Still here!

I know this post is long overdue...sorry about that!  Just like your lives, mine is constantly moving and there always seems to be something else I should or could be doing.  But I have "thought" about writing on multiple occasions if that counts for anything.  I'll do my best to catch you up on the past couple of months.

At least in my part of Ukraine, winter was relatively mild - not much snow and consistently cold, but not frigid, temps.  It's not exactly spring here yet, but a few sunny and warmer days here and there hint that spring is coming. 


 

 

                                                          Sunrise on a snowy morning

                                          Walking in a Kiev park/forest with Nina and Lev

Our rehab center continues to be consistently busy, with new patients on a waiting list for spots in our schedule.  We have been blessed to obtain new supplies for our center.  Thanks to generous financial donors we now have an electrical stimulator, new toys for our children's room, theraband, and other supplies.  We were also able to have another rolling mirror and 3 adjustable benches made by the brother of one of our therapists.  And thanks to a therapy clinic in Arkansas, we have a wide array of pediatric orthotics and shoes ready and waiting for kids in need.

                                These benches are perfect for many activities with our kids!

Who doesn't love Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head?!

                                                                            Stasik
 

Snizhana

 

Some of you know that Sveta was able to go to America for 3 weeks. She came home for all of 24 hours then set off for the Netherlands where she is doing a 2+ month internship at a large rehab hospital, specializing in the treatment of people with spinal cord injuries.  We feel her absence from our center greatly, but are excited she has these opportunities.  To my benefit, her absence means I get to spend more time with patients.  Ira has been working at our center for several years as an assistant/helper, but she has no medical background and has been trained completely on the job.  She has primarily worked with adults, but prior to Sveta's departure she agreed to start learning how to work with kids, as long as she had one of us in her sessions.  So she and I are now partners with 3 kids and we are both learning...Ira is learning facilitation techniques, therapy ideas, etc and I am learning simple commands in Ukrainian.  As long as we keep playing, the kids are very forgiving of both of our mistakes. Here are a few rehab pics:

 

                                                    Ira learning to work with Stasik.

                                                Rehab with Leonid (Alla) and Vova (Ira).

 

                                                                 Rehab with Oksana

 

When I'm not involved in patient care, I continue to spend my time studying Ukrainian and preparing the PT training school.  My language skills are improving, though never as fast as I would like.  Of course, with Sveta gone I spend almost of my time in the presence of Ukrainian-only speakers, so God-willing the progress will get faster.  The therapists I work with are pretty good at understanding what I'm trying to get across, even when I can't say it correctly.

 

Starting in January, we implemented weekly seminars for our therapists.  We meet for 30 minutes to an hour on Tuesdays and I lead the seminar.  These seminars have multiple benefits.  All topics that we cover will be used in our future PT training center, so one of our therapists takes thorough notes and later types them.  This method will hopefully cut back on the time needed later to translate the material I am preparing for the school.  Also I get to practice teaching clearly and concisely and our therapists get to review and/or learn new material.  Katya, one of our therapists, also speaks English and can translate while Sveta is gone.  Unfortunately she has been sick so our seminars will resume as soon as she is well. 

 

                             Alla enjoyed her role as patient during our transfer training seminar

 

On her one day in Lutsk, our team organized a surprise birthday party for Sveta. Her birthday isn't until the end of the month so she was easy to surprise and everyone was glad to see her, even if only for a couple of hours.

 

                                     All of our female therapists: Sveta, Katya, Alla, Ira, me

 

While we don't celebrate it in America, International Women's Day on March 8th is a big holiday in Ukraine.  A few girls came to my apartment after church and we celebrated with lunch, fellowship, and a game.

 

                                                              Ira, Julia, Veeka, and I

 

Last time I tried to link a video I was unsuccessful, so if you are interested a new video has been made and is in English.  Just search for "Agape Rehabilitation Complex" on YouTube.

 

Thanks to all of you who stay up with what's going on here and pray for me and for the ministry! I am so thankful for you and would love to hear from you too!  Just a few more pictures to finish:

 

                                             Beautiful sunset on one of our warmer days

                                             Lutsk Train Station - I think this is our most
                                                          beautiful building at night

                                        A sign of spring in Ukraine - birch juice is on the way

 

Christmas in Ukraine...Part 2

While Christmas may already seem distant in America, we are still in the Christmas season here in Ukraine.  Christmas day was this past Wednesday, January 7th, but Christmas activities and decorations remain until at least the 14th.  January 14th is "Old New Year" and I must be honest and say I don't really know what that means, except that the holidays aren't over yet. 

