So much has happened lately, I hardly know what to write. I'll try listing some of it.
- I went to a homeschool conference. A homeschool conference! In Ukraine! That was amazing.
- Asya read a poem for the anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's death.
- Bogdan was in an online concert. Since parents can't go into the school, here's what I could see of their filming for that:
- Both Raia and Asya won awards for their music: Raia with her teacher's ensemble, Asya as a solo. One group that Raia is in also won in Bulgaria!
- Raia got a drastic haircut, here are before and after photos. (Snow in February and snow on Bogdan's birthday.)
- Our older kids went to a wonderful apologetics conference.
- There was a fire at our church. More on that below.
- Will and I finished getting our residency and registering for this year! (Other document adventures are still in progress.)
- Will's still figuring out arthritis treatment. He had more blood work done and will go back to the doctor this week.
Last week, late Saturday night or early Sunday morning the center of the church building caught fire. The whole sound system burned and the auditorium was left blackened and stinking. No people were hurt, though, and things are repairable and replaceable. It is wonderful to see how everyone is pulling together to work on recovery, sending money, and making sure that church life goes on here. I just realised that another blessing of quarantine is that online services are a normal part of life now. We can't meet in the church for a while, so we're back to online, just like we were exactly a year ago. Even though the cameras burned, they still know how to make this work. The Sunday school rooms are undamaged, so the kids can go to their classes as usual. Parents who come with them can sit together and watch the video in one room, while everyone else watches from home. We got to help with some of the initial cleanup, and now more professional restoration is going full force. (When I came home from church and told Will the information in that last sentence I mixed metaphors across two languages: "Work is boiling как муравейник.)
We're very thankful for God's blessings in this church and for all the love and support that we see pouring in. Please pray for the restoration work.
