraine, a different country, new friends, new opportunities. I am so excited to see what this year holds in store. Hopefully I'll actually be better with my russian by the end of it!

I hope everyone had a great New Years, and that you make the most of this upcoming year! Happy New Year everyone!

McJoyful Christmas

2009-12-28T08:45:00.000-08:00

4 months in Ukraine! Wahoo! Its been a blast so far!

This past week was Christmas ! It is a wonderful time of year, filled with friends , family, and lots of food. This year was very different for me (obviously as I am currently living in Ukraine). But it was a very good experience for sure.

I had the priviledge of being involved in McJoyful Christmas in Krivoy Rog. (I am participating for 4 days, and the program will keep going , but I must return to Kiev for school). Every day we bring groups of orphans to McDonalds. It is a special thing here in Ukraine, as not everyone gets the opportunity to come to McDonalds. Some of these kids are waiting to come all year long, it is a huge treat for them. Something I don't think most people in North America can comprehend. You can see them as they come in, totally in awe of the place. Excited and full of energy. Even some of the older kids who try to remain composed and keep their pride in tact show a glimmer of joy in their eye.

The kids come over a few days as only small groups can fit in McDonalds at a time, and their are hundreds who come! Its not just about getting a happy meal though. Its about spreading the message of hope. We tell them about Destiny, and how God has a special plan for each one of their lives and how special they are. We also play games with them, and sing traditional Christmas/New Years songs. Its a lot of fun.

This is an experience which I had done before with my mom, and Kim McIsaac. It was great then, and I am enjoying it now as well. Many people donated money to this program, as I sent out letters asking for support for the program. I just wanted to say thank you for the support, it is so great to see the joy these kids are getting, and the message of hope we can share with them! We had a couple schools support this, and many many individuals who generously contributed. You may not have been able to come to Ukraine and participate in person, but your donation really did make the difference, and for that I thank you!

On another note: My Christmas. This year was different but good. Christmas eve we had a church service where we read the Christmas story from the Bible, and sang christmas carols. Many people brought christmas cookies and we all shared in eating them and drinking coffee after the service (I secretly filled a tupperware container with cookies to take with me). Then after that I went to the Pierquiets (my Pastor and his family) house for dinner which was awesome.
The next morning I got up and I had some christmas cards and a package to open. My parents sent the package, and my aunts and grandmother send the cards. It was really nice to have something to open christmas morning! I got some really great stuff which I was excited about... (especially the chocolate as I am a chocolate addict). I also got some money, which I am going to but myself a couple new things her. I then headed to the bus station where I went on a bus to Krivoy Rog, it was a 7 hour bus ride on christmas day! But my good friends Christine Pierquiet and Mary Vila made me a present. It was a stocking with 16 envelopes in it, one to open every 20 min of the ride (it was originally only supposed to take 6 hours). It was nice to have something to do on the bus, although there was a calorie enhanced man sitting beside me and it made it difficult to move, so I couldnt open them all on the bus. Although spending 7 hours on a bus on christmas day was not the ideal situation, it was worth it to be here to start McJoyful christmas saturday morning. Christmas night my friends Cherie, Max and Katya and I made chicken alfredo, and chocolate chip cookies, and watched the movie Elf. It was a good evening.

So that was my christmas holidays in a nutshell, very differnt from yours I will assume, but it was great non the less. Hope you had a great Christmas, and have a very happy New Years! God bless.

Let it snow, let it snow, Let it snow!

2009-12-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

16 weeks and counting.
It is so crazy to think how time flies, I am coming up on four months of being in Ukraine. It is such a wonderful experience to spend the Christmas season in another part of the world, of course I miss all the people at home, but being here is great.

I am finishing up my studies for the christmas season this week, I am in school until the 24th, and then I will be taking friday and next week off to participate in McJoyful Chritmas with the orphans, in Krivoy Rog. I am very excited for the opportunity to do this again (my mother and I were over there a couple years ago and participated in the program).

The sunday just past we had a wonderful service at church, and afterwords I went to hang out with my Pastor as I have become great friends with their family. We made christmas cookies, and listened to christmas music. Watched some shows, it was a swell afternoon/evening. I really enjoy spending time with them.

Last week school went well between this week so far and last week I have to 3 marks back for tests, we are marked out of 5, and in Literature I got 4, History 4, and Grammer 3. I am working on the grammer mark, overall my mark in the class is a 4 but that particular test I got a 3.

We got lots of snow over the last week or so, it seamed like every other day it was snowing and cold, but it was beautiful. Kiev really is a beautiful city. I listened to "let it snow" all week long.

Its good to have the chance to step back and look at Christmas. Here the major holiday is New Years as Ukraine celebrates the orthodox christmas in January. So the 25th here is just another day. But its kind of nice, it gives you the chance to step back and not look at the materialism. Christmas is about the birth of Christ, hence the name Christ-mas. In north American we've really got that backwards, its all about presents, and frosty the snowman, and other things. As you are celebrating your christmas this season, take a minute to think about Jesus. Enjoy your family as many people in the world grow up without a family, or are away from their family this year. And of course enjoy all of the food!

Hope all of my readers have a great Christmas, and my next blog will be midweek next week talking about McJoyful Christmas so far.

Keep in touch over the holidays, God bless.

(one of the kids from church, he's so cool!)

Hero Highlight

2009-12-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

The past week was 15 weeks here in Ukraine. Time flies when you're having fun.

I would like to take a moment this week to highlight one of the hero's in my life. I know I already mentioned Ed Dickson as one of my hero's , but I have another one to mention this week. I have known this hero all of my life, and he never fails me (No its not Jesus, although he never fails me either). I would like to take a minute to talk about my father, Rick Osmond. I have been blessed with two wonderful, loving parents, who are very supportive and always there for me. I really admire my dad for the example he has been to me. My dad is one of the hardest working people I know. He spends so much of his time and energy working to provide for his family. But also working on other things, he is always willing to lend a helping hand to people, doing odd jobs for people. He can make me laugh with his subtle sarcasm, and he always knows how to lighten the mood of a bad situation. He has rock solid faith... no matter how he's feeling he sticks to his faith, and trusts God. Though in the last few years my dad has had the challenge of dealing with Parkinson's disease, he NEVER complains, things may not be easy... but he has a great attitude. And he makes the best of everything. I know I can depend on my dad, and I love hanging out with him. I couldn't have asked for a better father, he really is my hero.

