Countdown To Ukraine- 3 days

I'm sitting at a Starbucks in Birmingham, Alabama in what is a pretty typical day for me over the last few weeks.  I'm catching up on some computer work, drinking a White Chocolate Mocha, and waiting on an 11:30 lunch get-together with an old friend.

Yesterday I drove my Jeep on the Interstate from Gulfport to Birmingham.  Think of driving a riding lawnmower really fast!

I spent last couple of nights with great friends...also typical of the last few weeks. I spent Friday night with Stik at his parents' home. Saturday night in Gulfport with David and Lindy before speaking at Bayou View Baptist Church yesterday, and last night with Charles and Paula.

Gulfport is always a mixed bag. Some bridges have been burned, some by my own hand and others that weren't.  Yet I can definitely see that I'm blessed with great friends. I saw it in Gulfport, I saw it last night, and I've seen it the whole time I've been home.

At the same time I also have a home in Ukraine.  And as crazy as this sounds...with all the turmoil that's going on there, this is the first time I'm taking a lot of personal things back with me...pictures and art and books...stuff I want around me in my "home".

You know, often times I stumble over the simple question, "where are you from?"  I've lived several places; I have significant ties in several places, but I really don't have a "home".  Living the way I have, especially the last several years makes me very cognizant of the fact that this world is not my home.

Countdown to Ukraine- 6 days to go

Countdown to Ukraine

This coming Sunday morning will be my 12th speaking engagement in my 6 week trip to the States.  I remember telling friends in Ukraine before I left that because of how fast things are changing in Ukraine these days that it was likely that my presentation would change from week to week. And in some ways it has.

I could probably write a blog about each speaking engagement.  I've spoken in churches that I previously had no relationship with and I've spoken in churches that have been really important in my spiritual formation.  This weekend I'll speak at Bayou View Baptist Church in Gulfport where I was the Associate Pastor and Student Minister for more than 12 years.  A few weeks ago I spoke at Holly Bluff Baptist Church near my junior high and high school hometown and saw schoolmates I haven't seen in 30+ years!  I've spoken mornings and nights, Sundays and Wednesdays, to adults and to youth and children.

I've seen a lot of friends but not all of them by a long shot.  I never was at any one place more than 2-3 days so it was hard to get settled.

It's been fun. I've driven about 4000 miles and I'm not as tired as I feel like I should be.  The first two weeks back in Ukraine look a lot more tiring to me right now.  I will return next Thursday but I will need to meet and escort three summer interns from Budapest to Uzhgorod over a 2-3 week period beginning less than a week after I get back.

I think in one of the next blogs I'll touch on one or two of those speaking engagements in more detail.  Today, at this very moment I'm sitting in The Country Fisherman, a seafood/catfish buffet in Prentiss, MS waiting on one of those lifelong friends.  I'll spend the night tonight and then I'm headed to the MS Coast tomorrow.

Countdown to Ukraine

Since it's been so long since I wrote a blog I figured I'd try writing a blog a day until I leave for Ukraine this time next week.

I actually have a LOT to cover but I think I'll start with this Renovation Project.

Is it any wonder that my favorite American TV Shows are the DIY and HGTV shows...this Nicole Curtis girl that renovates homes in the Minneapolis area is pretty awesome.  and pretty.  If anyone knows her, how about asking her to come to Ukraine and help us with our Ministry Center!

But I digress.

Last year the church I work with the most in Ukraine, Church of the Living God in Uzhgorod started renting space in a very centrally located building downtown.  It turns out that a lot of space adjacent to the building was available so our ministry, International Teams, decided to rent that space for the purpose of creating a Ministry Center and Coffee House.

We are trying our hand at Crowdsourcing.  That is, we want to harness the power of social media to raise funds to complete the renovation.  It's our first time.  You've probably seen crowdsourcing before in the form of KickStarter or Razoo.  We chose CrowdTilt.com because our Team in Spain recently used it successfully.

