Happy 2nd Birthday St. John UMC Lviv!

The United Methodist Church in L'viv celebrated its second birthday this Sunday. It's hard to believe that it was just two short years ago that this wonderful community was planted.



The Sunday School is still going strong. The weather was very cold and the youngest kids weren't allowed to walk to church. Here the pastor's son writes a card with the help of one of the Sunday School teachers.




We began with a worship service. During the coldest months our numbers dip a little, so it was refreshing to have everyone come out for worship and communion. We are so proud of our leadership and the wonderful job they are doing!




Erika found birthday hats for us to wear and everyone came together for cake and tea.




Not everyone wanted to be in the picture, but here we are gathered around our two birthday cakes. Maybe each year we'll have another person bring a cake until the church is old enough that everyone bakes a cake and shares it with their small group! This could be a dangerous tradition!

pothole.

As we read through the communion liturgy, the sound of children enjoying Sunday school in the next room begins to grow. It always seems as though the children store up all of their energy during the noisier parts of the service and hold on to it until it comes time for the silent prayers of confession. As we bow our heads the dam breaks and mighty roars of laughter flood our worship space.

It's one of the charms of worshiping in a minuscule space. It's one of the joys of having a full children's Sunday School. It's one of the challenges of making do and making things work.

The other day I mentioned the large out-door staircase that leads to my house. The day after I posted about it, I fell into one of the potholes while going down the stairs.

It was dark and I should have been going slower; being more deliberate with each step. But, I was in a hurry and I rushed down the stairs. A grandmother with her small grandchild was occupying the safe section of the steps and I moved to a different section to get around them. I felt my ankle twist under my leg as my foot found its groove in the missing section of step. I caught myself and managed to gain some traction before any further damage was done. I hobbled forward and didn't feel anything. I regained feeling at the bottom of the stairs and realized that there was no way I was walking back up the stairs - so I went on my way.

My ankle is feeling better now. It's still sore some times; but thankfully I didn't have to go to the hospital and I only had to stay off it for a few days.

I'm spending the month of January focusing on reconnecting with Ukrainian culture and improving my ability to communicate in Ukrainian.

I'm the kind of person who enjoys getting things done. I accomplish things. This is my personality. For me it has been very frustrating to not get wrist-deep in the day to day life and ministry of the student center.

But I have to realize that there are many pits and potholes along the stairs in Ukraine. If I don't slow down and take each step deliberately I will certainly fall and this time I might do some serious damage.

These first few steps [learning more grammar, improving my vocabulary, working to pronounce sounds more distinctly, and making statements with the proper (read: non-American) intonation] are boring and difficult. It's easy to fall into a full-force run and to assume that everything will be fine in the long run.

This is the joy of making do and making things work. It applies to small worship spaces just as much as it applies to getting more disciplined about language lessons.

As my mother always pointed out, "A stitch in time saves nine."

Returning

It is always good to return somewhere you love. Lviv is treating me well. It has been nice to slowly return to the customs and culture of Ukraine.

My new apartment is very nice. It is a small two-bedroom apartment in an old Soviet-block building in city center. The kitchen has been recently remodeled and is very nice. It has a very efficient stove and oven, plenty of cabinet and counter top space, and a dishwasher. Sadly, we don't have enough dishes to ever need the dishwasher - but eventually my boxes will arrive and we will! The bathroom is split into two rooms, which is a nice feature when guests are over.

The neighborhood is quiet and safe. The building is very secure. Each apartment has its own door code for the front door, and the apartment itself has a sturdy wood door. I feel very safe in the apartment, and the hallway is always well lit and I never feel unsafe. The building also has a (somewhat rickety) elevator - which is an oddity for city center.

I live with a good Ukrainian friend who helps me understand Ukrainian culture and language better every single day. It's good to have someone to talk to and to help me process through things - it was very frustrating before (when I lived alone and then lived with non-Christians) to not have anyone to help me process through things. We found a cat already. His name is Mefodyi (Мефодій) named after one of the first missionaries to the Slavic world - Methodius.

Each room in the apartment has a giant window and a spacious balcony. The view isn't tremendous (the view from the stairwell side of the building is breathtaking!) but at least we don't have neighbors five feet across from us looking in our windows. There is an old building with a few offices, but at night there is no one behind out building.

The biggest drawback is the tremendous hill and the long hike to get to the apartment. One road is a little less steep, but it's further from the center. Behind our building is a large staircase to traverse the hillside. The stairs are in really bad shape and poorly lit at night. There is also a trail through a wooded area that is steeper, but a little prettier. I keep hoping to find some shortcut on level ground ... but so far I have been forced to put up with the slopes! This is also nice in some ways, though, because it makes the neighborhood more secluded and keeps the monthly rent low for an apartment so close to city center. It's only 5 blocks from the main square - but two of those blocks happen to be very steep!

Every day is an exercise class, and I feel healthier already. I'll try and post some pictures of the apartment as we get each room settled.

Christmas in the village

I had the great joy of visiting the small town of Xodoriv for Ukrainian Christmas. I interviewed my friend's grandmother a while back so that I could better understand the history of Ukraine. She invited me to enjoy the Christmas feast with their family.



