2/22/09 - Today's service went well. I received a rose at the end because of my birthday. Today was a pretty restful day. Later we had a meeting about what we were going to do for Men's Day. We are still roped in for singing Be Our Guest! So we have a dance routine to plan. The rest of the evening was spent trying to warm up and resting.

2/23/09 - Monday. I hate Mondays. Today I had to lead my first lesson which was on animals. The boys really seemed to enjoy it! Then Hannah and I had to teach the Agrarian College by ourselves. We do not enjoy this class mostly because the students don't respond much. But we got through the class fine. This evening we made chicken and dumplings! It was amazing, not quite like home's but close. Plus no burning chicken or smoke!

2/24/09 - I had to teach my animal lesson again today to another Transport class. We started a new class today at the Agrarian Academy teaching post-grads. We were expecting people to have good English... WRONG. The class was hard to teach because for beginners you need to write things out but this room had no board. The class took forever and none of enjoyed teaching that class and are already dreading it. Please pray that God chances our hearts about this class. This evening at SMS was a ping-pong tournament. We went because three of the boys from our English were going to play. We were hoping this would be a great opportunity for them to meet boy believers. We only stayed until we saw all three of them play and then we headed home for some rest. Mom, I never knew how much teaching takes out of you! Plus we have to deal with them talking in a different language and for some trying to figure out what they are saying! Today I missed home, I missed being able to understand people when they talk, I missed manners, and mostly I missed people who wear deodorant. Ok, venting done now and I feel much better.

2/25/09 - Today is our day off and began with our landlord coming to get the rent. But then it was off to the bazaar for shopping. We all found scarfs that we like and then just did some browsing. Then off to McD's for our Americanish lunch. Hannah then went to a mall to get her watch fixed while Erin and I went to the underground mall to look for me some new shoes. Ukraine is hard on shoes! I have been wearing the same pair everyday because my other ones have a slight heel on them. Heels and ice plus snow just don't mix. Well, not for me anyway, the girls here don't seem to have a problem in 4 inch heels. I was able to find a nice pair of flat boots. We then went home to prepare for our English club this evening. This evening went really well and the boys from Transport were back! All of the boys from our class (5) walked us home with Nastya and Ulya which gave us a good opportunity to talk to them out of a classroom setting. Tonight was finished by preparing for our 3 classes tomorrow that start at 8 AM! There is still a bunch of snow on the ground but today did start off in 20s, which beat the single digits of earlier this week. So maybe it will start warming up and maybe the sun will eventually come out.

Pictures from events in the last week:

The three of us girls at Friday's.

Mike and Linda Ray. Ms. Linda made an amazing cake for my birthday!

The chicken from our first attempt at fried chicken. After 10 minutes out the window the oil still cooked the other side of the chicken!

The girls that came over EARLY on my Birthday.

This was this morning after church. It has been snowing for two days! 

So now that I have internet here is what has been going on. I will post some pictures of everything tomorrow. Please excuse typos because I am NOT double checking this time!

2/13/09 - Today we travel to Dnipropetrovsk to spend the weekend with Mike and Linda. It was a 4 hour bus ride. I got to spend moist of the ride sitting by myself. The big buses are like village to village metros so they pick up people along the way for short distances. Eventually a rather large burly man came and sat with me. I was sitting by the window which was cold and since he did not smell too bad I did not mind the body heat of the burly man. I mostly read and listened to my ipod. Mike was at the bus station to meet us and we went to McDonald's for supper and met Linda there. We had a nice meal and then headed to their flat. Upon arriving Mike had roses for each of us for Valentine's Day. When finished the day with a movie and bed.

