See pictures!

Visit the Church of the Servant website to see a slideshow of pictures from the mission! (Click on the title of this post to get there).

we're back!

Secretly, my main goal was to get everyone on our team to Ukraine and back alive and in one piece. And we made it! I think we have been up some 27 hours, and it's definitely good to back on American soil. and good not to have to figure out how to convert 175 forints to 1 dollar!

It was a great mission, and a great team, and I think we met our main purpose of sharing the love of Jesus Christ in ways that make a Christian difference.

Tomorrow, don't look for me at work before lunch!

Susan

delayed in paris

We made it to paris, but just barely missed our plane to houston. therefore, we're delayed to OKC. I've left a message for the travel agent to get us new tickets, so we don't know our new schedule yet. when I find out, I will call the church to let them know there. call 721-4141 to find out our new arrival time. We'll see you all soon.

Delayed in BUdapest

Well, we're here in the Budapest airport, ready to go, all through security, but our flight has been delayed. The problem is bad weather in Paris. Hopefully the flight out of Paris is delayed as well. We're on flight 1095 out of Budapest, then #36 out of Paris to Houston, then #5523 from Houston to OKC.

So for now, all else is okay. We got up early early early this morning. A bus picked us up from the hotel a little after 5. Everyone did great getting up and being on time, which is amazign for a group that has tended to be a little late for everything else.

Now we're working on using up the last forints (Hungarian currency) that we have.

See you soon in Oklahoma!

Almost there.

We've been having a blast in this beautiful city. The architecture is incredible here. We went on two tours yesterday. In the morning, we took a tour by bus around the city for about 3 hours. Then we walked everywhere, and shopped a lot. Then last night we took a tour of the Danube by boat. This city at night is beautiful, too!

This was our tour guide showing us around.

















The Gelato is wonderful. This is Jennie, Betty and Sharon enjoying some. We all had some, actually.


Jennifer Witherby joined us for our morning tour on the bus, and helped us get around a little bit. Jennifer is here with her daughter, Hattie, for a few months while Hattie is in a therapy program. They normally attend Hannah's Promise. It was good to see her, and it was great to have her help us from her own experience. (This is her with me on the 4th picture down. We're at Hero's Square).

This last picture is of the parliament building. It's so beautiful, and even better at night. This picture doesn't do it justice.

We'll be headed back tomorrow. It will be early early when we leave the hotel (5:15!). It will be good to see everyone - I'm ready to head home!

Thanks for all your prayers and support, and your comments to our blog.

Susan

busy tourists

we haven't had any chance to post in the last few days because we've been busy tourists. we're safe in Budapest, walking a LOT, and having a good time. We're gathering togetehr in a few minutes to go to dinner tonight and then take an evening dinner cruise. íso this is going to be short. í sorrz for teh weird characters - this is a weird keyboard, adn not easy.

maybe we'll have more time tomorrow. just know that all is well. there are a few still sick, but they'll manage.

Susan

A little R&R

Wow. What an amazing week it’s been. It’s Saturday, and we’re all too pooped to party. Such powerful experiences we’ve had with the people of Ukraine. Work for us is complete, so today was a day for rest, relaxation, and fellowship. Vova and Carmen took us on a short tour of Uzhhorod Castle, as well as to the “Transcarpathian museum of folk architecture and way of life” (similar to Indian City, U.S.A., in Anadarko). The view from the top of the castle’s bastion was phenomenal! You could see the entire city from the top of the wall. In the middle of the outdoor museum is an Orthodox church, made entirely of wood, without any nails. After leaving the museum and the castle, we walked down through the old section of the city. We saw the Uzh River, the Jewish synagogue that’s now the Philharmonic Hall, and we lost Paul. He thought we went one way, and we didn’t. He couldn’t find us, we couldn’t find him, and so he got a cab and came back to the Nehemiah Center. Susan was very calm and collected, at least visibly, but was frantically searching for him. I was very proud of her!!!

After the morning touring the city, we had a wonderful picnic in the Kamyanitsa National Forest with all three ministers (from left to right, Vasily, Sergei and Vova). Vasily and his wife, Alla, along with Vova’s mother Anna (who has been cooking for us all week), grilled chicken and pork chops, made a wonderful soup with meat and potatoes in it, and had a gorgeous cake. Our picnic table was just right down the road from one of Khrushchev’s summer dachas! I could feel the history. We walked up the road, walked around, admired the renovations being done, and had a beautiful time. Much friendship and fellowship, and building more and more relationships. Our first early night back at the center, we should be rested and recharged for worship in the morning with Vova in Perechyn, and then a (hopefully short) bus ride back to Budapest, for two days of touring and souveniring!!! It’s hard to imagine that we will be back in OKC (and Tulsa) in just a few short days.

