Last night I just got the last lesson in for our doctrine course. There is still a ton of work to do, even on that lesson for me, but...we have it! I'm so excited. These next two weeks are the climax of my work on this course and then it will all begin to wrap up.
I'm very excited to be this far in the work already. Something to praise the Lord for and I just thought I'd share it with you!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
My Home
I thought you might be interested to see the street on which I live. It is called Dundicha.
I actually live on the very edge of town and at the end of my block there is just a field. Nevertheless, about 3,000 people live on my block, so it is busy enough.
And this is my building. The little entry in the front of the picture with the icicle lights is a restaurant where there are regularly funerals or weddings. The little house is my corner store, which is very convenient. And behind that is my building. It is nine floors high and has seven entrances. Roughly 100 people live in each entrance. You can't even see the end of my building in this picture!
And yes, that is just the sidewalk. A lot of people do a lot of walking here! And of course, cars park on it and occasionally drive down it too.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Office Work
Our office work continues, and despite the set backs with having to move, it continues well. We are now settled into a couple of rooms at a local church temporarily.
We're finishing up the Christian Marriage course and hope to have it ready by the end of the month. We're also continuing on the doctrine course. The English version should be done by the end of the month and the Russian by the end of the summer.
I would definitely appreciate your prayers for the doctrine course. Actually, more so for all of our staff. They all need clarity and focus and health to finish this in time. Pray esp. for Kostia who has been having some more migraines recently again. He is our first step in the Russian process as he translates it so the others can keep working. Lena is our next step, she checks the translation to make sure that nothing gets missed or left out. After that is Peter, who checks the grammar and punctuation and spelling and all those fun details (and grammar in Russian is a lot more complicated than in English!); Peter has high blood pressure and I am quite concerned for his health, please intercede for him that God would give him strength and clarity and the ability to move quickly yet with quality through the material (he is our bottle-neck, because he is the only one who can do his job).
After Peter come Lilia and Alia. Lilia is our general editor; by which I mean she does all kinds of editing and finds all the little mistakes and nuances that everyone else misses. Alia is our formatter, she and Lilia work closely together as Lilia edits and then Alia formats and and prints a new version for her. Usually they go over it two or three times together before coming up with a final version (which mum or I then go over and occasionally still spot something despite the fact that it is in Russian--usually just a formatting issue though).
So, as you can see, it is quite a lengthy process and each person needs to be able to do their part so that the next can do theirs. There is no point in skipping people; it is a step-by-step process.
And we need each link to hold strong until we are done. I would definitely appreciate your prayers for them all.
*In the pictures above you'll see Julia (our secretary, and pinch-hitter for some of the editing); and in the second picture: L-R Alia, Lilia and Lena.
PS. I would appreciate prayers for my electricity. The electric went off in my apartment without warning or reason on Saturday morning, then last night the whole building was out of electricity and again this morning. This really cuts into my work, since no power=no internet and no computer (I'm at my mum's today, out of desperation, but my sister and nieces are staying here so while it is fun, it is not a conducive environment to work in).
We're finishing up the Christian Marriage course and hope to have it ready by the end of the month. We're also continuing on the doctrine course. The English version should be done by the end of the month and the Russian by the end of the summer.
I would definitely appreciate your prayers for the doctrine course. Actually, more so for all of our staff. They all need clarity and focus and health to finish this in time. Pray esp. for Kostia who has been having some more migraines recently again. He is our first step in the Russian process as he translates it so the others can keep working. Lena is our next step, she checks the translation to make sure that nothing gets missed or left out. After that is Peter, who checks the grammar and punctuation and spelling and all those fun details (and grammar in Russian is a lot more complicated than in English!); Peter has high blood pressure and I am quite concerned for his health, please intercede for him that God would give him strength and clarity and the ability to move quickly yet with quality through the material (he is our bottle-neck, because he is the only one who can do his job).
After Peter come Lilia and Alia. Lilia is our general editor; by which I mean she does all kinds of editing and finds all the little mistakes and nuances that everyone else misses. Alia is our formatter, she and Lilia work closely together as Lilia edits and then Alia formats and and prints a new version for her. Usually they go over it two or three times together before coming up with a final version (which mum or I then go over and occasionally still spot something despite the fact that it is in Russian--usually just a formatting issue though).So, as you can see, it is quite a lengthy process and each person needs to be able to do their part so that the next can do theirs. There is no point in skipping people; it is a step-by-step process.
