A Huge Blessing

Normally I don’t do blog entries so close together but I thought this was too good to wait.  For those of you who might have been concerned about me getting enough to eat this is to show there’s no need to worry and to show how blessed beyond measure I am.

The mothers here in Ukraine also fuss over me getting enough to eat.  They are like grandmothers and mothers everywhere – they feed you until you just want to die.  When I was at a friend’s house last weekend for some home made borscht and perogies they said that they would gladly come to my house to cook for me.  They had also asked me what kinds of food I liked.  I didn’t really think anything of it but here people usually say what they mean and today Olena came to the apartment with a translator friend Lena T. and spent the entire afternoon making borscht and cabbage rolls, and she brought a cake.  (I also think this might be a match making effort by another mother Ira T. lol.)

We had a great afternoon of cooking & visiting.  Olena put us all to work and the translator also got a great cooking lesson.  I got off easy with just peeling some vegetables & chopping onions.  After everything was cooked we sat down to an amazing meal.  Then she said that she would gladly come to my place every Saturday to cook for me.  So now I’m just wondering what’s going to happen next weekend.  I just might end up weighing 300 pounds on this Ukrainian adventure.

So now for leftovers I have a 4 litre pot of amazing borscht and a huge pan full of cabbage rolls (and cake).  I also had no idea how labour intensive and time consuming it is to make cabbage rolls so I’ll never take for granted the size of this blessing.  Here are the pictures.  Till next time...Я люблю тебя!

Olena hard at work

The main ingredient to borscht.

Cabbage leaves waiting to be filled.

Making sure Lena is doing it right.

There's a LOT in this pan.

The cabbage rolls are covered in a (home made) tomato sauce, lemons, parsley, the left over cabbage & meat & then simmered until done.

Borscht

I didn't get a good picture of today's borscht but here's what last weekend's batch looked like.

Cake with sour cream & mandarin topping.  (It can be made with any fruit.)

A Month Already

Well I’ve been in Ukraine a month now & it has just flown by with all the fun.  In my last blog entry some of you expressed concern about the man who caused a scene at McDonald’s.  Not to worry, I don’t think he could do much damage as he was a senior & I can still move pretty fast.  Foreigners are usually well treated here.

I don’t have anything new to tell right now so in the spirit of fun I thought I’d do a list of the ten things I like most about Ukraine & the ten things I miss most from Canada.  Forgive me if most of these are food related.  What can I say?  I’m a guy. 

First the ten things I like most about Ukraine - in no particular order.

1. Lemon scented kleenex - it’s so much nicer than the mint scented kleenex.
2. Milka bars - If you’ve had a Dairy Milk that was made in England or in South Africa, that’s the only thing that comes remotely close.  And the funny thing is it's made by Kraft Foods yet it's not available in Canada.
3. Cherry juice - The box says it takes 600 cherries to make a litre of juice - it’s sooo worth it.
4. Most prices are way cheaper here & there’s no sales tax.  The mark-ups in North America are insane!!
5. Cities here are designed for PEOPLE, not cars - much more pedestrian friendly.  It’s much easier to get around & much easier to get the shopping done.
6. People here are much more social.  They speak to & are willing to help strangers.  (See my previous blog entry for an example.)  They are also much more patient when they realize you don't know their language.
7. Regular internet is much faster here - 100 megabits per second - my high speed in Canada was 54 mbps - & it’s much cheaper here too.
8. Pechena Kartoplya - this is a fast food chain that specializes in baked potatoes where you have a choice of toppings to choose from.  The garlic & cheese is my favourite.  (Kartoshka is the Russian word for potato)  www.kartoplya.com
9. The scenery here looks a LOT like Canada.  (See my August 23, 2011 blog entry.)
10. My cell phone bill is approximately $5.65 per month including internet & again, no tax.

Here are the ten things I miss most from Canada - again in no particular order.

1. Regular flavoured potato chips.  I did find Pringles Original - at $3.25 per can (imported pricing I guess).  Otherwise they just have flavoured chips here such as crab, shrimp, mushroom, baked ham, red pepper (the kind of red pepper you put in a salad) & bacon.  They also have sour cream & onion, ketchup as well as sour cream & dill but I only like regular.
2. Pam spray - they don’t have anything like it here.  (It’s a good thing I hate to cook any ways.)
3. Canned tuna - they do have what they call canned tuna here but since this is a family site I won’t describe the taste.
4. Habitant pea soup with ham - any canned soup actually.  They do have the dry packets the same as Canada but those are mainly salt - yuk.
5. A&W - I could just murder a Papa Burger with cheese & some onion rings right now - or a Mama Burger - or a Teen Burger & of course a frosty mug of root beer.
6. Cheddar cheese (old) - I just don’t like the cheese here.
7. Whole wheat bread - or any normal sized loaf.  The bread here does taste much better but they have such tiny little loaves.  It takes 4 slices of bread to make a normal sized sandwich & most bread here doesn’t brown in the toaster.
8. A normal sized washing machine.  I used to do one load per week and the cycle would take 25 minutes.  Here with these tiny little washers the same amount of clothes takes 3 loads & one cycle takes about an hour.  Where’s the energy efficiency & water conservation in that?!?
9. Not having a clothes dryer.  I have yet to see one anywhere here & I hate ironing.
10. Fish & chips - that one should speak for itself.

