Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Ukrainian Independence Day


On 24th August 1991, the declaration of independence for Ukraine was adopted by parliament establishing Ukraine as an independent, democratic state. This day is now celebrated as the day of independence in Ukraine. It was interesting for me to experience this in another country. In many ways it was similar to our independence day: many flags displayed, people wearing clothes to support their country, in America red, white, and blue, in Ukraine Вишиванка which are cultural embroidered shirts unique to Ukraine and handmade, even I was wearing one as the guy I am living with had an extra one. Also, just like in America, they had many concerts and then fireworks later in the evening. L'viv, where I am living, is like the cultural center of Ukraine, so there are always many interesting things going on. I know for this day there were at least 6 concerts spread out in different places in the city. I went to one of these concerts with some friends I met at camp. There were popular ukrainian rock bands, singers, and even some dancers. It was pretty cool. There were Ukrainian flags everywhere and they kept passing out blue and yellow balloons to everyone. Some very nationalistic Ukrainians might even say the true capital of Ukraine is here in L'viv because all the regions surrounding here speak Ukrainian and are usually pro-Ukraine politically. All the regions near Kiev, the actual capital of Ukraine, and to the east are usually more pro-Russia and they speak Russian as well, so being here I did get a feel for some of the political turmoil or tension Ukrainians have had to face, and continue to face. Even at the concerts they showed the President's speech from Kiev and many in the crowd were "booing" him because the new President is pro-Russian. It was just very interesting for me. I could just feel this tension or really just the deep pride of the people here in L'viv for their country which has now been free for 19 years. They are really very proud of that, and for many in the newer generation, most of the student population for example, it is all they have ever known. It was definitely a unique opportunity for me and I learned a lot about this country and the people's love for it. It truly was a great day. I just pray that God would bless this country and continue to put people in charge who have Ukraine's best interests in mind, and that the people would support their leaders even if they don't care too much for all their views. And above all that the people would be receptive to God's word and the truth of His Son. For these things I would ask that you also pray! Thank you so much for all you have done for me. For your prayers and continued support. Well, I’m off to enjoy the nice weather here on August 31, the last day of summer for the kids, with a high of 14(57F) and low of 3(37F), and rain all day. It will be great! Talk to you later. Miss and love you all! God Bless!- Joey Kader

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Village Life


The other day the guy I am staying with, Andriy, took me to work with him. I had the unique opportunity to experience a day of village life here in Ukraine. We woke up at 5:oo and ate some cold borsch for breakfast. Then we took one bus to the bus stop which would take us to the village. We went to a small village southwest of L'viv, which was about a 45 minute ride from the bus station, then a 15 minute walk to get to the place where we would work. Through broken English, broken Ukrainian, and a few dictionaries, I already knew, from the night before, that we would be working with hay. So we got there about 7:30 and prepared the barn for the hay we would be bringing in. Then we waited for another young Ukrainian guy to start the tractor. It was an old model from Belarus made some time during the Soviet Union, and it took about 20 minutes to get started, but it was a good model and finally started. Then we jumped in the trailer and headed out to one of the fields to pick up the hay. It was maybe 10 minutes away, not too far. When we got there I saw maybe 11 or 12 large stacks of hay so I figured it would take only a few trips. My job was to stay in the trailer and keep packing down the hay so we could fit as much as possible. It was very tiring and after an hour or so my pulse was racing like I had just run in a race, but it was good, hard work. Imagining doing it every day on the pay they would receive in Ukraine for such work hardly seemed worth it though! After 6 stacks were in the trailer, and I was now easily 10 or more feet off the ground, I slid off the stack and we went back to the barn to unload and then come back for more. I can definitely relate more now to people I see on farms or working in the fields as I pass by them in many of the villages here in Ukraine. It is not an easy life, and you can see why some of the people look much older than they are sometimes. I still had some energy left, however, and the 2nd trip was much easier because I already knew what to do this time. We finished then rinsed ourselves off. I had hay all over me, in my hair, and I was filthy, but it was great.