So this past week in Ukraine...
I have been swamped with homework lately, I don't know if its the actual workload getting heavier, or just the fact that I am putting more time and energy into my work. The language is still slow coming, but I am getting better, always improving. Its funny when I write stuff, I will often times mix up russian and english letters.

In just a couple weeks the launch of McJoyful Christmas will take place, on Dec. 25th I will be heading down to Krivoy Rog to help out down there, I am really excited to spend some time helping out, and visiting friends. I will stay down for new years and return for school the week after new years. It is an exciting season of the year, although being in Ukraine is a completly different experience. Christmas is not the big holiday here in Ukraine, I am counting down to Christmas and everyone else counts down to New Years, as ortadox christmas is Jan. 7th. But I am still enjoying the season... slowly finishing the christmas cookies my wonderful mother sent me in my last care package.

I had the priviledge on going to a fun event with some friends of mine from church... We went out for supper sunday evening to Oliva , had a fantastic salmon dinner... and then we headed to Palats Sports, to see an awesome concert. We saw the Backstreet Boys live here in Kiev, an american pop band from the 90's. They were halarious, with some of the same costumes from their golden years. Some of them were balding, and their dances hadn't been updated much but it was a good time. Its not usually my kind of event, but when in Ukraine, take every opportunity to do crazy , new, fun stuff. So thats what I did and I had a blast! We cheered for Lance half the time ( a running joke, as Lance was from a different 90's pop band which was Backstreet Boys competition).

I also made some great choolate chip cookies with Christine, from church. Chocolate chips were compliments of my wonderful mother. And we had a great movie night last week at coffeehouse where we watched the classic christmas film, Home Alone. Also Sackville High School made their contribution to McJoyful Christmas, its not too late to donate, feel free to visit www.link127.org for more details.

Well thats all for this week... Keep in touch over the holidays, God bless.

что ты думаеш?

2009-12-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

The title of this weeks blog: what do you think. Past week was week 14.
I didn't have a lot of news to tell about last week so I decided to talk about what I'm thinking so far, how I'm feeling etc.

SO here goes nothing. When I first got here to Ukraine, the immediate reaction was : "Oh my goodness, what the heck am I doing in Ukriane?!" After the innitial panic attack I was able to calm down a bit and thus started the ajustment period. Going to a country on the complete opposite side of the world, that speaks a totally different language, and where unknown is the definition of every day is quite an experiece. There is so much to see and learn, its cool to see another part of the world, and how it works. But its different when its not just a two week event where you just go to all of the tourist spots and all the safe zones. No need to put down any roots or establish a routine...

I was very comfortable in my north american bubble. Smooth sailing all around, good family, good friends, great country with soooo many things that I could take for granted. And then I came to Ukraine. Ukraine is a great country with a very proud people, they are hard working, and fascinating. Nothing here in Ukraine suprises me anymore, people drinking on the streets, squishing onto busses closer than a can of sardines... so that if you breath to heavily you'll take up all the oxygen on the bus. Packs of dogs walking with you as you go home with groceries, selling meat on the side of the street, wearing fur jackets that still have paws. So many wonderful things. I am used to it though. At first I thought I would never get used to this new place, with things that I wasn't used to, but I adjusted.

I have such a great group of people that I've met here, through church, and school and other things I have made some great friends. Its been a blast exploring kiev, and learning russian with these new friends. Its hard to be away from the people that you love and care about, but the people I know here have helped fill that void. One of my favorite people here, I can't lie, is Ed Dickson. He is the missionary I know here, who is absolutely incredible. He has such a good heart, and so much knowledge after being here for so many years. Every time I get the opportunuty to have coffee with him it is great, he's such a blessing and can always make me laugh. The work he does is awesome, and he is so humble about it.

Living in a dormitory can be challenging at times, as I've lived at home all of my life, but like I said at the begginning, I had no choice but to adjust. My floor is all people from the prepatory faculty of my univeristy, and has people from a bunch of different cultures and languages. Its cool to be living with an international community. They sometimes are loud and up late, or they may be messy, but its all good, I really can't complain, they are good people, and very pleasant.

I am happy. Ukriane is a great place to stay. Its not the same as home, but that was obvious before I left. Not everyday is great, but many of them are, I have my coffee and stash of reese peanut butter cups, I think I'll be able to stick it out :)

As for my news about last week, I don't have much school, church, hanging out with some friends. One of the hightlights of last week was recieving a care package from home, that came in the mail. Took three months to get here, but it came, and I was glad for it.

Well until next time, God bless. Keep in touch.

Coffeehouse, playing games, sequence to be specific.

A picture from Thanksgiving at the Pierquiets (spelling might be wrong)

3 months!

2009-11-29T03:52:00.000-08:00

week 13. Its the 3 month mark of my time here in Ukraine.

I would like to start this week by saying some things that I am thankful for:
I am thankful for two awesome loving parents, who are always there for me, and support me and help me when I need it.
I am thankful that God has blessed me with the opportunity to come to the great country of Ukraine.
I am thankful for the friends that I have, both the ones I have in Canada, and the many new ones that I have continued to make here in Kiev.
There is sooo much more that I could list, that I am incredibly thankful for, but those are a couple to start.

