Voices of Praise 2012 in Ukraine

Trip Journal & Photos

12 May 2012:

We were already packed the night before… with our personal items split between the two suitcases just in case one got lost.  We were also loaded up with lots of other "stuff":
  Finger Puppets
  Beanie Babies
  Kitchen gift (1)
  Home Stay gifts (2) with bags & tissue
  Soccer Balls (6, deflated)

Headed to the airport around 8:45am, want to be there by 9:15 to meet group #2 (we traveled in two groups for the first leg):
  Jeff & I
  Roxy
  Judy
  Bev

We loaded 3 more soccer balls into our suitcases (that's 9 total) that Judy brought to the airport - good thing we had a bit of extra room!!

Check in through security went smoothly…

Jeff displayed his sweet nature helping the ladies.  He kept a look out for Bev & Judy (we found Roxy right away), pulled us all together in one location, helped Bev with her bags… He also went back to Security with Roxy when she discovered she'd left behind her liquids (whoops).

Jeff & Roxy got delayed at Burger King due to a mess up on Roxy's order, they were very late to get back to board… yikes!  I'd tried to call/text Jeff but he wasn't getting my calls/messages.  Flight to Newark was uneventful… Jeff & I sat on one side of our (small 3-seats across) airplane, with Roxy across the aisle.

At Newark we met up with group #1, now 22 of us were traveling together - 2 couples were missing (Anderson's & Olson's),  they had made other travel arrangements.

We grabbed a quick lunch at McDonalds (I had a salad, it was pretty good) in the airport.  As we were getting ready to board Jeff was "missing" again… and again he wasn't getting my calls/messages… but this time he was back in plenty of time (phew).

Once on flight I took Advil PM to help me sleep… but no luck sleeping… I was so frustrated I began to cry, but crying is a bad idea for me on an airplane - crying aggravates a complex & dangerous health issue that can get triggered by pressure changes during flights - I have to be very careful.  I was able to distract myself & rested as much as possible, but its miserable wanting to sleep and not being able to.  I was sitting between Jeff & Roxy (we're alphabetically next to each other).

13 May 2012:

When we landed it was already the next day, Mother's Day in the U.S., and the Pilot wished all the Mom's a Happy Mother's Day.  Taxiing on the runway in Frankfurt was bouncy, Roxy & I were overtired and the bouncing gave us a case of the giggles.

Things went pretty smoothly going through security, they were very thorough… but we didn't have to remove shoes (nice).  The only one who had trouble going through security was Bev, she had shears in her carry-on (for follow-up missions work)… she had to deal with security for a bit & give up the shears, then all was well again.

The airport at Frankfurt was immaculate!!  I've never been to Germany before, but at least by the airport the German people appear to have earned their reputation for cleanliness.  There were places to eat, and a very spacious and airy gate location - quite comfortable.  At a convenience store Jeff used Euros we had left over from a trip to Italy to purchase some sodas & water, we were surprised to find out they'd have taken U.S. currency as well.  I was able to get the chance to visit with Amy Sc & Gretchen - my first real chance to spend getting to know these ladies.

Pictures at the Frankfurt airport:

Charles, Daryl, Faith (in green behind Daryl), Joan, Don, Amy Sc

A restaurant in the airport.

McCafe (McDonalds was around the corner)

A convenience store - they took U.S. currency.

On the flight to Kiev I was in a window seat far from anyone else in the group (we were all spread out), the couple next to me didn't speak English… I was able to communicate a bathroom break, but otherwise there was no interaction - good thing it wasn't a very long flight & I had plenty to keep me occupied.  I got about an hour of sleep on this leg of the flight, I needed the nap!!  The flight was uneventful.

Kiev airport customs check went smooth.  The baggage claim area was small / simple & easy… Only 1 of the bags brought by Jeff & I went through any scanning at all, and there were no declaration forms to complete.

Steve (our fearless leader & guide) met us at the airport with a translator (I can't remember her name, we only had her there for the one bus trip from the airport), a bus came (we met our driver Victor) and took us to Hotel Rus in Kiev.

Pictures of Airport & drive to Hotel Rus in Kiev:

Kiev Airport

Lisa getting on the bus

Don, Jim (standing) & Cindy (sitting) on the bus

Dnipro River

New Construction (hotel?)

Nice gardens - much is being spruced up for upcoming Euro 2012 games

Soviet era housing

More Soviet era housing

Lots and lots of housing

Kiev is a very large city

We settled into our rooms, Jeff & I did a mega-repack to separate out the "stuff" from our things, and to give each of us our own suitcase.  The "stuff" would stay in the bus during the trip to be distributed at various locations we would visit.

View from our hotel window - this is the stadium that with hold the Euro 2012 Football (soccer) matches this summer:

Football (soccer) stadium...

Most of the team went for a walk to Independence Square (some exchanged money before we left)… it was a good way to stay awake until night to help our bodies to adjust to the new timezone.  There was much excitement, and a main street was shut down, a carnival-like atmosphere looking forward to the upcoming Euro 2012 games.  It was quite cool (50s) and windy, Charles decided to try to shop for a jacket (we hadn't expected such cool weather)… but didn't have any luck.  Amy St danced with a "Bunny" street character.  Pasha (Paul M) sang with a man playing an ethnic stringed instrument in an underground mall.  We were already a fun traveling team :)  On the way back to the hotel we picked up a SIM card, but found out later that it was the wrong format for Jeff & my phones, we gave it to Bev hoping she'll be able to use it later.

Pictures just before & during our walk in Kiev on our first day there (lots):

Money exchange desk in the hotel

Waiting around in the Lobby before our walk…
Phil, Joan, Don, Cindy, Daryl, Jim, Pasha

Phil, Charles, Daryl, Don, Cindy

Tammie at the front desk of hotel

Tammie sparkles even when she's travel worn!

Large building visible from front of hotel

another

and another

Standing outside the hotel…

Some of the guys…
Don, Pasha, Bob, Daryl, Charles, Jim, Jeff

And we're off for our walk!

Blooming tree...

One of the main streets...

The architecture was very interesting...

Underground passage for crossing a busy street (there was a small mall underground)

Back up out of the passage...

TGI Friday's… in Kiev

I caught Jim in this picture of an interesting building...

Kiev is a hilly city...

A nice underground mall in Kiev… you'd think you were in the U.S.

Large walkway in the main shopping district...

Kiosks along the walkway sold all sorts of goods...

Roxy getting pigeoned

Pasha & Bob getting pigeoned

A babushka selling flowers...

Monument in Independence Square

Phil taking a picture of the group...

Jeff in downtown Kiev

Annette (me) in downtown Kiev

Big celebration anticipating Euro 2012 games

Amy St dances with the bunny...

Back in the nice underground mall...

Fountain in the mall, notice the giant soccer ball...

Dome over the underground mall, notice its currently decorated like a soccer ball.

Man in ethnic clothing playing an ethnic instrument,
 this is the man Pasha sang with.

I was told the name of this Pizza place translates
"Papa John"

Pretty little cathedral near our hotel.

Hotel Rus

Dinner followed our walk at 7pm in the hotel, very nice!!  We had salad, noodle soup, Chicken Kiev, mashed potatoes, vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce, rolls, coffee, bottled water… The Anderson's & Olson's are now with the group and the team is complete.  There was a team meeting after dinner, at this point we were all tired/punchy, we've been up for 31-32 hours (those of us who didn't sleep on the planes), Charles doses off during the meeting.  Jeff had a spare jacket, and seeing that he & Charles have similar builds he loans Charles a jacket for the duration of the trip.  Finally off to our room about 9-10pm, a bit more organizing to do, get to bed about 11pm…

A couple pictures taken at Dinner:

Daryl, Judy, Phil, Joan sitting at the table beside us.

Morris sitting at our table, at the table behind are Faith, Tammie, Steve, Marge, Bev.

14 May 2012:

I woke up at 3:30am (grrr!) and decided to spend my time wisely by praying… I was finally able to fall asleep again sometime shortly after 6am.  The alarm went off at 7:15, Jeff reset it for 7:45 to let me catch a few more winks - he's such a sweetheart!!

I was mixed up & grumpy when we did get up, I need to pack a day-bag with my concert gear & anything I wanted access to during the day (main case would be locked up in the hold on the bus).  Packing that day-bag was a source of frustration as I was having problems locating the items I needed.

Breakfast was at the buffet at Hotel Rus, they cater to multiple cultures so some breakfast items were a bit unusual (by the end of the trip we didn't think they were as unusual), banquet items: Fruit, Salad Bar, a wide variety of Meats & Cheeses, Eggs, Breads (sweet of many varieties & sliced), Sushi, Juice, Coffee, Tea, and more…  Jeff & I were some of the later arrivals for breakfast, last to arrive was Faith - she'd slept through her alarm (or forgot to set it?) but still had time to eat before we left.  Faith had an interesting thing happen during the night: apparently at one point she was dreaming there was someone in her house, she got up (still half asleep) opened her door & yelled "get out of my house", then she realized she wasn't at home & said the man in the hallway didn't seem to be startled by her… she's never sleepwalked… she was laughing about the story as she told it.