2/14/09 - This morning started off with waffles! It was amazing, we had syrup and everything. Shortly after that we had a financial meeting with Mike for around 2 hours, I hate numbers. We then headed to TGIFriday's for lunch. We were all so excited! So Ukrainian Friday's DOES NOT equal American Friday's!!! Service was SO slow but the food was good. I got a chicken bacon burger and Hannah got a cheeseburger and we then split them. Later that evening we had some worship time, wow English is amazing! It was so nice to be able to sing along and know what was being said. Then Mike and Linda surprised me with birthday cake and gifts since my birthday is the 18th. It was amazing to have a sweet cake because they do not use as much sugar as American's when baking. For internet we walked to the mall next door and used the dark and creepy way to exit their building. So on the way back we used the same entrance. Erin had the keys and Hannah had the flash light and I was just in the middle. So we came through one door and locked it behind us. We were then locked in a small corridor and were heading to the next door. As Erin was trying to unlock the door Hannah saw a drunk man sitting a foot away and freaked out and told us to hurry. Neither of us saw the passed out man and thought she was just creeped out. But buddy, when Erin got that door open Hannah shoved us through! We then finished our evening with another movie.

2/15/09 - Today we joined Mike and Linda at their church and it was a nice service. We then had lunch at McD's and then they put us on a bus. It felt like they we sending their kids off to college. So yet another 4 hour bus ride. This time however the bus took the back roads at the rest stops were smaller and NOTHING like at home. So by the second stop I need to use the bathroom. Hannah got off with me and we went in search of the bathroom and found none. So we got back on the bus and waited for it to take off again. But the longer I waited the more I needed to go so I asked Erin to come with me since she knows the most Russian. So we tried to find the driver to see if he would wait since the stops are only like 5 minutes. We walked up to him where he was talking to a women who before we could say a word told the bathroom was far away. The driver then pointed across the parking lot. Erin told him that I was sick and he graciously said he would wait. Not that I was sick, but hey use what will work! So we started across the parking lot for the bathroom. Now for those who think they have normal bathrooms with toilet paper, think again. You are lucky if you get a toilet seat! Thankfully I was raised a country girl and have no problems using a squatty potty. The rest of the evening was uneventfully until we reached home and had no internet.

2/16/09 - So we went back to our normal routine. Today was pretty easy with only two classes, one we love and one that well, we don't. I love the Transport school! They love to learn and really enjoy whatever activities we do. The Agrarian college is not a class we enjoy but we go where we are told. The class this time was small which was nice and we played jeopardy which they really enjoyed. We then did some grocery shopping and headed home. We had some chicken we wanted to cook so we decided to make fried chicken. We had everything ready and were just letting the oil heat. Well we did not realize just how hot the oil got and Hannah threw in some chicken and it burned immediately! Smoke filled our flat and I rushed to open all the windows, mind you it is snowing outside. So Erin took the pot and stuck it out the window for like 5 minutes to help cool of the oil. Another 5 minutes later we set it on the cabinet and flipped the burnt chicken over and the oil was still cooking the chicken. There is no telling how hot that oil was! But we tried again and it turned out great. But as Hannah said, "Fried chicken, so not worth it!" The resting of the evening was spent freezing while trying to get the smoke smell out of our flat.

2/17/09 - We did not have our class at Transport this morning so we got to sleep in. But we did have a class of post-graduates at 2 at the Agrarian Academy (different from Agrarian College). We really like this school and the professor loves us and brought us canned apples last time. Well it turned out the post-grads had not organized a class yet but she had another class of beginners for us to teach. So we went for it. It was a small group of students and they were wonderful! They really got into the different activities. Too bad the class we love the most is not one we get to teach all the time. But we decided that we are going to try to talk the professor and see if we can teach that class as well. So today when we left she had some of her homemade jam for us to take. Too bad when we got home we had no clue as to how to open the jar! We met three of our boys from English club at the Christian center at 5 to play ping-pong. We were able to introduce them to several Ukrainian believers and they stayed for SMS. Too bad tonight SMS lasted FOREVER. Afterwards one of them walked us home and he said it was alright but a bit boring. The other two stayed behind to play some more ping-pong. But we planted the seed and God will make it grow.

2/18/09 - MY BIRTHDAY! So today did not go as planned. We were all suppose to go shopping but Erin had to stay home because someone was suppose come and fix our phone and internet. Around 9 AM the doorbell rang and Ira, Alona, Nastya, and Tanya surprised me and brought me flowers, balloons and a sweet roll (cake). They stayed for a couple of hours which was good when our Russian only landlord came with the repair guy. Later Hannah and I headed out to do some shopping. We ended up lost in the craziness of the bazaar and ended up without much. But we made plans to go to the mall tomorrow. This evening we had English club and this week we began to introduce Bible stories. When we arrived two of our boys from Transport were there and we were greatly surprised! Class went really well and a few of the girls had painted me a sign for my birthday! It was so sweet and turned out to a great birthday.

