After Action Report

     I'm back from the retreat and, wow, I have a lot to talk about. It's been a couple of days and I can finally sit down and write about it. I came back to a normal week with English Club, lessons, studying and life that needed taking care of before I could write this.
     For the trip, our group traveled by bus to a sanatorium about an hour south of here. It's a place called Prolisok. On a scale of one to ten, this was the run-down equivalent of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining. Really. That was my first thought as I was walking down the hall to my room for the first time. I could see that it was a very nice place back when it was new. Hardwood floors, marble in the lobby, an artificial beach, expansive facilities, a playground, and football field.

The electrical box supplying the heater in the main meeting room.

     But counter to that, it was typical Soviet-era construction. All hard edges with wood decorations in some places to soften things a little. Not knowing a lot about the economics of managing a sanatorium, I can only guess that the business is barely scraping by. The only heat in the whole building was in the dining area, bedrooms and meeting rooms. For the most part, those heaters only took the chill off of things. It took a lot of activity to warm things up in there. Most people were wearing winter coats inside just to keep warm.
     Anyways, this was an interesting weekend. I had been hoping for a relaxing weekend, but it wasn't to be. David normally leads the English at events like this. But he was out of town and the duty fell to me. It showed me that I still need practice with leading. But, despite my problems, it went well.

Unscrambling sentences in English.

     We had English all three days. Friday, the schedule changed at the last minute and we had to fill two hours instead of one. I brought some games and activities to do besides just the lessons. That helped take up some of the time. Saturday and Sunday were only one-hour classes. All three days went much like the lessons at the Liberty summer camp. We would read the article and then discuss whatever vocabulary they had questions about. I then asked some questions about the article to get the students to try and express ideas and opinions in English. I was able to use leftover material from the summer for the articles.

Day one and the first lesson.

     The point of the weekend was to show whomever attended more about church and church-life. Many of the students were (or are) not Christians and it was a big spiritual challenge for them. I know that Max's lessons were informative and though-provoking. I didn't have a translator for his lessons this time. I sat through the first lesson and tried to listen and understand. But, like usual, he speaks to fast and my vocabulary just isn't good enough right now. The other two lessons, I skipped some or all so I could go help with logistics and setting up things.
     The activities for the weekend changed as certain speakers and other activities backed out. We ended up with a public speaking teacher on Friday evening. He was able to give some great tips on speaking in public. There were two things I really appreciated from his lecture. First, he had people come up and practice from the very beginning. Second, he emphasized how people should always try to delete "filler" words from their speaking. Meaning, they should never say things like "uh, um, er, ah, etc."
     Saturday, we had two different kinds of dance class in the afternoon. I skipped this part but my camera made it's way into the room where they were dancing. So I've got a bunch of pictures from that event that I didn't take. The dancing was happening around the same time as my problem from yesterday's post.
     The food for the weekend was cooked by the staff at the sanatorium. For the most part, it was standard Ukrainian camp food. I'd say it was better than what we had last summer in Odessa. I enjoyed most of the meals. And for once, the grechka was actually good. By itself, it's as bland as warm cardboard. But with the right sauce, it's actually very good.

Two sausages on a skewer.

     In other food-related news, we had a "BBQ" on Saturday night. Obviously that's in quotations because it means something very different from what I'm used to. In Ukraine, that basically means cooking food over an open fire on a grill on kebab skewers. I got to help start the fire. It was cold and windy but we managed. It felt good to finally have it blazing. After a while, I was forced out because of all the people. But I did get to cook some sausage and enjoy the warmth for a while.
     On a similar note, I'm looking forward to September when I can have some real BBQ. Pulled pork, brisket, thick-cut fries, iced tea and mounds of Memphis Belle sauce from Mission BBQ.
     If you are interested, and can read Russian, here is the schedule we worked off of for the weekend.
Пятница 12.02.2016 
11:00 – 12:00 Выезд 
12:00 – 13:00 Расселение, айс-брейкеры 
13:00 – 14:00 Обед 
14:00 – 14:30 Сиеста 
14:30 – 16:30 English 
16:30 – 18:30 Шаг вперед 
18:30 – 19:30 Ужин 
19:30 – 21:00 Мастер-класс (риторика) 
21:00 – 22:30 Настольные игры 

Суббота 13.02.2016 
10:00 – 11:00 Завтрак 
11:00 – 12:00 Devotion 
12:00 – 14:00 Мастер-класс (танцы) 
14:00 – 15:00 Обед 
15:00 – 16:00 Сиеста 
16:00 – 17:00 English 
17:00 – 18:30 Smart movie 
18:30 – 19:30 Ужин 
19:30 – 21:30 Шаг вперед 
21:30 – 23:30 BBQ 

Воскресенье 14.02.2016 
10:00 – 11:00 Завтрак 
11:00 – 13:00 Богослужение 
13:00 – 14:00 Обед 
14:00 – 15:00 English 
15:00 – 17:00 Шаг вперед 
17:00 – 18:00 Закрытие 
18:00 – 19:00 Ужин 
19:00 – Отъезд     

     I am encouraged by the response to the weekend from the students. All of them truly enjoyed the activities and lessons. During the closing event, many shared thanks for the staff for organizing the whole weekend. All of the staff, from the teachers to the logistics expert, made it a success. I also have high hopes for Liberty moving forward from here.
     Since Liberty is intended to be a church-plant, regular worship services will be starting soon. Initially, they'll be held once a month on the last Sunday. The first service is going to be on the 28th. Please keep that in your prayers. It's a big event in this process and we all are hoping and praying it goes well.

The main light switch in my room. Hidden behind the vanity.

I got to tell several people that I'm from the home of the world-famous Reading Railroad.

       I put all the other pictures here in a folder on my VK page. You can look there if you want to see more from the weekend.

Everyone from the group that went plus two dancing teachers.

     Thus ends the recap.