Baby K

I went and visited my friend Laura, in the neonatal hospital on Monday. It was so much fun! It was great to see her and the baby.
It was fun to get in. I went with Lorinda and the ladies at the reception desk asked where we were going so we explained and they looked up Laura's information. then they were all like, "Well, she's had a lot of people, it's not really allowed...yadayadayada...but we can see that you came from somewhere so we'll let you in. But you have to buy covers for your shoes first!" Basically, what they meant was, "We just want to let you know that we are really in charge here and because you are obviously foreignors we will magnanimously allow you to procede." They wouldn't have been magnanimous if we weren't foreignors, they would have been rude and then let us procede. So, we went over to the apteka (pharmacy) and bought our little blue shoe covers and put them on and went tripping upstairs to the third floor. Upon opening the door to the third floor we were again interrogated by the nurses at the "nurses' station":
Nurse: "Where are you going?"
Me: "Room #9."
Nurse: "Well, they've got a lot of people in there, I dunno..."
Me (continuing to move towards room #9): "Well, we'll only stay for a couple of minutes..."
So, Lorinda and I go into the room and actually only Laura and her mum were there along with Baby K. Apparently the nurse meant that lots of people were there in spirit.
It was a fun visit and lovely to hold a newborn again. I hope I get more chances in the future. He sure is a cutey!

Updates

Aside from the first week this month has really flown by! It's been amazing. In a great way. It started off so hard with having to let people go from the office. Plus the additional stress of the dizziness I was continually fighting and just feeling like I couldn't catch up to my life. But while it didn't slow down I do really feel like things have improved. We've passed through the struggles of letting people go--not that it doesn't still make me sad, but I do really trust them into God's hands; I've been able to slow down and get some rest with the long Easter weekend and just take time to refocus myself on Jesus; and the dizziness has been rectified! :)

The dizzies, it turns out, must have been related to an herbal supplement that a doctor had prescribed me in March. It took me a month of dizziness to figure it out, but with some help and good advice, I did. It's great to be able to walk in a straight line again!
In the middle of April they turned off the heat, as they do every year on April 15, only this time I was more prepared for it. It also really helped that the weather has been really beautiful this year. We have managed to stay comfortably warm in the apartment with our two space heaters. :)
Our office is recuperating from the shock of losing four members. Unfortunately, we can only afford to pay them half of their salary this month, so they took a few extra unpaid days off after Easter and then the rest we will simply owe them and pay it back whenever we can, hopefully by August.

This weekend is May Day and Victory Day (I think) on May 1 and 2, so we have a long weekend with both Friday and Monday off. I decided to set off to my sister's to visit them for the weekend. It'll be nice to step out of the whirlwind here (and into the whirlwind there) for a few days. Just a change of pace and scenery. I'm looking forward to spending a little time with the kids. I actually leave on Wednesday evening, and will go by train with Cheryl to Kyiv (she is doing much better by the way, although still in a lot of pain and still has a long recovery road before her) and help her with bags and stuff. So it'll be an extra-long weekend for me. I'm using the extra day in Kyiv to visit the dentist and hopfully see my dad (it's been six months and I'm looking forward to seeing him again :) ) at least briefly as otherwise we'll be like two ships passing in the night.

Urgent Prayer Request!

Here is a prayer request from a friend of mine in MN. I just copied her email in. Scary times...


This past Monday, Tony and Colleen, Catholic homeschooling clients of my husband Steve's Hoof Trimming business, were taken to court by Social Services in New Ulm, MN for child neglect.

They have a middle school age son who was diagnosed with lung cancer. They chose to go with alternative treament, which is working well and their son is making positive progress. But their medical doctor believes he should have chemotheraphy treatments instead and thought because they also homeschooled they were suspicious. So he called Social Services to investigate. The Monday court hearing resulted in an appointed guardian who can (and has) entered their home any time day or night. She has the authority to remove their son and his 6 siblings from the home Social Services is pushing hard and fast to see this through the courts before tests show more postive results from the alternative treatments. Their lives have suddenly become a nightmare and they need the help and encouragement of others who care.

They have a 2nd hearing next week, and are in great need of your prayers, and your presence, if at all possible. At next weeks hearing Tony and Colleen will do their best to present evidence as loving parents heavily invested in taking good care of their chldren. They are dairy farmers and are in the midst of trying to get field work done as well. Pray they will be able to pull together what they need quickly and efficiently.

Their lawyer says they should prepare for a long and expensive battle. They are so shocked this has happened to them as they have taken their roles as parents seriously. The people in their community know them as a happy and close-knit family. This is a very frightening situation for them.

Praises

I got my money from the ATM back! It just showed up one day in my account. Still can hardly believe it. Apparently they did get my claim...

Easter was a beautiful weekend. I tried to go to the Good Friday service and arrived to find no one there. Apparently I hadn't paid attention to the announcement on the previous Sunday, they have Thursday services here! So, mum and I wandered around town a little and then headed home. Saturday I spent relaxing, was really too exhausted to do anything, but that was perfect because Sunday was such a full day.
Easter Sunday started with a sunrise mini-service with a few friends of mine. We drove out to a hill just outside of Rivne and watched the sun come up after reading the resurrection story and singing a few hymns. It was beautiful.
We returned to town and had a lovely breakfast of orange rolls together, then I set off to my place (across the street--literally) to get myself ready for church. Mum and I had planned on going out for breakfast, but just didn't think about the fact that everything is closed here on major holidays. So instead, we wandered around for an hour trying to find someplace, anyplace! that was open, but just ended up at church and got a coffee from the vending machine there. But it was still beautiful. The streets were so quiet and while it was chilly, the sun was out and the blossoms are out on the trees and it was really beautiful to be able to just take the time to enjoy that.
The Easter service was good. They had several special numbers and a children's choir. It was amazing to see some of the little 4-5 year olds get up there and sing and quote their pieces without batting an eye! Lika and Carmen joined us for the service which I was glad for as they haven't been for several weeks. Lika was actually working, so she couldn't stay long, but I think she enjoyed what she did stay for.