Till next time… Я люблю тебя!

There are other versions of Milka but these are my two favourites.

Yes, 1200 cherries were sacrificed to make this box of juice.

This is the usual size of bread.  This one actually turns brown in the toaster.

Staying Put

Well this past week has been an interesting one. On the last day of McJoyful we had an incident where a man who doesn’t like Americans thought I was one and caused a scene at McDonald’s. He was ushered out the door and I was told to stay put. He wouldn’t go away and they posted people at both doors of the restaurant to keep him out. Needless to say I felt pretty awkward at being the centre of that kind of attention but grateful that people were looking out for me.

Then one day I was home with absolutely nothing to do and was bored. This was magnified by the fact I don’t know Russian yet and can’t just turn on the TV or give most people a call. True to form the evil one tried to put me off by putting thoughts into my head about why am I here if I’m not doing anything. Within the hour Ed called wanting to set up meetings about getting me started on a project.

Then there was a leak in the kitchen and water was running on the floor. I have no tools here and with the language barrier didn’t know who to call and was a tiny bit panicked about what to do. I call Ed (who’s in Kyiv – a 6 hour drive away from Krivoy Rog) and within an hour one of our translators is here with her father-in-law who’s a plumber - crisis averted.

I go to Kyiv for the meetings and while there I was on my own for a bit & decided to do some chores. Let me tell you, getting money changed here can be really frustrating. The first bank I went to (which had their exchange rates posted on a sign at the entrance) said in English: “Not today, another department, no walk-ins.” I said, “This is a bank isn’t it?” but still no budging. The second bank wanted my passport and a photo copy wasn’t satisfactory. Back on the phone to Ed who puts me onto a place where everything went fine.

Then on the way home to Krivoy Rog Ed sends me to the train station with a friend of his who happens to be taking an earlier train. He showed me the ropes of the train station and then left while I had another hour and a half to wait for my train.

While I’m waiting there’s a bomb scare at the station and they are clearing everyone out. Of course with the language barrier I’m left standing there totally oblivious to what is going on. A guard speaks to me but when he sees I don’t know what he’s saying he kind of walks away. An older lady is there who also doesn’t speak English but I figure out that she’s asking me what train I’m on. I show her my ticket and she speaks to the guard which sounds like an argument. The guard comes back, speaks to me again and again starts to walk away. I’m back on the phone to Ed asking him to translate but the guard won’t take the phone. The lady grabs the phone and explains to Ed what’s going on and tells him she’ll show me the alternate route to go to the tracks. So off we go, I get my train (which left on time by the way) and another crisis is averted.

I’m not telling you all this to say that I’m frustrated and ready to come back to Canada. No Way! I’m staying put!!

I’ve noticed in Ukraine that there are a LOT of people who genuinely care for others. People here are much more social unlike the isolationism in North America where people need their own “space” and avoid strangers. The lady at the train station went out of her way to help a total stranger and didn’t let a language barrier stop her. I have mothers here in Krivoy Rog who worry if I have enough groceries in the house and make sure that anything I need I have. One called today, and of course with the language barrier it was a short conversation, but after we hung up I realized she was checking to see if I got back from Kyiv okay.

No matter what the evil one tries to do the Mighty one has angels in place already. I have met many of them. Till next time…Я люблю тебя!

Settling In

Well McJoyful Christmas is over for another year and I now have a moment to take a breath. This past two weeks has been a whirlwind with McJoyful serving over 2000 people as well as New Year’s, Christmas and now moving into a different apartment and the shopping and setting up that goes with it.

We had an AMAZING team visit from Pembroke who are on their way back home now and I sure have a new appreciation of the work that goes on from the other side when teams come to visit. The local team in Krivoy Rog are awesome and work very hard to make it so easy for visitors when they come. I’ll certainly never take for granted local hospitality when going anywhere again.

As I mentioned about shopping for the new apartment, I survived my first trip to the malls by myself pretty well. I managed to get there and back without getting lost and got almost everything I wanted or a good substitute. I’m still trying to get used to a different selection of products as well as not having other products available here. (Although it’s great being able to get cherry juice and Milka bars here.) I also still can’t believe how much cheaper and often better quality almost everything is compared to Canada.

