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....
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 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:
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 spend the whole week in Kyiv, 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.
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.
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.
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.
The Kherson (and Ivano-Frankivsk) Christian community was hit hard last week when Den Malov died of the wounds he sustained while defending Ukraine. Den was active in leading various ministries before the war, and he kept helping people when the invasion came. He could have gotten out of military service, but when he was called, he went. We didn't know him very closely, although we saw him off and on throughout the years. Our closest contact came not with him, but with his parents. When we unexpectedly evacuated from Kherson in November 2022, we ended up at a camp in Odesa that first night. Den's parents had also found refuge there earlier and stayed on to help. They took care of us, fed us, played with our bunny (Den must have directly inherited his love of animals), and treated us like family. Now we pray for God to comfort them in the loss of their son. Since Den's death his father has had a stroke and is in the hospital. Please pray with us for Den's father and for everyone who is grieving now.
When I sent out a short prayer letter with a list, chart, and graphics, I didn't think to make a map to go with it. Here's what I should have included:
Locations of the camps our family participated in this summer:
1. Klaipeda: LCC English camp
2. Near Vorokhta: Capernaum and Young Life teens
3. Kherson
4. New Life Church in Ivano-Frankivsk
