Course Guide

Hi all, another prayer request. I need to go through and see all the ones that have been answered, so that I can let you know. :)

Mum and dad leave tomorrow to begin their journey to Kazan, Russia. I am going with them to Kyiv where we will all stop and visit my sister for her birthday. They'll go on by train to Moscow and then farther on. I'll return home to "hold down the fort".
Part of that includes finishing writing the course guide that I am working on. I had hoped to finish it by the end of the month, but I am only about half way. The last few weeks have been busy getting mum and dad ready to go and having our Canadian mission director and his wife visit us. It's been good, but not good for my course work. Please pray that I am able to finish it in record time with great quality!

Thanks.

Inflation!

I don't think I've written about this recently, but I've thought about it a lot!
Since I arrived in August 2007, less than one year ago, the prices for many things have gone up 1/3-1/2 what they were at that time. For instance, taxis cost 10-11 hr. (about 2 USD), now they are 15-20 (3-4.50 USD).
Apartment rent has gone from $180 USD for a furnished one-bedroom, to $250 USD.
Bus fare to Kyiv has gone up from 35 hr. to 50 hr. ($7 to $11 USD; hr. = hrivna, Ukrainian currency).

Food items have also gone up and we are all holding our breath for the day that public transport goes up. Gas, of course, has gone up, but it was always more expensive here than in the States.

Couple this inflation with the fact that at the beginning of May the dollar fell from 1USD=5.05 hr. to now 1 USD=4.50 hr. and Ukraine is becoming a costly place to live!
By the time my apartment contract is up in August, I anticipate that my landlords will want me to switch from paying in USD to hrivna and will also raise my rent by not less than 40%. All told I expect to have to pay $100 USD more/month than I am paying now and I'm only paying $180/month right now!

Of course, this kind of inflation affects me personally, however, it affects our office much more. It means that we have to continually raise people's salaries (2-3 times/year) just to keep up with inflation. Naturally, all of our equipment and other bills also go up with the inflation. In addition to that, because the dollar has dropped we take a 10% hit on our total cost.
This is difficult for us, but think how much more difficult for the many people here. There are many elderly who do not get significant raises in their pensions to keep up with inflation. And of course many companies do not raise salaries to compensate for inflation very frequently.
If you think of us, pray.
Part of this inflation is due to the fact that Ukraine wants to enter the EU. Part of it is just the way life here. It's what I remember as a child, but it is of course not good to have such an unstable economy.

Office Space

This is my little desk at the office. As you can see I use my laptop as well as a second monitor and a separate keyboard and mouse. It's a nice little set up. :) I have a desktop at home and my laptop is perfect for office use since all of my email and everything is set up on here. I didn't bother setting it up on my home computer but just check it online there.
What you can't see in this picture is that there are three other desks and a window in this room. You can actually see part of Kostia's desk which faces into the divider behind my chair. But Peter and Lena also work in this room. Their desks are a mirror image of Kostia's and mine. All in all, it's a snug little place.

Tired of titles

Actually I am just tired this week. The buckeye trees are in full bloom and beautiful as they are I think they are affecting my sleep cycle.

Just a quick prayer request. We are negotiating the rights to slightly adapt and print a course on Biblical Principles of Financial Management. The decision will be made next week as to what, if any, permissions we are given. So please be in prayer about that.

Fun changes!

So, I recently painted the living room in my apartment. You'll have to look back at some of the other pictures to see what it was like before. It was sort of an "off pink" before. Now I am just trying to come up with creative ways to cover the blue parts of my couch and I need to redo the curtains (well, do them properly in the first place :D ).
For those of you who saw my room in Saint Cloud, this is a very similar color. :) It's my happy color! Just looking at it makes me smile. It's like the inside of an avocado. Happy. Happy. Happy!
I'm accenting it with buttercream yellow and fuschia. I'm a happy, happy person!

May--Month of Holidays

It's really true. Here in Ukraine May is the month of holidays. At least that is how it feels for the first half of the month! May 1st and 2nd are generally given off for May Day and I thinkt he 2nd may actually be another holiday, but can't remember. then on the 9th is Victory Day from when Ukraine was liberated from the Germans, how-many-ever years ago... The government often gives an extra day off during this time, or so it seems. Except that people then have to make it up by working the following Saturday. :P
With Easter this year falling at the end of April it made for quite a run of holidays!

My parents also returned on the 8th, so it has been nice to see them a couple of times. The next month will be quite busy as they prepare to go to Russia in June for a six week training seminar with some of our people there. But it is good to have them back again.

Pray for Russia

This article was in the New York Times on April 24, 2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/world/europe/24church.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

It gives an idea of what Russia is returning to, "even in this modern age". It hasn't even been 20 years of freedom...

Manners

Good manners seem to be a thing of the past. People here used to stand up for a pregnant woman or the elderly or very young--on public transport I mean. Now it is everyone for themselves. It's sad to see. Lots of little things like that have changed over the last few years here. People just aren't as friendly and caring as they used to be.
On the other hand, my neighbors do still say "Good morning!" or "Good evening," or "Good day," when I pass them in the hall or outside. We don't often recognize each other, but we all say "Good day," anyway because we would hate to be rude to someone who lived in our building! :P It is actually nice though to be greeted by ones neighbors, definitely something I appreciate.


This is the tree outside my sewing room balcony window:

Easter Sunrise

I'm home again! Here are a few pictures from the Easter morning sunrise. It was beautiful! It was lovely to have Easter so late this year, we actually didn't freeze. :) As you can see, even the little people got up around 4am to be there. It was a very simple service, but lovely to be there with the Christian family and share the sunrise and the recognition of the Resurrection together.
Happy Easter!