For the time being, all food service places are required to wear masks.

It was reported to be everything from biological warfare, to the pneumatic plague, to simply a campaigning ploy by the top political leaders. After the smoke has cleared and the information looked at, it appears that Ukraine, especially the western part, was hit by 3 different strains of the flu virus, including the swine flu, or California flu, as they call it here. One of these viruses quickly attacks the lungs and it can take a life very quickly if not attended to immediately. At this time of year and in this part of the country the death toll is higher than usual. It seems that everyone you talk to has family or friends, or knows someone, who was sick or died from the flu. Just this week my next-door neighbor was found dead in his apartment as a result of the flu. By the grace of God, none of the missionaries in L’viv have fallen sick, and we are taking measures to stay healthy. We didn’t have kids’ club or English club for a couple of weeks because of the quarantine, but school is back in session next week and our ministry schedule will be back to normal. It has been a blessing to hear our church members testify how they have been able to speak of Christ and the peace he gives in these times of life’s uncertainty.

The Lord blessed me with this beautiful sunset yesterday as I was walking home and this verse came to mind.

Sometime you have one of those days that just stands out from the rest. Yesterday was like that for Laurel and me. It all began when we arrived at the Ukrainian church to take part in a craft class and when we got there realized it was part of a major seminar, which we’re pretty sure they didn’t tell us beforehand. Since it was supposed to last all day and entail much more than we planned we decided not to attend. So instead of the seminar we headed to the train station to check on schedule and prices for our vacation trip to Hungary. Laurel bought the tram tickets and after punching the tickets I put mine in a pocket. One stop from the train station the ticket control officer came by and asked for our tickets. Laurel showed hers right away and I started looking for mine. I searched my coat pockets and briefcase bag several times, telling her all the time that I have one, I promise, but I just can’t find it. The lady was just about to write me up and charge me a fine when Laurel noticed a little piece of paper sticking out of my sweater pocket. Then I remembered that I specifically put it there so I would have it if someone checked. Didn’t I feel like a jerk. Well, we got off the tram at the train station and headed for the main entrance. We hadn’t walked far when a man started staggering toward us. I realized that he was drunk and moved to the side so we wouldn’t bump into him. As I moved he lunged toward me trying to grab me or my bag and saying something we didn’t understand. At that moment Laurel and I started running away across the street, right in front of a bus that was slowing down to stop. I guess that long honk was for us. I’m pretty sure we lost him at that point, but we were looking over our shoulders the rest of the time we were in that area.

We got our needed information at the station from a very cheerful and helpful young lady at the desk. NOT! Customer service still needs some work here in Ukraine. Even our trip to the restroom was an adventure, but I will not go into details here. After finding beans at the bazaar and finding out that we didn’t need to visit one of our church members at the hospital because she was coming home later we decided to stop at the coffee shop for dessert and a “much needed cappuccino”.  After ordering a very delicious looking struedel the waitress returned to tell us that they didn’t have any more. Our replacements were delicious and we were rested and refreshed after walking several kilometers since  starting out that morning. Time will not permit me to recall the events that Laurel and I encountered separately as we split from each other and headed home.

Last week Bible Baptist Church had its first service at my apartment, its new location for the winter months or until we find another building in which to meet. We had a full house with 19 folks, but we are praying that we will burst at the seams and have even more. Pray with us for this outcome.  It was also a good week for our Kids’ Club on Saturday. We had a good group and a great time learning the books of the Bible. The kids and leaders split into two groups and raced against the clock to put the Old Testament book cards in order. It was lots of fun and a great learning experience.

Olena and Laurel

Genesis, Exodus,...

Strange as it may sound, I have always wanted to dig potatoes with Ukrainians. I thought it would help me accustom myself to the people and their culture better, and understand first hand the physical hardship it involves. I suppose, if you have done this every year since you were 9 or 10 years old, you would be used to it, but for a first timer, it was pretty tiring and painful. Most families don’t have modern equipment, so it means taking a horse-drawn plow row by row, gathering the potatoes that have been unearthed into buckets,  and then emptying the buckets into 70-80 lb. sacks that the men will load onto a horse-drawn cart and take home to store or sell.  There is a hand tool used to break up dirt and find any potatoes that aren’t seen on the surface. It involves a lot of bending, reaching, and lifting.  Don’t get me wrong, I really did enjoy doing it, and it was a good time and a testimony to the Bardwell’s unsaved neighbors. Four of the  Bardwell kids, Laurel, Olena, and I all came out to help them that day. And next year? We’ll see.

row by row, potato by potato

The 92 year old grandmother worked right beside us.