Here's what we've been up to the past few weeks.  The final day of rehab was December 30th and then the center closed for the holidays and will reopen tomorrow, January 12th.  Nice, right?  So with all that time off we did some traveling. 

First, it was off to Sveta's hometown of Zhitomir to ring in the new year with her mom and spend time with her friends.  It was a good time of relaxation, fellowship, and sightseeing in the city. 

      Sveta and her mom, Nadia

 

 Below are the sights we found in the center of Zhitomir.  Unfortunately above freezing temps meant the ice sculptures were beginning to melt, but we managed to catch them before they changed shape drastically. 

 

 

Father Frost and his granddaughter (in both pics above) are the Ukrainian counterparts to Santa and Mrs. Clause.

 

 

 

 

We returned from Zhitomir to Lutsk for a day and then headed to the village to spend Christmas with our friend and former roommate, Lyuda, and her family.  Lyuda's village is small and very rural so most Lutsk residents have never heard of it.  In Sveta's words, "It's where the ravens turn around." In fact, we were the last to get off the bus and the driver just put it in reverse after we exited.  We had a white and very cold Christmas in Ukraine!  And going to the village meant even more snow and colder temps.  Getting to this village requires 2 buses and we FROZE while waiting outside for an hour for our connecting bus!  Apparently it's pretty common to hitch a ride to these rural villages since the buses aren't too frequent.  So we joined some others on the side of the road and did our best!

 

 

Most drivers stopped on their way by and other hitchhikers were able to jump in, but no one was going far enough for us.  So no hitchhiking for us this time! 

 

Christmas morning was -4 degrees and the daytime temp was not much warmer, so we mostly stayed inside.  But we did get some visitors.  A common occurrence on Christmas day and the days surrounding Christmas is for youth and children to go caroling.  It's a bit different than the American version, though, in that they usually sing one song (some of them are really long), say a poem, give you a rehearsed greeting, and then you have to give them candy or money.  It's like Trick-or-Treating and Caroling rolled together - minus the costumes!  I have been told that church youth groups will go caroling to the apartments of church members and not accept candy or money, but if you open your door to a group of strangers you better be prepared to pay.  

 

Christmas afternoon Lyuda, Sveta, and I bundled up, grabbed the sled, and headed down the road toward the forest.  We didn't find much of a hill, but we still enjoyed sledding!  I absolutely love this forest at any time of year and with all the snow it was gorgeous!

 



They were both amazed by my snow angel -

seems Ukrainians don't know about them!

The family Christmas tree is outside at this house

(no space inside for it)

 

Lots of wood gets used in this house to keep it heated and cook the food!

 



We are back in Lutsk now and our schedules return to normal tomorrow, but I am grateful for these weeks of time spent with friends and of celebrating holidays in this country.  I'm also thankful for all who have offered support, encouragement, prayers, and love in this past year!  I'm excited to see what God has in store for 2015!

 

 

 

 

Christmas in Ukraine...Part 1

For those who are wondering how Christmas is celebrated in Ukraine, you are going to have to wait a bit longer.  You see, Ukraine follows a different calendar from the West, so Christmas is on January 7th.  For now you'll just get to see and hear how this American celebrated Christmas on December 25th and the surrounding days. 

Christmas morning at our apartment began with a Facetime chat with mom while opening her gifts to us.  Then Sveta was off to work and I baked a pan of cookies and took them to share with our friends at rehab.  Typically, cookies in Ukraine are store-bought and quite different from our fresh-baked varieties, but everyone really seemed to like them.  Sveta freed herself from afternoon patients so we headed home to cook a delicious Christmas meal together and then relax for the evening. 

 

Our Christmas decorations and gifts

 

Gotta have a red sweater on for Christmas!

We switched to pajama pants and t-shirts for our meal. 

See my mom in the background?

 

On Friday evening we had a small dinner party with two of our fellow therapists, Alla and Ira.  We enjoyed taco soup and homemade tortilla chips (this is a potato chip society, but since tortillas are now sold consistently in the stores I get to enjoy making tortilla chips and introducing them to my friends!).  We also introduced our friends the idea of a cookie exchange.  Unfortunately Alla had no time to make cookies, but Ira came over and I shared one of my recipes with her and helped her make her first batch of cookies.  All of our cookies were delicious and the evening of fellowship and fun was a blessing!  

 

 

 

We had plenty of cookies left over so on Saturday we packed some bags and headed out to share them with friends with disabilities.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the new tastes and we enjoyed our visits!