It's about relationships!

It's not about the task! It's not about the task! We must keep reminding ourselves of this because none of us were able to help at all with the building today. Or not much at least. we mostly handed out more invitations to church, but this time we went to downtown Perechyn. There were many people there, and I'm sure we stuck out like a sore thumb as we walked down the street handing out these papers. It was a good walk, however, and now we know Perechyn more better! Dixie even stopped by the post office and bought some stamps for Rick - 100 year anniversary of the Boy Scouts. These are stamps he had been hoping to find here. This is a picture of the market area of Perechyn.

After lunch, we took a walk down to the Uzh River, not very far from teh church. The leaves here are just starting to change colors - it will be even prettier in just a few weeks.

Then it was the final night of the VBS. I think we had about the same number of kids every night this week. Some of the kids are already members of the church, and there were a few new kids who came, too. Maybe our team will have had some small impact in their lives and they'll remember learning about God.

It was a full day, so after eating (again, for the umpteenth time) in Perechyn we travelled to Kamyanitsa for a regular worship service, then for the prayer service the women hold. I will write more about that later.

For now, it's time for bed. We have been up late most every night, including tonight. Tomorrow is our touring day, and we're all sleeping in. we'll get up for breakfast at 9 a.m., and then leave at 10. we hope to have a picnic, weather permitting, with the ministers and their familiies tomorrow.

Thanks for your continued prayers, interest, and love. One of us will write more on this later.

Susan

One more day

We got in so late last night and we were all so exhausted that we didn't feel much like blogging. David was our one willing soul. It's Friday morning here now, and I can think a little bit straighter.

So now I must report that not all is well and happy anymore, as we have many in our team ill with one thing or another. it's probably not something we ate because there are several different illnesses going around. So, some will stay behind this morning as the rest of us tackle the last day of work. the women were "prohibited" from lifting the heavy rocks yesterday, so we probably won't do much of that today.

Probably what we'll be doing is cleaning up the current church building, because we've made quite a mess of it with the rain and mud. It needs to be ready for Sunday! We'll also hand out more invitations for the community to visit the church. It's a simple brochure that invites them to come to the church with "real people, real God, real answers" and a few other similar things. (It's not a tract.) Vova had 1000 of them made, and we're no where close to getting all those out!

Thank you to everyone for your prayers for our team, especially Miki's and Lauri's bible study groups. We loved your notes. Please keep the prayers coming, especially today so we'll all feel better soon!

Susan

Another great (but long) day!

We had another great day today! We finally got the ditches dug deep enough:

(Okay- Susan and Betty are squatting- it's not really quite that deep!)

We finally got to start laying down some large rocks:


Some also went for walks around the town, handing out invitations to come to visit the church. We were excited to see some of the children that had been coming to the Bible School- they recognized us and seemed happy to see us. The townspeople were all very nice and we had some interesting conversations. Thanks to our interpreter, Stephan, we even understood part of them! I think Helen and Jennie both have a new boyfriend!

After another interesting VBS, we had some homemade pizza for a snack. We then went to a youth program at Kamyanitsa where we also participated in the program. That was a neat experience. After the program was over (about 9:30 pm) we were treated to some great Ukrainian hospitality at the minister's house. We had hot tea, two types of fresh mushrooms, and chocolates. We were planning to have dinner after the youth program, but after the pizza and all the other treats (plus it was probably 10:30 pm), we decided we could skip it tonight! We all had a really full (but enjoyable) day!

Jennie has clothes!

First things first, Jennie now has a suitcase! Ralph does, too! I would have been crying by now without mine, so Jennie has been a real trooper without hers. But she's very excited to have clean clothing, all her own, again! Praise the Lord!

Okay, now to the rest of everything. It rained on and off today, so we had times when we stayed inside, or at least under the eaves of the church building. But it was good to have some rest. This first pic is some of the team contemplating the rain. We didn't get as much done today, but we built some relationships, so it was still a good day.

