End of the weekend

     Tomorrow is a new week for me. More language classes, Walking English, and just life. For now, I just need some sleep and then to cram for my Monday lesson. Since I spent so much time with the Manchester team, I didn't have my normal study time to do this lesson. I think I can get it all done before class.
     Today was a good day. It was the final full day for the Manchester team. They fly out on Monday. Their leader Matt, who is also their co-pastor, preached in church today. He spoke from Acts 1:1-11 about how, before we can celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb, we have to take the Gospel to the world.
     After church and lunch, we walked around the campus of Kiev Polytechnic Institute and the park in front of it. I found out three weeks ago, when I went to the Zoo, that Igor Sikorsky studied there. He's famous for many successful helicopter designs as well as the company he founded to design and build them. One of their manufacturing plants is in Coatesville, PA and I applied to work there last year. Walking around this afternoon was a good chance for the team to get to know the area and some of the people a little better. That's been the main purpose for coming here.
     In the evening, we all went back to Pastor Max's house for a cookout and a Q&A. Some of their team met with a small group from Big City on Saturday. But Max wanted them to speak to and hear from more people from Big City. It was a good time to learn more about their history. They are less than a year old but truly want to make missions a major focus. It was great having them here this weekend. I really enjoyed meeting Christians from the UK. That's not something that happens often enough.
     I remembered today that I forgot to write about the Walking English meeting on Friday. It was a long, late night. I didn't get back to my place until around 23:30. Riding the metro that late at night is an interesting experience. But the English time was good. The original plan was to go for a boat tour of the the Dnieper river. That wound up being too expensive so we decided to go for a walk. After we finally decided on a destination and route, we got to actually do some talking. Most of them had been to the Liberty camp this year but there were several who I didn't know. We ended up sitting and playing games until well after dark. The nightlife in that part of Kiev is much different than I'm used to. Noisy college-age people everywhere. Like I said, it was good. Lots of good conversation and hopefully I cleared up a lot of questions about English.
     Alright, sleep time. I need to be doing a lot of studying tomorrow.

Weekender update

     I haven't written anything here in a little bit. So I guess it's time for me to put words in front of one another, punctuated by punctuation, and make a coherent series of thoughts.
     I've had a busy three days. Thursday was my regularly scheduled language lesson. That went well but I had an interesting experience on the marshrutka. It was packed. As in, there couldn't be more people in there unless they sat on each other's laps. There wasn't even space for "standing room only." For the first two stops I was standing in the stairwell until some people got off. But I made it to the lesson with no trouble. After the lesson, things got interesting. My tutor rode with me for a few stops before getting off. At the second stop after she got off, the marshrutka broke down. Being the <sarcasm ON> high-strung, easily-excited, panicky <sarcasm OFF> person that I am, I immediately thought, "huh." It was OK. I didn't have anything other than dinner planned for that night.
     I just followed the crowd. I was the last person off the marshrutka. By then I had about 15 cases of precedent to go by. I tried waiting for the next one to come along but it and the second were packed. So I walked about half a mile down the road to get to another stop. By then another come along shortly and I got on with no problem. I learned that day that if you go in the back doors, just pass the money to the front. Make sure it's the exact fare. Less chance of anything being stolen. I even met one of the staff from Kiev Christian Academy after I got back on. He was heading home from work.
     Earlier on Thursday, I had lunch with David Purvis. It was a introduction/planning/explanation meeting to help me get a little more acquainted with what all I'll be doing. He had wanted to do a get-to-know-you meeting for a while now. Finally after a month, we got to do it.
     During Thursday afternoon, I got a message about the activities planned for Friday. A small church team is here from Manchester in the UK to learn about the Protestant churches here and possibly start a partnership with one of them. I was part of the group going with them sightseeing around the city. It was mostly places I've already seen before. But I think my ulterior motive (that I wasn't informed of ahead of time) was to be an outside voice from Big City. They are here to learn about the church and I guess they would want an opinion of someone who isn't a member. But it was good to be with them. It's interesting meeting other Christians from around the world.
     The team is from a church called City Church Manchester. Theirs is a small church of about forty members. It's relatively young but has a strong vision for missions. They want to partner with another church to send regular trips.
     Saturday was much of the same as Friday. Walking around, seeing the city, dodging crowds, and enjoying the weather. After the fun, we all headed back to the church office. I and Dasha split off from the group to get some things for dinner. She and Yuri are the geniuses behind Walking English.
     David Purvis leads a group of new believers that meets occasionally. Dasha and Yuri are both involved in this group as part of it's ministry. Tonight was the first meeting since summer started. It was dinner, a game, and a lecture about the Bible. We actually had a surprise. One of the new believers invited a friend of his that had been at Liberty camp. To the best of our knowledge, she hasn't made a profession of faith. But she seemed interested in the lecture and didn't shy away from participating in the game. I think that's an encouraging sign. Please pray for her and this group. Her name is Alina. This group is one of the tasks I'll be helping with while I'm here. Being a friend, possibly mentoring, and just being there to talk. I'll keep you updated on how it goes.