So this past week was the American Thanksgiving. And seeing as I have many american friends here in Ukraine, I had the great opportunity to celebrate this holiday with them. The first was with my Bible study group on wednesday nights, Kris and Adam hosted us and we had a turkey dinner with stuffing , potatoes , and all the fixing, it was a meal fit for a king! (I even made the dinner rolls myself, by first time making bread, and it turned out pretty good.) This awesome group of people have been so awesome, and such a help since I came here to Ukraine. I love being with them. (Adam and Kris fr. America, Johnny fr. Canada and his lovely Ukrainian wife Ira, Ken and Alyssa fr. America and there newest addition as of a couple weeks ago Rawly, and Katie fr. Ukraine/America)

The second thanksgiving event I went to was at my Pastors house on thursday, it was a wonderful group of people, and we had a turkey and ham dinner, and it was delicious, sadly I got a bad stomach flu that day, and spent over half the day in bed, but I stayed the night and the next morning woke up completely better and ate leftovers alllll day long it was awesome. Then that evening (friday) we headed to coffeehouse at the church which as always, was lots of fun.

Then on Saturday I also got a third thanksgiving celebration. I went to Emily Marie's and she cooked a wonderful dinner and we had great company, talking of what we were thankful for etc, Emily Marie has such an amazing heart, and it an awesome person to be around! I ate soooo much food over he course of those four days, it was crazy!

This past week, we also had our second youth night with he ICA youth group. It has been going so well, with a terrific group of young people. We played games, ate food, were challenged with the word, and spent some time in Prayer, it was a fun time for sure. This is becoming a weekly thing with the group, and we also meet on sunday mornings after the first church service at ICA.

School is also going well, I am now up to five different classes (although some are only twice a week) We've got Grammer, Phenetics, History, Geography and Literature. All in Russian, its a lot of work, but I am enjoying it. I've finally had to really start buckling down and foccussing on my work (with the exceptions of my Thanksgiving celebrations).

Weather here has been fluctuating all over the place, we've had some really nice days, some warm and wet ones, some cold ones, and some cold and wet ones. I did however get a new umbrella, I had left mine on a marchutka in Krivoy Rog, but my church was getting rid of the stuff in the lost and found and there was one in there that I took.

Well I think thats all for this week, Keep in touch, send me an email or somthing!
God bless.

making an elephant out of a fly

2009-11-22T07:36:00.000-08:00

12 weeks and counting…

Hard to believe how time flies. The last week was a slow, but enjoyable week, keeping busy as always. I was able to hang out with my friend Max on monday as he was in Kiev visiting. We went to the movie 2012, it was in russian, but anything I didnt understand from watching, Max explained to me. It was really good, my first time in the theater here. Had a jumbo popcorn, was awesome. Max told me a good ukranian saying "making an elephant out of a fly" which totally applies to this quarintine. The amount of sickness here is horrible I know, but things are taken a bit to the extreme here. Many people in the streets wear masks (kind of like the did in Toronto during the SARS thing). Its almost become part of a fashion statement here. Ive seen some masks that are decorated or have messages written on them...

Despite my last entry, I found out last Sunday night that we would return to school on monday. Most schools here in Ukraine are still closed till the 25th of November. But my faculty ignored the quarantine and “secretly” returned to school last week. At first I didn’t want to return, but it was good to get back into routine, and learning Russian is the reason I am here anyways. We didn’t have class as long each day, we went from 10am to 1pm each day, so it was nice to still sleep in and then go to classes. My Russian is coming along, slowly and surely.

This past week I was able to have coffee with Ed Dickson (Director Of Loads of Love) , who just returned to Ukraine after a long visit to Canada. He was able to bring over a care package from my mother and some needed earplugs from Ashley, and something from Karen as well :) . I was so grateful for my care package. My mom even surprised me by making me some peanutbutter balls, which is a Christmas cookie that I love, and she sent two small containers of those, as well as some coffee and many other great things including a Canadian flag banner which I proudly have displayed in my room.

I also spent some time with my Ukrainian friends, exploring more of the city, and seeing some great sights at night, and going to cool places. Having tea and snickers (great combination). They have been helping me a bit with my Russian.

I also was able to help out with the first youth night, from the youth program from ICA (my church in Kiev). It was a really good night, with 15 of us gathered together for fun, fellowship, food and of course some worship and word. It was a good evening, and I’m really exciting about what God will be doing in the future with the awesome young group of people.

Then this past weekend, I made my rounds to my different friends. I have been so fortunate to make such great friends here, who always help me out. We had prayer and worship night Friday at the church I attend, which was really great and then after I stayed the night at my American friends place, and we watched movies and had an American breakfast in the morning. Then Saturday for supper I was invited to my Canadian friends Johnny’s with his wonderful wife Ira, and they made me Kun Pao ( I don’t know how to spell it) It was delicious none the less. Then I stayed the night at my Pastors house and hung out with them that evening a bit, and headed to church bright and early Sunday morning.

Weather has been mild and wet hear, but I can’t complain at all. I’m having a great time, and making lots of great friends. Well I think that’s all for now. God Bless, keep in touch.

2009-11-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

Its been 11 weeks in Ukraine.

So this was week two of no school due to the government shutting a lot of stuff down because of H1N1. And it was just announced that we have an additional two weeks, I won't be back to classes until december first. At first I was really happy for the break but I have quickly grown bored. And most institutes (orphanages etc) are not open to visitors because they want to protect the kids from the possibility of getting sick.

I did my best to keep busy despite the break from school.

On tuesday I set out to find the Canadian embassy, after about an hour or so I successfully found it. The place was gated in and gaurded just like in a movie... but the ironic thing was that the gaurds barely spoke english, they mostly spoke russian. It was cool though to see the place, I didn't see much of the facility I just went in to find some information on any social events going on.

That evening I also had dinner with Terry and Heather Burns, and their son Stephen. They are canadian missionaries here in Ukraine, who also attend the church I go to. We had lasagnas and the most fantastic chocolate cake. We also started to discuss some possible opportunities for me to help out with in the (hopefully) near future.

Wednesday was the Bible study that I go to with some american and candians from my church. I made a pretty good pound cake for it, and we had some great pasta. Right now we are in James. I'm really enjoying hanging out with this awesome group of people.

