Just thought I would post a few pictures of what winter looks like here. Pretty much I can sum it up in one word… BEAUTIFUL!

Through the park

A frosty church

A view of the city

Christmas tree in the city center weathering a blizzard

People say “you’ll get tired of the snow.” Wet icy blankets they are, I love the snow and I have not grown tired of it! Bring it on! I want to wade through it, dive into it, throw it around and have some to spare. We only get it 4 months out of the year here so what’s to complain about? 🙂

Icicle
Pointy, shiny, pointy
Hanging precariously
Death

There is no water in the city. It’s normal.

Twice a year Ternopil turns the water off in the city to clean the pipes. The water is off for, at most, three days. It’s really not that bad.I’m actually glad they do it. Here is a picture of why:

Yum, iron!

Yeah, that’s sediment left in my bathtub. I usually fill my bathtub with water before they turn the water off to use for flushing the toilet. This is a picture of what was remaining after I drained it.

The city usually gives 8-5 hours notice, so you have a little time to run home and take your shower, do any laundry, buy drinking water, and fill up every pot in the house with tap water. The rough part though is that everyone in your apartment building is doing the same thing and if you live on the top floor, the water pressure is almost non-existent.

The water doesn’t have a whole lot of bacteria or anything, but there is a ton of minerals, like WAY more than the normal amount. It’s mostly iron and calcium, or it could be rust… You won’t die from drinking the water, but your tummy might not be happy if you drink a lot. I still use it for cooking and cleaning and brushing my teeth. The water is better here than in some places. I know in Moscow the water can be off for 4 weeks so I’m happy with a few days!

September 1, the Day of Knowledge, also known as First Bell.

Ukraine has a unique holiday of celebrating the first day of school on September first. Every year school starts on the same day through out the country. It does not matter if it’s Saturday or Sunday, school begins on the first!

Waiting for school to start

Students all dress up in their uniforms, girls have their hair done and boys are spiffed up. There are a couple of traditional items students will always have. Girls of all ages often have a white hair ribbon or bow called a buntiki. Basically, the bigger the better. The graduating girls often wear traditional clothes or their uniforms with a white apron over it.

All dolled up for school

All kids bring gifts to their teacher, this can be flowers or some small knick-knack. They meet their teacher, find their seats, parents and teachers can talk… all that good schooly kind of stuff. There is usually a band, some speeches, a priest comes and blesses the school and sprinkles everyone with holy water and the smallest/youngest student gets to ring the first bell signifying the beginning of the school year.

Blessing the school

It's raining holy water!

First bell!!

The Day of Knowledge began during the Soviet rule in 1984. It was meant to commemorate the honor of going to school to receive knowledge. The tradition has carried on after Soviet rule has gone. Many former Soviet Union countries still continue this tradition.

This was the first year I actually got to experience it in a small form. I didn’t really plan on attending any first bell celebrations, but as I was on my way to visit a friend I heard band music wafting over the trees. I thought I would go and check it out. I just joined the mob figuring they would never know I was there for the cultural experience and not to congratulate some relative. I took pictures like everyone else, but I aimed my camera at different people every time and took pictures of all sorts of things. It was fun to join in the celebration, I certainly wish it was like this when I went to school!

Some of you asked about what church is like and what the spiritual atmosphere is in Ukraine. I thought I would share a bit of what was told me this past week that may shed a little more light.

A friend was sharing how several churches came together for a conference in my town not long ago. A speaker was sharing on unity and was reading from the Bible on the topic when an elder stood up and asked “how can we talk about unity when half the men in this room are wearing short-sleeved shirts?”

Really?!

Another church in the city had a discussion on ‘how to pray.’ This was not about what to say, but how to stand and where your hands should be. They decided your hands should not be in the front nor behind you, they should be at your side with your head tilted slightly.

Seriously?!

My previous roommate visited the church across the street and knowing they were very strict on outer appearances she wore a long skirt, head covering, and no earrings. She thought surely a necklaces would be ok. Nope, the topic of the night was on the evils of jewelry and it was directed at her!

All of these instances are true and are unfortunately common in many churches. Ukraine is still a young country spiritually. They only received religious independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to this atheism was encouraged and any religion was oppressed by the Soviets. When the Soviet Union fell, many people were not able to receive training on being a pastor. They were able to freely read the Bible now, but without any training it was interpreted however people wanted it to be. For example, several time in the Bible it talks about tucking your garment into your belt (2Kings 4:29, 2Kings 9:1, Acts 12:8), this is taken as you must never have your shirt untucked.

There are many churches that are not as strict as some, many are becoming more relaxed and free. There is a Hillsong church in Kiev and the church I attend is alright with wearing jeans. Even where churches may not be legalistic there is a lack of training or teaching for the congregation. I met a middle aged woman at our English club who had never read the Bible yet considered herself devout Orthodox. She was amazed at some of the verses we told her and wanted to know where they were in the Bible.

Many pastors are looking to connect with other pastors and gain further understanding and training. Biblical teaching is needed in many rural areas and cities where religion has a tight grip. I am grateful for the church I attend and am blessed by the missionaries who come here to plant churches. Continue to pray for eyes to be opened and for spiritual revelation to happen in the people.

Many of you have been concerned and wondering if I was snowed in at my apartment, curled up under 10 blankets, slowing turning into an ice cube. I can safely tell you that is not the case. I actually had no idea that it was such a big deal, I thought this was normal weather and that I just needed to deal with it.

Let me tell you how I deal with it. Every morning as I am preparing to leave, I put on my fleece jacket, then my down jacket, then a long wooly scarf, my ear warmers, gloves, and snow boots. Besides all that, since November I have been wearing long johns, two pairs of socks and an undershirt every day. I open the door and walk the 20 min it takes me to get to the base. That’s how I deal with it.

I can usually tell about how cold it is by how fast of have little snot icicles in my nose. I had no idea what was happening when this first happened. I just thought ‘why is my nose all stiff?’ If I get snot icicles the instant I walk out the door… it’s cold. If not, it’s only kinda cold. That’s all you need to know.

I generally make a point to plow through the deep snow so I get a work out walking to the base, then I’m nice and toasty. That is also another way to gauge the weather. If I get to the base and I’m not hot, it’s really cold. I get some funny looks not walking on the beaten path, but it’s just more fun to make my own trail. (Really though, do I ever follow the beaten path?)

One of our students is from Siberia and absolutely loves this weather. She told me the trick to make the shivers go away. “Just embrace the coldness Megan, and the shivering will go away.” That’s what she told me, so helpful my students are.

Nothing has really effected us too much. A pipe broke at the base so we had to close down the kitchen our last two weeks of school. The kitchen has now been moved into the laundry room and the laundry room has been moved upstairs. Marichka and I’s neighbor upstairs had a pipe break which manifested itself in a waterfall down our kitchen wall. All pipes have been fixed to some extent or another. The only annoying thing is that our heater goes off randomly at the apartment due to air pressure changes, this just means we wake up cold and have to restart the heater. Nothing we can’t handle.

Most things go on as normal here. The buses still run, there are still taxis, businesses are open. There is about a quarter inch of ice on the inside of most bus windows so you really need to pay attention to the stops. Schools close not because of the amount of snow, but because it gets so cold. They close at -4F only because the schools don’t have heating systems that are good enough to heat the buildings. So kids here have missed quite a lot of school.

Yes, it has been cold here. I think the coldest was -24F, that was with low humidity though so I think it has been colder with humidity and wind chill. But really, I have not minded it. It has been fun to have so much snow. I enjoy walking to and from the base every day. I can’t complain.