One thing you'll notice if you look right now is that we appear to only have raised about 16% of our goal of $10360 but in reality, because of "offline" funds- checks that have been sent directly to International Teams have not been credited yet.  In reality, we've raised almost 50% with 17 more days to go.  We can do it! But we need your help!!  Check out our CrowdTilt!

Eight Years

It's no surprise that I was wide awake at 1:30 this morning. I'm a night owl to begin with but of course there's more to it than that.

About 1:30 this morning marked the 8th anniversary of Kim's passing.

Last night I lay in bed thinking about my current surroundings. I'm in Sochi, Russia. The Winter Olympics were held here a few weeks ago. The Winter Paralympics is happening right now. Everyday I ride a CableCar up a mountain where athletes are competing for medals.

I lay in bed last night thinking about a February or March 12 or so years ago when Kim and I took some of our high school seniors and some college kids snow skiing in Glorieta, NM.  Skiing was one of Kim's bucket-list items. She wasn't very good at it; neither was I. But she was so happy to be there and to try it. Truth be told, she probably would have been content just to travel there and back. She loved flying and we enjoyed going places together.

All this snow and winter sports reminds me of that week. I remember being afraid for her and being protective of her and feeling like a good husband because of my concern for her. I also remember the guys- David Redd and Cory Rodgers being equally protective of  her when we were on the slopes. I remember how well she loved Emily and Laura and how equally well they loved her.

Eight years sometimes feels like yesterday. Sometimes it feels like 100 years ago or like it never really happened. I wish I had more pictures of her; of us.

Not to change the subject but last night I read about an Orphanage in Crimea that had been commandeered by the Russian forces occupying Crimea. The kids were taken home by volunteers and orphanage workers.  If a shooting war starts next week in Ukraine there will be more orphans in both Ukraine and Russia. Even without a war, the current and foreseeable economic situation is going to make things worse for those kids.

Kim and I had an opportunity back in 2005 to spend a couple weekends with some Ukrainian Orphans that we're being hosted by friends in Birmingham. If not for her health condition I have no doubt we would have adopted.

Here's one of the few pictures I have with me right now- it's Kim and one of those kids in Birmingham.

This blog is everywhere.  Honestly, I feel numb. Maybe I'm always a little numb this time of the year. Five or six years ago I thought I'd probably marry again someday. Five or six years ago I thought maybe I'd still have kids someday. It could still happen but it seems less likely with each passing year and this day, March 12, marks the passing of years for me as much as my Birthday or New Years.

He gives and He takes away, still I will say Blessed be the name of The Lord!

If I were writing a screenplay about all this stuff....

I wrote the other day on Facebook that maybe leaders in Ukraine are a lot smarter than I am. They are exercising remarkable restraint against the provocations of a hostile foreign government that has illegally invaded their territory. I'm sure part of the reason is just the realization that bloodshed hurts everyone and their desire to keep diplomatic channels open.

In my heart I know the best action to take, especially from someone like me is to pray for a peaceful resolution, encourage others yo do the same, and minister comfort, reconciliation,and the Gospel when and where I can.  But part of me just wants to fight.

So maybe I'm not smart enough to lead a country (although I have beaten Risk at the expert level on my IPad countless times!)  But maybe I'm smart enough to write a good movie screenplay.  The climactic scene in the final 1/3 of the movie might look something like this:

The American President takes his place in front of international news media for an important announcement.  Think Bill Pullman from Independence Day or Harrison Ford from Air Force One.

He clears his throat and says: "Today I'd like to announce an historic meeting that will take place Friday. Almost 70 years ago the leaders of the free world gathered in Yalta to discuss re-drawing the map of Europe at the end of WW2. This Friday the PM from England, myself, and the President of Russia will meet again on those historic grounds for the same purpose. Actually, we forgot to invite Vlad, but if you're watching this on tv, feel free to come to the meeting. It will be in your best interest to do so. And actually, we won't be drawing any maps...we already did that. The map in question will look very familiar; it's the same map of Ukraine we've grown accustomed to these past 20 or so
years."

