August 22nd
By Bruce | August 22, 2008
I had to get this picture of Daniel a couple days a go, he has been laboring away on our tunnel for the phone line… He looked like Bin Laden with the towel on the head. We finished the line today, now we wait for someone in to flip the switch and we should have phone/internet - We give thanks!
We were swept up in the preparations for Ukraine’s Independence Day preparations which will be held this Sunday in the square.. complete with tanks, artillery, marching and other ’show of strength’ entertainment.. we will try and go to this but it will be extremely crowded. Tension is also a bit high with the Georgia issues currently, we hear and see several fighter jets on a daily basis, something the locals have not experienced for many years. There is an obvious dislike for Russians here in the country side, where there are less Russians and stronger Ukrainian national pride.
The boys have been enlisted as the ‘fill in the trench’ brigade. It is still very hot here, 90’s for a few weeks now. We hear it is going to cool down in the next week, that will be nice…. I think, we still don’t have gas or heating in the house, we best hurry (not a Ukrainian word).
Our fruit trees and grapes are doing well on their own… in spite of our ignorance and neglect. The apples are plucked from the trees by everyone around,, and we have plenty to spare. I told Deb she needs to pick some and go sell them at the market with the old Babushka’s. She hasn’t done this yet.
Wonderful news on our passport registration, it is FINISHED! We are registered through April 09 at which point we hope to find a better, more long term solution to these religious short term visas. Pray for Cassie’s.. we aren’t sure how to go about hers just yet, she can’t register in the same way as we did (long story) so the Lord will have to open some other door before her 90 day period is up.
Our container is on it’s way to Kiev for customs (from Odessa, the Black Sea). Amazing amount of paperwork and hand holding, I wasn’t expecting direct involvement in the process but I give thanks that I’m learning and hopefully this knowledge will be used in the future for others/projects.
We may have sold our first website in Ukraine, for my friend Oleg who is CEO of a fairly large construction/design firm (they build malls, hotels, auto dealerships, things like this) and we had lunch a few weeks ago. I though perhaps I scared him away with my testimony, why we are here (and that we have 6 kids!), but received a call today and we’re meeting next week to discuss their new website. Praising God for open doors and opportunities to influence for Christ.
Many other things, but must run, thank you for praying, the past few days it is obvious the Lord is blessing and giving us a fresh boost of joy and His presence. Our strength is our joy in Him. He is good when it is tough and difficult, I’m learning to appreciate this more each day.
“…seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:3
PS- I’ve been excited by the thought of starting/building a hockey rink of some sort here in RZ, this could be a social gathering place during the winter and in the summer inline/roller blading has not hit the Ukraine much yet. I’ve been lifting this up to the Lord, would you with me? Our boys love playing hockey and skating and I think the community would appreciate it. Yesterday, with this on my mind, I visited an indoor little mini-hockey place (not ice but this funny plastic flooring that you use real blades on) and it was in the middle of closing, literally all tore up and being removed. I’ve got a few people inquiring for me on this, if we could get this material, if they are throwing it out or selling it, would be a really cool. I’m also thinking about inquiring to some places in the US and Canada about donations of used skates or equipment… the people here do not have money to buy their own, but if we could rent for $1-2 they could afford that…. Anyway, this could be a fleeting desire, but I don’t think it is, I told Deb it might be a Canadian version of Field of Dreams hehe. Whatever we can do to build relationships and bless the community. I might talk to the Mayor about this, supposed to meet soon.
Sincerely,
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August 18th
By Bruce | August 18, 2008
In Kiev today with Deb and Cheryl cleaning the apartment we’ve rented, the Perhai’s return this coming Friday. We’ve officially moved to Rzschchiv, and the kids are loving it. It took them only 3 days to build their first fort in the woods, complete with a pathway and campfire pit. It’s been in the upper 90’s this week, unbearable during the afternoons. I wouldn’t have imagined Ukraine being a country that experienced such heat waves.
