Where I live

I was chatting with a friend online this afternoon and she asked me "is where you're living nice?"

I thought that was a neat, very open-ended question.  So here goes...

Yes.

If you've seen some of my January posts then you've already seen the house I live in.  Here it is again though.

The bottom floor is the garage/basement.  I live on the first floor (where you see the steps).  The family that owns the home occupy the top two floors.

I live in a fairly new neighborhood.  The street is one big mud-hole.  I think the city basically doesn't provide any maintenance until the area is well established (which it is because the whole street is lined with 3-4 story homes like this one).

I guess I live about 2 miles or so from the center of the city.  You can look it up on Googlemaps (24 Nikitina, Uzhgorod, Ukraine).

I usually walk about a 1/4 a mile and catch public transportation (Marshrutka) into the center...it costs 25 cents.

There are good, western style grocery stores about a mile from me.  Again, a combination of walking and riding the Marshrutka).  I just have to be careful not to buy too much stuff at one time because you can't carry half a dozen bags at once and it's a pain to carry stuff on the Marshrutka.

For Church, I catch the bus into the Center and then walk another 1/2 mile or so.

I don't have internet at my house, although I do have 3G on my Ipad.  I can usually check sports scores and facebook with it but it's too slow and unwieldy to do any kind of long internet sessions like research.  I go into town and find a cafe with internet wifi for that.  Wifi in cafe's is everywhere, but there aren't many places that have plug-ins for a computer.

Food is fairly cheap.  I can usually get a pizza and coke for about $4.00.  I  eat a lot of pizza!

Of course where I'm living is very historical and it's on the western edge of the Carpathian mountains.  Prior to WW1 this area was actually part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  It's not really been a part of Ukraine very long.  So there's quite a mixture of cultures and it's evident in everything from food, to language, to architecture.

Greek Catholicism is as dominant here as Orthodoxy.  It seems to me so far that the whole area is more open to religion than was Kyiv or eastern Ukraine where Orthodoxy is overwhelmingly dominant.  The Church in Ukraine is going through a growth spurt.  This is a good time to be here.

It's been too cold to venture out much, but I am close to the mountains.  I'm looking forward to some hiking, camping and even rafting this summer.  I'm already thinking about how to get a Kayak here!

There's more to say but that's enough for now.  Just a short disjointed view of where I'm at.

a week in review

Thought I’d give both of my readers an update on my past week starting with last Saturday.

Igor Minenko is both the President of Ruka Dopomogy (Helping Hands), which is the ministry through which we coach churches in Jesus Focused Youth Ministry…and he’s a Rabbi at a local Messianic Church.  Last Saturday (Sabbath) I spoke at his church and stuck around for their youth group meeting afterwards.

I shared my testimony and gave an overview of missions from Genesis to Revelation.   Umm, apparently several ladies in the church are convinced that I’m Jewish.  I had a great time with them and especially enjoyed the youth group meeting, although the walk home was FRIGID!

There was a lady visiting from another church in town who spoke wonderful English and asked me if I’d be willing to meet some youth leaders from her church.  Of course, I said yes!  Sure enough, she called me a few days later and set-up an appointment for me to meet two young guys from her church.  Turns out, they go to the same church as a guy named Norby.  (Norby knows my friend Darrel and Norby and I have been communicating via Facebook since my first week here but haven’t been able to meet).  Anyway, the two Sasha’s invited me to one of their small groups this past Thursday night where I finally met Norby and got to hang out with a handful of high school and college-aged kids.  I’m going to visit their church this coming Sunday night.

Thus was my week.  Doug was out of town all week but his wife hosted a welcome party for me and two American Couples also working in the city.  It was fun to meet them and learn a little about their ministries and passions.  I met with our Pastor a couple times during the week to talk about the Young Adult Ministry (college age) and the worship band.

And I had some time this week to write and study.  I’ll help coach my first church the week after next I think.

My VISA application has been started.  Pastor Vadim thinks it may only take a week or so.  Be in prayer for a positive outcome, that is, me being granted a 3-5 year Religious VISA.  So much hinges on getting the VISA.  The next steps would be to get “Registered” as a resident alien and then get a bank account and start looking for a car.

How can I pray for you?

It's COLD

Well I completed my quick trip to Kyiv to retrieve some of my "stuff" from storage.

For those of you who were dying to know what was left, well, most of it actually.  My friend gave the Bed away as I expected...and I didn't see my boots either.  I didn't even bother looking at my old guitar after suffering summer heat and winter sub-zero x2; I actually bought a newer, nicer guitar while in Kyiv.  I was happy to retrieve my heavy coat and I had more clothes here than I thought I did.  I can almost dress up now!

