My mother keeps pleading with me to post.  It just seems that life gets so busy and there is little time to blog.  The pastoral leadership sat down and planned out a sermon schedule so that none of the three of us would be overwhelmed between our two worship services, the large amount of administrative needs, and our Senior pastors full-time employment.  We ended up needing to shuffle a few things around, and now I am writing two sermons simultaneously - one in English and one in Ukrainian!  

Our student center laptop was the only computer I used that had a SD card reader (which I need to upload pictures) - a little over a month ago that laptop was stolen from the student center - so it is a big hassle to upload pictures now.  I am working on finding a way to do so - and I hope I can soon because I have some great pictures to share.  

So, take this as a promise of things to look forward to. 

St. John's UMC celebrated it's third birthday since starting weekly services.  

My second week of seminary sessions was a rousing success. 

I spent the third holiday feast of January with my friends family in her village. 

I took in a shelter dog.  His name is Masik and he only has three legs and he is adorable. 

Pictures and stories coming soon friends!

Pastor's meeting

It was like a surprise party, except it was hours away and not a party but a meeting.  Maybe it was more like a surprise party for your fortieth birthday.  I wasn't very excited or happy about it.

I found out about the week long pastor's conference two days before we went.  Now, as an American, I have an unhealthy addiction to planning my life out in advance.  Ukraine keeps trying to break my habit and sober me up from this disease.  On the 14 hour train ride, I had serious thoughts about jumping ship and returning to Lviv, but my pastor had bought the ticket with his own money and wouldn't get reimbursed if I didn't show up.

It was like a surprise party in other ways, though.  I was surprised at how much I genuinely enjoyed it.  Many of the pastors from our conference were there, and they were joined by many seminary students and their teachers and co-workers from Russia.  There were many new faces - and some updates from old friends and places that I love.

The teacher for the week was Dan Johnson who serves Trinity UMC in Gainesville, FL.   He spoke about how Pastor's can take care of themselves and care for their own hearts and ministries.  It was really encouraging and uplifting.

I had a really meaningfull conversation with our new Bishop.  He is younger than almost all of the pastors in Ukraine.  Some of the students started a snowball fight and he joined in.  It wasn't in some attempted throwback to youth, but out of a genuine desire to win a snowball fight - and he did!

I'll be heading back to the pastors conference today for the last day and to spend a few days after that with the seminary students in classes.  It should be good fun.

New Years

It's hard to get out of the city and visit people in other towns.  The roads are bad, the weather worse, and it seems that I have fewer and fewer full days to travel and visit people.  While I have a whole list of great people I wish I could visit in far off locations, it especially breaks my heart that I'm not able to visit Mrs. Onoprienko as often as I wish I could.

Luckily, my vacation route had me returning right through her hometown - so I juggled the train timetable and found a little over an hour to stay and still make it home in time for my obligations back in Lviv.

Lyudmilla Onoprienko is Ilya's mother, and I had the pleasure of meeting her a few times with Ilya back in the spring and early summer before the tragedy took his life.  She is wonderfully supportive of our ministry and simply a pillar of faith.

I arrived into the small town at 7:30 in the evening and walked quickly to her apartment.  My train was at 9:00 - so, sadly, I didn't have much time to stay and enjoy my visit.  I was scared to visit Illya's mother by myself.  I speak Ukrainian more or less.  I understand most things without a hiccup, but when I start speaking I get nervous.   With friends my own age I just say whatever crazy thing comes out of my mouth, but when I'm with an adult I'm much more cautious and I stutter a bit.  Two of my closest Ukrainian friends have a marked stutter and while I don't have one at all in English, in Ukrainian sometimes it's quite pronounced.

When I served as a Pastor, I think one of the hardest realizations for me was that I really didn't have anything to say to people suffering tremendous tragedy.  And, that happens to be even more true in my Ukrainian.

Lyudmilla cooked up an impromptu New Year's feast.  We gorged on potatoes, sausage, fish, and salads - and then topped it all off with coffee, cake, and candies.  All the appropriate food groups were represented. We talked a little bit, and laughed a lot.