And we need each link to hold strong until we are done. I would definitely appreciate your prayers for them all.
*In the pictures above you'll see Julia (our secretary, and pinch-hitter for some of the editing); and in the second picture: L-R Alia, Lilia and Lena.
PS. I would appreciate prayers for my electricity. The electric went off in my apartment without warning or reason on Saturday morning, then last night the whole building was out of electricity and again this morning. This really cuts into my work, since no power=no internet and no computer (I'm at my mum's today, out of desperation, but my sister and nieces are staying here so while it is fun, it is not a conducive environment to work in).
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Wedding Cake
I got to design and make the cake for Matt and Anya's wedding. It was definitely a learning experience for me, but I had tons of fun working on it. And through practicing for it I discovered that I really do love cake decorating and baking.The cake was simple white cake with raspberry and white chocolate filling. Buttercream icing.
I chose to use buttercream instead of fondant because I don't particularly care for the taste of fondant, even though it looks prettier.The bottom layer was 15". I made an extra big cake because I knew that leftovers wouldn't hurt and that no one would mind getting a little more than the standard 2"x1" piece.
I chose to pipe a lace design on the bottom two tiers. Since Anya was using mum's wedding gown which had a lot of lace on it, I wanted to incorporate that idea on the cake. But I also didn't want the cake to get too busy, which is why I chose simple flowers to go with the lace.
You can see that by the time I got to the second tier I was doing a lot better with piping the lace. Of course, it helped that that was only a 12" cake! :) I think the bottom tier took me at least six hours just to pipe. The next tier only took a couple of hours. After that it was pretty easy. I stacked the third tier on the second and piped the monogram on and began adding flowers. (You would not believe how many questions I got about the monogram, "aBm? What does that stand for?")
Anya had asked that I use pillars to separate the tiers, but she didn't want the cake to be too tall, so I set the third tier directly on top of the second tier, rather than separating it with the pillars. I think that was my favorite tier.
To tie in the topper that we had selected (I narrowed down the choices and then let Matt and Anya choose--do you know how hard it is to find a bride and groom that are not the same height!?) I painted the bouquet and boutineer red.
After placing the bride and groom on the cake there wasn't too much to do except attach the flowers. Even so that took an hour or more, but it was fun to see the cakes suddenly come together into a wedding cake.
Oh, and actually, after adding the flowers Melissa helped me make fondant ribbon to put around the bases of the cakes. After we put it on the cake we painted them silver and I added a little piping to finish out the design. Then all that was left was to transport the cake from Rizhishchiv to Kagarlik the next morning. Gavin (one of the groomsmen) drove me and the cake (slowly) to the restaurant and helped carry it in (thankfully, cause cake is heavy!)
I had brought my own table cloth and skirt for the cake table (just in case), but the girls who decorated had done such a good job that I didn't bother using them. Under the cake you'll notice the hand embroidered cloth. Normally it is used under a special bread at more traditional Ukrainian weddings, but we traded out the bread for cake.
In the end, everyone loved the cake, both how it looked and tasted. I had people coming to eat the crumbs left on the cake board, which I took to be a pretty good sign! ;) And I had fun doing it all. Learned a lot and would love to do it again!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Matthew and Anya's Wedding
Matt and Anya had a really beautiful day for their wedding. It was forecast rain, but turned out to be beautifully sunny and a number of us came away with our first tan of the season!
The wedding was held in the park in Anya's hometown. Outdoor weddings are unusual here in Ukraine. There are only two types of wedding here. Government wedding (which includes a ceremony and all the legal paperwork) and church wedding (which can still vary greatly from western church weddings and also requires a government wedding for the legal side of things). But foreign influence prevails and in the little town of Kagarlyk (Ka-garlic) outdoor weddings are becoming more common--at least among the segment of the population that is attached to Calvary Chapel Kagarlyk.