My trip to Kyiv was fun.  It was the best train ride I've ever had.  I had a bunk (1 of 4) in a coupe and one of the other passengers spoke English.  That doesn't happen often!  There was married couple too who expressed a lot of interest in what I am doing here.

The big news though is how cold it was in Kyiv (and now is all over Ukraine).  Windchills were/are in the negative 20's.  The Kyiv Post (an English paper in Ukraine) is reporting over 100 cold-related deaths, mostly of homeless people on the street.  There's been several hundred cases of frostbite.

Thinking about the homeless people in the cold...along with having finished A Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns has me thinking a lot about my response to beggars and homeless people.  There's a blog brewing but I'm not ready to go there yet.

I also have some other ministry-related thoughts brewing.  I don't know if you've seen it, but the Super Bowl is getting a lot of attention in regard to Human Trafficking.  If you're not aware of the spike that takes place surrounding the Super Bowl, then you need to Google!  So...here's my thought:  If the Super Bowl is such a huge trafficking magnet, then how much more so the 16 Eurocup Soccer Games that Ukraine will host in June and July?

Stuff I hope is still in storage....

Just before Christmas back in 2009 I packed-up what I could take back to the States after living a year in Kyiv, Ukraine.  A friend offered to let me put the rest of my stuff in his rented storage unit. 

I left my favorite Backpack.  I love that backpack.  It’s a decent size but very light.  I left my tent.  I’m not talking about a Walmart-special, but a tiny little one-man trail tent.  As you can tell, I had intentions of hiking and camping.  I never got around to it back then, but I fully expected to return to Ukraine some day.

I left my huge and very warm Parka.  I knew I wouldn’t need it in Mississippi but again, I had every intention of returning to Ukraine.  I left a nice pair of hiking boots.  

I left my 12-string Ukrainian-made guitar.  I left a small flat-screen tv.  I left some books and papers and clothes and cooking stuff.  I left an entire bed!

I told my buddy back then to give some of it away…like the bed…which I think he did.  And I think I told him I didn’t need the books, so if they’re gone that’s ok too.  I might have told him it would be alright to let the TV and the Guitar and the cookware go too  (Truth is, I’d like to buy a better Guitar!).

So why do you care what I left in storage?  You don’t.  I know that.  But I do have a couple of points.

1)      I’m going to Kyiv this coming Monday to retrieve what’s left.  And you know what?  If none of it is there then I’ll go right on living and breathing.  I can honestly say, “My stuff does not own me”.

2)      That said, I’m glad I left stuff here 2 years ago.  For me, it was a “faith” thing.  I was dealing with things in my life that at times paralyzed me yet through it all I felt God’s call to be here.  Leaving stuff here was like a deposit on a promise.

Do you have “stuff” or does your stuff have you?

Are you “pressing-on” toward the promise God planted in your heart?

Settling In

I am in Uzhgorod, Ukraine!

I arrived this past Tuesday after my friend Darrel drove me from Budapest to the Hungarian/Ukrainian border near Mukachevo, Ukraine.  My Team Leader, Doug, drove across and picked me up.  We went straight to his home for dinner and then to a Church Youth Leader's Bible Study before I finally saw my "home" for the first time later that night.

I'm renting the first floor (2 bedrooms, kitchen, bath, living room and balcony) from a couple of youth workers from the church.  They have a 15 or so year old son who speaks a little English.

So that was Tuesday.

On Wednesday Doug took me all over town to buy supplies.  I got my phone set-up.  I exchanged US Cash for Ukrainian money.  I bought groceries.  I bought household goods like towels and pots/pans.  I bought a TV, Microwave, Toaster Oven and a space heater.

On Thursday I went with Doug to a regional Pastor's Network meeting.  I guess it's held in different places and I think they meet quarterly.  There were about 30 men and women there.  A couple of them know Darrel and we hit it off pretty well.  It's a big region though- ZaCarpatia Region (Carpathian) so some of them had to drive 4-5 hours.

Friday morning we had a Youth Ministry Coaches Meeting/Training time.  That was good.  I have some homework I need to work on.  And then I had the afternoon free.  So I walked to the local electronics store- El Dorado and tried to buy a Refrigerator and Washer/Dryer.  Unfortunately my credit cards refused to work on the large transaction.  So I took the Marshrutka (bus) back into the center of the city and exchanged more money at a bank and then went back to El Dorado.  I bought my major appliances and had them delivered to my home later in the evening.

Today- Saturday- I went to the local version of Home Depot to get some plumbing supplies to get my Washer going...I think I have everything I need.  And then I went into the city to take a few pictures.  It's been a mostly sunny, pretty day but still with snow, slush, ice and mud on the cobblestone streets downtown.  I haven't been very strategic in my walking around...I'll pull out my map and get serious about learning my way around in the coming days.