I asked her how her New Year had been and her answer was stunning beautiful.  She said, "At first, I cried and cried.  And then I thought, 'Ilya was always so joyful, and he doesn't want to sit up in heaven and watch me cry all day' so I got dressed up, went to the church celebration and had some mulled wine."

We laughed a little and cried a little.  I explained that it was about a 20 minute walk to the train station, and I would have to leave soon.  She said she would call me a taxi so we could spend another 10 minutes together and I wholeheartedly agreed to that idea.

It was really the perfect way to end my New Year's celebration - to spend some time with someone beloved and to celebrate a New Year that will certainly be better than the last.  

Christmas Vacation in ... Lviv

I had some vacation days that I didn't get around to using, but I really didn't feel like traveling - so I am taking a "staycation."  A staycation is one of those words coined to make being poor incredibly cool - the way shabby-chic is used to explain away the fact that all of your furniture is old and in poor condition.

It just so happens that I live in the most incredible city for a vacation, or a staycation.  Or ... whatever.

I love this city.  It is just teeming with things to do, places to see, coffee to drink, and amazing cafes to visit.  Oddly, my idea of a perfect vacation is to buy a cheap detective novel (or three), sit in a comfy chair and read for a week.  I decided to at least mix the two a bit, and have been testing out the comfyness factor of chairs in various cafes around the city.

I found a thick crime-novel at the book-market (in English!) for only 5 UAH - about 65 cents.  The only problem is that it is British English and not American English.  Other than spending five minutes trying to figure out what a kerb is (a curb for those keeping score at home), the biggest challenge has been trying to figure out the names of each unit within the police system in England, and the differing importance of rank for officers.  Apparently, rank is unbelievably important in their system ... and apparently I don't understand the order at all.  The author keeps making big references to rank and it is quite confusing.  This has given me a greater understanding of non-native speakers as they try to navigate all of the various meanings we have given to words and actions in the English language.

I have also spent a good deal of time working on translations.  My co-translator and I discovered a Ukrainian poet who wrote the most mesmerizing verses.  We've translated two of his poems into English so far, and hope to keep working on some of his other writings.  We hope to start publishing in 2013.  

I've also spent a great deal of time just walking around.  The weather has jumped above zero this week, and the snow and ice are melting.  Usually it's too cold for a long walk, so it has been nice to be able to enjoy this small comfort as well.

I hope that your Christmas vacations have been nice and that you have been able to enjoy your time of rest as much as I have.  

Christmas Newsletter

Hi friends.

Here is a link to my Christmas Newsletter.

I hope that your Christmas is perfect in every way, and that you are filled with peace, joy, and hope.

Love, Michael

Advent Thoughts of Thanks

My great aunt Mabel wrote a Christmas poem decades ago, and each year we read it together as a family.  The third stanza reads:

Now is the time to prepare our hearts,

Sweep every corner clean,

Dust out the cobwebs of fear and doubt,

Mop stains of sin when seen.

Make room for the Babe of Bethlehem;

Invite our Lord Christ in;

Give first place to him who died

To save us all from sin. 

Our Advent season here in Ukraine lasts for about six weeks.  Many of our students celebrate a fast during this time, giving up sweets or something more precious.  We wait together for this blessed holy day.  At the Youth to Jesus student center, our lives are filled with waiting.  We wait the return of our beloved friends David and Shannon and their exuberant boys.  We wait on government institutions and construction firms for the completion of our new student center.  We wait for some students to be led by God back into the fold of this ministry.  We wait for that sense of peace that only Christ can bring after an enormous tragedy.

My great aunt Mabel kept a small, ceramic, light-up Christmas tree in her living room year round.  In childhood amusement, I wrongly assumed that she was too lazy to put it away in January.  As the words of her poem ring through my ears, I understand her need of a constant reminder of the King's coming.  At the Christmas eve candlelight services of my childhood, I would stand on the pew and snuggle up against her wool jacket as we sang "Joy to the World."  Her arm around my torso, she would whisper-sing each word into my ear - each note a quiet prayer for me.  

As our students prepare their hearts for the coming King, we believe the words of that famous hymn: He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove,The glories of His righteousness,And wonders of His love!  During these last few months, we felt God's truth and grace as we faced each challenge.  We felt your prayers and received the glory of God's righteousness through your loving kindness. 

