I can tell because the spiritual and emotional battle has begun. I have learned that for myself, strange bouts of hypersensitivity and teeter-tottering sweeps across the emotional fulcrum are a sure sign that things are about to happen. But good things. God things. Because God is good and He is in control. The emotional inexplicabilities are small distractions and they do not have to restrict the child of God from doing his father's work.
Still, please pray for me. Today began as a strangely sad one, accompanied by faint feelings of depression. The result was somewhat crippling at first. I experienced these emotions last year while preparing to leave for this same missions trip that I will begin this week. Last year I thought the main cause was the stress of getting my new house in liveable condition before I left my roommate there alone for two weeks. But hindsight says there was more to it than that.
God is working a lot in my heart right now. There are things I could never have imagined myself being willing to do that I now get excited at the possibility of. In the past I have worried about what God would call me to do and anticipated my own resistance. But I am beginning to trust that whatever God calls me to do, I will truly love and enjoy with all of my being, if my attitude and willingness are rightly drawn from His strength.
So please pray for me, for the team that is coming from the States (many of whom are my Nashville friends!) and for the Ukrainian technical, administrating, and interpreting teams who will begin a week at an orphan camp in just a few days. Pray that we will all be willing tools in the hands of our creator, that we will remember to find the extra mile in Him, and that we will be love in the eyes, minds, and souls of the orphans.
And now I am going to enjoy a bowl of ice-cream before I go to bed. Funny Ukrainian factoid: ice-cream here in the grocery stores comes packaged like huge sausages and is most easily served with a knife rather than an ice-cream scoop :)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
My Status
Hi everyone, I want to give a couple updates over the next few days on my status here before summer camps start. I'll have some prayer requests attached as well.
First of all, these first 2 1/2 months have been blessed. I really was not sure I would feel plugged in and see measurable mile markers this quickly. I have settled in and gotten comfortable in ways only God could have provided for. But therein lies the danger, because I know my tendency to get comfortable and stay in that comfortable place. That's what God pulled me out of not-so-long ago! It would be a shame to fall into that again, only in a new location.
I had the chance to meet with Steve Lorenz and Marti Scudder from MDI (the missions organization I am working here through) while they were in Ukraine two weeks ago. They were excited to see how things are going here but wanted me to know one thing more than any other: When they prayer for my ministry here, they are getting the sense that something big is in the works. They encouraged me to look at my time here so far as preparation but not as the beginning of a routine. Participating in music ministries has been important and rewarding, but is this the final purpose of my being here?
Sometimes I look so much at the details of what I am in the middle of that I forget to consider the vision. I see and pray about the details surrounding day-to-day responsibilities and the situations that arise out of those. Hearing from a few close people lately that they see more purpose for me being here than that which I am currently realizing has been both an encouragement and a kick in the rear.
The timing is perfect. Next week I will leave for my first summer camp, returning to the orphan camp that changed my perspective last year and kick-started my move to Ukraine. I will continue with some specific details and prayer requests in a day or two...
Thank you as always for your support and prayers.
First of all, these first 2 1/2 months have been blessed. I really was not sure I would feel plugged in and see measurable mile markers this quickly. I have settled in and gotten comfortable in ways only God could have provided for. But therein lies the danger, because I know my tendency to get comfortable and stay in that comfortable place. That's what God pulled me out of not-so-long ago! It would be a shame to fall into that again, only in a new location.
I had the chance to meet with Steve Lorenz and Marti Scudder from MDI (the missions organization I am working here through) while they were in Ukraine two weeks ago. They were excited to see how things are going here but wanted me to know one thing more than any other: When they prayer for my ministry here, they are getting the sense that something big is in the works. They encouraged me to look at my time here so far as preparation but not as the beginning of a routine. Participating in music ministries has been important and rewarding, but is this the final purpose of my being here?
Sometimes I look so much at the details of what I am in the middle of that I forget to consider the vision. I see and pray about the details surrounding day-to-day responsibilities and the situations that arise out of those. Hearing from a few close people lately that they see more purpose for me being here than that which I am currently realizing has been both an encouragement and a kick in the rear.
The timing is perfect. Next week I will leave for my first summer camp, returning to the orphan camp that changed my perspective last year and kick-started my move to Ukraine. I will continue with some specific details and prayer requests in a day or two...
Thank you as always for your support and prayers.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Back From Poland
I arrived safely back from Poland yesterday morning. Things did not go exactly as planned (or even remotely close at some points) but they are temporarily behind me. I may only have six months though before going through this visa process again.