2/19/09 - We had a very busy day start at 8 AM with a business class at the Co-op. Hannah did an amazing job with some really dull students. There were a couple of girls that if it was my class I would have made them wish they hadn't come to class. They were just so rude! After class we were informed that Hannah and I needed to give them a copy of our degree, passport, visa and resume on file. Oh goodie. But we then went to the Agrarian Academy for 2 classes, both went really well. Prof. Tamara gave us canned cherries today. I HATE canned fruit but the thought is really sweet. Erin had one more class to teach but Hannah and I were free and went to the mall with Maya. That evening we tried to go to the prayer meeting but when we arrived outside we saw in the window that it was a Bible study not prayer so we left. We all went to bed early because of our long day.

2/20/09 - Today we had only one class and Erin had to stay home. The internet guy was suppose to come at 10, guess what, he didn't. So Hannah and I went to go and tutor Pasha at 3. Ok so here they have holidays called Men's Day and Women's Day. They are kind of like Father's/Mother's Day but for everyone. So the girls were having a meeting about what to do for the guy's service. Some how we got roped into lip-syncing and dancing to Be Our Guests from Beauty and Beast. Not sure how this happened! But hey our internet got fixed in the mean time! Tonight was also our first beginners English club. We had 18 people! We started off at the very beginning with the alphabet. Erin taught all the letters and all their different sounds. Hannah and I sat there amazed at how many sounds our letters make that we did not even realize! We were so thankful that we already know English.

2/21/09 - Today Erin and I teach a middle school age English club at Ira's house. Erin was not feeling well so I went on my own. I actually made it all the way across town (35 minute bus ride) all on my own! Class went really well and the girls wanted to celebrate my birthday ( here they celebrate birthdays all week! How great is that?!) so we had some sweets and tea. I had to leave soon after that and needed to go the mall to meet the girls and Lucy. So Kostya, being the sweet gentlemen that he is, walked me to the bus stop and rode the bus with me to the mall to make sure that I got there. Hannah, Lucy and I then went bowling! It was so much fun and for 3 people and 45 minutes of bowling it was only $10! We then all had dinner together and did a bit of shopping. Then it was home for the evening. Wow! Well that is all that I have been up while the internet has been out. Mom, hope you are happy now (I love you).

Sorry that I have not been able to post. Our internet has been out at our flat for the past week. The internet guy is suppose to be coming today around 4. Please pray that we get our internet back because we need it to help with lesson plans,. We start our beginners English Club this evening so pray for that as well. I am at the Christian center using the internet but as soon as I have it back at our flat I will get eveyone caught up on what I have been doing!

Oh my. Today started off way too early! We had an 8 AM class at the Co-op school, but hey we are finally in classes teaching. The class is an international management class so Hannah took over on the teaching. She did a great job and they really seemed to enjoy the debate, not sure they had ever had a debate before. So we then headed home for like 40 minutes before we had to go to the Agrarian Academy at 11. When we arrived we were told that they were all finance students so we used our lesson from this morning. It worked perfectly and everyone, even the teachers, enjoyed it. Afterwards we spoke with the teacher and she said that the students LOVED it and asked if we could come more. So we are now teaching 3 more classes in this school! We are going to be so busy!

Monday - 2 classes 

Tuesday - 3 classes and SMS club from 6-8

Wednesday - God has thankfully kept open and we hope it remains this way. English Club at 6.

Thursday - 4 classes and prayer meeting at 6

Friday - 1 class, private tutoring and English club at 6

Saturday - English Club at Ira's 2-4 and possibly small group at 5

Sunday - church, family time, youth meeting in the evening/girl's meeting

Please pray for us to have God's strength because that is the only way we will be able to get through all the weeks and months. We are also having to plan for the group of Auburn students coming in March. 