After breakfast it was time to check out of the hotel and load everything on the bus… we had our suitcases, our day-packs, and our bags of "stuff" to be distributed.  Our initial 6 translators joined us: Oxana, Maryanna, Maurina, Veronica, Carolina & Nadia.  Couples were encouraged to sit with people other than their spouses, and I did that most times - I made an exception when I wasn't feeling well.  I sat next to Cindy on the bus, then we were off to our first small town, Rokitne (or Rokytne).  On the way I discovered that Maryanna (one of the translators) had lived 10 years in the U.S. (from age 8-18) and graduated from Hemet High School (2003?) - I have family in that town & have been there many times - small world!!

Pictures of us leaving, on the bus & along the way:

Our team gathering in the hotel lobby, getting ready to leave.

Another view of the lobby...

Along the way...

On the bus… facing us is Tammie, Carolina is standing.

On the bus… Morris is standing, Lisa & Amy St are in the seat in front,
Roxy is behind Lisa, Maryanna (turned away) is behind Amy St.

Phil, Paul, Bob, Amy Sc (behind Bob), Morris (standing), Roxy

Cindy, my seat-mate for this leg of the journey.

Steve

Residential area

Fields of flowering crops behind a row of trees...

We stopped first at the church we would be doing a concert in later that day, the church's sign translated to "House Of Prayer" - apparently most churches go by that title.  We had Lunch at this church: Cooked Meat Patty (tasted like tuna, we were told it was pork), cold fried Fish, Cole Slaw, Beef & Potato Stew, Bread, Coke, Water, Fruit Soda, and Blintz (crepe with sweet ricotta & raisins, topped with cooked apple & drizzled with honey).

Pictures from first stop at Rokitne church:

House Of Prayer in Rokitne

Steve & Tammie are greeted by a man at the church…
possibly the Choir Director...

Flowers in church yard...

Spring is bursting during our visit...

Church dining area, Phil & Jeff...

Stained glass in sanctuary...

Sanctuary...

Oxana (standing facing us), Bev, Maurina,
Cindy & Jim in foreground

Maryanna (sitting), pastor, Steve, Tammie

Bev, Oxana, (choir director?), Jim, Maurina, Veronica, Roxy

Ceiling detail (tin?)

Domed ceiling made for wonderful acoustics...

Lunch… Roxy, Pam, Bob, Faith, Curt, Amy St….

Cold fried fish, meat patties (tuna or pork?), slaw, bread...

Beef & Potato stew...

Blintzes

Fruit flavored soda...

Check out this label… fun!

Phil gets himself a souvenir!

After lunch we visited an Orphanage in the town, there were 25-30 kids aged about 5-15 years old.  The kids were well behaved, smiled a lot (especially as we sang & such), loved rain-making before the ladies song about rain, loved the skit & the gifts (books, beanie babies, lion finger puppets, etc).  The translators are amazing… so wonderful and so helpful!  The kids kept telling us how much they loved our singing.  Pasha got some of the children to sing a Ukrainian Christmas song with him.

Pictures from Rokitne Orphanage:

Amy Sc, Judy (facing away), Gretchen (in back), Cindy, Lisa, Carolina

Steve greeting some of the orphans hanging out outside...

Watching the skit of Daniel & the Lion's Den

Maryanna is translating the narration...

The ladies are singing their songs...

Visiting with the orphans...

Bev & Nadia during visit...

Pasha singing with some of the children...

Leaving the orphanage… Bob, Annette (me),  Joan...

After the orphanage it was back to the church for Tea: Tea, Coffee, Sweet Breads, candies, chocolate coated & filled cream-puff-ish thing (delicious).  Then it was time for us to change into our Concert attire (out of our team T-Shirts), Practice, give Concert.  During the concert Paul O (we'll just call him Paul since the other Paul goes by Pasha) gave his testimony.  No clapping or rainmaking was done at this concert, no rain song.  After the concert 2 people came up for Bibles (1 man & 1 woman).  We did a meet & greet with the concertgoers & were able to speak to them through our interpreters.  After this we had Dinner, which was the same menu as Lunch (food is not wasted).

Pictures from Tea & Dinner time:

Standing for tea / coffee & snacks...

Dinner, sitting with Veronica, Morris, Sandy...

Dinner... with Don, Shannon, Roxy

Paul, Amy St, Veronica, Morris...

Phil, Jim (behind Phil), across table are Curt, Daryl, Faith, Gretchen, Pasha

Shannon & Roxy talk with Oxana...

The Ukraine families that would host us for home-stays were also at dinner...

This was the night we had our Home-stays, Jeff & I ended up being part of one of the larger groups - there were 9 of us that went to Olga's house (Jeff & I, Joan, Daryl, Bob, Curt, Phil, Charles, and Maurina - a translator).  Olga (her name is actually Ol'ha - but Olga was easier for us…) has an adorable & immaculate home, and insisted on providing us with Compote (a Ukrainian juice) and sweet crackers - as if we hadn't been fed enough that day!!  There was 1 bathroom for all of us to share, so showers were if/when needed.

Pictures from the evening at Olga's house:

Daryl, Charles, Curt, Phil...

Bob pouring Compote (a home made Ukrainian juice drink)

View from the entry room at Olga's into the kitchen,
Charles, Phil, Bob… Cuckoo on wall sounded every
hour & kept Maurina awake…   :(

Bed in the entry room… Maurina slept here...

Maurina & Olga

Maurina & Olga & Curt...

15 May 2012:

Morning at Olga's, we slept well but unfortunately Maurina (our translator) had been in a room with a cuckoo clock that went off every hour (ugh!).  A table in the guy's room (4 had been in 1 room) was extended with a very nifty leaf mechanism, and we were served a breakfast fit for kings!!  Breakfast was: Egg Bake, Ukrainian Pancakes, fresh sweet Ricotta w/Raisins, Strawberry freezer jam, "Cake" (crisp wafers layered with cooked sweetened condensed milk), sliced Cheese & Meat, Bread, Dill Pickles.  Olga is a wonderful hostess, she has a very pretty house with lots of hand made decorations.

Pictures from morning/breakfast time inside Olga's house:

Bob, Daryl, Curt… in Family Room...

Dining table in family room (before leaf put in), Phil...

At breakfast… Olga, Maurina, Joan...

Charles, Olga, Maurina, Joan...

Joan, Daryl, Curt, Phil...

Pretty light fixture at Olga's

Decorations were simple & beautiful...

Jeff & I had a small private room...

Pretty hand-made decorations on wall above our bed...

Family photos on the wall...

Ribbon Embroidery...

We had the morning "off" so we took the time to get a tour of the rest of Olga's place - she showed us her Summer Kitchen (where she had prepared breakfast while we were in the main house), she gave us a tour of her gardens (food & flower), and she shared stories about her family.  Olga's father had been interned for much of her childhood, from the time she was quite young (3?)… a younger sister didn't meet their father until she was a teen (if memory serves me) because Olga's mother had been pregnant when their father was interned.

Olga's gardens include lots of Garlic, Strawberries, Raspberries, Peppers.  There are lots of Iris, and there is a Grape Arbor that stretches over her front patio, but it wasn't leafed out yet - later this year it will provide her with nice shade.

Olga's back gives her trouble, she has been a widow for 7 years and struggles to get by on a limited pension which basically just covers her medications - so the gardens provide her with much-needed sustenance.  Curt was cute with Olga, he was a bit of a flirt with her, Olga is 72 & reminds me of my Grandma Rogers.

More pictures at Olga's:

Glass Insulators on the overhead wires...

Olga in her summer kitchen...

Olga shows us old family photos & a clock that is very old...

Olga's Strawberries & Garlic...

Annette (me) & Joan admiring Olga's garden...

Olga has quite a bit of garden...

Kitty sunning in the garden...

We admire some of Olga's flowers…
Joan, Daryl, Maurina, Bob, Curt, Annette (me), Charles...

Olga's little furry pals...

Iris (at Olga's)

Kitty...

Olga's garden, looking back toward her house...

Iris, in a shadier spot, not blooming yet...

Row of Iris near the Grape Arbor...

Iris closeup...

Front Patio at Olga's… Bob

Grape Arbor (not leafed yet) over Front Patio at Olga's

Olga & her Iris'

It was nice getting the chance to get to know Olga, and to start getting to know Maurina.  We went for a walk, the homes here have interesting fences and gates, some made of concrete.  We dropped in to a couple different stores, they are small but well provisioned.  Dogs here don't have to be contained or on leashes… we noticed several dogs throughout our trip, most of which looked well fed (not scrawny), and after asking discovered most have homes but feel free to wander.  We walked a bit in a wooded preserve, it was very nice!  Much of the plant & bird life reminds me of Minnesota, the local farms as well.

