So far, So good!

Hey all!!

I got to go to a Ukrainian graveyard last Thursday. It was very strange. It is a custom here that around the time of Easter everyone pitches in and rakes up all the dead grass and cleans up the monuments and things. Some of the monuments they have there cost $15,000 or more!!! They believe that it is an honor to the dead person to have this big elaborate monument on their grave. It is like a marble flowerbed with a gravestone on top. The stone has pictures of the people buried there, and some things about their life. there is also benches beside the monuments, for the family I guess? That is how the rich people are buried. The part of the graveyard I worked in had just wooden crosses that were falling down. No flowerbeds, no gravestones, no nothing! Those people were poor and most of them don't have family so the graves were not tended. There was TONS of dead grass and weeds so we raked, weeded, and  put new dirt on the graves. I stood on one grave and actually started sinking into it! It was REALLY freaky.

Saturday I went with Svieta, Veronika, and Andrea to what they call the "second hand market." It is a huge outdoor market where they sell EVERYTHING from hair dye to brooms. They have everything! I bought a skirt and some earrings (which I soaked in peroxide before I wore). My skirt cost $4 and my earrings cost like 50 cents, maybe. All the stuff there was pretty cheap. Sunday we went to Calvary Chapel for church, the English-Russian church. It seemed very laid back compared to the African service last week :)

 I just started week 3. Our speaker for the week is Phil, the base leader of YWAM Kyiv. I don't know what his last name is, sorry. He is originally from Kentucky, so he has a southern accent. It is a nice change from all the Russian accents here :). So this morning we had a meeting about some of the details of outreach. We will be going to Delhi, India. We will be working with a family there that is just starting an orphanage. They don't have any kids there yet, but they are looking to take 20. They will only be taking kids without parents, "real" orphans. We will be helping them for most of our time in India. Then I found out that we might be going to Nepal for 2 weeks to work with another orphanage there, so that will be cool. I have to confess that I don't know where Nepal is, but I know it's somewhere by India. I'll try to find a map and post it so all of you can see where I'll be. We are also praying because right now we are $10,000 short. I am all payed for the school but some of the other students weren't able to pay for the whole school at once, so we are praying that the finances come in. Andrea and I are the only 2 completely payed off. 

We also found out that on Wednesday of this week there is a team of 7 people who will be staying here in the house for 1 week. They are all orphans just coming to visit Ternopil, and one leader. This should be interesting. I guess that there are 3 boys and 3 girls, so they'll all be sharing our rooms. We also are doing "spring cleaning" here today and Wednesday. We are basically cleaning this entire house from top to bottom, so I'll be pretty busy for the next few days. I only have to clean the speaker's room, but I'll be helping everyone else with the rest of the chores.  I also have to iron the bedding for the speaker's room, which will only take me a little while (hopefully). Well i really can't think of anything else to say... I love and miss you all and I'll update you again soon. God bless all of you! 

-Missy