This was VBS. We had 27 kids today! Penny is doing a great job with this. Stephen is our translator - we like him a lot and want to bring him home with us. He's standing next to Penny in this second picture.

David and Ralph built a seat in the outhouse today (in one side only). There used to be just a hole in the floor, but they had been worried that the drunk next door would come in and use it and mess a seat up, so we'll buy a lock for the door they can have. Our guys couldn't stand the idea of us women not having a seat... (Okay, the women appreciate the seat, too.). Penny christened the newly redone facilities for us, and gave it her approval. Only one side has the seat still.

David (and Stan) found a friend.

This last picture is of kids (sisters) we have met through VBS. Very cute.

Thanks again for all your comments. We love to hear from you.

Oh, and check out Penny's blog that she's keeping, too. It's http://pennythequeen.blogspot.com/. there's also a link to it on the right-hand-side of this page.

Tonight I think we'll get to bed at a more reasonable hour.

Susan

A history lesson

Today was a wonderful day for many different reasons. As some of you know, but many of you don't, I received my Bachelor's degree in Russian and Eastern European History last May. Today, Vova's father Volodya, decided to share with me and our group about the history of Ukraine, especially the area of Trans-Carpathia where we are. Volodya is on the far right of the picture, and is probably somewhere around in his 50s. Misha is standing next to him - he is 75. The conversation began with Volodya asking where I learned Russian. As you can see, this question led to a gathering of many members of the team and a history lesson that I could never have received in any classroom. It was truly amazing (and Ukraine must be heaven, because that's where I felt I was today)!! At the end, Volodya asked if I would be returning next year with a team to check on the progress of the building. As Volodya seems to really be a man of few words, this whole experience will hold a special place in my heart for years to come. Hopefully, this is a relationship that I will be able to continue through this mission experience. However, I will have to polish my language abilities in the next year!

That's a mighty big fish you're talking about, Stanley Max!

Once again, digging trenches for the foundation. Delicate Stan managed to end the day without a speck of dirt on him! How does he do that? But, Volodya has said that it's a good thing that the backhoe didn't show up - otherwise, what would we have Stan doing all day? Idle hands make mischief, you know...

We finally got some work out of Penny today too... She thought that she was some sort of supervisor! Of course, it is a full-time job keeping Mike (aka Studmuffin) under control...

Lunch today was pretty traditional fare - borscht, chicken, noodles, and these yummy cucumbers and tomatoes! Vova's mom is an excellent cook, and is keeping us well fed! For dessert, we had grapes that had to be fresh off the vine... I've never had anything like them!

There was much more that happened today - Pam, Helen, Penny and I went on a home visit to one of the members of the Perechyn church with Vova. The husband has a problem with alcohol, and the wife has asked Vova to help her get him back in the church. This is a common problem here, as alcoholism is rampant among men of all generations. I believe that they felt truly blessed to have Vova and us in their home, and were more than willing to share their lives and their home with us, as well as their goat milk! That's right, Pam and Helen (brave souls) drank milk straight out of the goat! How does that VIM prayer go again? Where He leads me, I will follow; What He feeds me, I will swallow, right? Truly tested today...

More to come tomorrow, even about today, but it's almost 1 a.m. here and Susan and I are plum tuckered out! Time for sleep.... Love and kisses to everyone!

another good day!

Hello everyone! I think we got more done today than yesterday at the worksite! We have made good progress on the trenches for the footings. Lots of big rocks were delivered today, along with concrete, so that may be on the schedule the rest of this week.

The first picture, which may be hard to make out, shows the trench we're digging. It's 1 meter deep. The original church is the second building from the right. The big pile of sand and rocks there on the left will go into the trenches to help make the footings.

Robin, we were serious about the backhoe! Vova asked for one, but it never came. would have made the job easier, but we're strong (worth 20 cows each!) and doing okay. It's too late to get one now anyway. They are pleased with our progress, and so are we. We don't need no stinkin' tractor!

It's definitely hard work. This second picture is of Sharon, hard at it. This was toward the beginning of the day. It was much deeper later in the day.

Yes, we were digging right next to the outhouse...

But, it's not all about the task! There have been several people make visits to church members the last two days. They went with Vova. I havne't joined them, but those that went enjoyed the experience. We also had 23 kids again today at VBS. the kids seemed more comfortable, and so did the VBS leaders. They did crafts and learned about Jonah. The snack was goldfish! The kids giggled and loved the crafts and they taught each other songs (the kids to the leaders in Ukrainian, and the leaders to the kids in English). A good time was had by all.

