Sat. Evening Post, 12/11

Note from the Editor: this is the first in a special series written from the U.S. This week's edition takes us from the foggy shores of Odessa to the sunny skies of Charlotte.

Getting ready to leave:packing didn't begin until Tuesday, because the weekend and Monday were still very busy. Monday I met in the center with one of the students from last year's training center class. We try to get together periodically and it was great to have a chance to hear how ministry is going for her.

Trying to hitch a ride at the Odessa Port

Alyona. She has a great ministry serving orphans and sick children in children's hospitals and women's prisons.

Even cows like to feel festive for the Christmas season

Thursday: I woke up to a lot of fog and didn't think I was going to make it out, but the fog lifted enough for planes to land and take off. After flying to Warsaw, I had an overnight layover in New York. I was hoping to make it in to Times Square to see the lights, but I got in too late.

Friday morning I headed back to the airport for my final leg of the flight, taking time to stop at Starbucks, of course. =-)

Dog of the Week: Like I said, this is a very special edition and so, a very special doggy is this week's Dog of the Week:

Georgie!

Event(s) of the week:

*church Thankfulness lunch(in Odessa)
*first church baby dedication
*fellowship time with Alyona
*having Yulya over for a sleepover
*lots of packing
*flying home
*decorating my own little Christmas tree
*church Christmas party(in Charlotte)!

My little tree

Sat. Evening Post, 12/4

Weather of the week: Well, the typical Odessa Fall has finally arrived. After weeks of unusually beautiful Fall weather here, the gray, foggy days have been here all this week. Wednesday it sleeted and snowed and the next day it all melted, leaving lots mud. I've worn my rain boots every day this week and have been so thankful that I have them this year!


Girl's activity of the week:

Darlis(the wife of the Pres. of IM) did a tea and craft time for all the IM Odessa staff females. I'm not a craft enthusiast, but the fellowship was great and I really appreciated Darlis' planning and her time with us.

Dog of the Week: Boris

Boris the dog hanging out at the Colonnade

Big event of the Week: Seaside Missionary Training Center graduation

Marina, Edzia, Dima, Anya, Sylwia, Szymon, Anton, Vali& Sergei. After three months of preparation, these nine students are heading out to their internships: two staying here in Odessa to serve with IM teams, two going north to serve in the rebuilding of a church in a small town, one going to Siberia, two going to do soccer ministry in India and two doing children's ministry in the Philippines. Please pray for them as they return home, finish raising support and head into ministry.

Goodbyes of the Week: this was a really special class at the training center this year and goodbyes were sad. The hours of classes, chats, dinners, game nights and other random times were just really special and I look forward to keeping up with them throughout their internships and beyond.

Edzia & Sylwia

Szymon, me and Vali

Christmas party of the Week: today I went with my roommates to a Christmas Party for missionaries in Odessa. I haven't been able to go to many of the meetings this year and really enjoyed getting to meet different missionaries that live here. It was a really great start to the Christmas season: fun to be around other Americans, to sing carols, to do a gift exchange with them and to have good fellowship.

My roommates: Laura, Michelle & I at the party

News of the Week: this time next week I'll be writing you from.........Charlotte!!!! I'll be flying out Thursday and have an overnight layover in New York, so won't be arriving until Friday afternoon in Charlotte. See you soon!

Saturday Evening Post, 11/27

The Thanksgiving Edition/1000 Gifts

This was such a wonderful week. I was encouraged in so many ways and just wanted to share a few with you.

Thankfulness of the week:

144)My brother's family came to visit Sunday - Thursday(from E. Ukraine)!

Raia, Will, Jaan, Phyllis and Asya(at the Odessa Port looking at ships & dolphins)

145)For having Jaan sleep in the bunkbed above me and getting to spend an hour every morning playing and talking with him while waiting for the others to wake up.
146)For Raia's "helpfulness." It was fun to spend time with her while she helped me with everything; from cooking to cleaning to applying my makeup and doing my hair.
147)For hugs and kisses from a three year old and having my face held in her hands as she says in her squeaky little voice, "Aunt Anna, I love you!"

