I'm back,  I need to apologize for the spelling errors in my last post, I was in a hurry and didn't proof it, how embarrassing!  Had a great night, Barry got to tell the Glomos people about how Hope center started, and many of our team got to share things with the group.  Then we went outside to the bonfire, sang with a guitar, and one gal knew some songs in English from listening to CD's.  We visited with many of the Glomos people.  Then the girls from Dream Project joined us for marshmellow roasting, and many more hugs and photos.  What  a beautiful day!!!!! Praise God.

Final Post

This will be my final  post, we have so much to do and leave tomorrow.  I will fill you in on our last two  days, for those of you still reading!!
Tues night the guys finished up the cement work, even working after dark, but not as late as they thought.  So for our trip, cement is done, and plumbing seems to be fixed.  Lucas has decided to stay and extra week, and they have several projects that he will be good at.  But he will miss the rest of the team giving him "flack".

The other project we really want to finish is painting the Dream Project Building 5.  Paint here comes in white and it takes a paint expert to get just the right color, using an old plastic cup for exact measuring of the colorant.  Randy is amazing and the color is just right.  Here are a few photos to show the progress.  All the guys are working on this.

One of the best parts of coming back is seeing friends from  before.  One of our friends is Igor, who Barry and I met 4 years ago as a Vocational student at Hope Center.  Now he is married to Natasha, a cook from summer camps, and has little Dennis.  Rachel and I have enjoyed so much playing with Dennis, as Mama and Papa are both working here this week.  They come back when work teams are here.  Typical 2 yr old, he gets into lots of mischief!  I gave them a quilt from Riverside as we had a couple extra ones.

Today I have been interviewing the Dream Project girls, and will write their stories when back in US,  Pray for these girls as they pursue God and a future.

A cultural treat is to go to Anya's parent's for a barbecue / sauna night.  I didn't try it myself, figuring 800 degrees might trigger a headache!   But most of the team tried it, in and out, in and out.  Then we were fed the most wonderful meat from Sergey's grill.  Sergey is also a dentist so right after supper he put Barry the Brit into his dental chair, and within a couple minutes was shooting novacaine and pulling teeth!   After that we looked at his coin collection from historic times and then say his oil paintings!  What a talented man!  But he serves God as a dentist to the prison, sharing Christ with all he meets.  These pictures may shock you!

I think I mentioned that we are working hard and are tired.

Glomos is pastoral training that happens here once a month, 3 days for a total of 30 day course.  There are tests along the way, and it is quite intense.  Yesterday 62 Glomos Students arrived, 15 are women, and they are so excited to be here, and to learn to minister more effectively.

We will pack and  be home in a couple days. But first my friend Tanya from Kiev will prepare us apple struddle Russian version.  Then we have a bonfire tonight will all the Dream Project girls, then we speak tonight to the Glomos students.  We are loving Hope Center and our old and new friends. 

We are all fine, aching, sore, but it is worth it.  There are always complications working here  and re-plumbing the laundry building continues to be a challenge, mostly leaking due to using "recycled" parts.  In the US we would just go to Home Depot!  The cement is a challenge because it is hand mixed, sand is weird here, and the mixture is always a guessing game.  Lucas may be up most of the night finishing a large step platform.  He's our hero!  So are all the guys who are shoveling and hauling the cement.  Day after Day!

The girls from the Dream Project are learning how to help out around Hope Center as a part of their education.  They did yard work, helped in the kitchen and several painted their nightstands.  Barb got them started, Dan came to show them how to wash brushes, when we learned that it is oil based paint. OOOPs!  They have so few clothes and now they have paint on some of them.  OOOps!  Read on for a miracle God Story!

Mn Barry was involved in several very important meetings with VIP's today regarding the land that Hope Center sits on.  We haven't heard the report yet, but know many of you are praying!

Jack continues to be the morosiana (ice cream) man.  The crowd here is growing, so today he had to purchase 40 ice cream bars.  He has now cleaned out 2 shops of their ice cream!!  We love you, Jack!

Probably a highlite was handing out the quilts made with love by Riverside women. The girls were very excited and will have them all their lives.

Here's our God story:  One girl with the Dream Project came with nothing.  Then she got paint on what she was wearing.  Someone asked Tanya the director if she could look through Humanitarian Aid boxes for a jacket for her.  Tanya said she was too busy, but then decided to go look.  In the first bag she opened she found 8 beautiful down winter jackets, brand new, very expensive, from Sweden.  Different sizes, different colors, same style.  The girls came with no winter coats, how did God know that???  The best part is that we were expecting 11 and only 8 came.  Now we see that God knew that all along!  It is evidence of how God provides!

For the quilters:  I found good homes for the extra quilts, I will tell you about that later.

Love from Kerch, one of the oldest cities in the world!

Well, today is the day we came here for.  Girls who will be in the Dream Project started arriving this afternoon.  Seven are here, one more is coming tomorrow.  Three of them chose not to come, which is a huge disappointment.  Life is about choices, and turning down the opportunity for free education is a poor choice for an at-risk girl.  But God knows all this, and maybe eight is the best number for this class.
We worked like crazy to get the building ready and when they started coming there were still about 15 people cleaning, repairing, moving furniture, wiring, etc.  This building was in the poorest condition of all the  buildings so this has been a challenge.
Tomorrow I will have more pictures of the girls. When they came they started helping, so you can see a few of them, plus a couple photos of their rooms and lounge.  By Uk standards, it looks pretty nice.

Hope Center is so large that this helps to haul bedding and supplies from one area to another:

Rich H this is for you.  It is our Brit matey Barry working in a sewer pipe by the laundry, what a huge project that has been.  Finally finished, but not by Ukrainian code, so they had to start over. 

 Rachel and Barb got to take a break and go with Tanya and Jenya to buy groceries and deliver them to two families out in a rural and extremely poor village.  These are Christine's kids, for those of you who have been to summer camps.  What a privilege for me to actually meet them and hug them and see where they lived.  It made me cry, to see them in person and talk to the moms.  Rachel was sort of in shock, said she had never seen anything like that.  Poorest of the poor here.

Can't remember when I last hung up my wash!  But only one washer was working and no dryers.  We are mid trip now and it is time to wash!!  Luckily I got my wash done before that machine had trouble.  By tomorrow they will all be okay, so we hear!  It is definitely time for these guys to wash!

Here is the ongoing plumbing problem, repairing a drain situation.  Who would think so many man-hours can go into one issue!  Or maybe it is too many chiefs and not enough Indians!

Blessings from Hope Center

 

I posted earlier and lost it, so I will do it again, but shorter!!
We visited Pastor Frolov's church today, where we were asked to come to the platform and share (each of us) a greeting.  Sergey reminded the  people of when Barry first came and they worked together to find the Hope Center Property.  Someone said we bring greetings from our Mn church and they all clapped!  Then we heard a speaker from Open Doors (persecuted church ministry) who was from South Africa and spoke English.  First time we have ever been to church in Ukraine and heard a message in English.  He spoke about the persecuted people in N Korea, Iran, Afganistan, etc. specifically  and they prayed for each country specifically, it was a very moving service to pray for the body that is suffereing for Christ. 

After church we went to the large outdoor market, where every sense is challenged, especially in the fish area.  And being on the Sea, that is a big area.  Rachel said the market reminded her of the State Fair on a busy day, so crowded!  And so much food etc that we don't have in the US.

Next we went to the hill that overlooks the Bay of Kerch and the Black Sea.  The views are spectacular.

The rest of the day we relaxed and planned our week.  In the evening Andre and Tanya put on a fabulous meal with Andre's shislek (marinated and grilled beef) and food items Tanya wanted us to try from the market. Some of you will notice our friends Igor and Natasha who have come back to Hope Center to work with most of the teams.  After dinner, we had a time of prayer for the many needs here and back home. 

It is quite chilly here tonight and Rachel and I are trying to get the heaters to work.  In the morning we need to get ready for the young women who arrive tomorrow to begin the Dream Project cosmetology school.  Anya is quite nervous, so pray for her as these women will be her responsibilty for the next 7 months.  Love to our families back home!

What a busy day!  There was a group of volunteers here from a local church, doing fall clean-up, raking leaves etc.  Everyone worked hard all day, but things never go as smoothly as we expect.  It is Ukraine, and they do things differently.  I mopped with a towel draped over a dowel.  The guys have only one utility knife and it gets moved all over the camp. A 1 hour job takes 3-4.  
The steps to the shower room are poured, from a hand cement mixer, lots of help but Lucas finished them just after dark.  Dan finished painting his 3rd room with 3 coats, teaching Sasha English at the same time.  Barry and Randy finished the trim in 2 rooms for the Dream Project.  Barb and Rachel mopped those rooms over and over, and then moved some furniture in. Barb also got to write Andre's Newsletter for this month. Rachel and Jack are the floaters, they help out everywhere. 
I noticed on Facebook that it was Randy's, our fearless leader, birthday today, so the cooks put decorations in our dessert and we celebrated.  Tonight is our first bonfire, and Barry has his guitar out. I forgot to tell you that last night Barry, Rachel and Lucas went with Tanya to an English speaking class, where they spoke english with about 15 Ukrainians.  Great experience. 

Tomorrow we will go to church, go to market, and have Andre's favorite meat dish for supper.  God has been so good to keep us safe and working in a spirit of unity!