Odessa Rewind

Gee Whiz, December already? Time flies.

I had a nice visit down in Odessa after Thanksgiving. It was cold and wet and just as ugly down there as it has been here in Kyiv so I stayed pretty close to my hotel room the first day in town. On Saturday I caught up with my Translator friends from summer camp...Natasha and Oksana, who are both attending the Christian University in Odessa. They went with me to visit my friends Katya, Vika and Yura- friends from my very first trip to Ukraine in 2004. The girls are 18 and almost 16 now, Yura is 14. They are growing up. Yura is still involved in the Bible Club but I don't think the girls are too much. My ministry friend Maxim still stays in touch with the family though. I was glad for Natasha and Oksana to meet them; maybe that will lead to some ministry opportunities.

Later that night I found a Cafe with WiFi and was able to watch the State-Ole Miss Game on the internet and enjoy some Intercontinental Smack Talk with my Nephew (an OM fan) and some other friends.

Sunday morning I attended church with Natasha, Oksana, and their roommate Ksusha. Some other friends, former SEND Language Students, were also at the church. I

really enjoyed worshiping with them.

Later that afternoon I met Maxim and attended the Gypsy Church. Here's what I wrote while I was waiting to meet Maxim:

Crazy! I'm sitting in a cafe (which happens a lot in this part of the world) in a shopping center on the outskirts of Odessa. There's a Cafeteria upstairs and when I walked through there earlier I was flooded with memories. I distinctly remember eating there with kids from my youth group during a mission trip 5 years ago. I remember being scared to death because I couldn't read or understand anything. I remember choosing my food and paying for it and trying to look like I knew what I was doing because I was the "leader"!

I still don't know if I know what I'm doing. I'm just more comfortable in my discomfort now!

I'm right in the middle of where it all started...this love for Ukraine. I'm just a few blocks from where we stayed at the church. I'm a few blocks from our daily "Field of Dreams" Backyard Bible Club. It's a 20 minute walk to the Gypsy settlement. In just over an hour I'll be meeting Maxim to go to a Church Service in the settlement. It starts at 4 pm. It'll be dark already and as I understand it, there's no electricity. Probably no heat either. We will worship by candlelight. I don't think there'll be a translator, so I'm off the hook for speaking unless I share my standard short paragraph of who I am and what I'm doing speech in Russian.

Without a Translator, I won't be sharing a message tonight. And even if I did, what do I have to say to a handful of Gypsies huddled in the cold, dark night of Odessa? Do I tell them that in spite of all the blessings I've received from God, despite all I have and all I've been given that I still have all sorts of doubts and fears about my future? I doubt I have anything to say to them that will encourage or strengthen them more than just being with them will encourage and strengthen me.

Aftermath: The church was dark. The worship was by candlelight. They had a propane heater though so it was warm...it was warm in more ways than one. And talk about a mix of no tech (no electricity) and new tech (they used a laptop computer for music and lyrics!!).

The people made it special though. As best as I could tell there were probably only 2-3 families present and mostly teens and children. They are beautiful and friendly. Here's a picture of the Pastor and some of his family.

Finally! Sunday night before catching the train back to Kyiv, I took Natasha, Oksana and Ksusha to their first Mexican Restaurant. Food was edible. Time together was much fun. After dinner, they treated me to Tea and Cookies at their dorm and then walked me back to the train station at 11 pm!