First of all, customs officials did give Jenny (other American intern) a hard time about being two days over her 90-day allowed stay. Sometimes it is hard for us to distinguish between bribe and actual fine because an official can show us the paperwork and make everything look legitimate, only to pocket the money himself. Which is what I think happened but I'm not sure we could have done things differently. What we did not stand for was the cost of the fine suddenly jumping from $75 to $150 when only one official was left speaking with us (that after he closed the door to our room)! He made that one a little too obvious for his own good.
Krakow, Poland was a very pretty city. It was much more English-friendly than Kiev and I was surprised at how much easier most aspects of communicating and traveling in that city were. We got our visas taken care of only to find that the Ukrainian Department of Religious Matters has currently given permission for us to stay only until the 15th of December. Please be praying about that. It is most likely something that can be changed but it will take a lot of hassle here in Kiev (putting a lot of extra work on the shoulders of New Life church) and it will probably involve us making another similar trip to reapply for new visas in December.
We had quite a hang-up returning directly to Kiev according to plan so after much walking between train stations, wi-fi hotspots, and bus terminals, we were able to devise an alternate plan for returning. Online train and bus schedules are wildly inaccurate, with errors ranging from discrepancies of arrival times to showing train itineraries that simply do not exist. Basically, you have to do everything in person, on the spot. Trains we expected to take out of Poland were either non-existent or fully booked for two days after our planned departure. Thankfully, we found an overnight bus that took us to Lviv, Ukraine, giving us a place to sleep for the night and also giving me my first experience with claustrophobia.
We spent the day walking through Lviv, which is the center of traditional culture in Ukraine (and a very pretty city). The weather was pretty nice and both Jenny and I had some friends there we were able to get in touch with and see during the day. We were also able to get train tickets for an overnight train leaving that night and getting us back into Kiev Sunday morning just in time for me to shower and make my way back into the city for church. I am very glad I went because there was an American choir from Atlanta leading the worship and they sang some songs in English. I did not have any idea how much I missed worshiping in my own language!
God was watching out for us the whole time, I'm sure. Everything here involves changes to expectations and plans. It's simply a part of life. It's very frustrating and time-consuming, and it drains the energy right out of you, but that's the way it is.
I'll post some pictures when I have the time. The next two weeks will be busy ones of rehearsals and worship services Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
First of all, customs officials did give Jenny (other American intern) a hard time about being two days over her 90-day allowed stay. Sometimes it is hard for us to distinguish between bribe and actual fine because an official can show us the paperwork and make everything look legitimate, only to pocket the money himself. Which is what I think happened but I'm not sure we could have done things differently. What we did not stand for was the cost of the fine suddenly jumping from $75 to $150 when only one official was left speaking with us (that after he closed the door to our room)! He made that one a little too obvious for his own good.
Krakow, Poland was a very pretty city. It was much more English-friendly than Kiev and I was surprised at how much easier most aspects of communicating and traveling in that city were. We got our visas taken care of only to find that the Ukrainian Department of Religious Matters has currently given permission for us to stay only until the 15th of December. Please be praying about that. It is most likely something that can be changed but it will take a lot of hassle here in Kiev (putting a lot of extra work on the shoulders of New Life church) and it will probably involve us making another similar trip to reapply for new visas in December.
We had quite a hang-up returning directly to Kiev according to plan so after much walking between train stations, wi-fi hotspots, and bus terminals, we were able to devise an alternate plan for returning. Online train and bus schedules are wildly inaccurate, with errors ranging from discrepancies of arrival times to showing train itineraries that simply do not exist. Basically, you have to do everything in person, on the spot. Trains we expected to take out of Poland were either non-existent or fully booked for two days after our planned departure. Thankfully, we found an overnight bus that took us to Lviv, Ukraine, giving us a place to sleep for the night and also giving me my first experience with claustrophobia.
We spent the day walking through Lviv, which is the center of traditional culture in Ukraine (and a very pretty city). The weather was pretty nice and both Jenny and I had some friends there we were able to get in touch with and see during the day. We were also able to get train tickets for an overnight train leaving that night and getting us back into Kiev Sunday morning just in time for me to shower and make my way back into the city for church. I am very glad I went because there was an American choir from Atlanta leading the worship and they sang some songs in English. I did not have any idea how much I missed worshiping in my own language!
God was watching out for us the whole time, I'm sure. Everything here involves changes to expectations and plans. It's simply a part of life. It's very frustrating and time-consuming, and it drains the energy right out of you, but that's the way it is.
I'll post some pictures when I have the time. The next two weeks will be busy ones of rehearsals and worship services Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
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