I’ve been in a real bind without regular internet, so I’ve found this very cool internet cafe called “the vault” about 10 minutes from the apartment. I’m in this dark warehouse building, very cool metalic decor, edgy and youthy… and there’s about 200 pc’s in this place, complete with 50-60 young kids playing every kind of video game you can imagine (pirated of course). Here’s a glimpse.
I’m awaiting a phone call or email from AGS movers, a local Kiev firm that acts as a broker for foreigners importing cargo. Our 40ft container has arrived in Odessa and now awaits the proper documentation and instructions. I believe it will come to Kiev where it will pass through customs, then shipped to our town 60 miles south. Pray this goes well, there’s a chance the entire container may be unloaded and searched, that would be a nightmare as the guys that packed it were professionals and crammed every last item in … no way they’ll get it all back in… or I should say, I will get it back in.
In addition to fellowship at the Gollans yesterday, I took a short 10 minute drive to Khargalyk where a church of about 50 met. It was nice to see some older believers, it had a loving atmosphere and energy to it, they are putting a big emphasis on outreach to children through kids camps (VBS type things) and everyone was encouraged to bring some potatoes, cabbage and any extra food they could help out with. This group effort mindset goes a long way in building a community, I was tempted to donate money to it, but felt the Lord stop me, this doesn’t usually happen (usually wants me to give more!). I think the Lord is blessing those believers just fine, and I need to be careful to not interupt what the Lord is teaching them through sacrifice and giving… there are times to bless and help, and times to hold back I’m learning. The summers seem to be filled with children/youth type events, which makes sense, the winters are harsh and more difficult to do such things indoors.
Ok, well, I’ve got internet for a few hours so I’d better get some work done. This couple just sat beside me and lit one up… cough cough… must move.
Brent has been my big helper. Broderic has also helped out around the house/yard but Brent has a certain ethic about him that comes naturally. He doesn’t mind getting sweaty and pulling up his sleeves. We must have loaded 10 wheel-barrel loads of trash/cement blocks/glass/wood pieces… trying to get the yard in a position to cut it, then the little ones can roam around more freely.
Ok, thanks for checking in. Here’s a scripture I’ve been meditating on for a few days. We often think of attending church as something that directly benefits us (or in some cases doesn’t!). We’ve been told to ‘not forsake the assembling of the saints’ and given many reasons for ‘why’ we should gather but beyond the personal edification (building up) what other biblical reasoning do we use for justifying this assembling together? This scripture encourages me to do my part in the laboring for truth, the ‘holding up’ of the banner of Christ in a community and nation… we do have strength in numbers and our collective testimony matters! Paul calls the church of the living God a “pillar” and “foundation of the truth.”
“..if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” 1 Tim 3:15
Can we be a pillar by ourselves? Probably, but not a very strong one. We need to gather in order to sharpen one another, to strengthen the weaker pillars. We are His people, His church, before we ever gather together and ‘do our thing’… whatever that looks like. But we ACT like His people, His church when we labor for truth, proclaim it together and change the culture around us.
Thanking you for your prayers-
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Not in Kansas Anymore
By Bruce | August 14, 2008
I just checked weather.com, it’s 95 out here in Kiev region of Ukraine. This whole week has been a scorcher. I forgot how hot a car could get without AC, on dark black pavement in congested city traffic. As I type this I’m a bit overwhelmed to say the least. I don’t have time to write anything, we’ve been without internet for what seems like eternity. I use internet to stay on top of work, it’s now on top of me. When so many things transpire in a weeks time, I have no idea what to write or how to communicate the stuff that is both going on around us, and inside of our hearts. I should try though, as I know you all will be faithful to pray according to the needs, and it’s our Savior and Lord that sustains us in tough times.
So here goes:
Registration:We have submitted the mound of documentation to the authorities which will allow us to stay here legally for the duration of our 1y visa. I’m not sure why they make you get a visa and THEN make you go through this process, but we have to nonetheless. Poor Alex has worked non-stop for 2 weeks to get the right stamps and signatures, he’s run into road block after road block and been a tremendous blessing to our family as the Christian organization we hoped to work with has been on vacation and not entirely interested in helping us work with them… in their minds it’s more of a ‘favor’. I was hoping there was more of a organized missions program and desire, after all we aren’t over here for the cheese. This is discouraging, but encouraging when God supplies someone like Alex, who is not associated to any church that we know or anyone we know for that matter, bends over backwards to help us in a time of need. God provides, but doesn’t always make things easier, in our case He provided Alex to guide us through the bureaucracy. We will know Tuesday of next week if they approve our extension, if they don’t, we’ll go from there.. in Ukraine you don’t assume anything will go as planned.
House:we are moving in this weekend! The phone line is still not ready, which gives us internet and allows me to work. I only realized this week that it’s entirely our responsibility to both dig and lay down all the wiring to the box down the street… way down the street! We’ve employed some strapping young men to dig for several days, but they ran into some really hard ground and I saw the situation did not look good… if we wanted phone/internet before Jesus would come back… so we ordered a tractor from a neighboring town with this cool digger thing… it completed the job in 20 minutes.. unfortunately it also tore up our neighbors phone line. Everyone just lays their own stuff and it’s not uncommon to have your phone/gas interupted because someone down the street is digging around… anyone here of city planning ’round these parts? Crazy. So, now we have to figure out how to dig under the street, in two spots… this is also our responsibility I’m told, maybe I can find some gophers like the one from Winnie the Pooh.
Gas/Hot Water:we have neither of these at the house still. The gas guys eventually showed up at the house after 3 weeks of delay, only to write down a list of what we needed to go buy first.. which included piping, fittings, and essentially everything they needed to finish the job. I shouldn’t be surprised at this, I knew the mechanics around here also require you to bring you the part for your broken vehicle before they fix it. We rushed downtown to buy the parts in a record time (thank you Kolya!) only to find the gas dudes were off to another job, and said they’d be back tomorrow. I stayed over in RZ with Broderic to make sure they got what they needed… but they called and said they were on another job and wouldn’t be back this week. They are lucky I couldn’t hit them on top of the head with one of these pipes:). I’m sure we could bribe them to do the job faster,,, or do it at all, but I do appreciate the precedent that would start and would trickle to other missionaries and those that aren’t as high maintenance as the Crowes:).
{Gas man counts how many parts we need for the job, and writes on paper}
Container:This was a bit of good news in the whirlwhind we call life over here. The shipping line called and in broken English notified me the container would be arriving this Friday! I’ve learned to not get too excited about good news. It’s a confusing mess at the moment, 3-4 different shipping companies pointing me to different folks and asking for documation that the other has…. Once again Alex was able to call and help make some sense to the situation,,, all in all it’s about what I expected. The container is NOT going to simply dump off at my house (door to door.. woops,,, they meant door to port:). The container has to clear customs which will be interesting, I’ve got to sign a bunch of stuff and pray the port folks don’t charge ridiculous sums for bringing in our own stuff. We’re very excited it’s here, but it will be a process to get it to our house, and we appreciate the prayer for patience and to display Christ to each party we talk with. If we can get my truck (which is going to be another interesting set of hoops to go through) by the 20th, we can return this car rental which is costing us way too much monthly. It will also allow me to get a trailer and haul off the still abundant amount of glass/brick/wood/nails/garbage in your hard from all the work. We look forward to turning the kids loose in the yard… they do after 3 months of apartment life.
Cassie: no complaints there, what a blessing and what timing the Lord has! She arrived just in time for Deb and I to run around and pick out needed materials for the workers and several other needed quick trips to stores. She has cooked almost daily, helped clean and mother the little ones while we run around the country side. Right now she’s in Kiev with some of the kids while I just dropped off Deb and 2 kids at the house in RZ. Our car is so small we need to make several trips. She will be a real light and blessing to the girls here, and I’m sure be stretched and conformed into the image of Christ in ways she never imagined too.. isn’t that neat! I know she misses the internet, she blogs all the time and has been writing but not able to post… when we do eventually get internet, i’m sure you will all be bombarded with her novels and stories which we all love….
I could keep writing, so many mishaps, so many long lines… ridiculous processes, one step forward, 5 back. This is the nature of Ukraine and most of these former Soviet block countries, they are recovering from antiquated methods and robot like obedience to procedure, they do not adopt new patterns or ways of doing this with any form of excitement:). This is the most difficult area right now for us, we are growing closer to Christ, our marriage is strong, our kids are thriving, but adapting to this culture is tough! We aren’t going to change the culture, and the sooner we learn to flow with things the better, at the same time I see many weaknesses in the culture that bleed into the Christian mindset. God is a God of victory, and desires His church to press forward and reach out to the lost, He can save souls if we do our part with passion…. this type of mentality is hard to find… the culture lulls you to sleep, relax man, take off your watch… however scripture tells us to ‘number our days’ and if I wanted to enjoy life I wouldn’t have inserted our family in this crazy place! So God give balance, patience, wisdom and increased joy through these little trials.
As I type this, a babushka just came and took water from Gaven’s well, ha! Everything is shared, if you leave your gate open, it’s inviting people into your yard. Leave your door open, people will assume you are inviting them in. One girl came into Gaven’s when we were staying here and I was doing the dishes (only time I did them, don’t worry guys), I promptly ushered her over to the sink and put her to work.. she didn’t stay very long ha.
Ok, this was long, and I must run. Not sure when next post will be but please pray we get this container sorted out… that would be a wonderful next post “we have our stuff!” … or “we received our stamps!”, or “we have internet at the house now!” or “we have gas/hot water”… any of those will work. It’s a pivotal time for our family with many things converging as we try and get settled in for the long haul in this new land.
”God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him” - John Piper
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).
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Another Countdown
By Bruce | August 5, 2008
We are moving from the apartment in Kiev to our house in RZ in two weeks (Aug 20)! Still a lot to finish on the house, but we’re thankful for a functional kitchen and bathrooms. No word on our container but it would be simply wonderful if that thing decided to show up soon, maybe around the same time we move in?? We have temporary mattresses on our uncarpeted flooring, and a bag full of plastic cups/knives/spoons in the kitchen that will hopefully last until our real stuff gets here.
We just visited the house and stayed over one night, here’s some pics. Noah taking a bath in FREEZING cold water, he didn’t seem to mind though which begs the question, ‘who is the real baby?’ with this hot water issue anyway?
We bought some plastic chairs. We had our first ‘dinner’ in the dining room, we’ll be thrilled when our table gets here and we can sit around ‘our’ table.
We finally have protective railing up on the second floor and stairs. Our kids would race around there previously and we knew it was a matter of time before one took a spill overboard.
Deb and Noah in the kitchen,, we’re awaiting a final piece of counter top, we had to custom order it a month ago.. us rebellious americans not ‘going with the flow’… we were told not to order special sizes but we want to utilize that area for extra seating and their stuff here is so small and narrow, made for tiny apartments not regular houses.
A urinal! I won’t write what they call it here.. not very nice. Needless to say we are the only ones in Rz with one of this I think, but also the only ones with 6 kids I bet too. Now boys, aim small, miss them all. Here’s Noah and I, he’s a mess of a kid but we love him anyway.
We picked up Cassie a couple days ago, she’s already been such blessing. She’s cooked us some great food giving Deb a much needed break, and allowed Deb and I run errands and buy some final stuff for the house. This car I had rented was upgraded (for no charge!) to a van for a few days, so I’ve been making trips to RZ with larger suitcases and some materials for the guys. It’s a mercedes van, and I’m not letting go! It has AC.. oh you have no idea how nice it is to drive something big and comfy.
The Lord has blessed us with so many little things, from this van, to Alex my lawyer friend who has truly become a friend and is helping us finalize several legal items that would have been an impossibility on our own. He’s truly gone ‘out of his way’ for us. Alex and I just returned from Rz this morning, he wanted to come along and see our house, we stopped by a piece of property on the way back to Kiev that he is looking to buy for a summer house, it was interesting to be in another smaller village much like RZ and feel the heartbeat of God for those people.. I don’t know much about the town but I bet there is next to nothing in terms of the gospel represented. I told Alex if he builds a house he’ll need to invite us over to hold meetings in his house, to invite neighbors… he said that would be great. I’m still not sure where Alex is at with the Lord but we’ve found many common interests and I’m eager to know him more. They are coming over for dinner Thursday evening, he and his wife and possibly his little daughter. I wonder what Cassie will cook ha!
