Aquila: What have we been up to?
This past month was a very exciting time for Aquila. God has blessed us greatly. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Interns
Six social work students from the local university interned with Aquila for one month. During this time they visited the homes of children with disabilities and their families, visited a nursing home for the elderly, visited a local orphanage for the mentally handicapped, and helped sort and distribute humanitarian aid to flood victims and low income families. It was a very busy month with great success. This past week the students interning with Aquila presented their work before their fellow students and professors. Their presentation was their final exam. They passed with highest marks. To help communicate what they learned during their practicum they showed a slide show photos and explained the work they participated in. They also passed out bells to their fellow students, and led the class in a performance as a bell choir, one of the many techniques they learned to use with their special needs students.
Cinema
Aquila ministry has been blessed by the partnership of a local cinema, wanting to help the families we work with by opening their doors for a movie day. The privately owned cinema is a place where local residents can rent a room for a party and a movie. The owners have offered to donate their time and facilities for Club Pearl participants on a regular basis. Saturday October 31, almost thirty families attended one of two showing of the movie “Open Season”. Going to a movie theater is a new experience for many of these children. The owners not only opened their facilities but their hearts as they actively participated in conversation and built relationships with the families they were serving. The party did not stop with the movie. Pizza, juice, and cake was provided by the cinema. Moms and children alike laughed out loud at the film. Their hearts were filled with joy. The movie party was more than fun, it was a great blessing to all those participating. Aquila is very thankful for the new partnership with this cinema and look forward to working with them in the future.
Beauty
If you are a woman, you understand how important it is to feel beautiful. This is often a great struggle for the mothers of disabled children in a culture that is constantly ridiculing or ignoring them.
Aquila currently has an American volunteer who will be working with them part time in Chernovtsy. From October 26th through November 1st four of her family and friends joined our team. As part of their service here two of them, hair stylists visited the homes of many of our families offering hair cut and color. Many others came to the apartment the family was staying in to have their hair done or to get a manicure. In one week, two girls were able to visit and encourage over twenty families.
While two girls were visiting families and cutting hair, the other two visitors and the volunteer worked on beautifying the apartment offices and meeting place for Aquila. They were able to paint and make minor repairs to make the space functional. At the end of the week the moms met in the newly renovated space for tea, fellowship, and a small devotion about beauty.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Not Just an Ordinary Visit
As many of you know, my work in Ukraine includes working with disabled children and their families. Many of these children are unable to be served at local hair salons because of their disabilities. Many of the moms of these children cannot afford to get their hair done at these places. Most of the mothers are tired and weary and have little time to contribute to their appearance. They often have low self esteem. Bethany and Bethany used their time in Ukraine to serve by cutting and coloring numerous women and children’s hair. They visited homes and hosted many clients in the apartment we were living in. They did a tremendous job. I cannot thank them enough for their willingness to serve.
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My mom and Jason also worked hard. They served by helping with painting, cleaning, and finishing of various remodeling projects in the apartment where they stayed, I live while I’m here, and serve as the Aquila offices and meeting grounds for many events. All four of them were a tremendous blessing and an encouragement to me as I continue to serve in the Ukraine for another four months.
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My mom and Jason also worked hard. They served by helping with painting, cleaning, and finishing of various remodeling projects in the apartment where they stayed, I live while I’m here, and serve as the Aquila offices and meeting grounds for many events. All four of them were a tremendous blessing and an encouragement to me as I continue to serve in the Ukraine for another four months.
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Visitors from the West
After seven months of only being able to talk to my family and friends online or over the phone, I received four important visitors; my mom, my sister, my best friend and my boyfriend. The anticipation of their visit was overwhelming, not to mention the fact that I was ill at the time of their arrival and the two and a half weeks before.
On Saturday October 25, 2008 I arrived at the Borispol International Airport to meet my family. My first reaction was undoubtedly shock. It was hard to believe I was standing with them and that they were here in Ukraine. It was like a dream.
We wasted no time. The driver who picked us up, dropped us off down town and took the luggage to the church. We ate lunch at Poozata Hata, which means Fat House in Ukrainian. It is a local fast food chain, offering the best of Ukrainian food in a cafeteria style dining experience. Whether it was because it was the first thing they ate after being awake for 30 hours and had ridden on a plane for 11 hours or because they weren’t sure exactly what they were eating, I’m not sure, but they didn’t really like it. While this quick emersion into the culture was an interesting experience, they discovered something shocking after eating. The girls ventured into the restaurant restrooms… and immediately came back out, wanting to know if it was a joke. If you have traveled outside of North America you have probably noticed that in most areas of the world it isn’t the throne toilet that dominates but the “Squatty Potty”, a porcelain hole in the ground rather than a chair.