Thank you for being a part of this ministry.  Thank you for lifting us up in prayer, giving above and beyond for this ministry, and thinking of our students during this time.  We wait together this Advent season, knowing that as Christ showed up in the manger, God's love and grace for us will show up in the most unusual places and unexpected ways.  

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, I realize that I have a lot to be thankful for.  Although this has been a very hard year, it has been filled with life and love.  This is a tremendous blessing.  This year for Thanksgiving, I wanted to invited over some of the people who helped me get through these last four months.  In the wake of the tragedy, I needed a tremendous support system.  I needed strength and encouragement so that I could share strength and encouragement.  I needed some level of normalcy.  I found comfort, friendship, and a constant listening ear in these people.  I love them dearly, and it was a great joy to have them over for a Thanksgiving celebration.  

Olia Kryvytska is one of my closest friends in Ukraine.  She is a constant.  On the day of the accident, she was at work - and several times during the day I ducked into an alleyway and called her and asked her to pray for me.  She would take a "cigarette break" and step outside and pray for me over the phone.  I can't imagine the horror of that day without her prayers on the other end of the phone.  

Erica Oliveira (on the left)  is our new intern.  It was helpful to have someone new come from our organization so that there would be someone for new students to interact with.  Olia Reiter (on the right) leads an international film festival here in Lviv.  She is brave and strong, and being around her can cause you to catch the infection of courage.  I needed a lot of courage these last few months.  

The entire meal was a lot of fun to cook.  Everything except the corn was from scratch.  The turkey came from the village of Nova Skvaryava, and I picked it out last week when I was there.  The mushrooms came from my flatmates village.  I'm glad I learned how to cook while growing up! And my friends are glad, too.  

After the Thanksgiving meal, we set up Christmas decorations.  In this picture, the Americans grab a picture as we oversea the workers.  Haha.  On my right is Emily, who works in the country of Georgia, but has many friends here and flew here for the holiday. 

Valya (left) is someone I met back in 2008 in San Diego.  She was on the leadership team the first year I was here.  She has been a constant in my life for the entire time I have been in Ukraine.  She knows how to get things done, and often when I encounter a roadblock, one phone call to Valya will turn up someone she knows who can help.  She knows everyone in the city, and is a major trendsetter.  Den (middle) is a relatively new friend, but honestly one of my closest friends in Ukraine.  He can always improve my mood and help me through a difficult day.  Valya and Den both work for the international film festival Wiz-Art.  

Olya cleaning up a spilled drink.  Every picture of Olia is just a treasure!

The whole group together around the Christmas tree.  These are wonderful people to have in my life and I am so thankful for them.  It is nice to have the tree up and to enjoy it each day.  

And last, but certainly not least, Mefodyi greeted me at the door after every single challenging day these last four months.  He stole a turkey leg and ate the entire thing and went into a Tryptophan induced semi-coma.  Everyone played with him because he was so sleepy and droopy that he couldn't even respond to people.  

I love serving this community.  Of course, these last few months have been some of the most challenging I have ever faced in my life; but in the end, I just feel so blessed to be with this wonderful group of young people.

Volodya, Andry(Erika's husband), Erika, and their daughter Marta.

Please continue to keep us in daily prayer.  There are still tremendous daily challenges, and facing them just saps our staff of so much energy.  My co-workers are so dedicated and so phenomenal to work with, and please especially pray for them.  Even though we are all over the map, and all doing different things - it is still a joy and we look forward to being all together again. :

Erica Oliveira currently in Poland trying to get her visa straightened out.

David and Shannon, Jesse and Jeremiah.  I love and miss these guys so much.

Pastor Lyubomir and family at Marta's baptism

Nova Skvaryava

I took some vacation days to go to the village and have a rest.  I read lots of books, took long walks every day, translated some Ukrainian poetry into English, and wrote a lot.  I stayed with my friend Valodya's family.   

Walking to church.

An ancient wooden church in nearby Jhovkva.

This is one of the best preserved wooden churches in Ukraine.

I went to the local school and visited English classes. 

I love village life.  

A dancing dog and Valodya's mom.  A perfect week in the village. 

My mom keeps writing me emails about things I could blog.  On the other hand, I've been trying to convince her for years to start a blog of her own.  She is a great writer, and I think a lot of people would follow her blog if she had one.  Maybe I'll blog when she does!

In the meantime, here is some of what she wants me to blog.

In the aftermath of the tragedy we suffered this summer, we have spent a lot of time in prayer.  To be honest, it has been tremendously difficult to pray some days.  There has been so much to do, and so much pain and heartache that prayer has not come naturally these last few months.

It seems incomprehensible that the accident happened less than four months ago.  It seems that we have all aged so much.  Our weather here has been so crazy, that it seems we have cycled through summer, fall, winter, and spring many time over these last few months.  Months of putting one foot in front of the other bring you to a different destination, but the journey is usually a blur.

We are slowly beginning to bring our focus back to the journey we are on.  At Pilgrims, we will begin a short sermon series on Micah 6:8.  And the book of Micah is set up as a giant trial.  This young prophet goes to the stone pillars where court was held and he begins a mock trial of the ages.

You can feel the crowd pressing in as he lays out the years and generations that have brought his people to this place.

I volunteer at Ivan Franko National University.  I teach translation studies majors.  It's a tremendous amount of fun, but from time to time I am asked to recite poetry in English.  Reciting poetry is big in Ukraine, and as much as I protest that it's just not something we do so very much - as a native speaker they really do want me up there.  This month I must recite some verses by Lord Byron's poem, "The Destruction of Sennacherib."  The poem feels a bit forced to me, and, honestly, it sounds like something an angsty teenager could have written.

But, theologically, the poem just grinds my gears.  Lord Byron might not have read Micah.  Or, more likely, he didn't read Micah with the knowledge that Micah was from one of the small towns destroyed by the Assyrians.  Byron's triumphant declarations of the destruction the Lord brought about is an odd companion with Micah's desperate, prophetic plea that someday, "They will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war.(4:3).   Micah, who lost his entire town, was able to see beyond the ends of war to see the goodness of God's great vision of the world.  Thousands of years later, Lord Byron is still looking for the wrath of God to defeat his enemies.

And Micah, a small town boy - just a refugee in the big city - stands before all of these important people begins the trial; the trial of his people's faithfulness before God.  And the climax of the trial is the famous verse, "He has shown you, O man, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God."

And this is the great moment in the trial when the prosecutor brings out the bloody knife with perfect matching fingerprints - and at the same time this is the great moment in the trial when the defense attorney grills a witness and gets her to confess to staging the whole thing.  This is that moment that makes court TV so intense, the reason we tune in to Judge Judy every day - this is one of those moments that rarely happen in real life, but always happen in scripted trials.

All of the case is before the jury, and the guilt is overwhelmingly obvious - and then this verse is pronounced.  It is a taste of the grace that Jesus (born in Bethlehem as prophesied by Micah) will come to fulfill.  Micah calls his people to renewed faithfulness to God.

Justice, mercy, humility.  If we lived with these three guiding principles, our churches would be packed each day.  Our gospel would be as irresistible as when Jesus first proclaimed it.  And our churches would be underground, despised, and persecuted.  You can't live this way and expect everything to stay the same.  These ideals - justice, mercy, and humility - they stand in direct contrast to what our world teaches.  In the last election, did you think about which was the most humble candidate before casting your vote?  In a society focused on justice, my home country would be paying for the atrocities of war we have committed for decades.

This is the point in the trial where everyone in the courtroom gasps in shock.

To a crowd of people who have been slaughtering baby lambs for generations to earn God's favor and to keep God's wrath away - the idea that all God requires from us is these three little things is a revelation of gigantic proportions.  To a crowd today who tries so hard to just be good enough for God's favor, for a group of young people trying to figure out what we did wrong to deserve this - these words are also a shock to the system.  They echo the Gospel of Jesus Christ long before he walked the earth.  They foreshadow his vision and his truth.  And to this day - these words continue to instruct us in how we may life.

We are called by our God to go forth into this world.  To act justly.  To love mercy.  To walk humbly with God.

But what do these three things mean?  What do these three things mean for us today? As young people in Lviv?

[Ok.  I went way off the path I had planned for this post.  I started writing my sermon for next week.  But, I think everyone will just be glad I blogged something :) and no one will complain!]