Slow Down

Finally, a week that hasn't been too crazy.

I've essentially enjoyed a little "Staycation" this week.  Our Ruka Dopomogy leaders have been out of town on vacation so no RD Staff Meetings this week.  Doug has been sick so no ITeams Staff Meeting.

Our Church is hosting a great conference led by a couple of Brits this week and even though I haven't attended most of the sessions I have made a couple of appearances to help lead worship.

Monday night during Band practice I got a call from our Pastor and was asked if I could host a young guy from Budapest who was in town to attend the conference.  It was a pretty quick turnaround but I said yes and a couple hours later I had another "tenant" at the Clinton Hostel.

Earlier today I got a FB message from a friend wanting to know if I could host a mutual friend that was passing through town for the evening...so I went home early (had been in the office doing some writing) and cleaned my room for her and made arrangements to move into the bunk room for the night with Budapest Ben.  Turns out she missed her train and couldn't make it after all but the rest of us got a nice big meal out of it and I got clean sheets on my bed!

Having 2 (well, one extra) guests during the week got me thinking about how many folks have stayed in my apartment since moving here back in January.  I think there have been about 18 different people that have spent one or more nights here.  A whole World Race team stayed a month.  One Intern lived here for 2 months, and 2 of them for almost 3 months.  I had some friends stay here for 3 weeks before I even had boxes unpacked.  Today I bought a nice blank book to use as a Guest Register.  Wish I had thought of that back in January!

And that's why I wanted my own apartment. My own place to hang my own pictures.  I'm still an introvert (probably more than ever before in my life) but I do enjoy hosting. I enjoy preparing meals and giving people a comfortable place to stay (maybe that's a holdover from my World Race days!).  I actually don't know where exactly this enjoyment comes from.  I don't think I have a Spiritual Gift for hospitality per se.  Rather, I just like to cook and I like to serve (sometimes...don't go thinking I'm saintly or anything- I'm not!) and in terms of hosting teams, I like being in the background and setting them up to be successful.

I'm back

So, it's been a long time since I last blogged.  I really need to get back into the habit!

Where to begin?

It's overwhelming.  It would probably be overwhelming even if I had been blogging religiously all summer.

Ukraine is crazy.  It's still, just, crazy.

I've said this a hundred times...just when you think things are turning for the better politically it seems like it doesn't.  There was fear back in February that Russia would launch an invasion of Ukraine and dadgummit that fear is still there.  The latest of course is the 280 Truck "Humanitarian Aid" Convoy that Russia is supposed to be sending to Ukraine.  Many believe they are Trojan Horses in the form of 18 wheelers.  Many feel that either they will be used outright to bring in troops, or they will be targeted and thus used as a provocation to allow Russia to enter Ukraine or lastly, they could just be humanitarian aid.  Nobody knows.

And that's  life here in Ukraine.

Here in the West there's no real threat even if there were an invasion but that doens't mean the effects aren't being felt here.  We're supposed to be having a meeting in the next few weeks of most of the Pastors in the community to assess how we're dealing with Refugees.  I suspect that every church is doing ministry but what I haven't seen is any coordinated response.  That's what I hope will come out of our meeting.

In other news- I had 3 Summer Interns all summer.  They were fantastic.  I couldn't have asked for anything more or better.  They set the bar high for future summer workers.  Another 2 month short term volunteer arrives in 2 weeks and then a 2 year team member is scheduled to arrive in October.

I have worked at 5 summer camps this summer and will probably help at another one next week.

I'd love to take a vacation but I can't afford it right now.

A refugee is living with me right now.  I don't like referring to her as a refugee; she's a friend.  We met in 2009 when I worked in Lugansk, in Eastern Ukraine, which today is a war-torn near ghost town.  Her parents and grandparents are still there so everyday I know is tense for her.  She wants to go back; to help rebuild...but no one knows when that will be an option.  So for now she's thinking of putting down some roots here, trying to find a place to work and minister. Say a prayer for her...and the 100,000+ in her shoes right now in Ukraine.


I leave you with a picture or two from an awesome Children's Camp sponsored by my church here in Ukraine.