Settling In

May 9, 2008
To say that the past week has been eventful would be an understatement. I have moved to a new home, experienced cultural traditions, been on a wild ride, and went shopping at the bazaar by myself.
Home Sweet Home
When I returned from Kiev, I was homeless. I was to stay at the Children’s Center for a few days. I am still there. The people I was living are having some difficulties with the remodeling process. After two days of sleeping in the living room on a pull out chair arrangements were made for me to move into the room that once belonged to Julie, the girl who passed away and her sister Victoria. I have found that living at the Children’s Center is a great blessing. Believe it or not, it is more peaceful here. I am able to spend more time with the children. I also have my educational tools at my fingertips. I turned my bedroom door into a bulletin board. It has an English Calendar on which we were able to put the children’s birthdays and Ukrainian and American Holidays. The kids are also learning basic words like months, days, and seasons. There is also a list of colors and an activity I made for the children to make multiple words by exchanging the first letter of three letter words with various letters to make new words. This allows them to see word patterns, practice reading, and build vocabulary. I included a list of words, which I will translate next week while the kids are in school to help them check to see if the word they created is real. It was gratifying to see the kids whose birthdays are this month light up when they saw them on the calendar. One of the girls helped me get all the birth dates and write the kids names in Ukrainian. She has taken great pride in the calendar that she helped to construct. I myself was excited when I woke up this morning to kids outside my door making words. I could hear them reading them, checking them and discussing what letters to use to make another word. I hope to continue using the door as a tool for education by adding to it and changing words and activities.
Living here, I do get to spend a lot more time with the kids, especially in the mornings before school and in the evenings after all their homework is finished. I often get to join them for their bed time prayers. While they are at school though, I have time to read, study, recharge, and work on the development of combining life skills and English education. God has given me many ideas. My plan is to create a special club like environment called The Kingdom of Discovery. Students will become citizens of the imaginary kingdom. While there they will learn everything from life skills to English. Kids will learn by doing work independently and in groups. By participating in activities, completing assignments, and winning challenges children will be able to earn Gems (The Currency of The Kingdom of Discovery). With these they will be able buy prizes and such. It is important that these kids learn to work for or earn things. Because of their circumstance they have a tendency to beg for what they want or try to make people feel sorry for them to get things. Managing money is a skill they need but is not readily taught in their society. I also hope to create forms for them to fill out for things like banking. This is not part of the school curriculum here as it is in the U.S. Students will also learn about applying scriptural principles. We will focus a lot of time on the fact that they were all created unique and special. Many of these children struggle with having a good self-esteem and are often starving for attention. It is important for them to have a good sense of self. These lessons should be instrumental in helping to prevent them from seeking unhealthy ways to fill the need for the love and attention they desire. I am excited to see what God will do with the program as it is developed and implemented. Please pray that God will continue to do His work. Pray for me, that I am doing His will for the children. I also ask that you join me in praying for someone to assist me in the execution of the project. To have a Ukrainian, who speaks a little bit of English to communicate with me but also has a desire to mentor the children would be a great blessing. The material is also more effective when taught to children in their native language. A Ukrainian also has a better understanding of their culture than I will ever have. I also believe that having a Ukrainian who is committed to working with the children would be able to continue the work even after I am gone, which is crucial to the continuous development of the children.
Cultural Tradition
In a culture as old and rich as Ukraine’s there are countless traditions and practices. One of these traditions is the revisiting a loved one’s grave forty days after their death. Sunday, May 4th marked not only the end of the Easter week but 40 days since my arrival in Ukraine and Julie’s tragic death. After church family, friends, and the oldest children from the children’s center piled into cars and the church bus and traveled to the cemetery. The cemetery itself was an interesting experience. There were many other people there. Easter week is not only a celebration of the resurrection but a time to visit the dead. Most of the graves were surrounded by a fence. Whether this practice is to keep out dogs or to mark territory, I am unsure. Some of the graves had a table and bench beside them for their loved ones could come and picnic with the deceased. Unlike North American Cemeteries, the grass was not cut. Overgrown weeds and grass gave seldom traveled on paths an untamed look.
