KIDS CORNER
Alex continues to amaze us with his adult vocabulary, using phrases such as, "Absolutely adorable", "Very impressive", and "Yes, I am certain!"  Jonah just celebrated his 4th birthday on Jan. 10th. Although he misses Alex while he is at school, I think that he is also enjoying getting to be in charge! Jonah still loves to do puzzles, and has been practicing writing his name and coloring in the lines. Isaac is doing great too. At almost 3 years old, he is very independent and frequently tells us that, "I can do it all by myself!" He is also enjoying having Jonah all to himself all day, and the two of them play together very well. In other news, the boys are really enjoying not having to ride in car seats here in Ukraine! They love being able to look out the windows, and climb in and out on their own. Jonah got to ride on a bus the other day when I took him to the store, and it was all he could talk about when he got home! And of course there is the sled that we use to pull them around the courtyard or the square. All in all, it would appear that the boys would prefer Ukrainian modes of transportation! CREATIVE IDEAS WANTED!We have decided to make another movie to share with you about the things we are doing here. Last time we did a newscast, which came out well (if you haven't seen it Go to the blog and you can watch it there). I'm not sure if it is the Russian on my brain, or just extended jet lag but I can't seem to come up with a creative theme for our next flick. So I need your help! Please send me ideas on a theme, you can email them to gainers@five4one.org.
|
|
Could I have another serving of bureaucracy please?
Many people asked us when we arrived here in Ukraine, if we
liked Ukraine. And for the most
part we love it here. The people
are very concerned for one another, the relationships we have made have been
really enjoyable, and we really love our church here. Frankly there is very little to be annoyed by. That was until I had the pleasure of
dealing with local government bureaucrats.  Whenever a foreigner comes to a new city for an extended
period of time, they are required to register with city officials and prove
that they have somewhere to live, that they are here legally, and that they can
financially live without resorting to theft. (Although about halfway through the process, I had thought
about resorting to violence!) This
all sounds fairly reasonable and straight forward, right? Wrong! Nothing against government workers as a whole, but it's like
their bonuses depended on how much of a run around they could give us. It's been four days now of collecting
stamps, signatures, and official documents (I use the word "official" loosely
here), and we still have not provided sufficient proof that we are legit. Jon Hoglund (another American
missionary) and I have been joking that we need a stamp to prove we are not
camels. All joking aside, as
I look back on this process though I've been fairly annoyed at times; we have
made some great connections with Ukrainians that I can see God using to bring
forth glory to his name. At the end
of the day, the lesson to be learned here is this; We can be filled with joy
and trust in God because we can be certain that every detail in our lives of
love for God is worked into something good. (Rom. 8:28)
|
|
Sending Stuff to Ukraine.
Some of you have been asking about how to send us stuff in Ukraine. Well we have found a great method. Check it out. www.Meest.us We can send up to 70 lb. box. Wade Baffa and Mike Matthews at Campaignpros are sending a box for those of you in the Quad City Area. You may reach them at 866-343-6131 or wbaffa@campaignpros.com to find out the details. They will be shipping on February 25th. 
At the risk of being rude, here are some of the things we really miss...
Travel mugs (nobody believes me that these exist, they also want to
know why we are running around when we drink coffee), chocolate chips,
brown sugar (all the ladies here are enamored with this stuff),
marshmallows (also a big hit with our guests), baking powder, smelly
candles, pumpkin pie spice; Jenny really likes the Weber grill
creations mixed spices, peanut butter, we miss some of the flavored coffees and powdered creamers (there is
a blueberry cobbler coffee that rocks!), J-ello, pudding mixes, spiral
notebooks, powder sugar, Zip-lock bags, Splenda packets and maple syrup. We would also
love to get some pictures of all of you! |
Alex Goes to Kindergarten
Well, Alex (and Mommy!) survived the first week of Kindergarten here in Ukraine.
On January 21st, Alex got tested to see which school they would place him in. The teachers said that he is one of the smartest 5 year olds that they have ever tested! But we already knew that! So, in September, he will be attending the best school in the city to start first grade. In order to get Alex ready that school which only speaks Ukrainian, the recommended that we have him go to Kindergarten so that he can learn as much Ukrainian as possible by September.
His first week was a little rough, which we expected.  He had trouble eating some of the food and taking naps at nap time, and one day was pretty discouraged because he said he didn't have any friends. We assured him that it isn't that the kids don't like him, just that they don't know how to communicate, and the best way to make some friends is to learn the language. Speaking of learning the language, he is doing really well with that so far. He will randomly use Russian words (and some Ukrainian) and when he speaks to other Ukrainians, they are amazed by his ability to pronounce words with no accent.
This was a pretty hard adjustment for Mommy too. When we were in South Carolina, I homeschooled the boys and was with them all day. But the school schedule here has really changed that. Now, Alex goes to school at 8:00 am and comes home between 5:00 and 5:30 pm. They feed him breakfast, lunch and dinner plus two snacks, and he takes a nap at school.
It has been a hard transition, but we are all doing great, especially Alex.
|
|
|
