Happy Holidays

I am at my sister's now enjoying some holiday rest with my nephew and nieces and friends here. It is really beautiful to be here and just be away from my responsibilities. The change of scenery is really beautiful here. There is a little snow every day and it just feels so wintery. It has reminded me of how much heat I have in my apartment as the Gollan's are not able to heat their house quite as much as my apartment is heated. It is cool here, but still quite pleasant. The Gollan's have a beautiful tree. It is the hugest tree I've ever seen. Not the typical American cone tree shape, more like a round ball, but really lovely. The kids have decorated the house with snowflakes and other Christmas deocrations and it is beautiful.
I'll certainly enjoy the next couple of weeks of rest and relaxation as we celebrate New Year's and then Ukrainian Christmas here (or as the children call it "Big Christmas", the Gollan's celebrated "little Christmas" on the 25th).

Christmas Party

L to R: back row--Lena, Larissa, Julia (who works in my office), Tonia, Ira (who also works in my office); front row--Me, Daryna, Lena (who works in my office and is Daryna's mum) and Tanya

I meant to post these pictures earlier this week, but lost my camera cord so couldn't do that. I had a little Christmas party last Saturday at my apartment. I made some American style treats (like pretzel bark and peanut brittle) and we watched "Christmas with the Kranks" in English. The idea had originally started because one of the girls asked to borrow a movie in English only to discover that she couldn't play it on her computer here do to the different format. So, this way they all got to come and watch it.

This picture is the same as the one above, except that Alla (Julia's sister) is sitting in the spot I occupied.

It was a great evening and the girls really enjoyed the treats and time together. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a picture of Lika or Luba (the ladies who are living with me), but I will try to do so in the future.
Tonight I am off to my sister's for two weeks of much needed rest. I'm looking forward to spending time with the family and not having the stresses of work around. I probably won't post much during that time, esp. since we'll be celebrating New Year's and then Ukrainian Christmas (or just Christmas for me).

Happy CHRISTmas and I hope that the true Joy of the season will remain in your hearts throughout the next year.

Keep Praying

Please do continue to pray for me and Lika over the next few weeks/months. I am running ragged and it is not that I actually have that much more on my plate. The main thing is that I am just not able to relax as much at home which means I wear out very easily, but since I have to keep going, I am drinking caffeine which in the end will only make things worse. :)
Lika is definitely doing some thinking and we have been able to have some conversations where God helped me to point out how much He is doing and is willing to do for her. She has a lot of trust barriers to overcome.
This week promises to be a little stressful for me as I try to wrap up things here at the office so that I can leave on Friday to go to my sister's for two weeks.
Pray that help comes together for the apartment while I am away. I don't expect much work to be done in the next two weeks, because of the holidays, but it would be great if someone would step up and be willing to organize things.