I wish I could say my Russian is getting better but it’s actually more like I’m sharpening my skills at charades. So I guess I’ll have to invest in a language tutor – and maybe take a translator with me next time I go shopping. Other than that it’s just a matter of getting to know the city, settling into a routine and getting a game plan in place. Till next time… Я люблю тебя!

Happy New Year!

Well I finally had a chance to sit down and do this blog entry. I arrived in Kyiv on Boxing Day and spent a few days there before going to Krivoy Rog which will be my Ukraine home. I’ll be going to Kyrgyzstan probably in March for a few months as Ed wants to expand some of the work there. (More on that in the future.)

I went to Krivoy Rog with an amazing team from Pembroke who came over for McJoyful Christmas and since we arrived we have been going flat out being at McDonald’s every day and with New Year’s celebrations. It’s been great renewing friendships and being a part of this amazing event.

On New Year’s Eve we were at Sunshine Orphanage for a fireworks show that was better than the Canada Day fireworks in Halifax. Then we went to Church of Praise for an all night New Year’s party. What a fun time that was. I never heard of full contact musical chairs before.

Today after McJoyful at McDonald’s we took a load of Happy Meals to the home in Boorie Oglie which was a real treat for the residents. They loved having visitors as well as the treat. Boorie Oglie is a very emotional place for me as well as for Go Team Ukraine 2011 which will take too long to explain – you have to see it for yourself to get it.

Tomorrow we are back at McDonald’s again for some more groups coming for McJoyful Christmas. I’d like to wish everyone a great New Year. Я люблю тебя!

Independence Square Kyiv, Ukraine

The writing on the boxes is pronounced "Happy Meal"

I`m HEEEERE!!!

Just a quick note to let you know I arrived in Kiev okay. Everything went AMAZINGLY well along the way. Many of you had asked if I was excited and I had joked that it would hit me somewhere between New York and Kiev. Well I was in New York waiting to be checked in and I heard a couple speaking Russian and then I did get excited. The only hiccup along the way was that my flight left New York over an hour late - but we arrived in Kiev 15 minutes early - go figure.

I'll be going to Krivoy Rog this week to take part in McJoyful Christmas and my Ukraine base will be there as well. Now I`m REALLY excited to do Mcjoyful and to see our friends again.

I`ll update more once I`m settled. Я люблю тебя!

WOW! - This is it!!

Those of you who know me you will have heard me talk about my calling for over four years now, ad nausea. For those of you who don’t know the whole story here is a brief recap – well, I’ll try to make it brief.

In July 2007 I went on a trip with my church to do programmes at orphanages in Kyrgyzstan with Ed Dickson of Loads of Love. (See the link for Loads of Love on the right side of the blog.) This trip changed my life forever and turned it upside down – in a good way. As the British say, I was knocked sideways. I knew I was called to go back there for long term and this was confirmed by some unlikely and reliable sources. I said nothing to anyone for almost a year just to make sure that I wasn’t going on raw emotions. The emotions are still raw even now when I think of the orphans and seniors of Kyrgyzstan.

At that time I was still heavily in debt with student loans and I was barely, and I mean barely, living paycheque to paycheque. The fact that I got to go to Kyrgyzstan in the first place was a miracle in itself which I now know was an ordered step in my life. Also at that time I looked back on my life to that point and realized that every single thing I have gone through in my life was preparation for this. Things like regular everyday occurrences that I had not thought about in years came back to my mind in waves with quite a few “a-HA!” moments.

Once I realized what my life’s calling is I made sure that the next steps were steps of preparation for this goal – and there were a lot. The student loans are now paid off (which is a miracle too long to mention here – see my blog for October 2010) and I was able to go to Ukraine with my church this past summer to work with Ed Dickson again. I told Ed of my calling to Kyrgyzstan and he mentioned that they have a hard time getting people to come help in Ukraine. Without hesitation I said that I’d be willing to come there in the meantime, which will help me learn Russian among other “skills.” I actually said it before I realized I said it.

So, now the tickets are bought, my apartment contents have new homes and the bags are all but packed – well, one is already packed. I finish my job on December 9^th and I leave for Ukraine on Christmas day for an indefinite timeframe.

This is it!!! I’m finally on my way. (Don’t worry about me missing Christmas. Christmas in Ukraine is January 7^th.)

In Ukraine I will be working (volunteering) for a programme called “Operations Can Be Done” which raises sponsorships for orphans who need operations. These operations can range from cleft palate surgery to leg straightening to major heart surgery, operations that previously would not be done as the kids have no parents to pay for them and there’s no medicare in Ukraine. These children’s lives will be changed forever. You will hear more in future blogs once I get there and get my hands dirty.