Pictures from our walk:

Iris

Iris & Columbine

Iris

Iris

Iris

Daisy

Iris

Rose

Bee Balm

Iris

Local market

Inside the market...

Concrete fence

Local dog...

Wooded preserve

Walking in the wooded preserve...

Phil, Maurina, Charles, Joan, Daryl enjoying a bit of shade...

Another interesting label...

House with a cute well...

We were picked up by a van to head back to the church to catch the bus, all had eaten a large late breakfast so no lunch was scheduled.

Once on the bus we were headed to the next town: Zhashkiv.  Along the way I developed one of my notoriously bad sinus headaches… bummer!  I took some Claritin, Pepcid, and Advil… started drinking lots of water… it came down a notch.

Upon arrival at the "House Of Prayer" in Zhashkiv we were greeted with ceremony - our first Ukrainian Bread Presentation… this is done to honor special guests & has symbolic meaning.

Pictures from our arrival in Zhashkiv & the Bread Presentation:

Steve speaking with two ladies from the church...

Our group gathers… Bob, Maryanna, Tammie...

Tammie is presented with a ceremonial bread on a
beautifully embroidered ceremonial cloth.

Closeup of the bread (yes, it was later eaten)...

After the bread presentation I needed a bathroom, I'd been drinking a lot of water thanks to my headache… and I had a personal first… that's right, I conquered the Squatty-Potty… no big deal (at least it was no big deal as long as my knees weren't giving me trouble).

We had Dinner at the church:  Borsht, Bread, Pork Cutlet, Cucumbers & Tomatoes, Compote, Hot Tea (sweetened), Blintz, Chocolates & Cookies.

Pictures from Dinner:

Marge, Faith, Amy St, Shannon, Steve

The group is gathering in the basement dining room… (typical setup).

Getting seated...

Steve introduces Sasha (his co-worker in Ukraine).

Bob & Nadia (getting Borsht)...

After Dinner we had some practice time, then the concert.  My headache had come back with a vengeance (argh!) and I couldn't take Benadryl until after the concert (it would have fogged me up too much).  We did our full set of music (about 1 hour) with clapping & rain (in some churches we could do this, in some we couldn't), plus Pasha & the "Sawdust Sisters" (Shannon, Amy St, Lisa) did a Ukrainian prayer song, and Charles did a piano solo.  Amy St & Curt did testimonies.

Pre-concert pictures:

Inside the church at Zhashkiv

Jeff is looking around...

The group is waiting to start our practice time...

Tammie at the piano

Another domed ceiling (typical), resulting in good acoustics...

Exterior of the church at Zhashkiv

Jeff liked this car… most cars looked like ones we'd have back home.

We visited with many after the concert… and they fed us a light snack (we have a bus ride ahead) of cookies, candies, blintz, coffee, tea...

Pictures post-concert:

Meet & greet with the help of our translators...

Our very large bus in the background...

Having a "snack" post concert.

Blintz!

We presented gifts to each church we visited…
Pastor gifts, Choir director gifts, Kitchen gifts…

Back on the bus one more time for the drive to Uman, it would take us a couple hours to get there, once on the bus I was able to take some Benadryl to help with the allergies that were giving me a sinus headache.  On arrival we were booked into the Sofiyivsky Hotel for two nights… Jeff & I discovered dead gnats on our bed, we just wiped them off & smiled, it could happen anywhere.

Bus ride at night...

16 May 2012:

We slept well but were awoken by a cacophony of birdsong at around 5am… we were able to get back to sleep for a while longer.  Once awake I noticed my headache was mostly gone, but now I've got clogged/ringing ears (grrr!).  Roxy still has a cold (she started the trip with one), so I'm not the only one a bit under the weather.

We met up with the team to go for breakfast.  The translators had a bad home stay experience & Steve arranges for them to stay with us at the hotel instead - Steve is very upset by this…  he spoke about this at our table (6 at our table) during breakfast at the cafe near the hotel where breakfast had been arranged.  Breakfast was "typical Ukrainian" according to Steve, and was the oddest meal of our trip (sorry no pics - I was under the weather):  A short/fat hotdog looking thing that tasted like bologna, cooked Pasta Twists (with no sauce/seasoning), a type of Coleslaw, Bread & Butter & Cheese… I gave Jeff my "hotdog" & pasta, he gave me his "coleslaw", so we were both happy.  Sitting at the table with us were: Steve, Tammie, Bev, Don - we shared lots of wonderful stories!!

Several of our breakfast crew were lamenting missing American Coffee (not to be found during the entire trip) and Diet Coke… after breakfast we went back to the hotel, a while later a knock at our door was Tammie - she brought Jeff & I a gift of Coca Cola Light (european Diet Coke) that she'd found at a nearby store… what a sweet surprise!!

Annette (me) in front of the Sofiyivsky Hotel

Jeff has decided that "CMAKY" means "Smacky", yum!!  :)

At most of the churches we visited we would start by singing a couple verses of "How Great Thou Art", not sure why the fact that we'd be doing this (as well as a couple other hymns from time to time) wasn't communicated clearly in advance… but I don't know the words as well as some… Jeff had a cheat-sheet for the words, and had put it in his folder, I was able to copy the words & keep it in my folder… still there were times when I just made up words as I went (congregations sang in Ukrainian / choir sang mostly in English).  So glad my sweet husband was looking out for me… so many sweet people on this trip watching out over each other - what a precious group!!

While in our hotel room I took some time to journal, on the bus its just too bumpy & we've been pretty busy, so it was nice to have a bit of time in the morning.  Back in the hotel lounge prior to lunch we had devotions, Paul Olson led devotions on Grace… we broke/ate the bread we'd received from the Zhashkir church.

Breaking & Eating ceremonial bread… lightly sweet...

We had lunch in Uman at a local college to train teachers, it was a very nice place & lunch… upon entering the dining area there were sinks to use to wash hands - an interesting feature & helpful.  Lunch: Salad, sliced Bread with Salo (a bit like garlic butter), Borsht with Rolls & Garlic Sauce (to be used on rolls or in Borsht), Smoky Compote, stuffed meat rolls, cooked cabbage (reminds of a sweet kraut), dessert - not sure exactly what it was but it was like an egg & noodle pudding with poppy seeds (sweet) / cherries / raisins / ricotta.

Lunch Pictures:

The dining hall

Amy Sc, Bev, Nadia

Bob

Salad / Slaw

Annette, Amy Sc, Bev

Borsht

Salo

Rolls, Garlic Sauce

Meat rolls, sweet cooked cabbage.

Dessert

Tulip on the grounds of the College

Kitty taking a nap at the College

College (as we're leaving)...

We had a bit more down-time before leaving for Buzivka, so Jeff & I went in search of Coca Cola Light, we were able to get plenty at a bus station across the street from the hotel.  We stopped to snap some pictures of interesting things on our walk & on the hotel grounds.

One side of hotel lobby...

Other side of lobby with Steve, Jim, Cindy...

Jeff caught Annette (me) taking pictures of flowers (who knew?)

Gretchen, Amy Sc, Bev catch up with Annette (me) on the grounds...

Iris… look at that good black dirt!!

Iris closeup...

More Iris...

Wow… the same two varieties of Creeping Phlox we have in our yard at home!

Looking out from the steps of the hotel...

The natives are restless…  :)

Front of hotel...

Planter boxes...

Once again we're back on the bus, this time heading to the nearby town of Buzivka.  During the bus ride we observed along the side of the road the following animals tethered to trees/posts: Cows, Horses, Goats…  We also passed a marshy river area that reminds me of places in Minnesota, the flora of the area also continues to remind me of Minnesota.

Usually as we would come into a town a car would meet the bus to lead us in to the location of the church… this day was a little different, we were met by a man on a bicycle… it wasn't far… as we were waiting for our lead-car(bike) there was a family just parked on the road hanging out… not sure why…

Family apparently just hanging out on the road… ???

Our lead-bike, you can see our driver Victor in the mirror...

We had practice, followed by Tea: Tea, Coffee, Cookies & mini-poppy Palmiers.  During the concert Joan gave her testimony & Charles played a solo.  We were delighted by a Swallow that was flying around inside the church & perching on the chandelier in the cupola during our concert.  We were treated to a hymn played by their local brass band - a young group that's already earning a good reputation (well deserved!!) - they played "It Is Well With My Soul", we were touched that they would play for us & that they would pick an American hymn to play.  Dinner followed the meet & greet afterward: Rice with Meat & Carrots, Cucumbers, Fried Eggs, Cookies.

Pictures from church in Buzivka:

Arriving at the church...

Steve leads the way, as usual...

Church grounds...

Charles at the "attack piano" (board by his legs fell on him during concert).

Beautiful mural on the wall...

Pretty cupola.. this is the chandelier that the Swallow
perched on during much of the concert...