Or next venture was the subway, which we rode to our next destination. This experience consisted of lessons like, stick together, keep purses and wallets in the front, and squeeze tight because you can always fit one more person.
Sightseeing- The Golden Gate, the original entrance to Kiev, Independence Square with its fountains, next to a closed Krashatik Street where the weekend festivities were in full swing. To the unknowing spectator, like my friend Beth, the characters seem both unusual and harmless. But as Beth can now tell you from experience, look out for the man dressed as a squirrel. When he asks if you want to take a picture with him, he really means “I’ll take a picture with you for a small fee.” An extra precaution: He may try to pick you up.
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My families arrival was a joyous occasion. And as you have probably seen in the photos, an exhausting one. But if you think they were tired from the plane, you should have seen them after their first train ride.
After seven months of only being able to talk to my family and friends online or over the phone, I received four important visitors; my mom, my sister, my best friend and my boyfriend. The anticipation of their visit was overwhelming, not to mention the fact that I was ill at the time of their arrival and the two and a half weeks before.
On Saturday October 25, 2008 I arrived at the Borispol International Airport to meet my family. My first reaction was undoubtedly shock. It was hard to believe I was standing with them and that they were here in Ukraine. It was like a dream.
We wasted no time. The driver who picked us up, dropped us off down town and took the luggage to the church. We ate lunch at Poozata Hata, which means Fat House in Ukrainian. It is a local fast food chain, offering the best of Ukrainian food in a cafeteria style dining experience. Whether it was because it was the first thing they ate after being awake for 30 hours and had ridden on a plane for 11 hours or because they weren’t sure exactly what they were eating, I’m not sure, but they didn’t really like it. While this quick emersion into the culture was an interesting experience, they discovered something shocking after eating. The girls ventured into the restaurant restrooms… and immediately came back out, wanting to know if it was a joke. If you have traveled outside of North America you have probably noticed that in most areas of the world it isn’t the throne toilet that dominates but the “Squatty Potty”, a porcelain hole in the ground rather than a chair.
Or next venture was the subway, which we rode to our next destination. This experience consisted of lessons like, stick together, keep purses and wallets in the front, and squeeze tight because you can always fit one more person.
Sightseeing- The Golden Gate, the original entrance to Kiev, Independence Square with its fountains, next to a closed Krashatik Street where the weekend festivities were in full swing. To the unknowing spectator, like my friend Beth, the characters seem both unusual and harmless. But as Beth can now tell you from experience, look out for the man dressed as a squirrel. When he asks if you want to take a picture with him, he really means “I’ll take a picture with you for a small fee.” An extra precaution: He may try to pick you up.
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My families arrival was a joyous occasion. And as you have probably seen in the photos, an exhausting one. But if you think they were tired from the plane, you should have seen them after their first train ride.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Hospital
Dear friends, last time I wrote I had been ill with a head cold. After being sick for about three weeks, I thought it was time to visit the Doctor. My cold had developed in stages. First I had a horrible head ache and stuffed up nose. This developed into a slight sore throat. My head began to clear up and I was almost completely recovered. However my throat went from slightly soar, to so sore I didn’t want to open my mouth and went everywhere with a scarf wrapped around my neck to keep any cold air away. My sore throat spread so that when I swallowed my right ear hurt. It was in this tired and weary condition that I left Vapnyarka to meet my family in Kiev.
I left on Thursday night to arrive in Kiev Friday and my family arrived at the air port Saturday morning. After dragging them around town to some of the sights we boarded a train to Chernovtsy. When we arrived on Sunday Morning, I was not only tired from the journey but still ill. Era, my friend who had gone to Kiev with me for the children’s conference, was also sick with similar symptoms.
Verra’s sister called to schedule us appointments at the “Nose, Ear, and Throat” doctor. The doctor I was to meet with new I was an American, but it was important to conceal my identity from others working or the price of my visit would have quickly grown from about 100 Grieven to 100 dollars. In other words I was a very quiet patient, who followed the hand gestures and allowed Era and Vera’s sister to do all of the talking.
The hospital we visited that early Monday morning was cinematic. It looked as if it was part of a WWII movie set. The observation room was large. Pale baby blue tiles lined the bottom five feet of the walls. The rest of the walls and the ceiling were white, just like the nurses uniforms. The room was dimly lit. A long table ran down the center of the room, dividing it into two areas. The wall left of the table had some large and interesting equipment. The right side was lined by six small examination stations. The back wall was where you could find sinks and cabinets with supplies.