While the VBS crew stayed behind, the rest of us went to the Uzhhorod church to "help" with the soup kitchen. I'm not sure that we helped much, but we enjoyed seeing the kids. We were there while they sang songs, played games, and had a Bible lesson, then started eating. The cool part was the kids all prayed for us. Jennie has some good pictures and I think she'll post them later.

These two guys are both Josef. The one on the left is the minister to the soup kitchen and youth. We met him last year. the other Josef is Roma (gypsy). He is one of our translators. He is learning in the Bible college, which may be his only chance for a future. He lives now at the church and is a participant in the Soup kitchen ministry. But he doesn't have much of a future because of the discrimination against the Roma people. He can't even join the army. but he will now become a pastor.

These are some of the kids who participate in the soup kitchen. I recognize some of them from last year. the girl who is just behind the boys on the left of the picture (she has a pink shirt), was one of the "cover girls" from our last "Pass the Salt". at least I think she was. Vika is her name.

We're still having lots of fun together. we laugh a lot. But now it's late at night and time to go to sleep. Thanks for reading our blog and commenting!

Susan

Dig, dig, dig!

Today was Work Day One, and boy do they mean business here! Vasily, the pastor of the church in Kamyanitsa, picked us up at the Nehemiah Center at 9:30 to take us to Perechyn to begin work on the site of the new church building. Expecting a backhoe to show up anytime, we picked up shovels to begin digging the trenches for the footing and the foundation of the church. Because the church is right across the road from the Uzh River, which often floods in this area, the footings for the foundation have to be 50 centimeters across and one meter deep (approximately 1 ½ feet across and 3 feet deep). With no backhoe in sight, we started digging, and by the end of the day, still with no backhoe, we were able to dig the trench for almost half of the building!!! Amazing what you can do with a little grace and some elbow grease, and lots of laughter!

We did suffer our first two injuries today. Susan, the first and only to draw blood, endured the horrific pain of a minor laceration to her right thumb. Sharon, our nurse-in-resident, rushed to administer first aid on the wound. Susan should really be more careful in the future opening packages – those paper cuts can be nasty business! (You can breathe now, Lucia!) David also managed to twist his ankle, but only just a little. His foot slipped off the shovel as he was digging, but nothing could slow him down! He continued to work until he felt he needed a little extra TLC, and with Sarah not around, he turned to trusty Sharon to take care of his ankle. He returned to work after supervising for a bit and playing with the dog that wandered on to the work site.

Bible school was amazing! Expecting to have as few as just a couple of kids show up on the first day, we had more than 20 show up! They seemed a bit skeptical at first, but with Stephan translating and Penny leading the way, they seemed to have a great time learning about Moses and the 10 Commandments. They ranged in age from 3 to 13, and seemed to all have a blast! We’ll see how many more kids we have tomorrow.

We’re all looking forward to a good night’s rest and another full day tomorrow of work. We will be helping serve in the soup kitchen at the Uzhhorod church, as well as visiting members of the Perechyn congregation, and continuing to dig, dig, dig!!

Oh, and please leave us comments!!!!!!! We want to know that you are reading and enjoying the updates!!

What a day!

We all worked hard today, but are glad to be back at the Nehemiah center to shower and go to bed soon. We dug the footings - it's very cool to be at the beginning of this new church project. Vova's father is the "maestro" for the job, and is doing a great job. He really knows his stuff. He says that we did a good job today. And Vova's mom cooked for us a wonderful meal of cabbage rolls. Yummy!

This is a great team! They make it easy to be a team leader. we're all having lots of fun, and laughing a lot.

Jennie will tell you about today; tomorrow will be some of the same. more digging of the footings. The VBS crew will continue with the lesson tomorrow, and the rest of us will go to the Uzhhorod church to visit the soup kitchen. and hopefully will get a chance to serve.

We're all doing well. Except Rick - I hope he'll feel better soon. Dixie went to the "apothecary" (pharmacy) to pick up a few items for him. It's chest congestion of some sort that is ailing him.

This is a picture of Helen with a child at VBS, busy on the crafts. There were 23 kids today.

Please comment! We love to hear from you.

Susan

This is Mischa, the church caretaker, and Paul (from Texas).

And this picture is for Mary Alice: