We were divided into two teams so on Wednesday the first team cooked and decorated and served the rest of us a delicious little meal of fruit salad and banana bread. Then on Thursday that team sat back and relaxed while my team decorated and cooked for them. I wasn't too much help for my team as they had decided to do a traditional Ukrainian theme for their meal. I had very little idea about what that was so I let them handle it and mostly just ended up being their cheerleader. I am very proud of how well they did.
Thursday, of course, was my wonderful husband's birthday. So we celebrated in true Ukrainian fashion. Meaning that the birthday person has to throw their own party and buy their own cake. Bruno announced in chapel that everyone was invited to join him at the first morning break for cake in the kitchen. Then we ran with Vova to the market to buy some cakes. We got it all cut up and dished onto plates just in time for the break. And then we had a nice time just visiting with everyone for a while. Sasha Maluga, one of the teachers, made a nice speech thanking Bruno for all his help around UBI and presented him with a Shaktar hat and scarf. (That's the Donetsk soccer team for anyone who didn't know.) And a couple of other students gave him little gifts as well.
Then in the evening we had a quiet celebration with a movie and a good Alfredo pasta meal for my Italian husband. We finished it off with an ice cream cake I had made. I was about ready to burst by the end of the day. But it was all so tasty.
On Friday, we finally let the boys in on the fun and food. They had been quite jealous on Wednesday and Thursday when all the girls were eating without them. So on Friday both the teams joined together and cooked a wonderful meal for the whole school. The girls had gotten together and planned a great meal, but were having a tough time coming up with a dessert idea. I jumped in and offered to make apple crisp for dessert.
It was a lot of fun with all of us working together in the kitchen. We were so busy with the food that we almost forgot about decorating the room in some fun way. Marina was quick to solve that problem when she ran outside to gather some leaves. We borrowed a few other decorations from Mary Lee's office and ended up with a very festive fall kitchen. And in the end we had a school full of well fed students who ran off to write an exam and ... a very dirty kitchen for Bruno, Mary Lee and I to clean. Oh well, we had a good visit while cleaned.
On Saturday we had a small English class with only 3 students. But they were students that we are pretty close with and we had fun playing a Pictionary type game with them. Afterwards, Nazar walked home with us and was asking if he could come visit us soon. He asked if Sunday or Monday would be better. Bruno has been feeling a little worse this week so he's been quite tired again. Bruno went to say that Monday would be best but in his tiredness he got his Russian words mixed up. Instead of saying, “Paneedeelnik lootchye” (meaning, 'Monday is better') he said, “Parasonic lootchye” which means 'pork is better.' Nazar and I had a good laugh about that one.
Bruno was on for preaching in the second hour on Sunday. He spoke about prayer and shared the story about praying for a 50 kopeckee on our way to Amstore many months ago. (We wrote about it in our March 15th entry if you want to read it again.) Well, when he shared this story there started to be a little bit of a giggle in the congregation and then more people started giggling at his story. This may not sound like a big deal, but we have been here almost 7 months and I don't think I have ever heard that before. Ukrainian culture is very reserved and it is very abnormal to smile in public (even in church) and especially strange to outright laugh. This is one of the cultural results that carries over from communism. Gradually the younger people are becoming more and more expressive in public, but change takes time. So to hear an audible chuckle throughout the church congregation was such a nice treat. I'm so thankful that God invented laughter. It's one of my favorite things in life.
Oh, I forgot to share a story from Wednesday. I went with a visiting American teacher, Tyetseeya and Katia to the TB hospital for a visit. In one room there was one little child alone in a crib. So I snuck in there and started tickling her tummy. She smiled and giggled at me especially when I told her in Russian that she was beautiful. I played with her for a few minutes and then waved and said 'Paka' (goodbye) as I started to walk to the door. She started crying so of course I went back to play with her some more. A nurse came in then and through our translator explained to me that she was recently dropped off at the hospital by the militia. She is a newly abandoned baby so I am guessing she didn't like it when I said goodbye. The next time I had to leave the room I didn't say goodbye, but I did leave a little piece of my heart with her. Isn't she cute?
On another note, we would like to ask you to join with us in prayer. If you have been following our blog you know that Vova and Lena are good friends of ours. They are expecting a baby that is due about the end of November. On Thursday evening Lena started having pains in her back and stomach and they called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. So far she seems okay and so does the baby, but the doctors say there is a chance the baby may come early. Lena is still in the hospital and we went to visit her yesterday and she is able to walk around and all. She is just very uncomfortable and at times in a lot of pain. With the language barrier it is hard for us to understand exactly what is happening, but please add her and her baby to your prayers. Hospitals here are not well equipped to handle premature babies so the longer she can carry the baby the better.
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