Update from Rome...

We got off to a rough start in Rome!  

When we landed, we could not pick up our luggage because some labor union had just gone on strike, and they were not unloading the luggage,  it was a gigantic mess of people.  

We were there 4 hours trying to file paperwork for a claim and leave an address of where we would be in Rome.  Finally done, our driver had left and we had to take a taxi to the place.  We do not know where or when we or if we will see our luggage, but we have bought a couple things, clothing wise to tide us over.  

Kind of missing my stuff.  Jordan is a chameleon, and fits right in.  Italian womens clothing seems to run small, so Lindsey and I are kind of up a creek.  Beautiful weather!  Saw the colleseum this morning.  Rested and going back out now that it is cooler. 

Also finding out that the euro is worth more than the dollar!!  

Beth, and kiddos

Tuesday, March 29

Today began with breakfast.  Now I won’t tell you what we have for EVERY meal, but when there is something interestingly different, I will add it in.  We had cereal, with milk and bananas.  Ok so far, you say!  Well, the milk was warm, fresh from the cow!  That was a little harder to swallow.  I ate it because we had a big day ahead, and I didn’t want to waste it.  Lindsey could not make it go down, so I think it was donated to the little puppy!

Oh…and I had my first shower.  It’s a bit like camping here, or maybe it’s more like pioneering!  Whichever one, it’s a little difficult, but I’m putting aside my pride and trying to remember that the rest of the country probably does NOT bathe every day! 

We traveled to Kiev (pronounced KEEV) today for a day of sightseeing and shopping.  We met the bus at the town center, and Vika, who does not speak English.  Her husband does speak some English, but he was meeting us in Kiev.  

Well, the plan had been that Dan was coming with us, but things changed as he got a meeting with the Baptist Group guys in Kiev that morning also, so he had taken off earlier.  So, she was stuck with us 3, for awhile, trying to communicate.  The bus to Kiev took an hour’s drive.  It held 15 (I think) seated passengers, but by the time we arrived in Kiev, any extra standing room had a body crammed in it!  We traded the bus for the subway….and then waited for Vika's husband, Zhenya, to meet up with us.  

We wandered through a park, a mall, down old streets made of rock bricks.  Out of this shopping day, though, I can’t say we have much to show for it.  But rather, we did have a good day.  And as the sun came out, it even warmed up nicely!

 We also met Dan and Julia, the translator, and Irena, another lady from the church, and had lunch at a buffet.  We got lots to sample.  Paul, I did not get any, as I did not know what they were, but they had Veranika, served with sour cream. 

The interesting thing about this statue was that the wind in blowing his coat one way, and the flag the opposite direction.  

  

We visited a Greek Orthodox Monastery, where Zhenya had served before becoming a Christian.  It was interesting, but I think I am done looking at gold topped buildings! 

The above building is their parliament, or as our guide called it the mafia headquarters.  The tents set up in the front were orthodox protesters.  

Our last stop was to the hospital to visit Vasilli.  He was the pastor here for a little.  He had either fallen off a ladder, or a ladder fell on his lower leg and foot.  He was waiting for surgery.  Before we arrived, some of them bought some things for him to eat, fruit, juice, misc. 

Now, the interesting part.  You would never know you were stepping into a hospital, except for the patients around.  I think under communism, they had government health care.  Now the government has no money, so…if you need hospital help, you basically have to come with money in hand.  They won’t operate till you have the money.  They do not provide your food…people bring it in to you.  There is a refrigerator in the room for use of the patients.  Some rooms had 6 patients in them; one patients was in a bed out in the hallway; beds were rusty, with lumpy old mattresses; paint peeling off the walls; you even have to pay, if you want the nurse to help you to the bathroom!  Enough said!  I was appalled, saddened, and thankful to have what we have!  WE HAVE SO MUCH! 

Well, it has been a terribly long day.  I did sleep the bus ride home.  But now it’s midnight, and we have a work day tomorrow!

Day 4…THE END!

P.S.  Some restrooms you use in town, you have to pay!  I don’t know if you are paying to use them or paying to use the toilet paper….but whichever, you have to pay!

Day 4 Monday - Work Day!

Monday, March 28

Since I am a day behind, I will make this short and sweet. 

IT WAS A WORK DAY AT THE CHURCH!

Sinking screws, linoleum, trim installed, varathaning!

There was a hearty crew of people throughout the day. 

Some regular occurrences:

·       Chai time with pastries.  Most of their pastries are filled with a fruit filling or chocolate!

