Pastor Josef's New Building: Part 2

This is the entry-way you see when you walk up the steps and into the side door. To the right, there is a set of steps going down to the basement and then stairs going up to the second floor. Straight ahead is...

... this large room! As you can see, it is already being used for storage (clothing and shoes ready to be given away).

The right side of the basement and..

...the left side of the basement. Two rooms that they are already remodeling. One of the biggest projects down here is making the space dry.

 

There is also this front part of the building (the steps lead to another separate entry and space), but it has been open to the elements for at least a few months due to broken windows and doors. There are 2 or 3 smaller rooms connected to this part of the building.

This is a view of the side of the building.

Thank you SO much for giving money so that the remodeling can begin!
Anyone interested in helping? Come on over and you will be put to good use.

Pastor Josef's New Building: Part 1

A couple Sunday's ago, our home church in New York raised money to give to Pastor Josef and help with the renovation inside his new building.

We first met Josef almost 10 years ago when we joined our church in NY for short-term volunteer trips to Ukraine. At this time, Josef's main energy went into working with children who were either living, or spending most of their time, on the streets. Some of them were orphans, some of them came from alcoholic homes or from parents who were not interested in what their kids were doing.
For these children, Josef, his family and his team provided weekly meals and a safe place for the kids to meet. During this time, they played games, did crafts, learned songs and dances and had people readily available to listen to them and provide for their physical and emotional needs. Most importantly, Josef taught the kids about a God who loved them and encouraged them to pursue great things in life, regardless of their circumstances.

Fast forward to 2015: it is amazing to see what God has done through Josef in the past 10 years.
- The same kids Josef reached out to 10 years ago, are now leaders in the same ministry and in the church.
- A permanent foster home was built in a village just outside of Uzhhorod, where Josef and his team can offer kids a place to stay permanently or temporarily. Currently, he is expanding their original vision of the purpose of the home to include refugees from the east of Ukraine.
- Josef expanded his work to include adults suffering from alcohol and/or drug addiction.
- Though they did not have their own building, Josef began regular Sunday services a few years ago and now has a thriving congregation.
- Josef has raised up an amazing group of young leaders. This group of young adults, they are passionate about God and living their life for Him. They are steadfast and live their life with a purpose.

This new building gives Josef and his team a permanent base in the heart of the city that is their very own.

Here is Josef standing in front of the building. It is situated at a major intersection near the center of the city. Perfect spot!

View of the intersection from the front of the building. If you take the road straight, past the buildings in the photos, you will end up in the heart of the city in less than 2 minutes (by car; maybe 10 minutes by walking).

View from the parking lot: the train station (the small building directly in the center of the photo). Once again, great location!

The main entrance and a Solomiya.

Fedya

Cannot believe this little guy will be 1 on May 15th!

 

 

Uzhhorod, Ukraine

 

Walking into our apartment complex: caught the setting sun right in between two buildings.

Love the cobblestone.

*I did not take this picture*
I just thought it was really awesome.

April Photos

Fedya helping Tato prepare for a class.

Peteffi Park, Uzhhorod, Ukraine

Sometimes, it's just easier to put them both in the stroller...

Playing in the sandbox next to our apartment building.

Plum tree in bloom

Life in a Ukrainian Kindergarten- March 8th: Women's Day

March 8th celebration at kindergarten: International Women's Day
This is a day to honor all women and give them flowers and chocolates. It is similar to how Mother's Day is celebrated in the USA, but it celebrates all women instead of just mothers.

The girls dressed as chickens and the boys as roosters.

She wasn't feeling too good that day...

What we did in March:

1. Went to the doctor almost every week.
Here, Solomiya is waiting outside of the doctor's office. You can see that this is not her favorite place. Ukrainian kindergarten is great, but the kids share every virus and germ with each other. If a child is absent from kindergarten more than 2 days in a row, they need a note from their doctor stating that they were sick, but now are healthy and ready to go back. We had to get a lot of those notes... But, she is building up her immune system, right?
 