I ask you all to stand behind me with your prayers and support as I start the adventure of a lifetime. I know this will not be a cakewalk but I also know that God did not call me without plans to equip and to provide for me. There are a lot of unknown details at this point (like which city I’ll be living in) but I have a peace about it. I know it will all come together at the right time; everything else has so far. Stayed tuned to this blog for updates.

Я люблю тебя!

A Lot Sure Has Changed

Last week was the 20^th anniversary of a failed coup by hard line communists that attempted to overthrow the Russian government, under Mikhail Gorbachev, which marked the beginning of the fall of the Soviet Union. As part of the Soviet break up Ukraine declared its independence and this week (August 24^th) Ukrainians will mark the 20^th anniversary of their own nationhood. Having come back from Ukraine just over a month ago I had another one of those who’d a thunk moments of how much has changed in 20 years.

In the 1970’s my grandparents had a housekeeper named Shirley whose parents were from Ukraine. They had left there illegally years before and found their way to Canada to live. (Shirley was born in Canada.) While Shirley was working for my grandparents her father had made special arrangements to go back to Ukraine to visit his family and take Shirley with him to see where he was from. Because he had left Ukraine illegally, under the Soviet regime he had to get a lot of special permissions and wade through a lot of red tape in order to go back for a short visit.

When they got there they were only allowed to go to certain places and their movements were restricted. I remember Shirley telling us how they disguised themselves with rain gear and goggles to take a motorcycle trip to see some of the country. She also told of how their family would turn the radio on in the kitchen and then they would all go to the living room to (quietly) ask about life in Canada.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, when we were kids growing up in the 1970’s we never even thought of travelling to a former Soviet country. We never even thought there would be a former Soviet Union. When I was preparing for my trip to Ukraine this year all I needed was a valid passport and an airline ticket. Then when we got there we went where we pleased and talked about whatever we wanted without any kind of restriction. (Well, except for security reasons you can’t take pictures in certain parts of the Kiev Metro system.) We travelled around the countryside and saw an amazing country and met some amazing people.

Ukraine is a beautiful country and it’s very easy to see why the Ukrainian immigrants to Canada felt so at home when they got here. The scenery in Ukraine looks like either a larger version of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley or like the prairies in Saskatchewan – complete with wheat fields. Even the vegetation in both countries is identical with the same types of trees, weeds, everything.

So yes a LOT has changed in 20 years in Ukraine for the better. To the people who I now call my brothers and sisters in Ukraine, I wish you all a happy Independence Day and pray even greater things for your future. Я люблю тебя!

Shirley bought the spoon on the left for my Grandmother. The word painted on it is pronounced karpaty which is what the Carpathian Mountains are called in Ukraine. I couldn't resist buying the "post Soviet era" spoon on the right.

Soviet Mother Motherland statue that is part of the memorial park in Kiev for the Great Patriotic War (WW II).

Monument to Berehynia in Independence Square, Kiev.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berehynia

Thank You

Thank you to those who helped to make some dreams of 114 orphans come true. We were in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine between July 4^th and 13^th and were very busy helping to facilitate these dreams. Over three days we took three busloads of kids from Sunshine Orphanage to a picnic park for the day for swimming, games and a lot of fun. (I’m not sure if the kids had more fun or us.) We also took them to McDonald’s over several days.

To these kids a day in the park and McDonald’s is a HUGE deal and will not be forgotten by them anytime soon. It was sooooo amazing to be able to be a part of this and I won’t forget this anytime soon either. Because of all of the generosity we surpassed our fundraising goal and were also able to leave a donation to the ongoing and amazing work of Loads of Love. If you would still like to make a difference in a child’s life you can still donate by clicking the link for Loads of Love at the side of the blog. If you like you can also make some dreams come true in Kyrgyzstan by clicking the link for Act of Kindness.

Again thank you so much to those who gave. Here is a small sampling of photos from our days in Krivoy Rog. Please excuse the shaky video but you’ll get a good view anyways.

Can you help?

As some of you know, I am heading to Ukraine this summer for two weeks to spend time with some amazing children at Sunshine Orphanage in a city called Krivoy Rog. There are 13 of us who are partnering with an organization called Loads of Love.

We have an amazing opportunity to make a small dream come true for these 114 orphans. We are hoping to go to the Park/Beach for a day of swimming, games and laughter. As well, we will make a special visit to McDonald's, which is a great privilege for Ukrainian orphans.

Would you be willing to help? I am looking for 10 people to sponsor a child for $10, which will cover the cost of transportation to the beach and food for the day. I will be taking pictures of our adventure to share with you once we return. If you would like a tax receipt, please let me know and please have your donation to me by June 24th.

To find out more about the heart of what we will be doing in Ukraine, please view this video made by Amanda Goodine:




Thanks sooo much for considering this opportunity to make a difference in the life of a child!

Blair