We had several of our friends over to play Russian Monopoly. It was very interesting but fun and entertaining at the same time. It is really nothing like our Monopoly, the have a casino, there are companies to but instead of streets, and there are no houses or hotels. In fact the only thing that is the same is the fact that you buy things when you land on it.

Hannah had a little mishap this evening when she washed her sweater. It didn't come out the same size that it went in! The picture was taken after we had both been pulling on it to stretch it. But it made for a funny moment.

We leave tomorrow for Dnipropetrovsk to spend the weekend with Mike and Linda and will come back Sunday evening.

2/11/09 - Today was our day off but we first had to meet with Roddik and Vova to go to a school to talk to them about the group we have coming in March. Turns out it is a school that we already teach in and the teacher was receptive to more people coming. So that took all of 15 minutes and we were off to the bazaar! Hannah was able to find a watch and Erin and I got some scarves. We then headed to Little America = McDonald's. After lunch we went back home for some much needed rest before our class that evening. English Club was great! We had so many students (about 20) and we did our discussions on Valentine's Day. They all really seemed to enjoy the class. Our ice skating buddies stayed after to play some ping-pong. I tried to play but I am extremely bad at that game! The youth believers here are so busy, please pray that they are able to find time to meet our unbeliever friends. 

Today was rainy and just plain nasty! I have been talking to a friend in Kiev and she said that it is suppose to get cold and snow again. I love snow but then it turns to slush and we just got rid of all that! Plus it is starting to get warm here! Erin went to the Co-op school this morning and Hannah and I went to the Transport school. We taught the same thing we taught on Monday, shopping and clothing, perfect for girls right? So we went over different stores and reviewed articles of clothing. There was an awkward part when I was going over clothing and Ms. Margarita asked me about underwear! What do say to class full of 17 and 18 year old boys!? I guess I could have taken a pair on boxers or briefs, but then I don't if they have those here and that could be a dangerous question. I told her quickly that we just call it underwear and I tried to go on but she wanted more details but thankfully she finally dropped it. We then played tic-tac-toe and then hangman. They had so much fun and this we are able to review and they are learning. Hannah and I played cupid today and picked up some flowers from Brad (Erin's boyfriend) for her to have for Valentine's Day. We got her pink roses and pink gerber daisies. Erin had been asked to do a short 30 minute opening for a class at the Co-op school and she had been told that she could bring us. We were so excited because this is the school that we have had problems getting into. We got there and met the teacher and she then asked us if we could ALL come and teach one of her classes! GOD IS AWESOME!!! Another teacher came in and said that they might have to combine her class so that we can teach them as well. Please keep praying for this school, the doors are opening and I know it is because of all the prayers. So we are going there on Thursday to teach a business class, thank goodness for Hannah who has a business degree. Pray for Hannah as she is really feeling the pressure of doing a great job and impressing the teachers so we can come back. Tomorrow is suppose to be our day off but this evening we got a call from Vova. He told Erin that we must met him and Roddik at the Lenin statue to go to some schools to discuss the Auburn group that is coming in March. Notice that they did not ask us if we could meet them, if we have classes, or if we have plans, it was a demand. Ukrainians never ask us if we can do something they just expect us to do everything they want when they want it. This is highly annoying to me and I am praying that God helps me through this aspect of their culture! But other than that I am great and God is keeping us busy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

So today was kinda busy. We had a class at Transport and we learned that the guys love to play games! We played tic-tac-toe with review terms and they got so into it. It is funny that game we played as kids they have hardly played and love even at this age. We then went for our second class at the Agrarian College. Today went a lot better than the last time. God provided us with a full class! We first started out with a word game and then moved into small groups. I loved my small group mostly because they were willing to talk. But you soon run out of conversation topics. So Erin had the brilliant idea of playing hangman! They got so into the game with trying to guess the word. So when we left we felt so much better about this class than we did last Monday. We were suppose to go ice skating but the times did not match to when we could be there. So we met with some of Hannah and Erin's friends from the Co-op school. Dema was not able to stay long but we had tea and great conversation with Sergei, Victoria and Natalie. Well those are not actually the girls names but they want us to call them by American names so there you go. They are great and so energetic and we look forward to spending more time with them.  