We saw these notes on the front door of Solomiya's class at school quite often.
"Beware
Parents
this group is in quarantine
for Scarlet Fever
from this date to this date
The Head Nurse"
The second note describes the symptoms and what to look out for.

This may also explain the lack of posts for the months of March and April.
 

Interesting Car

 GAZ Pobeda circa 1950's (Had to ask Mike- he's seen it around...)

Current Economic Situation in Ukraine

No coffee.

No flour.

No bags of sugar (just a few boxes of sugar cubes- I did buy a couple).

This guy was filling his cart with sunflower oil.

When we first moved to Ukraine three years ago, the exchange rate was 1 US Dollar (USD) = 8 Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAH). It had stayed steady at that amount (give or take some cents) up until several months ago.
In October of last year, it was about 12-13 UAH to 1 USD.
November through December: 14-15 UAH to 1 USD. And it kept ever so slowly rising (along with the prices of everything).

Friday, the 6th of February 1 USD = 16 UAH

Saturday, the 7th of February 1 USD = 25.2457 UAH

In just 24 hours, the hryvnia rose by almost 10! Can you believe that!
Not only that, but check out this equation that makes no sense:

Decreasing value of the hryvnia + Increasing prices = No change in people's paycheck/pension check

So basically, the price of everything here is increasing, but people are still making the same amount of hryvnia that they did prior to the increases. I don't know how most Ukrainians will survive on this current system, especially pensioners who were struggling when the rate was 8 UAH to 1 USD!!!

Hence, the photos above: people are stocking up on basic supplies before the prices go up even more.
I went to buy some sugar yesterday and I was surprised that there was none available at the store closest to us. I thought it was strange, but sometimes it happens. Today, I casually mentioned to Mike that Silpo (name of the store) had no sugar and maybe he could check today and see if they had re-stocked the shelves. He said that he had heard there was no sugar, or flour, available in any stores because people were buying it all up before the prices rose again. He went there and sure enough, no sugar, flour or buckwheat.
I decided to go out later to another store a little further from our apartment to find some sugar (we bake a lot :) ). This is where I took these pictures. It was so strange. The store was packed with people and they were filling up their carts and baskets with as many basic items as they could. So many people were on cell phones, calling people and telling them what was, or was not available, at this store.

It reminded me of the day before a snow storm in New York- people stocking up on items because they might not be able to leave their home for a few days.

This was different though, people stocking up on items because they might not be able to afford them in a few days.

Crazy.

Spring is Coming

Have we mentioned that March 1st is also the first day of Spring here in Ukraine? We have had another mild winter on this side of the Carpathians.

It has been very interesting to keep updated with our family and friends in the Northeast through Facebook- you all have been dealing with a lot of snow! Mike got a small taste of it when he was in the US in January, but here in Uzhhorod, we only had about 3-4 different snow storms that left any kind of accumulation worthy of taking out the sled. 

In spite of this, we are definitely ready for some warmer temperatures, longer days and grass.

This week began in the 50's (F) and looks like it will stay that way all week! We took advantage of it yesterday by hanging out on the playground. It was about 55-57 degrees, even though S and F look quite bundled up in the pictures (Mike says I'm turning into a Ukrainian mama)- but I didn't want them to get cold or feel a draft. Plus, it was shady here and there.

Speaking about drafts... This guy [Andy Frecka] lives in Moscow and writes about the culture- it is SO similar to the culture here in Ukraine: http://andyfrecka.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-chilling-draft-of-russia.html

The following are select excerpts from his post pertaining to drafts:

"If you are not from Russia, you must understand, that The Chilling Draft Of Russia is not to be compared with the elementary air movement you may sometimes experience in your home.  For The Chilling Draft Of Russia is to be feared.  At all times."

"One time I was riding a train in (the) Ukraine.  It was a bazillion degrees outside and I am not joking when I say the train was crawling at a snail's pace in the hot sun, from Kharkov to Kyiv.  This produced what is known as the "greenhouse effect".  It was so hot, my kids pulled out birch branches and started beating each other on the back.  If you know what I mean. [Annie's note: This is done in the sauna.]