Gretchen taking pictures...

Mural in the cupola...

Our group gathers...

Nice pulpit...

Steve took a group photo of us with 7 of our translators,
we've added Sergei mid-tour, he's in front on right.

On the bus ride back to Uman Steve did trivia questions about our translators, we learned that Oxana's hair is not really black (she's blond) & that Sergei grew up in an orphanage… etc… We learned that most of our translators are musical (performers, singers) and we were treated to them singing to us on the way back to Uman… I recorded their singing using the video setting on my camera - but the bus was very bumpy & noisy, I appreciate the recording (memories) but its not worth bothering to post.

17 May 2012:

In the morning we're packing up our things again… we have 1 more day in Uman, but not at this hotel (room availability issues)… I thought the light fixtures were interesting, so I took a couple pictures in our room… and out the window at our bus.  Then it was off for another "typical Ukrainian" breakfast at the cafe near Sofiyivsky Hotel: two types of "slaw", Wonton-ish Soup, Bread & Butter & Cheese.  We were getting very good at being flexible :)

Jeff hanging out in his PJs

Wall fixture...

Ceiling fixture...

Jeff & I got a couple giggles from this sign on the door...

Our bus parked behind the hotel… (pic out our window)

Two types of "slaw" at breakfast...

Soup at breakfast… had wonton-type things in a savory broth of sorts...

After breakfast we had to quickly check out (this was unexpected) and load our things on the bus before we could take a (planned) 2+ hour guided tour of Sofia Park.  For a good description of Sofia Park click here, it is a national treasure & source of great pride to the Ukrainian people.  The hotel we were checking out of was located at the park's edge (hence the cacophony of bird noise in the morning)...

Here are just a few pictures we took in the park:

Our guide, she was very passionate about the park...

Guide, with Nadia translating, shows us a map
 of the extensive park grounds.

Entering the park...

Picturesque fountain (snake) in the park...

Some of the natural beauty here...

To see our full set of Sofia Park pictures click here… its beautiful and I encourage you to check out the extensive collection of photos.  Not only was it a beautiful place to visit, it was a much welcomed sight-seeing break mid-trip, and a chance to get some good exercise.  There were so many pretty things to see I killed the battery in my camera (I didn't have my backup with me in the park).

After the tour of Sofia Park we were immediately back on the bus, off to lunch at the College we'd lunched at the day before (good news as this was great food).  Lunch: Salad with Egg / Caviar / Smoked Fish, Noodle Soup with Meatballs, Meat Patties & Rice, Orange Juice, Dessert: rolled pastry topped with Ice Cream and a Strawberry.

Maurina & Curt at my table..

Back on the bus again & off to our new hotel "Fortress Hotel", also in Uman.  This hotel is small and very quaint, the rooms are very nice & large.  The neighborhood looks a bit depressed, but the hotel itself is located on a picturesque small river.

Inside & Outside the Fortress Hotel:

Jeff posing by the (never used) TV...

Jeff standing in doorway leading to the bathroom...

Jeff got my picture in our room...

Jeff found the colored toilet paper to be amusing.

Table in room (it had two matching stools), nice tile floors...

Hallway leading to the lobby...

Lobby area & hallway leading to Restaurant...

A furry friend just outside the lobby door...

Exterior of hotel...

Exterior entrance to Restaurant...

Another furry friend...

Exterior portion of Restaurant (we didn't eat in this area)...

Small river beside the Hotel...

Green area across the river from the Hotel...

Local woman walking down the street in front of Hotel...

Jeff walking down street in front of Hotel...

Yet another furry friend...

Jeff standing by new construction...

The Hotel was in the process of expansion / renovation...

Stairway to 2nd floor...

Interior hallway...

On the bus again and off to the "House Of Prayer" in Uman for our night's concert.  This church is known to be very conservative, we won't be allowed to clap or do the "rain" in this church.  Upon arrival we practiced, then we had Tea & snacks.  During the concert we noticed that there was an interpreter doing sign language… so our English was interpreted into Ukraine and then interpreted into Sign… Also during the concert, while we were singing "Oche Nash" (Ukrainian Lord's Prayer) a woman in a wheelchair tried valiantly to stand (Ukrainian's stand during prayer) but could only sit very erect & cry - we were so moved, and so look forward to seeing her healed and able in heaven!!  A silly moment, not seen by the audience, was when Phil did a "speak & spell" style wind up movement behind Pasha's back just before he started his dramatization for our Moses song.  At the end of the concert we did our usual meet & greet, one woman wanted to speak to me at length through her daughter (who spoke a decent amount of English)… the woman was quite passionate for the salvation of her countrymen, and couldn't understand how free people in the U.S. weren't all believers - to her it was unthinkable that freedom would lead some to reject Christ…. that's one cultural barrier we just weren't going to break down...

House Of Prayer in Uman

Joan & Gretchen standing in front of the church...

Paul, Charles, Daryl Joan...

This church has a choir loft
(it got really hot up there during the concert).

Back outside at tail end of meet & greet (it was hot inside)...

Bev chatting with some of the locals...

After the concert was Dinner: Potatoes, Cucumbers & Tomatoes, Bread, Crab Salad (went well on the bread), Chicken, Blintz, Cookies & Candies.  During dinner one of the local girls struck up a conversation with Charles - he has an unofficial groupie.  The young lady is a serious music student, studying both voice & piano, she had been quite impressed with Charles (that's Dr Charles, he has a PhD in music performance & is frequently mentioned on our local MN classical station), Charles spoke with her & coached her a bit on the piano in the little bit of time we had after dinner.  Finally back on the bus & back to the Fortress Hotel for the night.

Crab Salad

One of many gracious people who fed us during our stay...

Charles & Shannon

Joan, Faith, Jim, Roxy & Oxana in the background...

Cindy, Morris...

Presentation of gifts...

Jim, Oxana...

18 May 2012:

Breakfast was in the Restaurant/Bar in the Fortress Hotel… three very exciting things about Breakfast time (in order of discovery):
  1) Tables with Couches… very comfy & nice for a leisurely visit.
  2) Breakfast itself: Eggs with meat, Bread & Butter.
  3) WiFi!!  Free!!!  I'd been feeling disconnected…
I took some time to catch up on e-mail, skim through Facebook, check my blogs (I have 5) to make sure the posts I'd scheduled were posting, and do some pinning from my blogs onto Pinterest.  One of my blog posts had a wrong picture… (I still need to fix it) but otherwise all was well with my e-world.  While catching up with my stuff I also helped my friend Sandy navigate around her e-mail on another friend's iPad - she'd never used an iPad & needed help with the touch-screen & on-screen keyboard… after a few minutes she was a pro!!

Couch-booths in the Restaurant

Our kind of Breakfast!

Our Waitress, in a cute ethnic outfit.

Morris & Sandy, her first time using an iPad...

We checked out of the hotel after Breakfast, loaded up our things on the bus, and headed back to the church in Uman for lunch.  While waiting for lunch Roxy showed me where to find the bathroom, she mentioned having stomach pain, she thought perhaps it was cramps, we didn't think anything of it until later in the day (read on to find out why).  Lunch: Borsht, Cucumbers, Tomatoes with Cheese & fresh Dill & Parsley,  Compote, Bread, Crab Salad, Breaded Chicken, Rice & Pork.  Dessert: Cake & a Jello-ish cup.

Market Area in Uman...

Garden inside church yard, Peonies & Iris

One Tulip still remained

Black cat guarding the garden...

Home across street from church, roof made of pressed material…
Moss growing on the roof...

Handle detail on church door...

One of many church ladies that served us wonderful meals...

Table set for Lunch… Yum!!

Now that's a soup kettle!!

Borsht!!

Salad...

Crab Salad

Breaded Chicken...

We were fed like Royalty!!

Lisa

Amy St

Cake for Dessert...

After Lunch we were back on the bus and heading for the next town, Talneh.  During the drive we enjoyed the scenery, and I was able to give my word-study devotion on Propitiation - it fell flat, it was way to serious/deep a devotional for this group at this time, but perhaps God will use it anyway, nothing is wasted that is devoted to Him.  I also led a time of prayer, my ears were better (praise), Roxy's cold is clearing up (praise)…  Morris (trip pastor) tied up our devotional time by sharing a poem he used to remind us of our mission:
    He came singing love,
    He lived singing love,
    He died singing love,
    He arose in silence...
    If the song is to continue we must do the singing.

Our first stop in Talneh was a nursing home tucked back in some pretty woods, we were expecting to be heartbroken & were bringing gifts…  The nursing home was actually not bad, a pleasant surprise & delightful experience.  We enjoyed singing & doing our skit, the residents & staff enjoyed it too… and we saw many looks of delight as we gave out beanie babies, post cards, lion finger puppets, and more…  One man especially won our hearts, he had obviously been developmentally disabled (very child-like) and was very loving & wanted to share...