Thursday I decided to make macaroni and cheese for the turkish guys on my floor. They really loved it , and it gave me something to do. I also found some good news about my fundraising efforts for McJoyful Christmas. According to the amounts people have told me (and my mother) and as long as everyone sticks to what they said; then so far we've got $1400 for the program. This is awesome, I'm very excited about the results, But I want to remind everyone that there is still time to donate to this great cause, if you'd like more information about it email me or go to http://www.link127.org/

Friday was coffeehouse as usual at ICA with all the internationals. And then saturday (today) I went rock climbing, the first time in a few years. It was a lot of fun, and super cheap, I definitly plan on going back! Then I had pizza with some friends, one of whom is from Kenya and we found out that both of us have been to Dundee scotland, which is completely random since no one goes to dundee (sorry danielle and joe).

Well thats my week in a nutshell, no new pics this week, I'll take some for next week.
Keep in touch, God bless.

"you can always do more"

2009-11-07T05:34:00.000-08:00

So last week I ventured to Krivoy Rog to see my friends and do some stuff down there. I have this one friend in particular who can always make me laugh, one of the funniest people. His name is Max. I had to laugh this week when listening to some of his 'Max sayings'. The best examples are: "There's only so much you CAN do" and the other, "you can ALWAYS do more". I have to laugh at his two contradictory statements. But Max and the people down there that help him are really great. They do ministry in orphanages, in dorms (for youth without parents or in tough situtations), in handicapped facilities, etc. It was a blessing to be with him.

one of the two cats that are strays near where i stayed in krivoy rog.

We had the chance to go into one of the dorms on wednesday this past week, and we brought some food and made sandwiches and just hung out with a group of guys there (ages 15-19). They were a really good group of guys, and its so great to see there strong spirits despite the conditions they live in. Many of them live with little hope in their lives. The heat is not yet on in the building and it snowed the other day, if that tells you how cold it was. They drape sheets and blankets in front of the doors and windows to try to keep the cold out, but then that leaves a lot of them without blankets to sleep with at night. And the bathrooms are horrible, but they are strong people to say the least. I enjoyed my time with them, and look forward to going back in the future.

I spent a lot of time relaxing and hanging out with friends down in Krivoy Rog, I made my first pound cake ever down there and it turned out pretty good. We also had tacos and stuff. It was a fun week for sure, I really enjoy the church down there (Church of Praise, Pastor Gregory). Really alive, and vibrant church with great people.

I also bought my first christmas decorations last week. I got a snowman to hang from my window, and two little christmas things that have magnets in their hands. They are pretty cool. My fundraising for McJoyful christmas is still going on, if you'd like to donate or would like more information go to http://www.link127.org/

The flu scare is still in full swing here in Ukraine, with school shut down for a couple weeks, and everyone is in masks. Its pretty crazy but I'm not the least bit worried, I'm healthy and alive. No matter where you go though people have masks, even in Mcdonalds the workers where them, it gives you the sense that the people making your food are sick.

I came back to Kiev from Krivoy Rog on thursday afternoon, 6 hour bus ride to Kiev, was pretty good. There were 4 of us on the bus. Then I've been staying at Pastor Paul and Christines for the weekend, they are such a blessing. Feeding me and hanging out with me, there was a crowd in the house, it was a fun time. I look forward to when Ed comes back to Ukraine in a couple weeks, he's in canada right now, He'll be in halifax this upcoming weekend.

Well I think thats all my news for now, keep in touch , email me.

God bless.

suprise holiday...

2009-10-31T06:41:00.000-07:00

9 weeks today.

I have had an interesting week. I got a B+ on my test at the begginning of the week, which was great, and then I missed school on thursday to say goodbye to a good friend from Halifax. My friend Ashley lived in Ukraine for 9 (i think) months and now is headed back to Canada for a while, So I hung out with her in the morning before she went to the airport.

I miss the comforts of home this week, so i took out one of the Reese bars that I had stashed away haha. I am definitly having a great time here though, and have developed my regular routine in which I am very comfortable. When I was hanging out with Pastor Paul , from my church here, they had some rootbeer in the house (you cant get it in Ukraine) and that was like a little taste of heaven.

My roommate, Ken, Also cooked for me this week, He made some curry mashed potatoes, some sort of meat with this yummy spices, and of course rice. It was really really good. I made macaroni and cheese this week, and I let a couple guys on my floor try it, and now they have requested that I cook it for them again if they buy all the proper ingredients.

My fundraising for Mcjoyful Christmas is going well, a little slow, but I have got some good results back. It is never too late to donate ( no i didnt try to rhyme). If you'd like some more information visit ( www.link127.org ) .

I had planned to come to a city Krivoy Rog this weekend ( I am here but plans have been changed around a bit). This is the city my mother, Kim McIssac and I came to 3 years ago. I am hanging with my friend Max, and he will be taking me with him to some of the orphanages and stuff here. SO that will be exciting, I have been waiting to come down here since I got here! The part of the whole ordeal that has changed is the length of time I will be here. Today for lunch we went to chiliantanos pizza place. Because of halloween they had a deal on: if you wear a costume you get your own pizza and smoothie for free! Pretty good deal if you ask me. I was an angel/sailor (costumes were from a church here, and selection was limited... i didnt care what I looked like if the pizza was free) It was lots of fun, and the bartender there did a juggling show for us with vodka bottles that had the ends on fire. it was cool.

As of yesterday the governement here has declared an epidemic. The flu has been very bad, and many people have died. They believe it is related to swine flu. So to try to prevent further spread they have shut down all educational institutes for 3 weeks! So i have some time off. They have also restricted travel to the west, and are closing all mass public meetings, such as political rallies, movie theatres, etc. So that is quite a big deal. I am not worried in the least. Everything will be fine. I have had the flu shot (as well as countless other shots before coming to Ukraine), and I've got God looking after me, so I have nothing to worry about.

I will probably remain in Krivoy rog till mid week. Max has agreed to take me around with him, and I am enjoying a change of scenery. I don't have my computer and camera cable, so that is the reason for my lack of pictures on this post, the one next week will have lots im sure.

keep in touch, email me please: romans1.20@gmail.com

ill post again next week. God bless.

When showering became a chore...