     Oh, I saw two familiar faces in Kiev today. The kind with seven slots and JEEP decals in the middle. One was even driving with all the doors off. That makes the Jeep tally for the week a grand total of four. A TJ and three JKU's.

Questions and Answers

     Alright everyone, here it is. The first Q&A post for this blog. Not a whole lot of questions so I'll try to make the answers extra long. The first few are about Walking English but I did get one about the elder class and a few others that I'll share. I'd like to make this a regular feature so I'll let you know ahead of time when the next one with be. Other than that, I'll be answering questions right in the comments. So, let's get started.

1. How many people take part in Walking English?
     It depends on the night. The first time we had six. One I had not met before. The online group seems to be growing quickly. The last time (before the retreat) we had five. All were people I had met at camp or the previous Walking English get-together.
     The staff are trying to get more people involved. Many of the students are even inviting their friends. Even if they aren't proficient, students can still come and learn. In my case, just hearing Russian spoken helps me to more quickly translate the words I do know. I believe the same is true for many of the students. Hearing me speak, along with the others, should help them with their comprehension.

2. Are any if them proficient English speakers?
     I guess by proficient you mean they can convey their thoughts and opinions with little difficulty? Then yes. All of them know English to some degree or another. Actually most of them already have a good grasp of the language. Each could get along just fine without a translator if they visited an English-speaking country. Obviously they aren't going to be speaking perfectly. That's the whole point of getting together to talk. They get to practice as well as ask question about grammar so they can add to their knowledge.

3. Do any staff come?
     Yes. The first time there were two staff from camp as well as me. The second it was just one. A small group met while we were away this weekend. That meant it was just students getting together. More of a study session than class. I guess the idea of walking around the city and speaking English appeals to a lot of people and they want to continue it as often as possible. We'll be going out again Friday night. Possibly a river tour. So I might have a captive audience. (Insert evil laugh here)

4. Does the elder class take place in English or do you have someone translating?
      The person who taught it was a PCA pastor in Texas for about 20 years. His name is Jerry Rahm. He does fill-in preaching now for churches who need a pulpit filled on Sundays. So that means the classes were in English with translation for the elder candidates. Pastor Max translated twice and the other two days were shared by two women from Big City, Dara Nikitiuk and Katya Lavrinchuk.

5. How many people on average come to church on Sunday?
     On average, between 25 and 30 people come to church each Sunday. Like a typical church, there will be people absent. But attendance, compared to membership, seems to be higher relative to churches in the US. I can't say with certainty, but it seems like the percentage of regular attendees is higher than normal. That might be because of a range of reasons; the demographic, the ages, or just culture.

6. Were there more or less at the retreat?
     I'd say there were over 30 at the retreat. My guess is about 33. Some couldn't be there because of work or other commitments.

7. What is the age demographic?  
     The age range seems is roughly between 18 and 35. At 28, I seem to be among the oldest at church although there are a few who are older (like Max, his wife Nina, and my language tutor Nadia). However most are in university or have recently graduated. Before the retreat, I thought one or two of the elder candidates were older than me. Now I'm almost certain I'm older than all of them. Despite that, I feel like what ever age difference there is, it's not a problem.
     I'm at the age where I can easily relate to people ten years younger than me all the way up to ten years older. I'm not so far removed from college that I don't know what it's like to study for hours on end. But I also have six years of real-world career experience that I can draw from. <Bryan Mills voice ON> I have a certain set of skills. <Bryan Mills voice OFF> More specifically, a range of experiences that makes relating with the people of the church easy. We like similar music and movies. We are at similar points in our lives. Many of them want to change to a better career that offers better opportunities. I've been at that point for the last three or four years. But the best thing is that I feel like I'm a part of the group. It's not like I'm trying to fit in with the cool crowd at highschool. I've said this a few times already but I don't remember to whom. So I'll just repeat this (very unoriginal) thought here. Ukrainians are like watermelons. They have a hard shell but once you break through, they are very sweet. By sweet I mean kind, welcoming, caring and friendly.