Woods on our drive in to the nursing home...

Some Residents & Staff at nursing home...

Man who won our hearts getting a hug from Maurina.

Entry to nursing home.

Front of nursing home.

A babushka (grandma) sits on a bench out front.

Iris in the gardens of the nursing home...

Peonies in the gardens of the nursing home...

Notice a large green beetle is on the open Peony…
We used to get that kind where I grew up in S. California...

Lots of Iris...

All was not well… when we'd first arrived at the nursing home Roxy fell ill (most weren't aware of it until we were already inside), throwing up as she got off the bus & in extreme pain…  She was whisked away to see a nurse on staff, and two ladies from our team & a translator went with her… it wasn't until much later, after our concert (short 3 ladies voices) had been over for a while, that Roxy joined us & we were able to leave.  Roxy had Kidney Stones (or that's our best guess).  Here's the way God worked - I find this amazing:
    She fell ill at a facility that had medical staff, medicines, equipment on site.
    The nurse on site had suffered from Kidney Stones in the past.
    The two ladies from our group that went with her were 2 of 4 ladies on
      our team that were nurses (1/4 of our ladies were nurses).
    The translator that went with her had done translation work for medical
      conferences, and had suffered with Kidney Stones herself.
    A U.S. doctor in Kiev was able to be contacted by phone, medications
      prescribed / approved.
    Antibiotics were available on site.
    A member of our team had brought heavy-duty painkillers due to
      recent back surgery, but hadn't needed them, they were put to use.

Finally we were able to head to the church in Talneh, Roxy is very uncomfortable riding in the bus but is being a trooper.  Once we get to the church Morris helps her get into a room where she can rest, Marge & Sandy (the nurses who had helped her) stayed with her.  Everyone is very concerned about Roxy…  We had practice, then the concert (short 3 ladies voices again), followed by dinner.  We felt as if it were our roughest concert, especially for the ladies, but the people loved it & one of our translators (Sergei) made a point of letting the ladies know that they did better than the men because they were more smiley - what a sweetheart to encourage us that way!!

An orthodox church we passed on the way to the
House Of Prayer in Talneh

House Of Prayer (church) in Talneh
Lots of steps that were in the process of being repaired (rough).
Roxy had some help from Morris to get up steps and settled in.

Front of the church...

Decorative walkway that went around the church (new).

What is this??  Its a creative way to both protect a
young plant & to recycle… :)

Flowers on the church grounds...

Iris

Iris

Looking out over the gardens to the city beyond…
Annette (me) in pink, Pam, Gretchen...

Inside the large sanctuary, size & shape made for acoustics that
weren't as nice as most churches we visited… and we were down
3 ladies voices (missing Roxy, Sandy, Marge).

Looking toward the back of the church...

Nice pulpit & mural...

Nice light fixture, tin ceiling...

View of murals from balcony...

Getting ready to practice...

Jeff getting his concert gear from his backpack...

Dinner at Talneh: Slaw, Potatoes & Chicken Meatballs, Oranges & Bananas, Cucumber & Tomatoes, Bread with Tomatoes & Meat, Cookies & Candies.  During dinner Tammie was getting silly with her scarf :)  After dinner Roxy is looking & feeling much better - it might have been the pain killers, she was pretty heavily drugged.

Dinning room, this one was upstairs in a separate building from the church.
Very cute, loved the red curtains...

Bread with tomatoes & meat.

Fruit!!  Yes!!

Chicken Meatballs & Potatoes

Slaw...

Amy St & Sergei at dinner with us...

One of Tammie's silly scarf antics… :)

We're loosing Sergei & Oxana for a couple days, they are going to Kiev for a friend's wedding.  Back on the bus at about 9:30 for the long ride to Cherkasy (our next hotel)...

19 May 2012:

We arrive at our hotel just after midnight… the hotel is beautiful, rooms are nice, beds are typical…

Faith filling out her paperwork by the stairs at the Dnipro Hotel in Cherkasy

Chandelier in the Lobby.

Floor of the Lobby.

All of us trying to get checked in… 

View from our hotel in Cherkasy, that's the Dnipro river in the background...

In the morning we discover they only gave Jeff & I one bath towel to share… same happened for the others… once again we're being flexible & it didn't end up being a big deal.  Breakfast was a small buffet, we were delighted to see American style Eggs & Sausage patties.  After breakfast we had time so we went for a walk in town, we visited a grocery store & bought Coca Cola Light & some chocolates (that surprisingly made it all the way home before being opened), as well as a Ukrainian birthday card for Morris (his birthday is the 21st).

Out for a walk in Cherkasy...

Lilacs along the street...

Lilac closeup...

More Lilacs...

Towers of Flowers...

Jim in front of Flower Towers...

A Restaurant along the way...

A pretty building, love the yellow!

A pretty green building...

Another shot of that yellow building… there was a Wedding
being held there...

Inside a grocery store...

In line at the grocery store…

Chocolates… 

More chocolates...

A bit after returning from our walk we were back on our bus again, this time we're on our way to visit our sister church in Zolotonosha.  To get there we must cross the Dnipro river… so wide you can't see the far shore… makes our Mississippi River seem like a trickle in comparison...

Dnipro river, with some islands...

Looking back at Cherkasy while crossing the Dnipro...

While on the way to the church Jeff did a devotional on Life, he used a variety of Ukrainian words from a Ukrainian Bible (Maurina helped him) that are translated Life in our Bibles… it was excellent & well received!!  The scenery after we cross the Dnipro is nice, we pass some marshy areas…

Jeff doing a devotional during the bus ride...

Marshy area along the way...

Finally we arrive at our sister church, the House Of Prayer in Zolotonosha… we have a little time to take pictures, use the restrooms, and get in a quick practice…

Arriving at the church, that's Sasha in the black suit - he's another
translator that joined us for a while.

Our sister-church in Zolotonosha…

Peonies on the church grounds...

Front of the sanctuary...

Looking up at the cupola, its opening is covered
(not sure why)...

I decided Charles looked like Schroeder on this
tiny little stool… :)

Balcony in the church...

Looking toward the back of the church...

Theater style seats...

Daisies on the church grounds...

Iris too...

And more flowers...

We load back on the bus to travel down the road just a bit to the Youth Center that was built by our church (Calvary in Roseville, MN, U.S.A.) for our sister church.  Once at the Youth Center we are greeted by our second Bread Ceremony, this one more elaborate than the first one we encountered… we are considered very special guests for a very special occasion.  This day we're celebrating the 20 year anniversary of the partnership between our two churches… and they are doing things up proud!!

Back on the bus… Charles & Faith...

Gathering for the bread ceremony...

Just look at that fancy bread, the beautiful cloth, and their ethnic garb!!

After the Bread Ceremony we were given a tour of the Youth Center.

Downstairs conference room...

Kitchen/Dining area

Rec Room...

…also in the Rec Room

Ping Pong room...

A compact Gymnasium

An Office

An Art room...

Dressing Room with mirrors for putting on makeup for theatrical productions.

Puppets...

Yep, that's my Jeff… :)

Upstairs conference room...

Maps & study materials on the walls of the conference room...

Office...

Woodwork detail...

More woodwork detail...

Ukrainian Bible with lots of notes, sitting on one of the desks...

Courts (set up for Volleyball at this time), building in back houses
additional restrooms...

We were treated to a celebratory lunch in the outdoor multi-use area, which was transformed into a dining area for our group & people from the church.  Several short speeches were given during lunch in remembrance of our various combined efforts over the years.

Covered area transformed into a large dining hall.

Exterior of the covered area...

Warming bread on the grill (they make wonderful bread)...

Salad of vegetables, cheese, olives.

Chicken with cheese & onion, rice.

Warm Bread (YUM!!)...

Decorations...

The speeches start...

Victor tears into the bread...

Pasha gives a speech for our group… Maryanna translates...

Marge also gives a speech for our group...

Nadia (on right) is translating a speech.

A good look at the ceremonial bread...

Detail...

More Detail...

Steve & Sasha conversing, they were quite impressed by the relationship
between our two churches...

After lunch we were led back to the two conference rooms, the main action was upstairs but it was being simulcast to the downstairs room… did I mention they were videotaping & taking photos of just about everything…  Once settled in the conference rooms (complete with cold sodas & ice) several longer speeches ensued: the pastor, others from the church, a local government official, the head of the conference for the region (who was quite funny)… They explained how this Zolotonosha church had been such a huge influence on the whole community, providing a much needed center for youth, influencing many other churches in the area & modeling how to go about doing the same thing… After a very extended time of speeches we were released to return to the covered area for Dessert, and a few more short speeches.

Dessert, and some of that beautiful bread was eaten as well!!

Sasha (on left) interprets...