2009-10-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

Hey all, its been 8 weeks today (sat oct 24th).

It hit me the other day that my mindset on showering has changed. Before showering was an everyday occurance, but since Ive been here I havent been as ambitious to shower. Hot water is on at my dorm, but it isnt there every day and sometimes I still have a cold shower. So in lu of the fact that I might get stuck with a cold shower I havent been as quick to rush and have a shower, my thoughts have turned more like, 'I'm not that dirty'... 'I'm wearing deoderant', etc. Ahaha but I guess I have to face the fact that showering is still essential to my everyday life despite the fact that some of them are freezing cold. I keep telling myself that: Showering is not a chore.

This past week I had two different tests at school. On one I got a B, in phenetics, and then friday I had one in grammer class, but haven't got my mark back, I feel pretty good about it though. We'll see how it goes. School's been good, every week I get further and further with my abilities, still not very good at ALL. But it will come with time.

This week the weather here has been pretty wet and cold. I had to give in and buy an umbrella, everyone here has umbrellas... as soon as the rain starts they all pull them out, I dont know where they keep them when its not raining, but somehow they magically have their umbrellas as soon as the first raindrop falls.

I am still working on fundraising for McJoyful Christmas, I will keep you posted on my progress, if you would like to know more about this program visit http://www.link127.org/

This week a friend from church took me to see his teacher who is a very high up doctor here in Ukraine, and now teaches at a university in Kiev. She told me to "stop drinking that coca colu (not a spelling error, thats what they call it) because its going to kill you", and to "eat boiled potatoes mashed up to make you healthy" as well as keeping my back very warm so that my liver will be okay. I had to fight really hard to keep from laughing. The medical world here in Ukraine has improved substantially but they still hold on to some of there old ways of thinking. Its amusing.

I just finished eating the most dilicious apple pies ever! it was huge and juicy (sorry mom but this one was comparable to yours). I also got an awesome haircut today. very pleased with it.

Well I really dont have too much news for this week, but all is well with me.

Keep in touch, God bless.

please comment on my blog . thanks.

Caramel Mocca

2009-10-19T03:52:00.000-07:00

Drinking my caramel mocca at Double Coffee, a cafe downtown Kiev.

Hey, over 7 weeks. Be proud of me, I'm still doing good over here in this foreign land.

This week was not overly eventful. But I will comment on it anyways.

School the past week was good, one of the teachers was sick so we only had two classes everyday all week (we usually have 3). It was nice to have some shorter days. The language is going well, I'm not confident in my ability to speak, but I am understanding more and more.

The past weekend I got the privelidge of seeing my good friend Max. He was my translator the first time I was in ukraine three and a half years ago, and I also saw him when i was here 2 and a half years ago. We hung out for a while on saturday and sunday. There was also another person from Halifax that was with him (Ashley), and someone from outside chicago (Cherie). It was a fun group to hang out with. (left to right: me, Ashley, Max, Cherie)

When I hung out with Max and the group we decided to treat ourselves and go to TGI Fridays. It was really good pasta and stuff, but dont get appetizers at the one restauraunt in Kiev. We ordered nachos and cheese with salsa as an appetizer and were appalled by the plate when it came out. There were 8 tortilla chips on the plate, it was rediculous! I was in shock, the couple I ate were good though hahah.

Last week was the launch of my attempt to fundraise for McJoyful Christmas. I have contacted 16 high schools in Canada, asking if their student council's would be willing to fundraise for McJoyful christmas, to bless the kids for christmas. I have heard back from one school who is going to raise some money, and am hoping to hear back from more schools this week. Pray it goes well.

Mcjoyful is just one of the awesome programs that Link 127 runs here in Ukraine and surrounding countries. Ed Dickson is the director of Link 127, a canadian based humanitarian organization here in Kiev. (http://www.link127.org/ ) Ed lives here with his family and has been here over a decade doing awesome things here. I have the awesome priviledge of learning from him here about what he does, and whats involved with being a missionary, and humanitarian organization director. He has been such a blessing to me over here in Kiev, and I look forward to being able to work with him during my time here in Ukraine. (Ed and his family, his newborn daughter Michelle is not in this photo).

The weather here is getting pretty cold... but layers of clothes keeps me warm. The water at my dormitory has been pretty warm which is awesome, and the heat is on, so thats good. Well thats all my news for now, not a lot going on.

Keep in touch, comment on this blog.

Thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving Canada

2009-10-12T03:45:00.000-07:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING CANADA!

6 Weeks and counting. So crazy , but soo good. I say this every week but I am really enjoying myself here. Everyday brings a new experience and something interesting. At the moment I am sitting in Gloria Jeans Cafe, near my university drinking a carmel latte. This coffeeshop is from Australia and is in America, and used to be the sister company of Second Cup in Canada. Its my escape to home.

The past week has been eventful, but first I would like to highlight a very amazing family here. I have weaseled my way into their home, and am so fortunate that they don't mind having me there. The Pierquet's are the pastors of ICA Kiev (the church I attend here). They have been here 3 (or 4) years with their two kids who are twins, Evan and Emma. Paul and Christine are true christians with a servants heart, and such a loving spirit. You can't help but love them. They have fed me amazing food, catered to my coffee addiction, and been a great support for my time in Ukraine so far, it wouldn't have been the same without them. I look forward to what the future will hold for myself and newfound friends.

Over the weekend I had the priviledge of travelling with Terry and Heather Burns (My previous plans to go to central ukraine to the orphanages were postponed, but I'll get there ...) I went to western Ukraine to two towns called Revna, and Lutsk. They were beautiful. Western Ukraine is very clean and has the influence of poland so its a bit different then the rest of Ukraine. Terry and his wife are missionaries here under the Pentacostal Assemblies of Canada, and work with Ed Dickson some as well, they teach at an international school here and minister other times. We went to a church in Lutsk where Terry preached a good message, and we met a great couple. The pastor and his wife were very nice people, who were very hospitable. They had a beautiful home, the pastor supports himself with his business in tile and granite instalation. The home was amazing by american standards. Very modern, well kept, and we were well fed. On sunday after church they cooked a big meal for us with Borshe, chicken , potatoes and carrots. As well as vegetables, salads and chicken rolls. It was a meal fit for a king and was a good replacement for missing canadian thanksgiving. I look forward to returning in the future.