9/8/09 - Today was pretty restful for a Sunday. The youth were gone on their retreat so we did not have anyone to translate for us and it was wonderful! I don't mind the service going for 2 hours but once they cross that 2 hour mark I start getting antsy. Today service went for 2 and 1/2 hours! Here the people do not ask you if you can do something, they tell you. Like they wanted Hannah and I to tell about ourselves at the next service but we will be in Dniepropetrovsk with Mike. When we told them that it was like the world was coming to an end! All they had to do was ask us what are plans were but they forget that little detail. But after the service we went Eko market for food. At 6 we went to Celentano's for Pizza. There we met Maya and Sveta, two of Hannah's friends. When we all finished dinner we went for a walk up to the Rotunda, a place with a horse shoe type monument. It was really beautiful in the evening. It was so nice to be able to take a walk and not feel like you have to rush! But then it was home for bed.

Today was hang out with old friends day. For lunch we met with a friend I had made here in March named Lucy. We went out for pizza and then did some shopping at the under ground mall. It was so nice to see her and guess what? She wants to talk to her directors to see if we can come to her school, man God is good. We then had a short break at home before dinner. For dinner we met with Tanya, Hannah's old friend. We had some great conversation with both girls and invited them both to English Club. We are all looking forward to spending more time with these girls. 

9/6/09 or 2/6/09 over here I forget what day it is so why not the month? - So today was nice and relaxing. We had only one class at Transport and we played games reviewing everyday objects in the office and classroom. It was a lot of fun and the kids had so much fun! Hannah and Erin then went to Co-op school to see if they could get Hannah into the business ethics class. I stayed at home for some much needed alone time. Alona came over in the afternoon to go over some english before she left to go and take an important english test in Kiev. We had the rest of the evening off. We made spaghetti with garlic bread and watched The Godfather. It was an amazing movie!!! I can't believe I waited this long to see this movie, now I want to watch the other two but Erin didn't bring them with her, sad. We have started scheduling movie nights into our routine for relaxation. 

Today was our American day! Today was also the anniversary of a tornado that hit Union which Erin went to and was there during the tornado. So Hannah and I wanted to get her some cookies and flowers. So I went out this morning on my own and went to the bakery and flower shop. I used my Russian and they understood me and I could understand them! Only thing was that I could understand their questions it was just that I did not always know how to answer in Russian. We then headed to McDonald's = heaven. I had a Big Tasty, do we have those in America? It was like Whopper. We then took a taxi, quite an experience, to the "mall". We were meeting the boys there to go ice skating. I was so nervous because I have not ice skated since I was like seven and balance and I don't get along. But I really enjoyed it and by the end I did not need to hold on to the bar although I liked to have it close. It was funny that all three of the boys fell but none of girls did! Sasha, Sasha, and Sergei seemed to enjoy the ice skating and they said that they would see us Wednesday for English Club. We then went grocery shopping. The bad thing about grocery shopping is that you can only get as much as you can carry and handle on the bus! We do have a small store near us but the place in the mall is as close as we are going to get to a Wal-Mart. We barely all made it off our bus stop because of all the people and then our bags! Oh the challenges! Which by the way if you think people are going to help you and move out of the way so you can get off, think again. There is no such thing as common courtesy. Pushing people out of the way, skipping in line, not opening/holding the door and not moving over on the side walk for others are common and not rude. I sure miss southern hospitality. But other than that I am great. Please keep our English Club friends in your prayers as our discussions get more and more involved.

2/4/09 - Today was not busy at all but for some reason I was just exhausted all day. We have switched our off day from Thursday to Wednesday because there was a school that wanted us on Thursdays. So we actually have two off days this week! Olya came over around 11 to have a Russian lesson with Erin. Hannah and I were going to sit in but Erin is so far ahead of us and Erin does an awesome job teaching us. It is hard for Ukrainians to understand that our mouths some time can't form the sounds they want! The only thing we had today was a meeting with Vova at 5 and then English club at 6. English club was a blast this evening. We had 10 students come and to my surprise the reoccurring students were the boys and they even brought friends! We started off playing the came Never Have I Ever. They LOVED it! We then went over some commonly used American phrases like "easy as pie". Then it was discussion time, we had several scenarios that dealt with the family. They all led into a moral discussion that could open into more. Then we discussed different things about the family like who do you live with and do you get along with your siblings/parents. Three of the boys, Sasha (short name for Alexander,VERY popular), Sergei, and Sasha walked home with us and Ira. Hannah was talking to one of the Sashas and he told her that he also goes to an English club by the Mormons. Then he asked Hannah what she believed and she did an amazing job of sharing. He seems open but it will be about building a relationship with him. In fact they invited us to meet them tomorrow and go ice skating!