Then it was back to the church, after all we had a concert to give!!  During the concert Jeff & Roxy (who wasn't well enough to sing, but well enough to speak) gave their testimonies… both did well!!  Some meet & greet after the concert… there was a dinner being served, but apparently that one wasn't for us (there was a bit of a mix up)… so it was back on the bus to get back to our hotel in Cherkasy…

Sasha, Annette (me), and Jeff after the concert.

Back over the Dnipro River to get to Cherkasy...

Since we hadn't been fed dinner, we were on our own… luckily there were places to eat in the area.  A group of us decided to go to the "American Embassy" (yep, McDonalds) to grab a bite… not my kind of food, so I just had a Coca Cola Light & later ate a few granola bars I had brought on the trip.  A few brave souls went for Sushi (not something I'd do in another country).

Tammie, Curt, Charles at McDonalds

Jeff...

Shannon, Amy Sc, Gretchen...

Doesn't look much different from home!!

A poster announcing when Ronald would be there!!

20 May 2012:

Packed up again, breakfast at the hotel buffet, suitcases loaded on the bus & off we go… back over the Dnipro River one more time… we're headed back to our sister-church in Zolotonosha for church (its Sunday), and it is going to be a special service - a continuation of the celebration from the day before.

View from our hotel window in Cherkasy

Another view from our window at the Dnipro Hotel, Cherkasy…
The hotel was obviously named after the Dnipro River...

Crossing the Dnipro again… 

The bridge takes advantage of some of the islands in the river...

More islands in the river...

Once at church we were each handed a DVD of video & photos from the previous day (no, I'm not going to load them into my blog).  We got settled into the choir seats… it was a 2 hour service… we sang, the Zolotonosha choir sang "Open My Eyes Lord" in English :) & did it quite well… Pastor Victor spoke, our trip pastor Morris taught a lesson on the Prodigal Son, the head of the conference for the area spoke, the head of the conference for the country spoke… and more…  We visited outside for a bit after church, then we were treated to Lunch: Bread with Meats & Cheese, Bread with chopped up Egg & Cheese, Meat, rice, cut up Apples / Oranges / Bananas, Cookies, Chocolates, Ice Cream.  After lunch we say goodbye to Sasha, he won't go with us to Kiev...

DVD we were given...

Curt is standing with a family from the church… Son (spoke some English), Mom,
Daughter (had done dance camp with Roxy in the past), Dad, & Mom's Sister…
We had a couple connections with them:  the Dad is a doctor who has worked with
Dave J from our home church who goes on Medical Missions, Dave J's wife
Marianne is a friend of mine… Also, the Mom & I connected, she spent 1 1/2
years praying & crying for her husband to come to know the Lord, she'd heard
about my praying & crying for Jeff to come to the Lord (back when he was just a
co-worker & friend)… we gave them our picture & wanted a picture to remember them.

Lunch, complete with a speech by the choir director (he was quite excited
and animated), gift giving, etc…  We left many gifts at our sister church,
gifts for pastors & special visitors, gifts for the choir director, gifts for the
Youth Center (soccer balls, beanie babies, lots of finger puppets), kitchen gifts.

That's me in the front of the picture, back-to-back with Pastor Victor...

Amy St, Sasha, Amy Sc, Shannon…  Gotta love Sasha's shirt :)

Sasha & Annette (me)

Morris was given some flowers for his birthday,
which was the next day - 21st

The Choir Director with a typical smile… 

Choir Director & his Wife...

Back on the bus & headed toward our last concert of the tour in Kiev.  On the way we stopped the bus so Morris could give away his flowers to some local ladies - several of us have allergies & didn't want to mess up our voices.  Also along the way we picked up Julia, the daughter of one of the church members in Zolotonosha that needed a ride to Kiev.  Julia didn't speak much English, and she chose the seat next to me… we shared photos & Nadia (sitting in front of us) was able to translate when needed.  We were also flagged down by Ivan, he'd left Zolotonosha early in order to pick up some new arrivals from the U.S. - Ivan's daughter Anya (who now lives in the U.S.), and Marge's niece & nephew (medical / dental missionaries)!!  It was a cheerful roadside reunion, we're so glad they spotted our bus on their way back to Zolotonosha!!

Ladies given Morris' flowers.

My seat-mate Julia… 

Marge, her Nephew & Niece, Anya in front & Ivan on the right.

We got a bit lost trying to find the church, located in Darnytsya (in Kiev)… while driving around we saw some very old trolly cars that were still in use, and we were all amazed at Victor's driving skill!!

Victor skillfully dodged trolly cars, people, road construction, huge
potholes… and much more… that's his reflection in the mirror...

Old trolly car still in use...

Pretty church (orthodox) we passed while trying to
locate the one we were headed to...

Finally we found the church, we couldn't drive right up to it because of a car-sized pothole in the road, but we didn't even walk half a block from where the bus parked.  The church was located across the street from a large park area, in the park we were amused to see some goats having lunch… this isn't considered strange to our Ukrainian friends.

Park across street from church, with goats grazing...

Once in the church we had time to Practice & have Tea: Tea, Coffee, Cookies - some yummy Macaroons & Newton-like cookies.  We learned that this wasn't actually a concert, but that we would be singing for their evening church service (it was Sunday after all)…  

Heading up to the choir loft for practice...

We would be on the right side (to those facing the front of the church)...

Looking toward the entry at the back of the church...

Charles at the piano, checking it out...

The choir beginning to gather (after potty stops)...

Jim being a shutter-bug as usual, he was worse than
Annette (me) in this matter...

Steve in his perch working Power Point slides...

Tammie at the piano while Bev conducts the men in "Order My Steps"...

Steve introduces his friend, the pastor of the church, and the pastor's son
who has been one of Steve's translators.  The pastor's son towers over
Paul who is 6'6", and won't say how tall he is...

It was my turn to lead the prayer time before the concert/service, after that we were invited into a private meeting to see the service being planned.  In many churches in Ukraine the service is planned just prior, this stems from the troubles they suffered during the soviet era - never knowing who would be able to be there to preach & etc… This was quite an honor for the entire group to be invited in…  Morris was asked to teach the main message (he would repeat the message given that morning in Zolotonosha).

During the service our music was at its finest!!  Jeff was again asked to give his testimony, and again did a wonderful job!!  Jeff was doing a repeat so that they could have his testimony & mine on the same night - mine had been "bumped" the first time Jeff shared so that Roxy (who had been ill) could share hers on the previous night.  Unfortunately the music & testimonies got cut short… a disappointment to Pasha & I.  Pasha wasn't able to do Moses, but he handled it fine despite the fact that he had a Ukrainian friend who had come to this church specifically to see him.  I wasn't able to share my testimony… I tried but I couldn't contain my tears, biting my lip & tongue didn't help… my testimony wasn't easy to prepare or to be prepared to share (its painful)… I hate that I'm still so insecure!!  We still had to sit through Morris' teaching (which we'd heard earlier, so it didn't distract me) & to sing to close the service (I mouthed it, my voice was gone)… it was torment… as soon as the service was over I headed downstairs to a private room to pull myself together - argh!!  I spent the time downstairs working on my journal & praying until I was able to get my tears under control.

We loaded back up on the bus & were headed back to our first hotel, Hotel Rus in Kiev, where we would spend the next 1 1/2 nights…  Once at the hotel we quickly checked in, then dragged our suitcases up to the area just outside the dinning hall since we were running a bit late for our pre-scheduled Dinner:   Salad, Mushrooms in a flaky pastry, Chicken stuffed with vegetables & a creamy sauce (asparagus?), cooked vegetables, potatoes, Dessert: chocolate/cherry torte.  We sat at dinner with Gretchen & Don & had a lovely conversation.

Mushrooms in a flaky pastry.

Chicken & Vegetables...

Chocolate/Cherry Torte, beautifully presented...

Don

Gretchen

Jeff… my Sweetheart!!

After dinner we were finally able to drag our things up to our last hotel room for the trip… at this point I fell apart & was a babbling idiot… it had been a long trip, with lots of activity, I was very tired, and much of what I had tried to do seemed to have fallen flat!!  I wanted so much to be a blessing & was feeling like a failure.  I'd spent several days before we left working on Finger Puppets, but we only went to one orphanage… I'd spent hours working on my devotional, only to have it seem to be the wrong type of devotional for the circumstances… I'd allowed myself to have some painful parts of my life exposed in order to prepare my testimony, only to have my sharing of it yanked away at the last moment… So I was questioning whether or not I should have even been on the trip…  I needed a good cry, and Jeff just held me & comforted me & let me cry… 

As Jeff was holding me it occurred to me that Jeff wouldn't have been on the trip except that I wanted to go (and he agreed to go with), and God had used Jeff in some amazing ways, I was so glad that Jeff was able to go & minister and that I'd been there to see it!  Reflecting on these things made me realize that there was a purpose for me to be there; later, when I'd had a good night's sleep, I was able to see other purposes as well & how God had used me (just not how I thought He would).