"The US and UK are guarantors of a treaty signed in Budapest to protect Ukraine's borders and sovereignty. The Acting President of Ukraine has invited us to Ukraine (unlike the bully who is there without an invitation) to enforce the treaty."

"Vlad has repeatedly suggested that their presence in the region is to protect their citizens.  Our Ukrainian partners are at this minute issuing a declaration that Dual Citizenship Passports are no longer allowed in Ukraine. You can be an ethnic whatever-in-the-world you want to be but if you're in Ukraine you can only be a citizen of one country. If you're a Russian National, then pack your bags and go home. This week. Before Friday. Failure to do so will result in confiscation of all assets and immediate and irrevocable expulsion.

"Vlad made it a rather big deal last week when he called for a Snap Military Drill to see how quickly
he could mobilize his forces.  Good job. You showed the world they can move quickly. That's a good thing because you'll have 24 hours following the close of Friday's meeting to withdraw all forces and hardware from Ukraine. This is not an empty threat. Beginning midday Saturday A-10 Warthogs will make scrap metal of every truck, tank, personnel carrier and riding lawnmower still in Ukraine."

"And as for the premise of protecting your naval base in Sevastopol; it is no longer yours. Your blatant disregard for Ukraine's sovereignty and that Budapest Agreement makes that lease agreement null and void effective immediately. If your ships and sailors aren't sailing out of Ukraine's water by Saturday afternoon we will sink them where they berth. If you interfere with our ships in international waters deployed to enforce this ultimatum then we will sink every ship you have in the Eastern Hemisphere.  We know your Subs are stealthy but you know we can make it dang hard to ever come up for breath!"

The final scene features Ukrainians at peace looking at social media and newspaper headlines of Maidan-like uprisings in virtually every quarter of the Federation.

Copied from my newsletter..and some more.

 Revolution

I think one of the reasons I've resisted writing and blogging about what's happening in Ukraine is that it is an overwhelming subject.  Unless you've been following my Facebook feeds then you might not even be aware of the turmoil that has enveloped this country over the past 3 months.  As I understand it American media has been too busy with Justin Bieber to pay much attention to an epic struggle for freedom here in Ukraine.  One political columnist put it this way: "Ukraine gained it's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 almost by accident; now they are having to fight for it."  

A rough time-line goes like this: Near the end of November Ukraine's President was purportedly close to signing an Association Agreement with the European Union which would strengthen trade-ties between the two entities and pave the way for further integration down the road.  At the last minute, the President rejected the agreement much to the dismay of many Ukrainians, particularly the university crowd who began protesting in the streets.  Protesting in the streets is kind of a "thing" in Ukraine; it's not unusual at all.  But the last night of November, authorities did something crazy: someone ordered brutal attacks in an effort to dispel the protesters.  That order did not have the desired effect: the next day more than 300,000 Ukrainians took to the streets.  The weekend crowds swelled to more than a million!  Authorities again used lethal force in early December and then in mid-December a series of terribly repressive laws were rammed through Parliament that outlawed the protests.  

The "movement" has long since been about something more than integration with the EU or about the whims of university students.  Since that bloody night in November it has been about Ukraine's desire to be free from a mafia-like government.  In January it seemed like the tide was turning towards the people.  The Prime Minister resigned; at least some of the repressive new laws were overturned.  But this spiritual warfare.  In the heavenlies a battle is raging and on the ground it is being manifest in loss of life, injuries, and missing persons.  At least 6 people are dead and 30 or more are missing, hundreds have been arrested (many taken forcibly from hospitals where they sought help) and thousands have been injured.  The country is split by language, history, barricades in the streets and party-loyalties.  And still... God is on His throne.  Keep praying for Ukraine.