Since this wedding was held in the town park, some young guys from the church came the day before to trim the grass and clean up the garbage and generally tidy up the area. This park is really a bit more of a mini-forest, hence the self-cleanup.
The morning of the wedding, people from the local churches came and set up the decorations and chairs.
I wasn't part of that group, since I was both a bridesmaid and the cake decorator. Around 9:30am Gavin and I took a slow drive from Rizhischiv (I dare you to try that one) to Kagarlyk with the cakes in the back. We all arrived safe and sound and I quickly set up the cake in the restaurant, then ran down the block to the mother-of-the-bride's apartment to join the other bridesmaids in getting ready.
Naturally, everything took longer than everyone planned and we were nearly an hour late to the wedding. Thankfully, Anya--being wise beyond her years--had planned on being late, so she was not at all stressed! I was though. :D
We arrived at the park to find that some inconceivably dull person had parked their car right in front of the entrance (which the city has specially opened for our cars to drive in). For a few minutes there was doubt that we would be able to make it through the gap left, but our drivers, by skill unknown to me, managed to squeeze their cars through without any damage.
After that, most things went as planned. We arrived, popped out of our cars and walked sedately and elegantly down the aisle. Thankfully, the bridesmaids were escorted to their spots by the groomsmen, because the ground was just a wee bit soft...it is well aerated now.
The flower girls were charming.
But then it is hard not to be charming when you are three and five. Once they made it down to the front and over by me, Vienna was exhausted from her long role (or possibly the hour of waiting to play her role) and promptly laid down on Ellie's dress and fell asleep. Ellie wasn't so thrilled about Vienna laying on her dress, but feeling very mature at five, she bravely put up with it and sat their patiently. As she later informed me, she was very bored, which explains why when I glanced down she was digging in the dirt with her fingers. I let her go on with that, figured that if it kept her quiet and occupied, I certainly wasn't going to worry about a very grimy little hand. 'Course, I don't know how her mother felt about having to deal with that afterward.
Anya, who had been ready for about two hours already, came out of her car fresh as a daisy. Her pastor, Wayne, walked her down the aisle as her dad passed away when she was a child. She's worked for the church for several years so it was very fitting for Wayne to give her away. I'm fairly sure he'll feel her absence keenly.
Anya was by far one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen. I mean, she's cute and pretty on a regular, ho-hum daily basis, but on her wedding day she completely blew us all away. She wore my mum's dress, which she had had some bead work added too. It suited her perfectly and was so much fun to see that dress in use. I had always wanted to wear that dress when I got married, but given that my mom is under 5' 4" and I am just over 5' 8"...well, I knew that was never going to happen. But seeing it on Anya was definitely the next best thing! I think our whole family appreciated that. Of course, she mostly cared about Matthew, and I think he loved it too. (but then like most brides, coulda put her in a garbage sack and he still would have thought she looked stunning) ;)
Dad took the ceremony, which means he has now married both of his sons. Kostia translated for him. It was a nice ceremony, although I have to admit that I wasn't too focused for most of it. I think I rushed into that morning a little too much and my mind was on the cake and the flower girls and the bugs...and my heels sinking ever deeper into the dirt--thankfully we had to move to the communion table half way, which helped me get a little unstuck. :D
Our family definitely dominated the wedding party, with me and Samuel and Daniel all acting as witnesses.
For some reason, I don't have many pictures of the reception. Probably someone gave my camera back to me.
The reception was at a local restaurant. It was a nice reception. Ukrainians typically do a lot of games at their weddings (I don't know if westerners do or not, but I don't think they do as many, and certainly not as embarrassing or occasionally inappropriate, I hope), but Matthew put his foot down, not being that kind of guy, and not wanting to be stuck at the reception until 2am. I was thankful. As it was, the entertainment was fun and the atmosphere fairly relaxed. Lots of people had time to interact with Matt and Anya, which was nice. And of course, they had a FANTASTIC cake. :D Of which there will be pictures in another post.
That's all for tonight, folks!
The wedding was held in the park in Anya's hometown. Outdoor weddings are unusual here in Ukraine. There are only two types of wedding here. Government wedding (which includes a ceremony and all the legal paperwork) and church wedding (which can still vary greatly from western church weddings and also requires a government wedding for the legal side of things). But foreign influence prevails and in the little town of Kagarlyk (Ka-garlic) outdoor weddings are becoming more common--at least among the segment of the population that is attached to Calvary Chapel Kagarlyk.