Asya and Aunt Anna

148)For the enthusiasm of children in exploring new places

149)For the ability to speak with my nephew and nieces(Jaan corrects my Russian-haha)

Finding a cannon was VERY exciting!

150)For our Thanksgiving celebration. It was wonderful having Will, Phyllis and the kids here, as well as most of the training center students, my roommates and another friend, Godwin.

151)Singing and thanking God together with friends and family.

152)Laughter and encouragement

153)The SMTC students. I'm so incredibly thankful for them and the relationships and friendships that have been established since September.

The international celebration: 8 Americans, 3 Ukrainians, 3 Polish, 1 Romanian & 1 Nigerian.



154)Pecan Pie and Pineapple Casserole. I told Will that I really felt like it was Thanksgiving as soon as I had that first bite of Pineapple Casserole. Southern Thanksgiving at its best.

155)I learned how to make Caro Syrup!

Pecan Pie. Mmmm

156)For my brother's goofiness

Sehr Gut.

157)For the leaders in IM, who have invested time in counseling and advising me

158)For Darwin and Darlis Anderson's visit this week. Darwin is the Pres. of IM and a wise, godly man whom I really respect.
159)For a great time of fellowship and encouragement with Dar & Dar on Thanksgiving Day.

Tea, Coffee and Conversation with D&D

Saturday Evening Post, 11/20

Weather of the Week: Nice again, but a little cooler. Mostly sunny, but gray and rainy toward the end of the week.


Ballet of the week: Nureyev Forever. Sunday night I went to the ballet again with my roommates and another friend, Godwin. It was a multi-media presentation of Rudolf Nureyev's most famous roles and choreography, ranging from stunningly beautiful classical ballet partnering to contemporary ballet and modern solos. There were films of his performances and large scale photography of his work, as well as a very gifted pianist onstage and of course, the orchestra in the pit. Out of the three shows I've seen at the Opera House, this was definitely my favorite. Well worth the $3 ticket price. =-)

The cast and orchestra conductor

Newly discovered food item: I have always been fond of Twix, but after trying the new Coffee flavored Twix, I'll never return to the original. It's still a Twix, but not quite as sweet and with a slight coffee flavor: just right.



New favorite scarf: I went into the center this week to meet one of the female students from last year's training center class and did some shopping for Christmas presents, etc. to take home with me. There are some really beautiful and affordable scarves here and of course, I ended up with something for myself.



Past time of the Week:

I was walking in the center of town and saw at least sixty men all gathered here playing chess and dominoes. Obviously, there are many other things that men do here, but this does seem to be a popular past time.

Car of the Week: Zhiguli

I've been looking for this car ever since someone asked me if we had Zhigulis in the US. I told him that we didn't, and have been curious ever since what it looks like. I spotted this one this week while I was walking home. According to Wikipedia, the Zhiguli is the domestic version of the Lada, which was used for export only. The Lada then was re-exported, resulting in its also being very well known here.

Friend/visit of the week:

Filemon is one of the Polish students from last year's training center class. He was here visiting for the last two weeks and it was great getting to spend time with him again. He's very well known to my brother's kids as "The Monkey" from last Thanksgiving's eventful dinner with the students.

Saturday Evening Post, 11/13

Weather this week: Splendid! Daytime temps between 65 and 70; blue skies and sunshine. I think back to this time last year, when the sun had departed in October....and am so very thankful for this unusual weather that we've had for over a week now!


Food item of the week: Blini. Blini is a crepe that is usually filled with something either sweet or savory and then is either rolled(like below) or folded into triangles. My favorites are Mushroom blini and a dessert blini with stewed apples.

Blini with Apricot Jam

Walk of the Week: I've been intending for quite some time to go explore a large park that is about ten minutes down the street from me. I finally made it down there this week and enjoyed seeing all the different trees and activities that were going on.