I also had my second test this past week, and got another 'B'. SO I was pleased. Today (monday) we started our first geography class. We will study geography every monday, and eventually history as well. We will continue phenetics and russian grammer. School is school no matter where you are... but I have to say I enjoy my program.

I am thankful for great parents, great friends in Canada, great friends in Ukraine. I am thankful for having clothes on my back, being well fed, a bed to sleep on. I am so very thanksful for everything that God has provided for me. Oh, and I'm thankful for my new jacket that I bought here ... oh and coffee and chocolate.

Well thats all for now. Please keep in touch, email me, facebook, comment on my blog.

God bless...

PS: Its only a couple months till christmas and there is a great program here for orphans in Ukraine at Christmas. Its called "McJoyful Christmas" and what it is is "Loads of Love" takes orphans to Mcdonalds which is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them , only the wealthy get to go to Mcdonalds here in Ukraine. It costs $15 per kid to go, and that covers transportation, the meal at mcdonalds, and vitamins for the kid for a year. For more information on Mcjoyful christmas check out this website, and the address for donations is on the site is there as well.

God bless. http://www.link127.org/

CocaCola Vanilla

2009-10-05T05:49:00.000-07:00

5 weeks has flown by so fast. Its the first week of october, the leaves are falling, the air is cooler, its a beautiful time of year over here in Kiev.

Suprisingly I don't think I've lost any weight. I am eating very well over here, friends cook for me sometimes, and I cook for myself as well, the favorite thing to make is macaroni & hamburger in some kind of ketchup sauce, its pretty tasty. I have also grown accustomed to drinking tea reglarily, coffee is still the preferance by far, but tea is a fine substitute.

School is going well, I had my first test last week and got a "b", which wasnt the best but I was still pleased. I am always learning new stuff, and its hard to keep track of everything. Sometimes I find myself throwing in a word or two I remember from Jr High french class, and my teacher who knows french laughs.

Last week I was able to attend Hillsong Kiev's conference, guest preacher was John Bevere, and the Houstons (pastors from hillsong australia). Joel Houston, and Reuben Morgan also led worship with the Hillsong Kiev band, it was great. I really enjoyed the conference, especially the day where I skipped school to go ;)

The upcoming week I should have the chance to go down to Krivoy Rog, (not 100% confirmed) if I do get to go, I'll be able to see a couple orphanges that I saw last time I was in Ukraine, as well as the church down there. So that will be good.

I am so happy with the cost of grocerys here, I can buy food for pretty cheap, some stuff is similar prices to home, but most is much cheaper. They still have coca cola vanilla here, so I am enjoying that, since they dont have it in Canada anymore.

I will be missing the Canadian thanksgiving this upcoming week, but in november I'm celebrating it with the Americans from my church , so that will be okay.

Well, until next time, God bless, feel free to post a comment.

Keep in touch.

nowhere near here.

2009-09-28T03:43:00.000-07:00

So its been 4 weeks since I've come to Ukraine. It has been quite the experience moving to a whole new place and going something out of your comfort zone, but its a very good feeling.

Everything has kind of fallen into place for me here. The friends I've made, the church I am attending, my classes. Its all working itself out. I have to say its been easier than expected, not to say there hasnt been challenges to say the least.

On wednesday nights I attend a Bible study with some teachers from an international school here. We had mexican food (the americans can buy some food from the embassy) and it was fantastic, enchalades, and milkshakes, tortilla chips and dip. It was like I went to heaven or something. Then afterwords I took a bus home, but completely missed my stop. Apparently I went way passed it, so I called a friend from the Bible study who speaks english and passed the phone to someone on the bus, they said they would tell me where to get out to go to the metro (subway) i needed to get to. So we went for a while, and then the lady got off with me and said to cross the street and go right and the metro was right there, but i walked for ten minutes, and no metro. SO I stopped another lady and asked which way to the metro and she pointed back the way I had just come from. So I was too fed up, it was 10pm at night, so I found a taxi and got a ride home, normally it would be kind of expensive, but when I went to pay when I got out I only had a 200 note and a 20 note, and the driver didnt have change for the 200 note, so I only had to pay 20. which was awesome. thats like 2.50 canadian. So that was an adventure and a half, before taking the taxi, when I was wondering around looking for the metro, I was half laughing, half praying, and half angry... its funny now though.

So yea, the past week wasnt too eventful other than that, classes are going well, my first test will be this week. Church is also going well, I am getting involved here.

I am looking forward to the next month, I will be making some short trips in ukraine on the weekends, so that should be good, I have two lined up and possibly a third.

Keep in touch , feel free to post a comment. God bless.

Did a leaf fall in the soup through the window?

2009-09-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

So this week has been going very well. I know I say that every week but I mean it. Three weeks that I’ve been here so far. (And if you haven’t caught on, I update my blog on Saturdays). I’ve actually got a cold this weekend, with the change in temperatures here my nose is running like crazy for the past couple days, but I’ve got Benelyn all in 1, so I should be set.

The other night I was in the main square with some friends and it was a beautiful clear star filled sky, and then in less than half an hour it was raining and there was some amazing lightning, it was pretty cool. I always like to watch a good storm so I’ve officially had my first one in Kiev. The weather has been typical fall, very very cold in the mornings and evenings, and very warm most afternoons. I like it though… cool breeze, leaves changing color, a cup of coffee in my hand… I’m living the life.

A couple of students that live in my dorm, also go to the church I am attending here. The other night they cooked me some soup, and I found a leaf in it… I thought that it had blown in the kitchen window and fell in the soup and no one notices, but apparently it was a seasoning. It was pretty funny. Great soup though.

Classes are flying by, I still don’t feel like I know anything, but there is a lot to learn with a language and I’m sure it will get better eventually. I enjoy the classes which helps, I feel like they go so fast. The homework load isn’t tremendous which is awesome.