2/3/09 - Hannah and I had only one class today at the transport and Erin had a class at the Co-op school. When we arrived Ms. Margarita told us she wanted us to speak about the American home. To take up time we told about everything we could think of. We labeled every part of the front of a house, we then told about different animals we have in our yards, birds, flowers, trees, BBQs, hunting, fishing, just anything we could think of. Next was the living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Luckily by the time we finished all of this is we only had 15 minutes left and we had them talk about their weekends. Alona, the girl we recently had lunch with, came over to study English with Erin. She is getting ready to take a test this Saturday to see if she can study abroad. Then in the evening we went to SMS, we met up with a friend of Hannah's named Sasha and he joined us. The rest of the week is pretty light but next week will be very busy. We start classes at a new school. Erin is hoping to talk to another teacher at the Co-op school about bringing Hannah in since she has a business degree. please pray about this because our schedule is filling up and it would be helpful if we could start splitting up and taking different classes. Erin can't possibly teach all the classes that the Co-op school wants her to. We are also talking to another teacher at the Translator college to see if we can teach there as well.

Today was a FULL day. We started this morning by meeting Maya so she could take us to her school. We were meeting with the English teachers at her school, Ag University, to see if we could get into the classrooms. As we were walking up the stairs Maya pointed out a circle of students and she said that they were believers who were praying for us and that we would be able to get into their school. We met with the teacher and the first thing she said was how wonderful she thought the idea of bringing in native speakers was. Prayers answered. So we have class there next Tuesday and she is going to try and arrange another class with post-graduate students. After that we had to head to our first lesson at the Ag College (different from Ag University, so confusing). There was a room full of 28 students when we arrived. It was a rough lesson but Erin was amazing and constantly kept things going. The students did participate and laughed a lot, mostly at us I think but at least they weren't bored. The first lesson is always the hardest because you do not know the English level of the students. But we were invited back next week so guess we weren't that bad. We then had a 3 hour break before we hosted the church girls' meeting at our apartment. The girls at the church started something similar to an accountability group where they can discuss what it means to be a Christian woman. Tonight we talked about marriage and how the woman is to be the helper. Ideas that seem common nature to us are so foreign to them. The women in the past have been so repressed so independence and leadership is something that is new to this generation. It was an amazing meeting, we had 15 girls and a woman from the church who led the discussion! Our schedule is really starting to fill up and Dasha gave Erin the number of her professor at the Translator school so we may have classes there as well. God is sure keeping us busy!

Today, Feb. 2, is my Mamaw's birthday. She passed away this past December. She was an amazing woman who devoted her life to her family and missions. I had told Erin and Hannah that today maybe an emotional day for me. So they plotted and this is what I got this morning.

Roses and a Napoleon cake, which is the best cake in the world. God has blessed me with wonderful roomies! 

Today was a long day and resulted in a headache. We had service today from 1-3, family time from 3-4, and youth meeting from 6-8. The church had the Lord's Supper this morning and unlike in America they use real wine in those cups. The headache resulted from good intentions. The girls that we have become close to always want to help us and translate for us. But in church we all feel that it is a big distraction. We do not mind it when they translate the main points but they like translate every word. So I had Nastaya translating for me and Ira was translating for Erin and then Maya joined us and translated for Hannah! I had Nastaya in one ear and I could hear Maya in the other and then the pastor speaking quite loudly right in front of me. So my head had trouble figuring out what to listen to and it just resulted in a large headache. So we left family time early. Youth meeting this evening went really well, the Americans even joined in on the game! Tomorrow we are going to meet with the directors of Maya's college so please pray that we have an opportunity to get into this school.