Nazar's grandmother grating eggs for one of the many dishes we would eat for Christmas. The Christmas meal consists of at least 12 dishes!




Jessica cat eyeing up the fish covered in onions. Luckily, she sat at my feet and ate plenty of fish during the meal!




Nazar's grandmother cutting the Christmas bread - it literally covered half of the table.



Nazar and his mother overshadowed by the giant Christmas bread!



Nazar's other set of grandparents. His grandfather is a wickedly funny old man, but at the same time his prayers were wonderfully deep and heartfelt. I really loved being around him.



Some of the many dishes. On the right you can see the traditional Christmas doughnuts.




The new Greek Catholic church being built in Xodoriv, as seen through the eyes of a young boy.

Safely in Ukraine ... Enjoying being at my new apartment.

I went to a large outdoor market, and the crowds that were there the day before New Year's eve we really overwhelming.

But, my Christmas tree is up and I am excited to be hosting a large New Year's eve party tomorrow.

24 hours

I'm at the Pittsburgh airport waiting for the first leg of my flight. In a mere 24 hours I will be resting in my apartment in L'viv. This I my first trip from the US to L'viv, and it is a long one (I flew directly from Mongolia the last time I was there). These long transcontinental flights will be a regular part of my life from here on out.

It amazes me that a generation ago when my professor Dr. Smith flew to Latin America, he sent a telegram announcing his arrival and then went without contacting home for months at a time. When his mother and father-in-law traveled to East Asia they packed their belongings in a trunk large enough to use as a coffin to be buried in after a lifetime of service never to return home.

It is a quick flight filled with near constant updates thanks to the Internet, today! Just amazed at how lucky I am to serve in a time and place where life is easy and easily connected back home.

1week

I can't believe that there is only one week separating me from Ukraine! And what a full week it will be!

Christmas is somewhere in there, as well as a Sunday night service I'll be preaching for at Warren First UMC. There are people to see, goodbyes to be said, gifts to wrap and unwrap and then pack away, more last minute items than could possibly fill two small suitcases, and packing up my sister and brother-in-law's house before they move (the same day I move!), and a thousand other details to focus on before I fly out.

And yet I'm oddly calm. My sister, a Physician Assistant, keeps checking my pulse to make sure I'm still here.

This Christmas season is an odd holiday time. I'm receiving the best gift ever - getting to go and fulfill my dreams with the support of my family, congregation, and denomination. My brother-in-law will take his dream job out in Illinios and my sister will happily find a new job in her field. We don't have a tree up, or really too many gifts stashed away - but this season we will celebrate well. We will follow that star wherever it takes us and find great joy in whatever lies ahead. Although we lack all the external, visible accoutrements of Christmas; I think we have found the real meaning. What a blessing that is.

Joy and Peace to you all as you find the meaning of this season.

apartment therapy

My friends in Ukraine are currently apartment hunting for the place where I'll live. We plan on signing for an apartment some time next week.

It's an odd adventure to apartment hunt by proxy. After my friends go to visit an apartment they will send me pictures and I find the address on a map to see if the location is good. There's a whole process that happens for each apartment, and its very time consuming. My friends are wonderfully patient and extravagantly generous with their time.

I've been a transient person for the last three years. I haven't lived in the same apartment for more than three consecutive months since January of 2009. I have lived with family, friends, and strangers; in rented rooms, luxurious apartments, and spare basements. It has been a wonderful journey. You don't know how much the kindness of others means until its all you have.

It will be good to have a (semi)permanent space. A place to make my own, to live in and love. A bedroom and bathroom where everything is just where I want it to be - it's odd how important these things become after a long time of not having them. I fully plan on throwing my suitcases over the balcony after I'm unpacked - I don't want to have to live out of a suitcase for years and years to come!

Hopefully in the next few days something great will work out. I'm certain that just the perfect place will appear.

Perhaps it was an off hand comment. But it's a comment I have been fixating on for more than a month now. Thomas Kemper shared a vision of finding a place for 500 young adults to serve in mission. The idea of 500 people my age engaged in mission within the United Methodist Church sets my heart on fire.

I just finished reading a few blogs written by friends. They have returned from living overseas, and it is profound to hear how much their lives have been changed by the experience. You can't turn your back on the reality of having lived out your faith in a different context. It's easy to waiver away from a faith formed entirely within your own context.

I will continue to nurture the fixation on a massive swelling of young adults in mission - a new movement in our missionary community. I will continue to dream and to pray.

Rest

I have had such an enjoyable time resting a bit. Churches tend to run on a fairly fixed schedule - and beyond Sundays and Wednesdays the pickings are a little slim. Now, when I'm back in my home conference I will be driving from church to church and visiting pastors during the week; but here in GA, most of my connections are laity.

I've had a wonderful time resting, reading, visiting familiar places and seeing familiar faces. This time of rest makes me feel that I am ready for the whirlwind of activity waiting for me in Ukraine. It's also really exciting to see all the ministry that I get to be part of here in the states. It's rare that I get to just sit and listen to people share the stories of their church and their faith journey. It's exciting to dream about the future and all of the faith stories that will be enriched through the ministry we are about to expand.

It is good to reconnect. To reconnect with family and friends, but also to the needs and passion of the churches that support us.