Since this wedding was held in the town park, some young guys from the church came the day before to trim the grass and clean up the garbage and generally tidy up the area. This park is really a bit more of a mini-forest, hence the self-cleanup.
The morning of the wedding, people from the local churches came and set up the decorations and chairs.
I wasn't part of that group, since I was both a bridesmaid and the cake decorator. Around 9:30am Gavin and I took a slow drive from Rizhischiv (I dare you to try that one) to Kagarlyk with the cakes in the back. We all arrived safe and sound and I quickly set up the cake in the restaurant, then ran down the block to the mother-of-the-bride's apartment to join the other bridesmaids in getting ready.
Naturally, everything took longer than everyone planned and we were nearly an hour late to the wedding. Thankfully, Anya--being wise beyond her years--had planned on being late, so she was not at all stressed! I was though. :D
We arrived at the park to find that some inconceivably dull person had parked their car right in front of the entrance (which the city has specially opened for our cars to drive in). For a few minutes there was doubt that we would be able to make it through the gap left, but our drivers, by skill unknown to me, managed to squeeze their cars through without any damage.
After that, most things went as planned. We arrived, popped out of our cars and walked sedately and elegantly down the aisle. Thankfully, the bridesmaids were escorted to their spots by the groomsmen, because the ground was just a wee bit soft...it is well aerated now.
The flower girls were charming.
But then it is hard not to be charming when you are three and five. Once they made it down to the front and over by me, Vienna was exhausted from her long role (or possibly the hour of waiting to play her role) and promptly laid down on Ellie's dress and fell asleep. Ellie wasn't so thrilled about Vienna laying on her dress, but feeling very mature at five, she bravely put up with it and sat their patiently. As she later informed me, she was very bored, which explains why when I glanced down she was digging in the dirt with her fingers. I let her go on with that, figured that if it kept her quiet and occupied, I certainly wasn't going to worry about a very grimy little hand. 'Course, I don't know how her mother felt about having to deal with that afterward.
Anya, who had been ready for about two hours already, came out of her car fresh as a daisy. Her pastor, Wayne, walked her down the aisle as her dad passed away when she was a child. She's worked for the church for several years so it was very fitting for Wayne to give her away. I'm fairly sure he'll feel her absence keenly.Anya was by far one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen. I mean, she's cute and pretty on a regular, ho-hum daily basis, but on her wedding day she completely blew us all away. She wore my mum's dress, which she had had some bead work added too. It suited her perfectly and was so much fun to see that dress in use. I had always wanted to wear that dress when I got married, but given that my mom is under 5' 4" and I am just over 5' 8"...well, I knew that was never going to happen. But seeing it on Anya was definitely the next best thing! I think our whole family appreciated that. Of course, she mostly cared about Matthew, and I think he loved it too. (but then like most brides, coulda put her in a garbage sack and he still would have thought she looked stunning) ;)
Dad took the ceremony, which means he has now married both of his sons. Kostia translated for him. It was a nice ceremony, although I have to admit that I wasn't too focused for most of it. I think I rushed into that morning a little too much and my mind was on the cake and the flower girls and the bugs...and my heels sinking ever deeper into the dirt--thankfully we had to move to the communion table half way, which helped me get a little unstuck. :DOur family definitely dominated the wedding party, with me and Samuel and Daniel all acting as witnesses.
For some reason, I don't have many pictures of the reception. Probably someone gave my camera back to me.
The reception was at a local restaurant. It was a nice reception. Ukrainians typically do a lot of games at their weddings (I don't know if westerners do or not, but I don't think they do as many, and certainly not as embarrassing or occasionally inappropriate, I hope), but Matthew put his foot down, not being that kind of guy, and not wanting to be stuck at the reception until 2am. I was thankful. As it was, the entertainment was fun and the atmosphere fairly relaxed. Lots of people had time to interact with Matt and Anya, which was nice. And of course, they had a FANTASTIC cake. :D Of which there will be pictures in another post.
That's all for tonight, folks!
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