The building is coming together! It is super exciting to see the building finally coming into existence. It has been a long time since the thought was first birthed and now it is being born!

That's one big hole!

My YWAM base was started in 1994. It has gone through many changes since that time, people coming and going, foci changing and most notably from not having a building to having one. Now we are going through another major change, we are expanding! This essentially means we are growing!

Mysterious paths...

Growth is exciting, where there is change there is growth and where there is growth, there are almost always growing pains. The growing pains in our case comes in the form of being flexible. We have lost our kitchen and office space. The laundry room was converted into the kitchen and the lobby and living have become the offices. The kids room was turned into the laundry room while washers were moved into the girls and boys bathrooms. Things have all been moved around and changed, I’m still trying to find out where the mops went to… Everyone is having to adjust.

The paths become walls...

And we fill the rooms with dirt...?

Watching the the construction has been interesting. I was expecting to take pictures of them pouring cement for the foundation, but instead they brought these huge cement blocks and a ton of bricks. Bricks are cheaper than wood here so everything is made with bricks. When the basement was being built and the walls were coming up, I watched fascinated, as they filled the “rooms” next to the existing building with dirt. The new building will be attached to the existing one by the way. I thought “what in the world are they doing? Maybe it’s just a holding place for the dirt?” Nope, it’s a building code here meant to protect existing buildings from structural damage if the foundation settles on one building but not the other. (I hope that made sense, it’s my interpretation from a more knowledgeable source.)

Brick by brick...

We have also had some excitement. Last week a pipe broke, and we had to turn all the water off in the building since it was pouring into our new basement! The men on staff dug a trench, replaced the damaged pipe with a sturdier one, and filled in the hole. We are anticipating more such adventures…

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.

Here is a video a friend made about the destruction of our little building at the YWAM base in Ukraine. This little building was our kitchen, dining room, and office. It was getting really old, moldy, musty, and the water broke this winter… so it was time for it to go. We are making way for a new building project that will house more bedrooms and classrooms! Yeah!

FYI- I am returning to Ukraine in a week!

Last Group Shot

Here we are at the end of all things…

Yep, the first English for Missions school has come to a close for this year.

I smile when I think of all that has happened and how God was faithful in every moment that I needed him. It was a huge growing time for me and I was certainly stretched in many areas.

I have learned how to better communicate with my students.

I learned that teaching Slavic students is completely different than teaching North American students.

I always considered myself to be somewhat flexible, but I learned to be really flexible in this time.

I learned simple and complex things, as simple and silly as learning to have be more conversational when giving grades to as complex and difficult as dealing with students who do not want to do something.

I have gained a further understanding of Slavic culture.

I have grown in interpersonal relationships and leadership.

I started the school with a simple bag of tools, but I feel like I’m leaving with a full tool box.

The students have of course gained many things besides English as well. They have also gained an understanding of North American people. They are leaving with not just English, but with a broader scope of missions and Western-thinking. To see an academic list of what the students are leaving with or to see picture from graduation, go to the school blog here.  There are so many different levels of learning that go on in a classroom.

It was a great year, really, I think I can say that. Even though it was super difficult sometimes and I cried a few times, the school was a success. God was with us every step of the way. His plan was laid out and came to pass. I am so blessed to be part of it. I can’t wait until January 2013, when the next school will start!

My amazing staff and I

Just for fun

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.