Who knows the mind of the Lord in these things, but I believe God is orchestrating in ways I can’t imagine, so I try and step back and trust. Friday we ‘may’ meet with the Mayor. Thank you for prayers, comments, emails, anything you send is appreciated as we miss you all. We couldn’t take such big steps without your friendship - Oh I’m back on facebook if anyone is out there.. Deb and I are in a competition to reconnect with as many folks as possible.
“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. ” Prov 16:9
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End of July
By Bruce | July 30, 2008
We’ve been crazy busy this past week, and I’ve got about 5 minutes so here’s a few pictures from the weekend. Off to meet Alex our lawyer who has ’saved the day’ by helping me complete the documentation for the OVIR registration. What an answer to prayer folks, I’m going now to purchase the required health insurance for Deb and I. Then all that is left is some more paperwork to pick up and a rental agreement (on my own house). I wonder how much I should charge myself?
Here’s a church in Kiev, probably one of the biggest charasmatic chuches in Ukraine. I wanted to check it out this past Sunday. I heard people talking about it negatively and I left actually quite encouraged. It was the first time I’ve seen joy, hope and emotional expression on the faces and body language of Ukrainian Christians since I’ve been here. I was reminded of the verse in Mark where Jesus warns His disciples to embrace those that preach Christ, if they are not ‘against’ us they are with us. I’m pretty conservative these days, but finding the desire to be around those that radiate enthusiasm for Jesus, even if they hold some goofy doctrine. We as believers (limited in number and influence) here in Ukraine cannot allow secondary issues like “the role of the holy spirit” and “the gifts” divide and conquer us. I left a bit angry at the enemy, how even in a culture so spiritually dry as this he’s done a number on the body, keeping them in their safe little camps. The worst part is, we evangelicals think this is spiritual, to split hairs and in the guise of ‘unity’ we hang out with those that think like us. For those that know this church (readers from Ukraine), I’m not condoning the theology of the leadership in all areas, I’m commenting on the actual believers there… their Christianity was ATTRACTIVE and their gathering full of life. If we are to err, let us err being over enthusiastic about Jesus.
This is a Marshrutka, a small bus. If you don’t want to pay for the taxi cost, you grab one of these. I actually prefer the larger buses (more roomy) but they aren’t as fast. You have to pay attention to two things (at least) when riding, the upper left sheet shows the cost for the ride, this one is 1,50, which is roughly $0.50. They travel in 2-3 kilometer routes all over the city. The other number is the front right, the bus number, this is 45. I made the mistake of hopping on the 445 yesterday in haste, I figured it took the same route, woops. You also have to yell out when you want off, “Na Ostanovka”… at first when we arrived I would yell “Stop” and “hey whooo” but the driver didn’t seam to acknowledge. After missing a few stops I quickly learned this word.
Had some issues at work this week which caused me to want to defend our company and character. I was pretty upset as some potential ‘rumors’ had circulated among competing business concerning my departure (I had ‘fled’ the country).. and were swooping in on a client like a vulture. I spent some time in prayer asking God to help me manage these emotions. Why is it that we (or maybe this is just me) are so quick to defend our imperfect reputation and go on the offense when someone attempts to bring our character into question? I couldn’t help but think of Christ who was led like a lamb to the slaughter, innocent yet charged as a criminal. How did He keep so silent? Was He not concerned about His own reputation? What if history remembered Him as a criminal?
I think this is important to learn to trust and be quiet in these situations even though it is very difficult. Some people may find it hard to stand up and challenge folks (hold them accountable for what they say), but I find this easy… it’s the being quiet and trusting God part that I need to learn.
“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.” Prov 27:2
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