I was going to put an Advent photo in our prayer letter, but the activities of the church here in Ivano-Frankivsk aren't secret, so I can add some more and post them here. Asya and I have been doing the baby/preschool Sunday school group here in Ivano-Frankivsk. We usually have 5 little displaced Khersonites (although 2 of them were born here) to enjoy on Sunday mornings. Advent with Sunday school was a special treat this year.
I saw Bogdan off to Young Life winter camp this morning. He loved this camp last year. This year we didn't think he would be able to go, but it worked out beyond what we expected. The only problem is that his friend from here--the one he was so looking forward to going with like last year--came down with chicken pox and had to stay home. But a friend from Kherson, who was here then went home at the start of the school year, is back now for this camp, so Bogdan has her and his friend's sister to keep him company. Plus, he makes friends well. I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time. All the rain we got here last night apparently came down as snow in the mountains, so they're all looking forward to sledding and other snow fun.
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| The ice we braved to get to the train |
There are no "OPSEC"* challenges for this camp, no threats of various military strikes, only fun, snow, and mountains. I'm taking my morning off from homeschooling Bogdan to go back through Kherson camp memories and photos, the ones that can't be shared here. Hopefully I'll get something written up to share in email. It's so hard to know what to say.
Edited to add: I’ve already gotten two photos from camp. That’s Bogdan in the lead, rolling down the hill:
*Almost all my military-type vocabulary is in Ukrainian, but that actually popped into my head in English, so I used it.
Here's the beginning of an article (from Єдині) I read today:
Probably, this year, each of us heard the phrase from acquaintances that the Christmas holidays passed too quickly, and the mood is not festive at all... Perhaps this is connected with the shift of the holiday period in connection with the transition of the Ukrainian church to the New Julian calendar. Maybe because there was no snow or frost. Yes, I think it is because Ukraine is losing its best sons and daughters in the war every day, and the news from the front, unfortunately, does not add optimism. But, despite everything, we should celebrate. Not loudly and pompously, but quietly, in the family circle, thanking those who give us such an opportunity. We must preserve our traditions not only for ourselves, but also for future generations....
The article then goes on to tell about the holiday of the Baptism of Christ, which used to be towards the end of January and now is January 6, tomorrow.
So, yes, our holidays are already coming to an end, and yes, they felt short and strange and mixed up. (Although, here in Ivano-Frankivsk, it seems like the Catholics are really trying to hold on to the old calendar, so we might not see Baptism until January 19.) Yesterday we returned from Kherson, today Raia left for Lithuania, Monday will be the start of lessons, homeschool, and the next semester for our university students.
I will plan on sharing more about how we spent our holidays, but a good part of that needs to be more private, so be sure that you're signed up to get our prayer letters, if you want to hear about that.
For now, I hope you have had a wonderful holiday season and wish you all the best in 2024! Thank you for your love for us and for supporting us here.