Praise the Lord for great weather.

All in a day's work.

Our Tuesday evening English club continues to go well. We are regularly having at least 10 young adults each week, and they seem to be relaxed and enjoy our tea and cookie time after the sessions. Last week one of the girls asked what we do besides the English club and we had the opportunity to explain the correspondence Bible course to her. By the time I showed her a lesson the whole group was listening and we ended up giving everyone there a starter packet with lesson one. Praise the Lord for an open door.

Jessie answers Taras's questions over tea

3 of the girls show off their memo boards they created

I continue to work with the youth ministry at Greater Grace on Saturday afternoons, and we have been having a good number of kids come each week. We have a wide range of ages, and many more girls than boys. We are praying and working on improving our time together, and including more scripture memorization as well as theme- related Bible lessons. We try to include some English in each of our meetings, as this seems to be an incentive for some to come. I have been trying to put verses in Psalms to music and teaching them to the group as one more way to learn the Word of God. Thank you for your prayers for this ministry.

Dad talks with one of the students at English club

Well, I just spent almost an hour preparing this post, and with one unintentional click deleted everything. Sooo, I  hope that I can remember what I was saying and make this second attempt interesting and informative. The two weeks my parents were here sped by, but we did and saw a lot in that time.  They were real troopers on the buses and sidewalks, and we praise the Lord for health and safety. Besides sight seeing and meeting my friends they were also able to participate in some of my ministries.  Their first Sunday here we had a “First Bell” picnic, and my mom drew on her 37 years of teaching experience to give a spiritual charge to the students as they headed back to school. One Tuesday evening my parents came to English club and contributed to the conversation that Jessie headed up. They even helped put stamps on correspondence lessons I had to drop off at the post office. We all enjoyed a nice evening of fellowship with the Beals, missionaries from our home church, and were treated to a piano concert by Alexandria and Cassia.  The last few days in Ukraine before flying out of Kiev were spent with the Irelands.  This included some sightseeing and competitive bowling on Wii, but we also attended the mid-week service and had the blessing of meeting and fellowshipping with the church family in Fastiv.  I am not sure what my parents’ favorite part or memory of the trip is, but I can assure you they have some stories to tell.

Olena made borsht and plove for an authentic Ukrainian meal

Mom loved to stand on my balcony and watch people in the neighborhood

Mom, Dad, Benjamin Anna and The Alex Sluk family all arrived AHEAD OF SCHEDULE this morning and were already through customs by the time we got to the airport.  My parents and I had a 2:00 flight to L’viv, so we stayed at the airport and caught up on events, looked at pictures, read books, and anything else to pass the time.  I started to get a little impatient when the flights leaving after us were allowed to check in before us, and no one was giving an explanation to why that was. Finally, about 40 minutes before our flight was scheduled to leave they started the check-in process to L’viv.  We ended up leaving an hour late, and after a 1 1/2 hour flight on a very aged plane we arrived to my town with one less piece of luggage that we had hoped. They promised to deliver it tomorrow around lunch time, so we will have some manditory rest time at home until it comes. Please pray that we have no problems getting my mom’s suitcase. Thanks to all who prayed for a good flight for the group. I also read tonight that the Steele family arrived safe and sound in America, and I know they appreciated your prayers as well.

I realize that it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted and thought I should give an update of what is going on. By the end of the month both the Steele family and Nathan Day will be back in the states for a while. Nathan will be preparing for his wedding to Kaitlyn Rebsch in October and the Steeles will be staying with family in Texas while they take care of some family business and work long-distance on the CBC lesson development. Bryan and I will continue to tackle the correspondence and Good and Evil mailings, and Jessie Beal will be directing the Tuesday evening English Club/Bible study.
Another big event next week will be the arrival of my parents for a two week visit. It is their first time to Ukraine, and it will be interesting to see their initial reactions to the life and country to which I have become accustomed. Please pray for a safe and smooth trip for them, as well as a good time of fellowship for us.