My eyes darted around the wagon as my head swam from the sweltering heat.  With considerable effort, I stood up and managed to pry one of the windows open a few inches.

Immediately a unanimous shout rose from around the wagon, "THE DRAFT!!!!".

Because even in (the) Ukraine, heat stroke is a walk in the park, in comparison to The Chilling Draft Of (the) Ukraine."

Went outside to play on the "playground" (it's actually an area of outdoor exercise equipment- but most of it has had crucial elements rust away...)

Owl Hat- handmade by Chrissy Solanky (she is taking orders ;) )

Fedya- feeling reflective.

Life in a Ukrainian Kindergarten- New Year's Celebration

I know this post is way over-due, but I must share it. Solomiya's class at kindergarten had a celebration/pagent for New Year's. Each child had their own special role and lines to learn. Solomiya was a snowflake and had to wear a special dress and tiara. Here- she is spinning around in her costume- hence the blurriness.

Sweetie pie. She loves the camera. Most of the time.

At school during the celebration. The kids sang, danced and recited lines. They did a great job, especially for 2 1/2 and 3 year-olds. Solomiya knew her lines perfectly thanks to Mike who worked with her several times a day leading up to the celebration. Did she recite them there? Of course not. It's okay- she's only 3 and public speaking is a scary thing for most people. Maybe next time- I hear there may be another celebration for March 8th- Women's Day!

Each child received a gift from 'Did Moroz' or Father Frost aka Santa. (It was filled with chocolates.)

Group shot.

Solomiya and her dearest friend, Anichka. Too cute.

News and Updates

Solomiya took my phone and apparently was taking pictures of Fedya. Not bad, nice Ukrainian colors.

Solomiya enjoys playing with Fedya- he enjoys it too, even if it means allowing your big sister to put bows in your hair and fancy shoes on your feet. This is funny, because my sister and I did the same thing to our brother.

Celebrated my birthday by making an apple pie with a heart-shaped crust. Looks bleh, tasted good.

Also celebrated my birthday at the park. I will explain this picture: In the middle you can see several ladies standing in front of a white, wall-like object. It turns out, they were making a camouflage net to send to the Ukrainian army in the East. White- because it is quite snowy there. The ladies invited all the people who were passing by to tie strips of white material on the net. Very cool.

Mike had the opportunity to speak at a friend's church. AND- he spoke the entire message in Ukrainian. He was talking for like 25-30 minutes. So proud of him. Now- I know it looks like there was only 1 person there listening, but I assure you there were more. Maybe 40 people.

Life in a Ukrainian Kindergarten- The Business Side

"Pay your bills by the 10th of the month." and "Dear Parents, please do not come inside." (My translation)

Didn't pay your school bill last month? Well, everyone else is about to know... (Interesting approach though). Speaking of bills, I thought I would add a little commentary about money and kindergarten. When S first began back in July, we had to pay 1000r to the school and 1000r to the classroom. At that time- with the exchange rate then- it was about $200. The director and the teachers use the money to buy supplies, do remodeling etc. Every month we have to pay 30r (which now is like less than $2) to a "parents fund" (for events and such) and also about 40-50r per month for food- breakfast, lunch, snacks and a light supper if the kids stay that late (that is less than $5 a month!). I'd say this is a pretty good deal.

The play-doh showcase!!! They work with a play-doh-like-substance 1-2 times a week and the teachers display the skills they were working on and each child's work (the OT side of me loves this- thank you teacher for working on their fine motor skills). S's is the 2nd from the end.

This could potentially be the most important piece of paper displayed in the corridor- the Cookie Schedule. Each kid takes a turn bringing in cookies for the whole class for snack time. It works out to be every other month. Our next cookie day is February 23rd.

All of the kids birthdays displayed in a cool way- according to the season.

Art work! The teachers provide a written explanation of the specific skills/techniques they were working on that day. They display them in the corridor each week. Of course, this one is S's.

Another work of art- they were practicing circles.

"Ahhhhh!" That is what happened after I read this note. I didn't understand what the virus was, but I most certainly understood the word "Quarantine"! One of the kids had the Chicken Pox and they are required to post the news to all of the parents.