 

On Sunday afternoon we hosted a girl's time at our apartment for a few friends with and without disabilities.  We introduced more new foods to our friends, including white chili and chicken salad on croissants and then we had a white elephant gift exchange (another new concept).  The girls were all so considerate of their friends that almost no stealing took place, but we had lots of laughs anyway.  To conclude our afternoon we invited a guest speaker who shared her story of life as a single woman until her late 20s and now as a wife and mother of 3.  She encouraged us to find our full satisfaction in God in all seasons of life, to serve God as single women, and to not pursue men.  She used Scripture to help us see the God-given roles of women.  The girls had several questions at the end and we are hoping to have the opportunity to have a similar gathering again in the future.

 

 

Mariika pondering her gift selection

 



     

While the events of this Christmas season have been different for me, it has been and continues to be a blessed time of celebrating the birth of our Savior and pointing others to Him!  I am so thankful for all of you who encourage and pray for me and for the work here in Ukraine!  

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

 

 Stay tuned for "Christmas in Ukraine...Part 2" (after January 7th of course!).

 



 





November News

Just like it does everywhere, time flies here in Ukraine!  Weeks go by so fast and I suddenly realize it's been a month since my last post.  So here's a little of what has been going on:

We took a trip to the village with friends to celebrate my former roommate's birthday. Lyuda, her husband, and their two children live with her mother in the house where Lyuda grew up.  She and her husband have been slowly remodeling and updating the house, including the additions of an indoor toilet and bathtub...which her 70(ish) year old mother had never had in her life.  We enjoyed the day of fellowship and food around the fireplace with friends. 

Rehab continues to welcome new patients and we are working to improve our processes and equipment to better serve our patients now and in the future.  This is Sasha:

Sasha has a traumatic brain injury as a result of a car accident a year ago.  He has been coming to rehab for about two months now.  He lives on the 5th floor of a 5-story apartment building, which means there is no elevator, so we started rehab with him at home.  Everyone knew he would get the most benefit by coming to the center, so some of his friends agreed to help him up and down the stairs in his wheelchair.  They didn't last long however, so now our driver, Dima, bumps him up and down all 5 flights twice a week!  As you can see, Sasha is no small man so it has to be a workout for Dima.  And we are seeing some progress.  Sasha was a professional volleyball player and was traveling in Europe at the time of his accident.  He is always SO happy and our center is more lively and joyful when he is with us.  He loves to use his limited English to talk with me.  And to my surprise his first response upon hearing I was from Oklahoma was "Thunder!"  It's rare for me to find someone who loves basketball in Ukraine, and Sasha loves it enough to know our Oklahoma team!  Vadim is his primary therapist and has been working hard with him.  About a month ago, Sasha's wife brought in a walker for us to try with him.  The picture below is from the first day we tried it.  Somehow 5 people became involved in helping him walk about 10 feet.  Thankfully we have all improved since that first day and Sasha can now walk 4 laps in our center with only Vadim, Sveta, and I assisting.  I wish I had a picture, but you'll just have to trust me for now.

Sasha is not the only one benefitting from his walker.  We want to find a scooter to use with our kids, but for now we've managed to use sliding boards and this walker to create a make-shift one.

We created this scooter when we met Stasik.  He's a precious 4 year old who had a brain tumor removed 2 years ago followed by several post-op complications.  While he is definitely behind on his motor skills, his greatest deficits are his inability to talk and eat and his breathing difficulties which require him to have a tracheostomy.  His family is hoping to take him to another country for further medical evaluation and treatment of his oral issues and we are trying to help as much as we can with all of his challenges.  Please pray with us that his family can get the answers and treatment he needs to maximize his progress with eating and speaking (whether that's in Ukraine or in another country) and that we have wisdom in how best to help him.

 

 

We concluded November like all of you - with a Thanksgiving celebration!  Even though it's not a Ukrainian holiday Sveta and I wanted to find a way to celebrate it with our friends.  Our apartment can't hold too many people, so Sergiy Bolchuk (the leader of our ministry) agreed to host a joint celebration with his birthday, which was the day after Thanksgiving, at his new house.  The guest list grew and grew and we ended up celebrating with over 35 people!  This was my first (and very possible my last) time to attempt cooking for that many people, made more challenging by searching for ingredients in a foreign country and cooking in a smaller-than-the-US-standard oven.  But we made ourselves responsible for the turkey and some traditional American dishes and then asked everyone to contribute a dish to complete the meal.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening, the food, and the fellowship with one another.  These friends are my Ukrainian family so I was thankful to get to share this holiday with them!

 

Dads do this everywhere!

 Kids being kids!

 



 Sergiy Bolchuk - the birthday boy

 

   The dessert table included my favorite - cherry pie!!!

 

Last Sunday our ministry led the church service.  Below is a video presentation of our ministry from the past year that I hope you to enjoy!