How can we possibly put into words our weekend trip? Another country, another language, a completely different world for us. Wayne and Connie Hursh and family sent us a list of memories.
1. Bumpy Berezyanka Road.
All the roads were bumpy, but the one to the Berezyanka village to go to church Sunday morning took the prize. Think roller coaster, think huge potholes, think about driving a truck through a field, think about hills and valleys. Yes, it was really that bad.
2. Visiting Baba Anya, and listening to her inspiring stories.
What a dear lady and what a testimony. She is 95 years old, lives by herself in this poor apartment, up five flights of steps, and she can't stop talking about how God has kept her during her life. She has been a church member for 10 years now and a vibrant Christian. She continually thanks God that she can still read the Bible.
3. Mt. Dew from Poland!
We blessed Wayne's with a case of Mountain Dew and they were so happy with the luxury. I also stuck in some frappe, some cream of mushroom soup, and some other goodies from Poland.
4. Making the holy candles into irreverent cinnamon rolls and snakes.
We spent one day in the capital city, Kiev. We visited a catacomb beneath an Orthodox church, where, as I understand it, priests are encased in glass coffins and people can go there to pray to them. All the women and girls had to cover their heads and wear skirts. We carried beeswax candles during our "pilgrimage" and they were still quite long by the end. We were enjoying bending them into all sorts of shapes when an orthodox priest nearby took great offence. These people are devout and very conservative.
5. Visiting the Tall man and his outhouse.
Did you know the tallest living man lives in a poor little house in Ukraine and works in his garden with his mother when he could be world famous and make money just letting everyone shake his enormous hand? Wayne and Connie took us with them to deliver a seed parcel to him to use in his garden. He is 8 feet and 4 inches tall. His shoes are size 27 and were specially made by a believing cobbler that Waynes knew about. I had to think of Goliath when I saw him and how scared David must have been. And the outhouse was another story. Connie says their children have learned to hold their bladders for maybe even 7 hours at a time. But we all needed a bathroom NOW, so we walked out around their buildings to find...well, just imagine about the stinkiest outhouse you ever saw.
6. McDonalds in Kiev.
What a treat for all the children. Waynes live about 2 hours from Kiev in a small village. The day we were in the city we had to visit the double arches. Was it ever tasty!
7. Swarming Cemetery
We were there over an Orthodox holiday. Families assemble at the graveyards and eat lunch at the picnic tables at the cemetery. On the grave of their loved ones they place some meat, egg, and drink, I think it was, for their departed has something to eat. By the next morning, it has disappeared. Unfortunately, it isn't the departed that has eaten, but all the drunks in the country get quite a feast one day in the year.
8. Conrad's somersault bikeride and the mountain pie supper.
We were impressed how beautiful the country was. Lakes everywhere. Not far from Waynes was a lake that we drove to for a mountain pie supper to celebrate Meesha's birthday. Yummy! Was it ever good! On the way home, it was very dark, and Conrad was riding a bike that needed to get home. He rode between the two vans so he could see where to go. Well, he didn't see everything. He was riding quite fast when his front bike wheel landed in a small deep hole, flipped him over the handlebars and the bike landed on top of him. He crawled out without any broken bones although he was a little sore the next day.
1. Bumpy Berezyanka Road.
All the roads were bumpy, but the one to the Berezyanka village to go to church Sunday morning took the prize. Think roller coaster, think huge potholes, think about driving a truck through a field, think about hills and valleys. Yes, it was really that bad.
2. Visiting Baba Anya, and listening to her inspiring stories.
What a dear lady and what a testimony. She is 95 years old, lives by herself in this poor apartment, up five flights of steps, and she can't stop talking about how God has kept her during her life. She has been a church member for 10 years now and a vibrant Christian. She continually thanks God that she can still read the Bible.
3. Mt. Dew from Poland!
We blessed Wayne's with a case of Mountain Dew and they were so happy with the luxury. I also stuck in some frappe, some cream of mushroom soup, and some other goodies from Poland.
4. Making the holy candles into irreverent cinnamon rolls and snakes.
We spent one day in the capital city, Kiev. We visited a catacomb beneath an Orthodox church, where, as I understand it, priests are encased in glass coffins and people can go there to pray to them. All the women and girls had to cover their heads and wear skirts. We carried beeswax candles during our "pilgrimage" and they were still quite long by the end. We were enjoying bending them into all sorts of shapes when an orthodox priest nearby took great offence. These people are devout and very conservative.
5. Visiting the Tall man and his outhouse.
Did you know the tallest living man lives in a poor little house in Ukraine and works in his garden with his mother when he could be world famous and make money just letting everyone shake his enormous hand? Wayne and Connie took us with them to deliver a seed parcel to him to use in his garden. He is 8 feet and 4 inches tall. His shoes are size 27 and were specially made by a believing cobbler that Waynes knew about. I had to think of Goliath when I saw him and how scared David must have been. And the outhouse was another story. Connie says their children have learned to hold their bladders for maybe even 7 hours at a time. But we all needed a bathroom NOW, so we walked out around their buildings to find...well, just imagine about the stinkiest outhouse you ever saw.
6. McDonalds in Kiev.
What a treat for all the children. Waynes live about 2 hours from Kiev in a small village. The day we were in the city we had to visit the double arches. Was it ever tasty!
7. Swarming Cemetery
We were there over an Orthodox holiday. Families assemble at the graveyards and eat lunch at the picnic tables at the cemetery. On the grave of their loved ones they place some meat, egg, and drink, I think it was, for their departed has something to eat. By the next morning, it has disappeared. Unfortunately, it isn't the departed that has eaten, but all the drunks in the country get quite a feast one day in the year.
8. Conrad's somersault bikeride and the mountain pie supper.
We were impressed how beautiful the country was. Lakes everywhere. Not far from Waynes was a lake that we drove to for a mountain pie supper to celebrate Meesha's birthday. Yummy! Was it ever good! On the way home, it was very dark, and Conrad was riding a bike that needed to get home. He rode between the two vans so he could see where to go. Well, he didn't see everything. He was riding quite fast when his front bike wheel landed in a small deep hole, flipped him over the handlebars and the bike landed on top of him. He crawled out without any broken bones although he was a little sore the next day.
9. Blowing Bubbles of fun!
10. Beautiful singing by our two families!
11. Connie and Laura's love life stories! :)
And...we could tell you yet about our three encounters with the Ukrainian policemen, the four hour wait at the border, how familiar and good Poland looked when we crossed over the border...but that would take a lot more of your time. It was a good experience to see another culture, visit another mission and see how they do things, and just get encouragement from other Americans surviving in foreign countries.
Comments
Iain
Thanks for sharing your stories!
-Anna (gracegal on Xanga)