21 May 2012:

We're up and going for our last full day in Ukraine, looks to be a beautiful day & my outlook was much improved!  Breakfast was at the buffet at Hotel Rus…

A beautiful day… pictures taken from our hotel room...

Yep… I headed right for my typical American breakfast stuffs…
Later I got some good rye bread with some Blue & Feta cheeses… Yum!

After breakfast, at 10am, our team met in the hotel lobby to split into groups for shopping & sightseeing.  While waiting Maryanna gave out copies of her CD.  Jeff & I teamed up with Jim & Cindy, and we grabbed Nadia to be our translator… we loaded the 5 of us into a Taxi that was a 4-seater, squishing Jim / Cindy / Jeff across the back seat & putting me on Jeff's lap (good thing I've lost weight)…

Maryanna

Maryanna's CD, that's her in the middle...

Oxana

Veronica & Nadia

Sergei

Our first stop was St Andrew's Descent… for Shopping!!  Lots of booths with lots of cute touristy-sorts of items… we did our part for the local economy :)  Nadia helped with translation & bartering…

Nadia leads the way to the shops...

One of many little booths selling Matryoshka's

Some historic antiques being sold (we were warned not to purchase these)...

Stamps & Coins...

Ethnic clothing / embroidery...

Jeff was checking out some sports jerseys...

St Andrews...

More "stuff"...

Our friends/family in Minnesota will appreciate this pic… Go Twins!!

Here's some of what we bought at these booths & brought home for souvenirs:

A small Matryoshka set, these are the 5 largest of the set of 10…
the biggest is only about 2" tall…
We also purchased another more traditional looking Matryoshka set for
our neighbors who had watched our cat & house while we were away.

Hard Rock Cafe Chernobyl T-Shirt &
Bulava (or Bulawa, or Mace) - the Ukrainian symbol of power

Wooden wall cross...

Sports memorabilia - mini-soccerball (deflated for trip home),
Hockey Jersey (Ukrainian national team),
Soccer Jersey (not pictured), Baseball cap...

Tote Bag with an ethnic flair...

Another Tot Bag (this was a freebie)…  Kyiv is how they spell Kiev...

From St Andrews we walked back down to the Independence Square area, to the Underground Mall we'd been to the first day in Kiev, and had lunch at a cafeteria that sold Ukrainian cuisine - it was very good.  We treated Nadia to lunch, and to Gelato afterward - she'd never had Gelato before, she liked it!!

Here are a splattering of pictures from our walk… order is all mixed up (too many to sort):

Jeff's pictures from that part of our walk:

St Andrew's

A government building...

St Michael's

Work being done on a fountain near Independence Square - everything
is being spruced up in preparation for the Euro 2012 games.

Dome & skylights for the mall, dome is done up like a soccer ball.

Nadia speaks with a local woman about the cafeteria we were headed to,
Cindy & I are just hanging out waiting for her…  That freebie tote bag
came in handy for hauling souvenirs :)

Staircase down into the mall...

Annette's pictures from that part of our walk (I tried to remove obvious duplicates):

Ornate building...

Nadia is leading the way...

Check out the clock made out of flowers… they are very proud of it!!

In the mall Jeff stops to pose in order to provide scale...

The Gelato stand… Mmmm!!

After lunch & gelato we decided to walk back to the hotel, it wasn't far & we remembered the way from when we'd been in this area on the first day.  Along the way Nadia & I were entranced with a "living statue" - she'd never even heard of someone doing this before - so we stopped to watch for a while.  We were both very impressed with the strength & coordination it must take to move so slowly… and were both horrified by the thick makeup that he must have been wearing (yuck!).  Also along the way I found a nice Silver & Amber pendant at a shop that sold Amber jewelry - Ukraine is known for its Amber… Charles was also there picking out something for his wife (Awww!!).

Walkway in a major shopping area...

Living Statue….

He's changing position very slowly!!

Almost back to the hotel...

Amber & Silver pendant I bought along the way...

Ok… we got back to the hotel by 2pm, a large group of us (15 or so) were going on a longish (4 hour) guided bus tour of Kiev… there's no way I could possibly remember the names of all the places - though I do remember some… and there's way too many photos (apologies in advance)… but here they are, this will give you a bit of a "taste" of Kiev…

4 hour tour, Jeff's photos:

This is known as the Golden Gate of Kiev… its been
rebuilt, it may be the location of the original gate to the city.

Ancient writing on the rock...

The Luck Cat… people pet this statue for good luck… statue is of a
cat that saved people from a burning restaurant (or something like that).

Charles with the Luck Cat (he has 4 cats at home).

Annette (me) with the Luck Cat.

Clock made of flowers...

Official residence of the President of Ukraine…
Government buildings behind...

Dnipro River, not as wide in Kiev as in Cherkasy, but still a major
river - it runs through / splits the city of Kiev.

St Sofia

An entrance to St Sofia

We could hear the Orthodox Monks singing inside this church…
we believe there was a service in progress...

War memorial...

More of the St Sophia complex, taken from the War Memorial area...

Sculpture depicting 3 brothers & their sister… legend is they founded
the city of Kiev.

Jeff & I were here… supposedly a romantic spot :)

Plaque in the ground...

Crossing the Dnipro river in Kiev...

4 hour tour, Annette's photos:

Many cars are just like those we have at home...

A famous poet...

Kiev's Golden Gate

Inside Kiev's Golden Gate… original stonework showing...

Jeff & Cindy with the Luck Cat...

The Luck Cat was a Persian...

Charles in the picture for scale...

President of Ukraine's official residence, government buildings behind...

Residence is 6 stories high, all 6 exposed on one side,
the uphill side only has the top 3 stories exposed.

Looking up at the government complex...

Flag of Ukraine...

Detail of the President's residence...

Front of the President's official residence...

Frogs on the roof :)

Our tour group getting some shade, it was a very warm day...

I believe this was a Theater...

Large Ukrainian Easter Egg in the park below the
President's official residence.

Fountain in the park was empty...

Statue of a comedian (?)

Joan & Daryl pose with another statue in the park…
gotta love the doggy statue!!

Roxy getting silly with the statue...

Eggs were hung from the trees - left over from Easter.

St Sophia

Monument… something to do with those who died
as part of an enforced famine during the soviet era...

War Memorial of some sort (???), tomb of the unknown
soldier (???).

Kiev is a vast city, looking from the older part of Kiev, across the Dnipro
to the newer section...

Did I mention Kiev is big??

Jeff & Annette (me) w/part of St Sophia in the background...

A bit more Modern...

And even more Modern...

Entering the grounds of St Sophia

A monk on foot...

Curt tries to get a priest to stop for a photo… 

Love the detail on the domed roof...

War Memorial

Roxy being silly… :)

Ok… I like flowers… so sue me!!

Charles & Roxy pretending to hold up the boat… :)

Beaches along the Dnipro River...

Locals like to swim here...

Floating Hotel...

Phew!!  That was a lot of pictures… only a few more to go before this log is done…

We got back to the Hotel Rus in time to take a quick trip up to our room & then head back down to the dining area for dinner.  We were having a special dinner for our last night, a wrap up and celebration for the team.  Dinner was running late (we felt it was only fair we had to wait, we'd been running late the night before & the hotel had to wait for us), while we were waiting Steve finished up a meeting he was having with the translators & Charles sat down at the piano to play a bit.  Charles had been playing on instruments with: stuck keys, missing ivory, a board by his legs falling off (onto him during concert - he didn't miss a beat), out of tune (some were good, some were very bad), squeaking, chairs & benches that squeaked, a tiny stool, and a rolling office chair (this was particularly bad)…

Charles playing on the hotel's piano, a much nicer instrument than what
he's been playing for the last week… though he certainly was able to
make those others sound good...

Morris & Sandy came in, Morris was holding a gift from the hotel - fruit & sparkling wine… they had done it to honor his birthday…  Earlier on this day, during breakfast, we'd circulated the birthday card we'd bought him in Cherkasy, at this point we presented him with his birthday card (one of the translators translated it for him).

Sandy & Morris - with birthday gift from the hotel...

We were able to visit a bit with the translators, get hugs, and say one last goodbye… I still had a couple dozen Finger Puppets, the translators each took one as a memento, Nadia took 2 extras for her kids, Oxana took the remaining ones to be given out at an orphanage she works with.

Finger Puppets ended up going to: Orphans we visited, Nursing home residents we visited, Youth Center in Zolotonosha, Orphans Oxana works with, Translators & their kids.

Finally our team was ushered into the "Azure Room" for dinner, a dining room reserved just for us… It was a time to reflect, to laugh, to express appreciation, to share memories & experiences that touched us…  Dinner: Salad w/chicken & hard boiled quail eggs, Mushrooms in a Flaky Pastry, Pork & Potato Stew served in individual crocks, Ice Cream with fruit sauce (strawberry?)…

Something got Gretchen laughing :)
Marge, Judy, Amy Sc, Gretchen, Faith, Shannon, Charles

Charles, Amy St, Roxy (with camera in hand), Daryl, Joan

Steve & Tammie at the head of the table… fitting since they'd been
the trip "Dad" & "Mom"...