I was taken to one of the examination stations. It consisted of a chair with its back against the wall. Beside it was a metal cart. The cart shelves were filled with medicines and tools used in the examination process. At each station there was also a light bulb with a pull string protruding from the wall.
I sat in the chair. The doctor pulled up a bench beside me and turned on the light. On the doctors head was a head mirror, one of those round mirrors on a head band seen in pictures of doctors long ago. After Era explained my symptoms, the doctor began the examination. First he looked up my nose using a metal cone with holes at both ends. Then he used one of these metal cones to look in my ears. My mouth was next. He placed a mirror on a stick, like the one most doctors use, on the light bulb beside my head. After it was a little warm I opened wide and he took a look. He asked Era a few more questions and had the nurse come and take me to the table in the middle of the room while he examined Erra.
To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what was going on. The nurse took me to the table and sat me down. She had me put my right arm on the table. Then I was to lay my head down on it, with my right ear down on my arm. To my surprise she started pouring some liquid in my left ear. She left me to sit. I could feel air bubbles escaping my ear through the fluid. A few minutes later, the nurse came back with a plastic bib, which she tied around my neck and placed the bib over my left arm, under my ear filled with liquid. She left and came back again, this time with a syringe of water and a kidney shaped tray. She placed the tray against my neck and told me to hold it. She then sat my head back up, so that the liquid began emptying into the tray. Without warning, she put the syringe to my ear and blasted the water inside. The tray caught the water fall flowing out of my ear. She sent me back to the doctor. He examined my ears again. He sent my two chaperones and I out with further instructions.
It wasn’t till I was outside that I found out we were going to get X-rays. We walked to a dentist office to have the photo taken but they were not able to do it. We got on a bus, rode a few blocks, and went to another hospital. Their X-ray center was not open for another two hours. We walked down the street a little further to another hospital. We arrived 10 minutes before the X-ray center would be open. There were a couple of people here before us. We had to wait our turn. It was while we were waiting that Era informed me that it would cost 10 Grieven, that is less than 2 Dollars. She was hoping that it wasn’t too expensive. I also found out that I was the only one getting an X-ray. Apparently, the doctor thought my nostrils were unusual. When he asked Era if I had problems breathing and if I sneezed often, she told yes that I had lots of problems with it. I am still not sure why she told him this.
It was my turn. Vera’s sister went in the room and guessed the answers to the questions the X-ray operator asked about my birth date and weight. I watched as they prepared a huge machine that reminded me of the shrinking machine from “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”. I sat in front of it on a bench, inches away from a big board. The technician arranged my head so that I was looking up at the ceiling with my mouth open and my chin pressed to the bored. When they asked Vera’s sister to leave the room I decided it would probably be wise to close my eyes while they took the picture. After waiting another 10 minutes, I paid and for my picture. We hurried back to the doctor. He looked at it in amusement. Although I think he found it a little unusual, there was nothing medically wrong. (Honestly, I have to wonder what they were thinking. Even if they would have found something wrong, there was no way they were operating.) With X-ray and prescription in hand we were free to leave.
Era and I went to the pharmacy where we bought two medicines. The first was a nose spray. Two sprays up each nostril, twice a day. The second medicine was drops that were to be dripped into the nose 20 minutes after the spray. We were also instructed to take vitamins. The next morning I woke up and used my nose spray. During my 20 minute wait I picked up the boxes to see if I could figure out what I was taking. I picked up the box for the drop medicine. I found a word I recognized. To my surprise and amusement it was the word for eyes. That’s right, I was supposed to drop eye drops up my nose. I decided to skip this step. The next day I was feeling much better. I believe the cold had finally run its course. I have kept the eye drops with my other medicines just in case I ever have red eyes.
Dear friends, last time I wrote I had been ill with a head cold. After being sick for about three weeks, I thought it was time to visit the Doctor. My cold had developed in stages. First I had a horrible head ache and stuffed up nose. This developed into a slight sore throat. My head began to clear up and I was almost completely recovered. However my throat went from slightly soar, to so sore I didn’t want to open my mouth and went everywhere with a scarf wrapped around my neck to keep any cold air away. My sore throat spread so that when I swallowed my right ear hurt. It was in this tired and weary condition that I left Vapnyarka to meet my family in Kiev.
I left on Thursday night to arrive in Kiev Friday and my family arrived at the air port Saturday morning. After dragging them around town to some of the sights we boarded a train to Chernovtsy. When we arrived on Sunday Morning, I was not only tired from the journey but still ill. Era, my friend who had gone to Kiev with me for the children’s conference, was also sick with similar symptoms.