This week I attempted to make chocolate chip cookies and was … of course: successful. I’m amazing I know. Hahaha. I baked them for a bible study that I attended with some Canadians and Americans that go to ICA (International Christian Assemblies) They all said they were great so I was happy. I bought the chocolate from the chocolate factory which is famous in Ukraine, and only a 5 minute walk from my house. ICA’s the church I’m attending. I’m really enjoying the church here, and am actually being shown how to do some basic sound stuff to help them out.

Well that’s all for now, comment please. Keep in touch through email etc.

God bless.

New appreciation... for washing machines

2009-09-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here in Kiev, this is the view from a park by the river.

I have to say that being in another country without all the luxuries of home can be quite challenging. You gain a new appreciation for the little things that you take for granted. Like washing machines, and toilet seats. After doing my laundry by hand this week, I definitly had a new appreciation.

I've been here in Kiev for two weeks, and the time is flying by, like a train (I live across from a train station here in Kiev). I have developed a routine , between school, church and my ever growing social life (its not as crazy as it sounds) I keep myself busy. Its so nice to be able to read a book. In canada i didn't have the luxury of time to read a book, but here I have some time.

I am getting out more and more as I meet people which is good. I have attended an International Church that speaks english, and am still checking out the Hillsong Kiev Church tommorrow (sunday).

School is good. Grammer and Phenetics are the two classes that we have all day , every day. My teachers are so nice and patient with me. I am not the best in my class, but definitly not the worst by far. I just can't roll my r's and say t's properly ( although I think I'm saying them the same way the teacher says it). It was funny when I got my books for school the total was 10$ american, and my teachers thought we may not want to get books cause of the cost. Thinking of my saint marys days, when paying 40$ for a book was a steal, and 80$ was normal. (at least).

I have finally found my coffee fix. I make coffee with a french press in my room which was great, but I needed to know I could get a fix of espresso if needed. And I found it parked outside the metro (subway) one morning on my way to school. Its a truck that works as a coffee place. They open up the back and have a big esspresso machine inside and the baristas make great drinks, I can get a large moccacino for about 1$ american.

Because of my class schedule, and lack of holidays, I'm not sure how often this fall that i'll get out in any of the orphanges, or other areas of Ukraine, But I do have plans for a weekend in october to go down. So that should be good. I am also talking with the International Church Pastors about ways I may be able to help them out for the year that I'm here. SO That is great.

Life is good. I can't complain, and I am enjoying myself (despite the lack of toilet seats, its interesting, I'll put it that way) I miss home, but this is slowly becoming the norm for me. Being away isnt that bad. The weather has been fantastic, cool in the mornings and evenings and hot in the afternoons. Had an epiphany the other night that I would miss out on thanksgiving dinner and pumpkin pie. But I got over it, I'll get a McChicken meal from mcdonalds and a pie for dessert :)

Thanks for readin', keep in touch, comment if wanted.

Peace.

Kirsten

"Excuse me do you speak english?!"

2009-09-05T04:13:00.000-07:00

I arrived here in Kiev one week ago. The week kind of flew right by, it’s like I just got here, but I am quickly getting used to the way of life here. I am learning to cook for myself which is interesting. I do admit that the other day I had a craving for gravy, and I’ve only been gone a week. But at least I have my coffee to comfort me.

Kiev city center =>

School is quite interesting. The days are just under 5 hours, 830-110, with two 20 minute breaks. I’m up on the 11th floor, and there is only one elevator so I often times walk the stairs when the line is too big. There are eight students in my class, from different areas such as Africa, Finland, Japan, china, turkey and Canada (that’s me). The teachers are nice and speak okay English. So far were still going over the alphabet and pronunciation. I think that will be the focus for a while. I’ve picked up the basic phrases that I need to get by, and I’m learning more every day.

The buses and metro (subway) seamed complicated at first, but now they don’t seem to bad, I am able to take the metro by myself to certain area that I need to. There is an English church that is just 20 minute walk from my place, and then the church Ed Dickson attends which is just a bus ride away. I have been able to meet different people from different places which is great… they help me get around etc.

me in my classroom =>

I’m really enjoying being here. And Ive been able to spend some time with Ed Dickson (“Loads of Love” Humanitarian Organization) and it looks like I’ll be able to get out with him some. As well I have met a couple who are missionaries over here, Terry and Heather Burns. They are from Ontario and work in the school and help with the church. So all in all everything is going well. I’m excited to see what the future holds and am enjoying each day here.

(I admit I snuck out to McDonalds once already, but I needed my north American fix of grease). Until Next time: God bless. P.s. : please comment on my post.

a whole new world

2009-08-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

I am still here and alive. I got to ukraine safe and sound. Had a great time in New York on friday, saw times square and ate at TGI Fridays. Then headed out to london, then to Kiev Ukraine. I got here saturday at supper time Kiev time.
I am staying the the school dormitory. There is a bus that takes me from here to by the school, I have not attempted the subway yet ahah. The dormitory is pretty big, I have a room mate named Ken from Tokyo he is very nice and speaks English. There is also a kitchen to cook in, a small fridge in our room. Its not to bad, don’t get me wrong though… it could be better but I’m not complaining. There is no hot water yet, and there wont be till mid September, and the elevator isn’t turned on, and I live on the 7th floor. So. Its good exercise.
I went to the school today and got registered and I met the dean of my faculty who is very nice. I start school tomorrow (Sep 1st). Class goes from 830-1:05. So it’s not too bad. I am interested to learn how the teachers teach people form all different languages in the same class how to speak Russian. There are many students in my building that speak broken English, so they have been helpful. I am glad that some people speak English, it helps me not feel so overwhelmed.
They keep saying that the dorm is not good enough for Canadians but I plan to stick it out. It isn’t easy, but I can do it. I definitely have a bigger appreciation for Canada though. Anyways, that’s all for now.
OH ! Im reading a great book called the irrisistable revolution by shane Claiborne. I reccoment it.
Well PAKA (bye in Russian). I will post again soon.
kirst