Dinner took a while, once done it was back up to the room to do one final packing before heading home… at this point we had so much dirty & somewhat-dirty laundry that we decided to pack all (ended up being only most) of the dirty laundry in one case & the clean in another… we also needed to carefully pack souvenirs for the trip home & decide what we needed in our day-packs for the flights… getting organized...

22 May 2012:

I finished my part of the repacking just after midnight (I'd had the clean things & the souvenirs)… Jeff was snoozing & I took some time to catch up on my trip journal… My plan was to stay up & not bother to sleep, we needed to be up about 2:15am, but I was so tired - so at 1am I laid down (fully dressed) & snoozed… got about an hour before it was time to get up, enough to get some rest but not so much as to turn me into a zombie (I do that if I nap too long)…

We got up, got final things put away & ready, headed downstairs to check-out & grab a bag breakfast, the plan was to have the bus fully loaded with people & suitcases by 3am to head for the airport - most of us managed to accomplish that.  We counted off (this was something we did each time on the bus before we left - sometimes in Ukrainian - I was number Nine [Dev'yat']), and discovered that Roxy & Lisa (our two youngest) were missing.  Steve called up to their room, they'd be down in a couple minutes… a couple minutes goes by, they're still not down… Lisa's sister Amy went up to "collect" them… finally she got them down to the bus… we were on our way about 3:15 - luckily we had plenty of time & this wasn't a problem.

Bag breakfast provided by the hotel: 3 small meat/cheese sandwiches, a small cucumber (whole), a small tomato (whole), an Apple, an Orange, an Orange boxed-juice, and a bottle of water… these were consumed by various people in various ways during our trip… some left the produce for Victor (our bus driver).  Once at the airport we unloaded… as we left the bus many left things for Victor on his seat - Jeff & I left a bag of Jolly Rancher candies with one of our trip postcards (had John 3:16 in Ukrainian) & a photo of us with a personal message I'd managed to write in Ukrainian (yes, in the Cyrillic alphabet) thanking him for his service to us.

Kiev airport, early in the morning...

Once in the airport the lines were long but moved well, check-in & customs went relatively smooth, all came in with plenty of time to use restrooms & sit a bit before boarding.  One person mentioned that their bags almost got sent to Chicago instead of Minneapolis, but they'd caught it in time (phew)… later 2 others discovered that theirs had been sent to Chicago - oh well, at least it was on the way home…

First flight took off at 5:30am Kiev time, headed to Frankfurt… the flight is about 3 hours, expected arrival time in Frankfurt is 7:30am Frankfurt time (1 time zone difference).  On this flight I was in the back row at the window & nobody else was in my row… Bob was having trouble finding space for his carry-on so he used the middle seat (underneath) to stow his carryon & sat in the aisle seat… across the aisle there was also just one person at the window (not part of our group)… Charles was squished into a full row just in front of us with two strangers, He decided to take the seat across the aisle from Bob…

We'd just got settled when Jeff came back & let me know he was in a special 2-seat row (near the exit) & the seat next to him was empty… I joined Jeff - it was a nice place to sit since either of us could get up without the other having to move… and it gave me room by my feet as well (my day pack went under the seat in front of the open spot (where there was no seat)… A highlight from this flight was a small (4oz) cup of coffee, real coffee, I hadn't had real coffee the entire time I'd been in Ukraine, what a treat!!  I stayed awake during most of the flight to Frankfurt, I only dozed after the announcement to prepare to land - about a 15 minute nap…

In Frankfurt we had a couple hour layover, we wandered a bit & found a Starbucks… you guessed it, this caffeine deprived woman had a humongous mug of real coffee… Yes!!  The Starbucks had a very comfortable sitting area, we were joined by Jim & Cindy… Jim also had an enormous cup of real coffee… Later we were joined by Amy Sc & Gretchen… We all relaxed & chatted & enjoyed each others company for a while…

Finally it was time to head toward the gate, Jeff & I stopped and bought some cold Coca Cola Light & Water… unfortunately they had another security check for us to go through & we had to let these go before we'd put them to good use… we were able to get more once through security - but we'd never left a secured area of the airport so this was a bit aggravating… oh well, lesson learned…

One final security screening was at the gate, we were simply questioned about who had handled our bags & such, then our boarding passes were given a sticker to show we'd been through the process & we could just hang out anywhere in that terminal - they also told us the status of our checked bags (nice!)…  After a while we realized we were missing Faith, a check with the security screening personal confirmed she hadn't been through yet… uh oh!!  A search ensued… she'd gotten off on her own and had fallen asleep, then she hadn't been certain what gate she needed to be at, but we found her & just in time for the last call to get through the security check (yikes!).  Later we joked that "we almost lost Faith" & that we couldn't go home and tell people we'd "lost our Faith"… bad puns, but that's what you come up with when sleep deprived.  From that point on we made sure that Faith didn't get left alone…

Flight from Frankfurt to Newark left on time (11:20 Frankfurt time), with the flight expected to arrive early in Newark - this was good news to us since the time scheduled between arrival & departure in Newark was only 1 1/4 hours, and we'd have bags to collect & customs to get through & such (first port on entry in U.S.).  There was a lot of time on this flight - it was scheduled to arrive at 2:20pm Newark time (6 time zones difference from Frankfurt) - a total of about 9 hours scheduled, it ended up being about 8 1/2.  During this time I read magazines, watched 2 movies (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button & Ratatouille)…

I also spoke at length with Roxy, who was feeling much better I might add - this was an answer to prayer for her comfort for the trip home…  Roxy & I spoke of personal struggles, feelings, issues, grace, forgiveness, fears, concerns… we cried together & encouraged each other… it was a sweet time of fellowship & I look forward to times like these with her in the future - I know God has a purpose for the pain I've been through when He uses me to help others…

In Newark the lines were long but moved fast… in line at customs our group was separated a bit, but a count of heads revealed we were all there…  Because we'd declared food, and for everyone who declared food, Jeff & I had to go through an extra scan of our suitcases & day-packs.  Jeff had forgotten he had leftover breakfast sandwiches in his day-pack & this caused the customs officials to go through his pack in detail (slowing us down), they took his passport away & made us wait several minutes… Don stayed with us (he'd also declared food)… Just as we were going to send Don ahead to let the rest of the group know what was going on we got Jeff's things back… The next line was a baggage drop for our checked bags, this was a long line but very fast & efficient… Followed by a line to go through another security check, Jeff & I got through quickly but Don got held up a bit - at least we were able to tell the group (waiting near the gate) where our last member was & that he was coming… we made it to the gate on time… Yes!!

BUT… the flight was delayed… delayed… delayed… we're in the U.S. but we can't get home, we're tired & weary, it seems to take forever…  This was the day that a flight from Paris had a woman claiming to have an implanted device - fighter jets had been dispatched & security was heightened & many flights were delayed… Of the 20 or so flights leaving out of the area where our gate was only 2 were scheduled to leave on time… ugh!  Because of all the delays all the seats were filled before we even arrived, any seats that emptied were quickly filled, all the charging ports were monopolized… we ended up leaning against walls, walking around, sitting on the floor, and generally trying to stay out of the way of people trying to get through.  Those with the greatest needs (Roxy & Faith) were able to get seats…  Finally we were boarded & took off 1 1/2 hours late (it seemed like much longer because we were tired) at about 5pm Newark time…

The flight from Newark to Minneapolis was uncomfortable… it was a small plane with no room to stretch or move, I struggled with some RLS which made matters worse… finally I was able to doze for about 1/2 hour or so…  After a while I was able to start spotting familiar land markings… someone pointed out Door County… Later I spotted the St Croix River, White Bear Lake, Highways, Freeways, the Mississippi River, downtown St Paul, downtown Minneapolis….  We got in about 7pm Minneapolis time (1 time zone difference from Newark), about a 3 hour flight total.

At baggage claim many were met by family… and it was discovered that after Newark Gretchen's bag had been lost… that made 3 of 24 bags that didn't make it home as planned…  Since our flight came in late the "Sawdust Sisters" asked us if they could get a ride home with us (they live close)… so we gave them a ride home…

Once home we were met by a kitty who had cried herself a bit hoarse… Oreo was fine, just missing her mommy & daddy… she cried all through the night that first night we were home, but it didn't keep us awake - we'd been up with only short naps for about 48 hours at that point…  Its good to be home, even if the cupboards are bare, and even if my cat thinks she needs to be my shadow…

Kitty normally runs in fear at the sound of my blowdryer… not this day…
she wouldn't leave my side...

Mommy, please don't leave me!!

As of the conclusion of this log, about a week after our return, Oreo is no longer shadowing me everywhere… but as I finish typing she has joined me on my office chair, she's very glad we're home!!