Park Gorkovo

The only colors that we seem to have here in Odessa in the Fall season are green and yellow. I was fascinated, though, with some of the interesting designs on the leaves as they are changing colors: some were striped and others had leopard spots.

A good thing to find when out exploring is a toilet. Of course, it's not very helpful if the toilet is locked. =-)

Fun Find of the Week: Oreos!! We have some American candy here, like Twix, Snickers & M&M's, but these are the first cookies that we've seen from the US. My teammate, Kim, spotted them at one of the big stores and I was pretty excited to also see them there today. It's funny to see how exciting such small things can be.

Dog of the Week: Yes, I know he kind of looks dead, but he wasn't- just sleeping soundly(in spite of the fact that he was beside a busy road and in front of a busy market). Ah, to be able to sleep like a dog.


Car of the Week: I'm thinking that perhaps this will become a new feature of the Saturday Evening Post, because there are some pretty great Ukrainian and Russian cars here with loads of character.

Saturday Evening Post, 11/6

Weather of the week: Unexpectedly mild and sunny, with a high of 72F on Friday!


Unidentifiable Food Item of the Week: Any guesses? Sausage? Some kind of liver pudding? Well, actually, it's........

Ice Cream: Just slice and serve!

Spotted on the street this week: Charlotte Hornets Jacket! It made me reminiscent of the old teal and purple. I was on the bus when I saw it, otherwise I would have asked the lady if I could take her picture. =-)


Time with the SMTC students this week: I didn't go to any classes this week(usually I go to at least two each week to spend time with the students and get to know them better). But because their new teachers weren't arriving until Monday evening, they had the day off. The five who are from Ukraine all spent time with their families or were busy doing other things, so I spent the day with the four from Romania and Poland. We enjoyed a lovely Fall day exploring a monastery and the 411 Battery(a WWII park), before making dinner together and spending the evening talking. It was a really great time of fellowship, encouragement and fun.

Sylwia, Edyta and I at the Monastery

Vali and Szymon playing(complete with sound effects)

Dog of the Week: Yes, that is a dog curled up under the torpedo.



Sunset of the week: as seen outside the apartment window Friday afternoon at 5:30.



Verses of the week(sent by friends & family as encouragement):

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go." Is. 48:17

"And we know that all things work together for good , to those who are the called according to His purpose." Rom. 8:28

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil , to give you a future and a hope." Jer. 29:11

Saturday Evening Post, 10/30

Weather of the week: Coooold in the mornings, with temps below zero(freezing) a couple of times. I had to wear tights under my pants and pull out my winter coat this week.


French Fries of the week: The Republicans are taking over the world!! Actually, this is from a supposedly Canadian Burger place and I have no idea why it says this on the bag, because it's not the name of the restaurant. And I'm kind of doubting it's Canadian, b/c the food was terrible. I don't even want to know what was in that burger. It was so gross, we left at least half of the food. Thankfully, it only cost the equivalent of $3.

McCain Fries- limp and soggy- =-D

At the Opera House again..this time with Vika, Marina and my roommates to see the ballet, Bayaderka.

Visit of the week: Vika and Marina came from Krasnoarmeysk(E. Ukraine) to visit for a few days. If you remember, they were students at the training center last year and I discipled Marina during her time here and then traveled there several times to take part in their ministry. Vika had never been to a ballet before and was not too thrilled with the idea,but..... I won her over and she really enjoyed it. =-)

Vika, Marina and I at the ballet.

Dogs of the week:

Waiting for the bus

Fall colors of the week:

Heading into the Training Center. I don't know what kind of vine this is, but it's the first red that I've seen.

Fun of the week: some of the training center students came over for dinner and games tonight while Vika and Marina are still here. Most had never played Jenga before and it was a lot of fun. We played other games, but that was the most popular.

Simon(from Poland) and Sergei(from W. Ukraine)