     OK folks, that's all I have for now. Thanks for the questions. I really enjoy writing in the blog. I'd consider writing one of my many hobbies although I do sometimes suffer from a lack of inspiration. However, that hasn't been much of a problem so far for the blog. It's also helpful to know people are reading it and enjoying it. I hope by the time I'm done here, there will be a huge pile of posts that I can look back at and have a good record of the time I was in Ukraine. This is my third time here. The previous two times I wrote in a journal what all I did plus some personal thoughts. But this has been a first. Well, other than my Tumblr page. That got a few opinion posts but nothing substantial like this. It feels good to write a lot about the things that are going on here.
     Finally, I'd like to point out that yesterday, the 25th of August, marked one full month of being here in Ukraine. It doesn't feel like it. I don't want the time to go fast. But it's helpful that I don't feel overwhelmed by the length of time (past or remaining) either.

Post-retreat Update

     I need a vacation. Or at least a long night's sleep. It never fails. I have fun with a big group of Ukrainians and I lose sleep. Not that I'm complaining. It was some of the best fun I've had in a while with a great group of people. But sometimes I forget about the time (or stop caring) and I get to be at 1AM or, like last night, at 2:15AM.
     The last four days were a great chance to get to know the people of Big City Church better. My sphere of knowledge was only a few people before Friday. But thanks to spending hours on end with them, I'm glad to know more of them a little better. I still have a lot to learn though. Jerry Rahm, the pastor from Texas, made it a point to sit and talk with as many people as he could one-on-one. I could do well to copy that example.
     Speaking of Jerry, he did an excellent job conveying his message this weekend. He isn't afraid of using old and new friends to make a point or a joke. And the humor he does use is put to great use. Even through a translator, he made people laugh. The whole point of his series this weekend was to help Big City to improve its function as a church and a family. I wrote a little about it before. Improving how they show compassion, care, love, trust, and faith while sharing in their struggles and successes will determine how their ministry to the people of Kiev grows. They have to care for their own members who are struggling. They have to welcome visitors warmly. They should grow with, support, encourage, serve, and love their fellow members because they are part of the same body. Each has a function and should do it to the best of their ability.
     We had a schedule for the weekend. However, it was more of a suggestion than a strict set of guidelines. As such, we switched and swapped a lot of things throughout the weekend. The night game that was planned for Friday never happened (even with trying to do it Sunday night). Instead we had a fire and cooked sausages and marshmallows. That was definitely my favorite part of the whole weekend. It's a rare time that I experience a moment of total contentedness where I wouldn't change anything. Sitting around the fire with the people of Big City while someone plays a guitar and others sing is exactly that moment. Good food, good friends, good music, a warm fire on a cool summer night and the Milky Way shining overhead. I didn't even understand all the words they were saying. But in that moment, I realized I am exactly where I need to be.
     Did I mention the kite making? I think so. Too lazy now to go back and look. But it went well. Other than not having the requisite wind to make the kites work that is. Dara (the leader of this retreat) found a set of instructions online that I used to guide them in making six different kites. Plastic bags, sticks, string, tape and some super glue. The individual steps are easy. But apparently, growing up in the city means most of them have never done anything like this. I grew up making things like this for fun. I'm just glad that now I can share that experience with them.



     As part of the closing ceremony, we had a neon powder war. You've probably seen videos of it. A group of attractive, twenty-somethings throwing neon-colored powder in the air and at each other. If not, have a look at our version. Lots of fun but a total mess fest. I'm gonna be finding that powder for weeks. It's all over my camera and it was sitting away from the action. My sandals were purple and I wasn't even wearing them. It's taken at least three times blowing my nose to clear out all the blue gunk. Messy but still fun. For future reference, wear clothes that are going to be washed right away. Or be ready to go swimming. I'm going to shower now and get the remainder out of my hair.
      Have a great week and thanks for reading. Look for the Q&A post this week. Oh, BTW, this blog saw it's 1000th visitor this weekend. Thanks.

