11.11

Here we are at the second anniversary of the happiest day I've ever experienced. Remembering that day still brings me great joy. We've turned it into a holiday for our family, and we're remembering with everyone from Kherson.

There is a lot more pain mixed in, as time goes on, though. Kherson is still being terribly bombed. In fact, that just gets worse and worse with more and more weapons added to the mix. And the left bank of the Kherson region is still occupied and suffering greatly. Also, at first I might not have thought as much about the sacrifices made to get the city back, but now we remember the heroes who died, too.

I've been reading Testament of Youth for AmblesideOnline's Year 11, too, and I just actually realized that November 11 is also Armistice Day. Maybe I knew that before? The complicated mix of feelings is that book and at that time is very similar to what we feel here and now, I think: joy, pain, grief, hope.

Today I noticed this sign on the closest store and wrote in our family group, asking if they thought the store was also remembering the occupation of Kherson:

"No eggs"

Anyway, we're celebrating here with good foods we associate with Kherson and our experience of occupation, and with gifts of books to remember how much we read in November 2022 when there was no electricity and (almost) no connection with the outside world. 

 Happy Liberation of Kherson Day! And may all of Ukraine be free very soon!

Still here

I've been meaning to come back and say that it looks like we can stay in this house, thank you for praying. There are still many details to be worked out, though.

We've already moved on to the next problem, too: there is a young couple living above us in this house. They moved in at the same time as we did. Now he's been taken by the army. Please be praying for him, for them, for us. They don't know if she can stay here now; we are trying to help, if we can. 

Now what?

One month ago today I wrote that we were in the process of moving. Since then, we've really been enjoying this new house. It's so nice here that sometimes I feel like we're on vacation. But now our landlord has died, and we don't know what will be next. Will wrote more....

Praying for Kherson

It has been almost two years since that wonderful day when Kherson was liberated from occupation. Life there has not gotten easier, though. In fact, it has gotten worse. Artillery from across the river pounds the city all the time. Glide bombs and Shahed drones started after liberation, and in recent times little drones have really started terrorizing the people, going on "human safaris" to hunt them down. Still, our part of the city has been relatively safe. Strikes there happen, but not daily. Until recently. Now the city war administration is seriously endangering the people with plain stupidity (or worse). The leadership of our church has asked everyone to fast and pray today for safety, for the church, for the whole city. Please join us in prayer.

The verse the pastor gave today is:

Settling in, birthdays, Kyiv

We've been in this house for two weeks now, and we're loving it. The quiet and the yard and good places to walk (without crowds!) are amazing.

Also, Asya's birthday was a week ago. She actually wasn't here with us on the exact day, but before she left, we celebrated with her, and now she has returned to us. Her Kherson friend who has lived in Poland, then Zhytomyr, and now Kyiv, came to spend her own birthday with Asya. Their birthdays are only a few days apart, and they sometimes celebrated together when they were little. This year they were together again, and we actually did what Asya wanted last year: Papa cooked meat on the grill, and we had dinner outside.

Actual birthday in Kyiv

The plan was that Ira would spend a few days with us, then the girls would go to Lviv together for a day, then Ira would head back to Kyiv. Asya already had a ticket to go to Kyiv on Friday, because she needs a new passport, so they would be seeing each other again soon. However they begged and begged for Asya to go earlier with Ira, and we gave in. That means Asya got to be in Kyiv for the whole week, helping our friends move to another apartment and spending time with Ira and other friends.

Will and Bogdan went to join Asya on Friday-Saturday. We had thought we would take a whole family trip to Kyiv for the passport and to see all our TCI friends, but when we found out that Asya only needed one parent with her at the embassy (little kids are required to have both with them, but big kids don't have to), I stayed back with Leo. Will, Asya, and Bogdan had a busy weekend in Kyiv, and Leo and I had a quiet time here. Mostly we just enjoyed the quiet and saw lots of rain. I also had several Zoom calls and time to think, read, and write.

 

Now we're back together. The travelers are tired, I'm well-rested, and the dog is overjoyed.

Moving!

We are now in the process of moving to the other side of Ivano-Frankivsk. We'll be just outside the city limits in a house.

Here are some still photos from the advertisement video we saw:

The landlord lives in the garage/half-basement level, we’ll be renting the first floor, and a young couple will be above us. This apartment we're in has been what we needed, and it was good to have a place for our small group to meet, but it's been hard for some of us to be right here in the loud, bustling, crowded center of the city, without a yard. We're looking forward to a quieter place, even though it's farther away from everything. Our little dog will get to run around outside! It will be cheaper, too.

This will be the tenth (?) place Will and I have lived in. We hate the moving process, but at least this time we don't have too much stuff to move. Although, we have accumulated some here. It's confusing, too, because we came with almost nothing, and then people gave and loaned us things from several directions. I don't know who brought what and what is actually ours. We'll get it sorted out and move, and then we can let out a big sigh of relief.

New Life Camp

There are two "Kherson churches" in Frankivsk. Both were started or are led now by people from Kherson, and when it came time for official registration, both ended up officially registered in Kherson even though they're located here. We attend one, but we know people at the other. In August the other church asked us to help with their day camp. It was a very good, full four days! Bogdan and I went every day, and Will helped for the second half of the camp and at the parents' program afterwards. With one of our friends, I co-led the second youngest group, and I taught English classes. Each day there was a time for "master classes" or workshops when the kids could sign up for topics that interested them: crafts, painting, hairstyles and makeup, cooking, and English (and more). Bogdan enjoyed being in the little teen group with leaders from Kherson, local friends, and others. Once Will joined us, he was with them and also in my English classes.

One day a little girl in our group had to leave mid-day to go with her father to meet her new baby sister and bring her home from the hospital. She protested greatly and said that she could see the baby later, she wanted to stay at camp! She was very excited to be a big sister, she just didn't want to miss any of the fun.

Here are some camp videos.

Also, the church provided funds for a fun event for each team after camp ended. Bogdan went bowling with his friends, and this weekend Tanya and I took our group to a movie.