·       Pickled tomatoes at meals!

Lindsey and I did make a run to the store.  But RUN, we did not!  It was probably a couple miles to the store.  The wind blows bitterly down the dusty street and you really understand why they wear the long coats and hats.  Many coats and hats have the fur trim.  I am thinking most is rabbit fur. We did not buy a whole lot, since we had to carry it all back, but we got a little fruit, some cereal for breakfast, ( I couldn’t find Cap’t Crunch anywhere!)  We got something equivalent to frosted flakes, but unlike the ones in America, these flakes stand up to milk, and take a long time to soften up!  We stopped at the bakery for some fresh pastries for Chai time. 

Evening brought more meeting and discussion for Dan, and babysitting for us. 

End of Day 3! 

Day 3 - Sunday in the Urkaine

Sunday, March 27

A sunny, chilly morning. We began it by a quick breakfast and then Lindsey, Jordan and I took a brisk walk to the Sunday Bazaar, which to most Americans would be rather bazaar!  For sale there was everything from clothing, home products, car parts, cool brooms, like they have in China, that I would love to bring home!  Huge, healthy chicken eggs, huge healthy chickens with no GMO’s, rabbits, cows pigs….all live.  Then there was the butchers’ row!  Levi would have loved this.  They had a huge pile of chicken feet!  Open air market with the meat just lying out.  Pig heads on a hook, livers, whole

chickens (with the heads).  Huge slabs of bacon fat.  Dan has told us that this is a favorite, and they cut off a piece of fat and eat it raw.  Well, I don’t know if they get sick much here from all the unrefrigerated or uncooked stuff, but they look healthy!  If we had had someone with us to interpret, I would have liked to take some pictures, but as it was, in this crowded arena,  foreigners such as ourselves, stick out.

We got back from the market in time to clean up then head in to church at 10.  They had 2 songs in Ukrainian that we knew in English, so we sang those with gusto!  Everyone from the church was very friendly…(outside the church, they don’t smile or acknowledge you.)   People would come up to me and just shake my hand and say “Mama” as in Lindsey and Jordan’s!     And then go on and on in Ukrainian with a big smile on their faces. 

The rest of the church service was embroiled in controversy in regards to installing a new pastor! Without going into lots of detail, even not speaking the same language, you could understand some of what was going on. So, amidst the words flying, and the women crying, we (Lyman’s), prayed and read some scripture.  Finally after an hour and a half, Jordan went out to keep the restless kids occupied, and I accompanied him, followed lastly by Lindsey. We played a crazy game of Uno, which I did not understand fully.  We danced and sang King of Kings, shared my gum from America….etc…until the meeting ended.

Lunch was at someone’s home from the church.  More well-to-do, it was interestingly nice but not fancy to our standards.  It would do us all good to visit a foreign country, either to count our blessings or to refocus our priorities.  We have so many privileges in America, we do not even begin to understand until we get outside of our country.  We also might see that one can be very happy without all the niceties we possess.   Although, I know that whatever culture one is in, there is excess and poverty, wrong hearts and covetousness.
Lunch was chicken with noodles, crab egg salad, pickled tomatoes, tortillas with ham and cheese, and a ham and cheese tray.  Compote to drink (cherry or apple juice.)  And I don’t mean some store bought kind.  This was made from their summer harvest and canned.  The apple was kind of sour, the cherry was really good.  After dinner came the Chai (tea), coffee and pastries.   Since their homes are small, their living rooms double as dining rooms.  They pull the table up to the sofa, then more chairs on the other side, and voila!

We spent the afternoon visiting.  It seems that languages can be overcome a
little with hand motions and a few simple words.  It is fun to watch Lindsey and Jordan
interact with these people after being here 2 months.  Jordan particularly jumps right in and Lindsey and I just sit and marvel with a smile!   When we returned to the church, of few of the people got together for discussion of the church.  I am sure there is a lot to discuss!  We babysat for the translator.  She has a 4 year old boy, Mark, and a 9 month old baby girl, Liza,  who is in love with Jordan.  She lights up and starts kicking her legs when comes in!  He can be seen in the  picture rocking her to sleep in her stroller.  He was also singing to her. 

Most Folks here still use outhouses, this is a pretty nice squatty potty

Day 2 is at it’s end!

Day 1... and 2

Friday, March 25

On this day, my adventures begin.  There is very little I do that is outside my comfort zone, but traveling abroad without my sweetie is one of them!  However, here I am! 