Here are a couple shots of the old town and the Uzh River that splits the town.

Layover Budapest.

Ok, it isn't really a layover.  I flew from Atlanta to London (First Class I might add!  It was only the 2nd time in my life that I flew 1st Class.  Pretty awesome.  And no, I didn't pay for that.  I flew on a Buddy Pass because my awesome youngest niece is a Flight Attendant!)  I had a 12 hour layover in London so I visited the Churchill War Planning Underground Museum, Westminster Abbey and the Tate Britain Art Museum.

The Churchill Museum is pretty cool.  Westminster Abbey is amazing except you can't take pictures.  Really?  Get over yourself!  Anyway, I especially like Poet's Corner in the Abbey where I recognized the names of dozens of writers who are buried there.  I guess my favorite discovery was the tomb of David Livingstone.

I like Art Museums but I don't really "get" art; especially modern and/or abstract art and there was a lot of that at Tate.

At the end of the day I flew on into Budapest where my friend Darrel Hathcock picked me up at the airport at 11 pm.  Since then (4 nights now) I've been staying with his family on the outskirts of Budapest.  I had big plans to see the sights while in town but you know what?  It's just been to darn cold!  It's been terribly windy since I've been here bringing the windchill down into the teens and single digits.  You know what else?  I will be living close enough to here (5 hours by train) that I can come back anytime I like in the Spring, Summer or Fall!  I do plan to spend some time in the National Museum tomorrow though.  It's all indoors!  Darrel is giving me a ride to the Ukrainian border Tuesday.  I should be there shortly after lunch.

I enjoyed two good worship services today.  We went to Calvary Chapel in downtown Budapest this morning.  It was an awesome mixture of English and Hungarian.  Nice diverse crowd...and by crowd, I mean packed house!!  This evening church was more of a fellowship/bible study with mostly IMB Missionaries.  It was good to meet some of them though.  Who knows how our paths may cross in the future.

I'm ready to get on into Ukraine though.  Ready to get settled in to "my place" and start figuring out my job and what I will need to do to learn the language.  I'm glad to be here.

My next post will be from Ukraine.

Post Passion/ Pre Ukraine

January 2-5 I volunteered at Passion 2012.  It was my second time to be a "Doorholder" (their term for volunteers taken from Psalm 84:10 where it says it's better to be a Doorholder in the house of God than dwell in the house of the wicked).  I also worked at the one-night Passion event in Kyiv, Ukraine back in 08.

I served on the Do Something Now team.  Beginning back in 2007 Passion made a decision to be known for more than "Worship".  They believe (and I agree) that our worship is empty if we're not moved to action; to justice.  So every Passion event since then has incorporated an "outlet" to impact the world.

My particular job was to direct the students who gave financially to respond in worship by writing prayers, creating artwork...whatever on items representing those articles that are commonly made by slave labor around the world.  It was really humbling to "handle" those articles and attach them to the statute.  I felt like I was "handling" the Prayers of the Saints.  It was a sacred service.

In past years Passion partnered with a variety of  ministries around the world.  This year the entire focus was FREEDOM for 27 million slaves in the world.  All of this years' partners work in the areas of Prevention, Rescue,  and Restoration.  42000+ College Students (and at least 1 Adult with deep pockets) gave more than $3 Million dollars for 10-12 ministries around the world.

This morning I attended Passion City Church and it was an incredible Post-Passion Celebration.  It was neat to be there this morning and hear some of the stories.  36000 Towels and 156000 pairs of socks given to ATL area Homeless Ministries!  People in downtown ATL with no connection to Passion coming to the Lord because of the influence of these students and the work of the Holy Spirit that permeated the event.

Here's a cool story:  One of the "creative" voices at Passion who worked to develop the DSN theme came up with the idea last summer to fly 27000 White Flags (each flag representing 1000 Slaves).  She shared her idea (inspiration?) with Louie and he just stared at her like he'd seen a ghost.  He then told her that only 2 or 3 people in the world knew that Tomlin was working on a song they thought would (and did) become the anthem for the event...the song was named, "White Flag"!

A Muslim Student came to the conference...who knows how that happened.  He was assigned "randomly" to a Community Group (that's one of 19 groups of about 2000 students!).  He was then assigned very "randomly" to a "Family Group" of 8 students and a leader.  Guess what?  His leader was a former follower of Islam.  That leader led that student to Christ!  Crazy!

The 103 foot artwork.  The Hand.  Here's how it was described this morning in church.  "A Hand of Worship Covered in Justice".  That's awesome!