Verra’s sister called to schedule us appointments at the “Nose, Ear, and Throat” doctor. The doctor I was to meet with new I was an American, but it was important to conceal my identity from others working or the price of my visit would have quickly grown from about 100 Grieven to 100 dollars. In other words I was a very quiet patient, who followed the hand gestures and allowed Era and Vera’s sister to do all of the talking.
The hospital we visited that early Monday morning was cinematic. It looked as if it was part of a WWII movie set. The observation room was large. Pale baby blue tiles lined the bottom five feet of the walls. The rest of the walls and the ceiling were white, just like the nurses uniforms. The room was dimly lit. A long table ran down the center of the room, dividing it into two areas. The wall left of the table had some large and interesting equipment. The right side was lined by six small examination stations. The back wall was where you could find sinks and cabinets with supplies.
I was taken to one of the examination stations. It consisted of a chair with its back against the wall. Beside it was a metal cart. The cart shelves were filled with medicines and tools used in the examination process. At each station there was also a light bulb with a pull string protruding from the wall.
I sat in the chair. The doctor pulled up a bench beside me and turned on the light. On the doctors head was a head mirror, one of those round mirrors on a head band seen in pictures of doctors long ago. After Era explained my symptoms, the doctor began the examination. First he looked up my nose using a metal cone with holes at both ends. Then he used one of these metal cones to look in my ears. My mouth was next. He placed a mirror on a stick, like the one most doctors use, on the light bulb beside my head. After it was a little warm I opened wide and he took a look. He asked Era a few more questions and had the nurse come and take me to the table in the middle of the room while he examined Erra.
To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what was going on. The nurse took me to the table and sat me down. She had me put my right arm on the table. Then I was to lay my head down on it, with my right ear down on my arm. To my surprise she started pouring some liquid in my left ear. She left me to sit. I could feel air bubbles escaping my ear through the fluid. A few minutes later, the nurse came back with a plastic bib, which she tied around my neck and placed the bib over my left arm, under my ear filled with liquid. She left and came back again, this time with a syringe of water and a kidney shaped tray. She placed the tray against my neck and told me to hold it. She then sat my head back up, so that the liquid began emptying into the tray. Without warning, she put the syringe to my ear and blasted the water inside. The tray caught the water fall flowing out of my ear. She sent me back to the doctor. He examined my ears again. He sent my two chaperones and I out with further instructions.
It wasn’t till I was outside that I found out we were going to get X-rays. We walked to a dentist office to have the photo taken but they were not able to do it. We got on a bus, rode a few blocks, and went to another hospital. Their X-ray center was not open for another two hours. We walked down the street a little further to another hospital. We arrived 10 minutes before the X-ray center would be open. There were a couple of people here before us. We had to wait our turn. It was while we were waiting that Era informed me that it would cost 10 Grieven, that is less than 2 Dollars. She was hoping that it wasn’t too expensive. I also found out that I was the only one getting an X-ray. Apparently, the doctor thought my nostrils were unusual. When he asked Era if I had problems breathing and if I sneezed often, she told yes that I had lots of problems with it. I am still not sure why she told him this.
It was my turn. Vera’s sister went in the room and guessed the answers to the questions the X-ray operator asked about my birth date and weight. I watched as they prepared a huge machine that reminded me of the shrinking machine from “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”. I sat in front of it on a bench, inches away from a big board. The technician arranged my head so that I was looking up at the ceiling with my mouth open and my chin pressed to the bored. When they asked Vera’s sister to leave the room I decided it would probably be wise to close my eyes while they took the picture. After waiting another 10 minutes, I paid and for my picture. We hurried back to the doctor. He looked at it in amusement. Although I think he found it a little unusual, there was nothing medically wrong. (Honestly, I have to wonder what they were thinking. Even if they would have found something wrong, there was no way they were operating.) With X-ray and prescription in hand we were free to leave.
Era and I went to the pharmacy where we bought two medicines. The first was a nose spray. Two sprays up each nostril, twice a day. The second medicine was drops that were to be dripped into the nose 20 minutes after the spray. We were also instructed to take vitamins. The next morning I woke up and used my nose spray. During my 20 minute wait I picked up the boxes to see if I could figure out what I was taking. I picked up the box for the drop medicine. I found a word I recognized. To my surprise and amusement it was the word for eyes. That’s right, I was supposed to drop eye drops up my nose. I decided to skip this step. The next day I was feeling much better. I believe the cold had finally run its course. I have kept the eye drops with my other medicines just in case I ever have red eyes.
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