After trying to phone the kids several times, as I told them I would call before I left Portland, I had to leave an inadequate message.   Two days earlier, as we were talking over my leaving with the kids, and I told them I would call when I could, but that I didn’t know when or how often that would be, our little elephant daughter (who never forgets!) said that Dad had told her he would call when he was at Shepherds Conference, and he didn’t.  Well, he did call and most often it was early morning or late night when she was asleep.  She promptly burst into tears upon remembering that “he said he would call and she didn’t get to talk with him!”  I was determined to do my best, so I am off to a bad start! 

And when it came time to go past the security gate, where Paul could not go, it was harder than I expected to leave.  Not that I wasn’t excited to go, and I know they are left in very capable hands, but I was going to miss this them!

On to the plane.  I left a rainy Portland, and arrived a short 45 minutes later in a SUNNY SEATTLE.  Now I don’t think those 2 words usually go side by side, but there they are!  And I thought Portland looked like an American symbol of the melting pot, Seattle was even more so!  Besides a good variety of ethnic representations, more amusing was the apparel!  There were the snappy businessmen , GQ’d to the hilt, and the ritzy travelers.  The comfortable apparel crowd had it’s own set of categories .  There were excited travelers, just starting out, and tired travelers somewhere in the middle or near the end of their journeys; groups of kids on spring break, excited kids, exasperated parents.  

In my 4-hour layover in Seattle, I bought an expensive calling card, in which to call my kiddos before I left the country.  I left my cell phone in the car…on purpose, but after the fact, I think it wasn’t such a good idea!  After talking with the kids and Paul, I spent another good amount on airport food.  And eating alone in a crowd is the PITS!  If I were Paul or my mom, it would not have been such so hard.  But oh well, I got through it! 

The 10-hour flight from Seattle to Frankfurt went up over Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway to Germany.  They said it was 17 F. outside when we landed, and what I would’ve given for some crisp fresh air!  Frankfurt is a huge airport.  From here, the airline traffic goes in all directions in Europe.  I was watching the planes come and go…planes to Qatar and Kuwait.  Thinking of Travis!

Plane loaded for Kiev.  We were delayed because 7 people did not arrive for the flight, so they had to sort through the luggage compartment and take their luggage OFF the plane for safety’s sake!

Upon landing in Kiev, it was snowing…huh!  Just like home!  

There was only a small amount of panic upon arriving here, as I wondered who would be picking me up, if it had been arranged.  And I had NO contact information for Dan with me!  But thankfully, as I dragged my luggage and big box out through the Passport checkpoint, there waiting for me was the beautiful faces of the 2 Lyman children.!

We were driven back to the church, in what was a more exciting ride than China.  I did not know that was possible!  Instead of dodging the multitude of cars like in China though, it was pot holes in the road, and I was not aware little cars could cut around them so ……sideways!

Back at the church…Awana was going on.  I down-loaded with Jordan and Lindsey for a bit and had a tour of the church.  Then it was time for dinner.  It was chicken vegetable soup(big surprise there) , rice pilaf, and good bread.  They ate the bread  with a horseradish paste on it.    We finished up with tea and cookies, then went back to the church and joined the Awana just in time to share a short version of my life, via the translator. 

After Awana, we helped clean up and get the sanctuary arranged for Sunday service.  The time changed here…I crashed! 

And the morning and the evening were the first day. 

God's Provisions

As I type this, the kids are in bed, the house is quiet, just got done with JP's taxes (your welcome!).  

The quiet is loud...I hear the rustling of papers from upstairs, I think Beth is reading or prepping school work for the kiddo's. She is incredible.  I am so thankful for the blessing that God gave to me in my wife and best friend.  

Take the time, give Glory to God for the richness of his provisions in your life, Thank him for pairing you with the right person at the right time, and never look back. No could of, should of, would of can exist in God's correct and perfect plan for you or for me.  

Thank you Lord for your perfect compliment to me. May I be found worthy of such a great Gift!

-Paul

It's January 2011...2 a.m....God's Word is Alive and Active!

Casual Christian by DeGarmo and Key
I don't wanna be, 
I don't wanna be a casual Christian.
I don't wanna live, 
I don't wanna live a lukewarm life
But I wanna light up the night
With an everlasting light
I don't wanna live the casual Christian life.


Revelation 3:16
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 


James 4:14
You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 


1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.


I think I have been ousted from my bed to be challenged...not a New Year's resolution, persay, but my daily life commitment!