In the midst of all of this, I found myself standing at the grave of a young girl I only knew through stories. I may not have known her but I know this, she lived a beautiful life, bringing blessings to all those who met her. She lived an abandoned life. And as her mother says, “she touched everyone at their soul”. I will never understand why God took Julie from this place, from these children, or from her family. That is where faith comes in. On this 40th day marking her death a handful of those she touched gathered to honor her life. They read scripture, sang songs of worship, and listened as Julie’s mother gave an account of her life and her love for God. People visiting other gravesites were stopping to listen as Natalia spoke. Julie may be gone from this earth but she continues to touch people for Christ.
After the service we went to a near buy restaurant where a banquet was held in her honor. People ate and fellowshipped in her name. They stood and told stories. Even though I did not understand every word it was evident that Julie brought great joy to those around her.
Transportation???
Sunday afternoon I road back to town with the few children who came and others that lived nearby, in the church bus. While in Ukraine I have ridden in cars, subways, and even crammed into a trolley but this bus did beat all. A small square European or Russian van, I’m not sure exactly but you won’t find one in the US. It had a bench seat in the front, like the cab of a truck where the pastor, the driver, and two adults sat. Back to back to their seat were two, one person seats with a square metal box attached to the floor beside it. On top of the metal box they had placed a board wrapped in a blanket. This served as a third seat, where I sat facing the back of the bus. There were no other bus seats. But no need to worry, they improvised with metal folding chairs. They were not in rows but placed wherever they would fit. Five people sat scattered in these chairs. As we stopped and went the chairs would scoot a little in one direction or another. While this was a fascinating experience in itself, the adventure was not complete until we traveled over the train tracks. The unexpecting passengers, including myself, were jostled every which way as they bounced out of their seats, falling on one another as they came down on a chair that had moved and propelled them in another direction. Thankfully my seat was attached to the car but it did throw me forward. I caught myself just before landing on someone. It was a feeling similar to trying to walk in a boat as it hits a gigantic wave you never saw coming. No one was hurt and we laughed the rest of the way home.
Victory Day
On May 9th, Ukrainians celebrate Victory in Europe Day. May 8th is the date recognized by most of the world as Victory in Europe Day for WWII, however in Ukraine they didn’t find out until the 9th, so that is when they celebrate. In order to honor the event, I went with some of the children to attend a concert that two of the boys were in. It was a program of music, singing, and dancing, lots of dancing. The Ukrainian National Anthem opened the show followed by a moment of silence from the people as they listened to the sound of marching. Afterward a group of four, two boys and two girls, performed a ballet to illustrate the tragedy of the invasion of the fascist. As the program continued children and adults participating in the singing of Ukrainian songs and dancing traditional dances to celebrate their culture. A couple of the dances were actually performed to American music. The costumes were spectacular. The love of the arts in Ukraine was obvious, as children of all ages gave wonderful performance; my favorite of course was the last one of the night, in which my two boys took part in a traditional Ukrainian dance wearing brightly colored national costumes.
May 9th is an important holiday in Ukraine. The kids are off school. Television programming is filled with war movies and remembrances. It is a day remembered even on wedding days, when brides and grooms make their way to the local war memorial to show their respect and give thanks to those who sacrificed so that they would be able to marry. Just be sure to take a picture to prove you were there because if a babushka believes otherwise you can be sure of a brutal beating.
Bazaar
Step by step I am becoming more and more comfortable in my surroundings. Last week I attended the local Friday bazaar with my American friend Kathy who was visiting from Odessa. We observed the people, looked at all the merchandise and even bought a few small things. This week I went back by myself. What an experience. Talking to people; Asking questions; Trying to understand; Explaining that I speak a little Russian. One lady found out I was from the U.S. and went into the street to yell to her friend on the other side of the street about five booths down to come down and meet me because I was an American. It was not long before I could hear the people in the other booth discussing my nationality and asking the lady I had been talking to about me. Her friend came down and apparently her daughter is currently studying in the U.S. I tried to explain what I was doing but am not sure if I explained it correctly. It was a fun adventure to communicate and practice my language. It was encouraging to see familiar faces from church and the children’s center. Some of them were very surprised that I was all by myself. Please pray that my understanding of the culture and language continue to grow and that I am brave enough to jump in even when I don’t know what is going on.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. It has been encouraging to hear from you as I walk down this road. Thank you for being a part of my Journey. I could not do it alone.
God Bless, Tiffany