Saturday

     I won't be posting every day this weekend. I just don't have a lot of time between the end of activities and sleep time. Last night I was playing THIS game until almost 1AM. It's like someone crossed Four-Square with soccer. It's fun and a little addicting.
     This weekend, starting yesterday, morning is the Big City Church retreat. We're at a camp north of Kiev right on a part of the Dnipr river called the Kiev Sea. The accomodations seem fairly standard for camps here. No AC but the weather has been beautiful. No need for it. Like most retreats, this is designed to give the church members a chance to relax without the demands of daily life. Classes were organized for them to learn while having fun. As I'm writing this, there is a break-dancing class going on nearby. Yesterday, there was shooting (just airsoft) and makeup. There will also be cooking (making blini), kite making (taught by me), disc - golf, and water games. After the stress of two camps (for some people), they need a break. The food hasn't been bad either. Maybe I'm just getting used to it. I managed to finish the plate of plain buckwheat that was served for breakfast.
     Pastor Jerry, who was teaching the elder class this week, is also the featured speaker for the weekend. Friday night he spoke about the church and some of the attributes it should have. Things like family and worship. He'll be continuing that theme through the time here. Today he spoke about compassion and patience and the need for the church to be attractive to non-believers.
     On the English front, it's also been a good time for people to practice. I didn't realize there were so many people in the church who could speak it. At this point, I think there are more who can than can't. But being here is also forcing me to learn Russian too. Just listening to people, I hear words I recognize but I can also make guesses at other words.
     We finished off the night with an un-talent show. One thing I've learned here is that Ukrainians love to perform. If it's just a silly little skit or song, they don't have much regard for getting laughed at. The point is that other people are laughing and having fun along with them.
     I don't know if mentioned the challenges at Liberty camp. Yes, there were difficulties but this is different. The students got a challenge on a piece of paper that they had to complete. The person with the most points at the end of the week was Kostya. The game was continued this weekend. I'm convinced that the point of a lot of the challenges was to laugh at the Americans. But it's all in good fun. Four of us got to stand in front of the group and sing a children's song in Russian. Trainwreck is a good way of describing it. But they liked it so it must have been ok.
     Included for posterity is a photo of the break-dancing class.

Thursday

     Real quick post for tonight. Tomorrow I'm leaving to go on the church retreat and I need to sleep and pack before meeting at the office at 9AM tomorrow. I'll just write my notes out similar to how they are in my notebook.

• Elders are to live/model/demonstrate the life of Christ.
• Elders need to be overseer. They should watch carefully, pay attention to the needs of the congregation. The need to talk/communicate with the congregation, especially those they don't see/talk to often.
• The elders should love the congregation as Christ loves the church. They are entrusted to the elders. The elders have the responsibility to care for the people. Read about Moses to see how he led the people.
• Elders need to become the servant of the people. Show humility.

     Yeah, it's not clear and written out like the past few days but there has been a lot going on today. I just got back from a late-evening walk with some of the people from English club. It was similar to the event on Tuesday. It seems like this will be a regular thing. The group is called Walking English. We walk around different parts of the city and talk in English. Sometimes it will be about something historical in the city. Other times it's just a preplanned topic and I help them with their vocabulary. It's just a good way of getting together and practicing. It sure beats being stuck in a classroom.

A Quick Note

     This post is probably a little self-evident and a lot of obvious blather. But I'd like to say it because I think it's interesting. It's amazing how much confidence comes from knowledge. More so with experience.
     Today was another language lesson. I had to travel to the northern part of the city by marshrutka to get there. Today, for the first time, I rode the marshrutka by myself. I planned ahead of time to figure out which number I needed to look for and I even figured out (with Google Street View) which stop to get off at. So the ride itself was uneventful. Both times (going to and from the lesson) went smoothly. I got on, paid the driver, and sat down. Of course it was during the middle of the afternoon and not rush hour. Small steps. Maybe another time. But for now, I'm happy with that.
     The lesson went mostly well. OBVIOUSNESS ALERT - Learning a new language is hard. However, and I'm probably disillusioned by having studied a little before, it's going well I think. It's a big confidence boost when I successfully remember a word or phrase that I need or when I master a new word or phrase.
     I know in the grand scheme of things I don't know anything. But having the knowledge of how to ride the marshrutka and knowing more words than I did last week really boosts my confidence. I'm nowhere near being a fully active member of society with interaction and conversation and questioning. But I at least know where I need to go, how to get there, and a few more details of what to say. It's all a learning process. The process is going better than I had hoped or imagined.