This coming Monday marks a government mandated deadline for protesters to vacate some structures that have been occupied for several weeks.  There's no firm indication yet that they will give-in to those demands.  Most, if not all, the previously detained protesters have been released from captivity, but it appears that their "charges" are still on the books...that's not Amnesty...that's Blackmail.

And... I'm tentatively visiting Maidan, the epicenter of this struggle, next Saturday.  Pray for Ukraine!

Here's a great online article from The Washington Post about what's happening in Ukraine, click here.



 

Unpacking a Busy December

Ever since arriving in Ukraine in January 2012 I've kept a daily "log" of the main stuff I've done that day.  This December has been CRAZY busy.  Here's my log for this month!

Dec 1- Sunday- Church; Led worship at Youth Club

Dec 2- Monday- Met with ICA Mission Team; Band Practice

Dec 3- Tuesday- Chaslivtsi Orphanage with Kyiv Team

Dec 4- Wednesday- Lunch for Kyiv Team at my house; Visit Chaslivtsi Orphanage; Band Practice

Dec 5- Thursday- Long Day! Staff Meeting; Retrieve letter at Nehemiah; Trip to Svalyava Orphanage; Pizza with Orphan Team.

Dec 6- Friday- Slept Late!!  Shopping. Led worship at Night Prayer.

Dec 7- Saturday- Early morning to Krasna Dontsiv Bazaar; Hosted Messianic kids at home for dinner

Dec 8- Sunday- Led worship in am and youth service.

Dec 9- Monday- Slept late; cleaned house; Band Practice. Saddened by protest in Kyiv.

Dec 10- Tuesday- Met with Doug about Radvanka; Doug and I met with Lola Kulchar And Volodya Sergochov.  Met with Sydney about Chaslivtsi; Going away get together for Anka and Sven, Bowling.

Dec 11- Wednesday- RD Staff Meeting; Trip to Svalyava Orphanage.

Dec 12- Thursday- Met with Anya and Rudik and Katya to sort clothes.

Dec 13- Friday- bought furniture; led worship for Alpha Course Conference.

Dec 14- Saturday- Went to Kiev for Euromaidan

Dec 15- Sunday- EuroMaidan Day of Dignity in Kiev.

Dec 16- Monday- Returned from Kiev; Band Practice

Dec 17- Tuesday- IT Staff Mtg; Toured Lola’s Ministry Center in Radvanka; Met with Orphan Team

Dec 18- Wednesday-Met with Andrey and Sasha about Apt; Staff Mtg; Met w/Orphan Team

Dec 19- Thursday- Met with Dima at Apt; Met with Orphan Team to look for Christmas gifts; Saw Sonya dance; met with Dima again.

Dec 20- Friday- Met Stephen and Heidi at train station; Band Practice

Dec 21- Saturday- Showed Stephen and Heidi around town a bit.

Dec 22- Sunday- Led worship. Lunch with new kids; youth service; bowling.

Dec 23- Monday- Shopping, Banking, Cooking and Staff Christmas Party at my house.

Dec 24- Tuesday- signed apartment contract; shopping; Katya’s house for Orphan Team get together.

Dec 25- Wednesday- Hallenbacks, Stephen and Heidi, Kent and Inga, Jason for Tacos at my house.

Dec 26- Thursday- Trip to Svalyava Orphanage and then pizza afterwards.  Long day.

Dec 27- Friday- Packed stuff; Finally got the key to the apartment.

Dec 28- Saturday- Moved two taxi loads of stuff; bought a bed; waited all day for furniture.

Dec 29- Sunday- Led worship; lunch at Vertep with Katya, Anya, Roma, Stephen, Heidi; Youth Worship.

Dec 30- Monday- Got more stuff for the apartment; long day!

Dec 31- Tuesday- early morning at Krasna Dontsiv Baraar; Meet ICA Team at Train Station; Chaslivtsi Orphanage; Youth All Night New Year's Eve Party (leading worship at midnight).