The rest of the day was spent mostly at mum's with her and Cheryl and Saron. Cheryl is doing a bit better, PTL! but do please keep praying for her. It was a fun and relaxing evening with friends and the opportunity to just focus on the work of Easter again.

He is Risen!


PS. Pictures are courtesy of my friend, Oxana. ;)

Good Friday and Easter

Today is Good Friday. Well, at least that's the way they count it here. I don't really care when the day falls, but I do appreciate having the reminder of it. I've been enjoying the last week or so just having time to think a little about Easter and prepare my heart for it. It is a beautiful time to remember. I would like to go to the Good Friday service tonight. It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity for that.
The last couple of years I have spent Easter at my sister's place in Kyivski Oblast (Rhizhishiv--say that five times fast). I've really enjoyed that as they have a sunrise service, and I was planning on joining them again this year, but since mum is here and I have other friends staying with me for the time being I decided to stay in Rivne this year. And that has turned out to be a really good decision as it means I have actually had time to mentally prepare myself a little more for Easter and just to take some time to meditate on it all. Still not as much as I would like, but...
I have no great plans for this weekend, but I am happy to keep it low key and just spend a little time with my mum and just hae the time to think. We'll have a little Easter dinner with a couple of friends and watch an Easter video. It will be a weekend for some quiet reflection, and I am glad for that.

He is Risen!

More for Prayer (and Praise)

Please do continue to pray for our financial situation. Today I had to tell the office that we won't be able to pay them for more than a half month of work this month. They have the choice to not work and not be paid for the other half or to work it and be paid, Lord willing, at some undefined point in the future.
We also don't have money for next month or for some of the summer projects/conferences. Please pray that God would provide in His miraculous way. And that we all of us trust and have faith and not give in to anxiety or stress.
I also am temporarily low on finances because of the ATM problem from a couple of weeks ago. My bank is not responding to me so I need to find a different way to contact them. Please pray that that money will be returned.

On the praise side, my dizziness is significantly reduced! I have only been a little light-headed a few times over the last two days. I'm very grateful because it was really interfering with my normal, daily life.

Spring and Easter!

It is hard to believe that it is Easter already. I guess for you all in the West Easter is this weekend, but for us here it is next weekend (since we're on the Orthodox calendar). The last few days God has brought to mind the fact that Easter will be here shortly. I am so grateful as the last two years Easter has come and gone before I was even really aware that it was coming! I really didn't want to "miss" it this year.
Spring is coming upon us. It seems like with the first of April spring arrived. These last few days have brought flowers into bloom and new bits of grass or other greenery peeping up. the trees are budding and some are showing leaves today. All of these signs of new life remind me so much of God and Easter. I feel like God has timed spring perfectly this year to march in as Easter arrives. The new life after the winter reminds me of the new life that Jesus brought through His life, death and resurrection. It reminds me particularly of the resurrection. It's so glorious! And of course it reminds me of creation and how amazing it is that God somehow has made this to happen every year. Creation just amazes me. God is eternally creative and He has shared that gift with us.
I am left with joy in my heart and praise on my lips.

Quick update

Last week seems like it was a month long, Friday by itself felt like three days. However, I am thankful that we are through that and starting a fresh week.
We still have some details to wrap up this week. As a matter of fact, I am right now waiting for Ivanka to come in so that I can explain the situation to her and that she has lost her job. I'm guessing she has already heard about it, but I will of course still need to talk to her personally. At this point it looks like she'll be a "no show" for today, so you can pray for that situation that God would just work it all out.
Beyond that, a bank machine ate my money on Saturday, so please pray that I am able to get that sorted out as it leaves me a little short on funds as well, but mostly I am stressed about the running around to figure things out, as it simply is not as simple here as it is in the west (think 4-6 times the effort to get the same amount of stuff done).
Additionally, I am apparently carrying the stress of the last couple of weeks within me. I'm having dizzy spells that last for a few seconds or a minute and then pass. So far I haven't fallen or anything, but they definitely interfere with my life. The doctor said that it is simply exhaustion, but I am not able to relax because of all of these details in my life at the moment. Pray that they pass. It's been off and on for about two weeks.

Update on Office Situation

Yesterday we let three people go from our office. The fourth is sick and will probably hear that she is losing her job through other avenues. Everyone else has been brought up to date now though.
I suppose things went as well as they could be expected to go. It's not an easy situation, and of course it lays heavy on us all now. Thankfully, the Lord has sent some sunshine, rather than the typical rain and that is beautiful.
Do please continue to pray for us all. Pray for me as I still need to talk to Ivanka and that she would take it well. It really takes everything out of me to talk about these things. Pray also for Vasia, Ira and Ulia as all four of them look for new jobs and try to figure out what God would like them to do. Pray for encouragement for them and that God would use this as a testimony of His faithfulness in their lives. And that the rest of the office would see that too.