kirst

one week till take off

2009-08-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

You know the feeling when your about to jump into the water, and you really dont want to, but you know once you take the first step and go for it you'll love it? Thats a little bit like what I'm feeling right now.
I'm heading over to Ukraine in a week. Its going to be quite the adventure. I'll be living on campus at the Kiev National Linguistic University where I'll study russian, and also I'll be shadowing the director of "Loads of Love" Humanitarian organization: Ed Dickson. And I'm sure I'll do a whole lot of other great stuff while I'm there.
Its a weird feeling knowing your going to be away for such an extended period of time. Almost 10 months total, expected return is mid june 2010. But as much as I know Ill miss home, Ukraine will be fantastic. New people, places, things to see and do. It will definitly teach me a lot.
I have one last week here before I head over and I can say that my family and friends have made the pre-trip organizing a lot easier to handle. I have had blessing after blessing while getting organized to leave. God's looking out for me in a big way so there's nothing for me to worry about. As long as I make the jump I know that I know that God will catch me. I trust him and that this coming year away will do a lot of good.
as I take off into this new journey in my life, and go to a foreign place I hope that I'll be kept in the thoughts and prayers of my family and friends. I'm looking forward and am just about ready to jump into the water...

The Art of being ...Intentional : 301

2009-02-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

The dictionary defines intention as: an anticipated outcome that guides your planned actions. I find this very interesting. In life we make many of our choices both intentionally and un-intentionally. Both ways of decision making provide an outcome that you may or may not have expected.
Intention can be a very powerful thing. People everyday do things with a deliberate purpose in mind. Whether it’s getting up in the morning and showering, which is meant to clean. Or maybe it’s hijacking a plane to serve some religious cause. It could be as minor as saying something nasty to hurt someone’s feelings. These examples are just a few ways to get your mind around the concept of being intentional.
As individuals , and especially as Christians, I think it is very important that we develop a thought pattern that is intentional. Doing things for a purpose with an expected outcome in mind. Choosing what kind of attitude we will have, (hopefully it’s a positive one). Deciding what actions to take and not to take. God has given us the freedom of choice and many times we take that for granted, we don’t even come close to our potential as Christians. One thing that can really help in being an intentional person is listening to the Holy Spirit. With his guidance we can make decisions and actions that can have a far greater outcome than we could have anticipated. Amazing things can happen when we stop having an apathetic attitude and start being everything God intended us to be.
You see that’s the great irony of it all, God took the action to create us, with the intention of us being great, incredible people. But then he turned around and gave us the freedom of choice, so we could meet our potential if we just listen to the Holy Spirit and follow after God with our whole heart.
So think about it, be intentional with your actions and do something great, and see what the outcome will be.

Hit the Floor : 220

2009-01-30T12:31:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'm the only one in the world to do this, but I highly doubt it. Do you ever think about what you would do in an emergency? If you were in a terrorist situation, or a robbery, or your home was broken into? Maybe you are the person cowering in the corner, maybe in your daydream you have secret ninja skills and beat up the bad guy. I find I usually take the role of the hero. I'm the one who gets back the little old ladies purse, the one who saves the hostages at a bank without anyone being hurt, or the one who gets the airplane back from hijackers... Whatever the situation; I somehow save the day.
In life everyone seems to come up with their take on things. What they think about different delimmas , differences in values and beliefs. The thing I wonder is where do these things come from? What makes people believe what they do? Why do people place more importance on one thing over another? The questions roll on...
One thing as I grow up I find myself thinking more and more about why I think and act the way I do. Is what I do the right thing, or just the thing that Ive always done. Its important in life to know why you do what you do, and not to just have blind faith and actions. If you know exactly why you believe what you believe then when push comes to shove you'll stand your ground. If your beliefs and values are under fire, are you going to hold fast or will you hit the floor and hope for the best. My advice, taken from some personal experience, is to research and think long and hard about your views and values, your habits etc, to figure out what is important to you and why...
Its like if I'm daydreaming about flying like superman, and then in real life I go on a roof and try to fly, I'm going to fall and probably die. or if I dream about saving the day in a robbery and I try to overtake the robber instead of hitting the floor, I could get seriously hurt. Think about it.

potential : 101

2009-01-21T14:24:00.000-08:00

Potential is such an amazing thing among teens today.
Potential to make mistakes, to be a let down, a failure, another average joe.
But there is also a lot of unrealized potential in teens.
I've heard that the best way to learn how to swim is to just jump right in the water. I always thought that this was a stupid idea, considering the consequences of failure to swim would be drowning. But I was proved wrong this summer when I was out with some friends. We had all been swimming in a lake, where you need to jump off a ledge in order to get in the water, and then climb out . One of the guys with us insisted that he wasn't going in because he couldn't swim... one of the other guys wouldn't accept this so he pushed him into the lake. For a second everyone froze wondering how the guy in the water would react. But before we knew it, he was treading water around with the rest of us. Now he wasn't an olympic athlete but it was a start. He probably would never had tried until that moment when he was forced to try.
That's the way that I think it is with a lot of us teens .We do as little as possible and don't try new things that could really show us our gifts and abilities. We are afraid, or to apathetic to try the unknown.
I've heard different adults say that they wasted years of their lives doing the wrong job just so they could pay the bills, and they wished they would have taken the time to figure out their passion and talents so that they could use them. Because doing what you are gifted to do can really bring happiness.
I know I may never grow up to be a rich man, but that doesn't really bother me because I know I have the potential to do amazing things in my life, they may not make me tons of money, but they will make me happy. I guess that's what the point of this whole blog post is about.
If you step outside the box, and maybe into uncharted territory (metaphorically speaking), you can see and do some amazing things happen in your life.
Its like going for a really long hike, there's this place I like to go to in the valley in Nova Scotia called cape split. The whole hike takes a couple of hours, and its not flat or easy terrain, but when you get to the very end and overlook the ocean from this huge cliff in the cape its amazing. Its an incredible sight... and living up to your potential is an incredible thing too.