After we worked in the field we scooted the horses in the stables and put a saddle on two of them to go horseback riding. My horse was a stubborn guy named Caesar. And I really felt like a cowboy... had the leather leg guards (don't know what they're called) and the cowboy hat and everything. After a "crash course" in Ukrainian horse riding commands (and a little help from one of the other workers) I finally got him to go out of the barn. So we started riding down the road and ended up going into the forest. It was really cool. For me it was the first time riding a horse that you yourself had to steer. I had only gone maybe 1 or 2 times on a trail horse who followed all the other trail horses. I didn't really trust my ability to control him though, so I pretty much thought I was going to die. No... I am only kidding, it wasn't that bad. It was actually pretty fun and exciting, even though I did get smacked in the face by some branches. We tried to make our way up the hill but all the paths were blocked from the previous winter when ice had caused a lot of damage to the trees. We decided to turn back and went out and eventually headed back to the stables. I was very glad to be back because I had become quite sore by the time we finished. Riding horses is not the most comfortable thing to do. In conclusion, I think, to be perfectly honest, it is easier to work with hay than to ride horses! I appreciated this day though, and I think it really does help me to relate with the lifestyle of many of the people of Ukraine...even if for me it was just for one day! Thank you all again for your continued prayer and support! I love you and miss you. God Bless!!! - Joey Kader

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Camp, Camp and more Camp!

Sorry to keep all of you wonderful friends, family, and supporters in the dark for so long but I was at three different camps in the last few weeks and did not have internet access. So I will try to sum up the camps in as few paragraphs as possible, but I am afraid if I start writing I just won't be able to stop!



Camp 1 - With GrapeVine church in the Carpathian Mountains

The mountains are only a couple hours from L'viv where I am staying, and they are very beautiful... Similar in altitude to the Appalachians, but more rural, and of course much colder in the winter. I was working with a Canadian team this week. It was great to get to know them even though we often joked about Canada vs. America stuff, but only in love :). This camp was a student camp, but unfortunately very few students signed up for it for whatever reason... but God really blessed it anyways! When we got there, there was already about 50 kids there from a boarding school, so we decided to include them in everything.It was really amazing how God worked in this... the school they go to is for kids with no parents or with parents who didn't take really good care of them (alcholics, drug addicts, etc.) So it was truly a blessing just to spend time with them and to love on them and play games and stuff. It was sad just to see some of them. They looked like they were 6-8 years old but they were 12 or 13, due to a lack of both nutrition and nurturing they looked much younger and many cases than they actually were. It was really heartbreaking but rewarding to get to spend time with them and give them love and attention that they probably have never had before. It was great to minister to them and to be involved with the Ukrainian team in telling them the gospel, the people from GrapeVine did a wonderful job! The mountains were pretty fun, although the 100 or so steps from the main level to our cabins sometimes got old when you ran all the way up to the top and forgot something! Also, we went swimming in the nearby river 3 or so times it was cold but the weather was hot so it was very refreshing. All in all it was a great week and it was hard to say good-bye to those kids.

Camp 2 - With Trinity Church past Horodok by some lakes.
This camp was about an hour past Horodok (the town we have been working in for the last 6 years) by a lake and pretty much in the woods. It was good that it was far away because the kids are away from some outside influences...parents, priests etc., but it was also difficult in some ways just because it was in the woods. There were about a trillion mosquitos and it was very wet all the time so it was hard to stay warm and comfortable, and hard to dry things...often times we bundled just for warmth which is something I am not used to in the summer. I kept telling people this is winter weather in Florida and they would just laugh even though I was serious. In this camp we had many great activities. The Texas team has been coming for a few years also and they have some great ideas and programs. They brought a whole band for one thing which was great. Also we had English class, a Hobby class (photography, survival, dance, crafts, etc.) and of course time for sports (mostly football(soccer), ultimate frisbee, dodgeball). Most importantly however we had bible discussions, testimonies, and a message every night. My group was all people from Horodok so we had a very difficult group for bible discussion... probably the most difficult in all the camp because Horodok is much more strongly dominated by catholicism than nearby L'viv where young people are more likely to think for themselves. It was difficult, but still an amazing time as we went through some important issues and had our group thinking about some things they never have had to think about before. Also each small group had 3-4 Americans and 1-2 Ukrainian believers so it was a great thing to have different testimonies and stories to share, plus a pool of knowledge and wisdom to draw from. Overall it was just a great time and very encouraging and I hope that it will cause some great things to happen in L'viv and Horodok both!

Camp 3 With Trinity church...Day camp in L'viv

Now this camp we ended up having at a private school in L'viv where Trinity church meets every Sunday. We were supposed to have it at the same place as the previous week but for certain reasons I will partially explain we had to change plans. It was going to be the same place but different people, but an unfortunate thing happened which I would still ask you to pray about because it hasn't really been resolved. I am not going to talk about it here really so if you want to know more that is fine but basically the money for both weeks of camp was stolen... just a bad situation is all I will say, but I think God also used this for his Glory and He knew everything would be fine. It was a little stressful going from a camp that had been planned over a 6 month period to planning a new camp and schedule in one day with the ukrainians the Sunday before the day camp started but it all worked out. It ended up being a real blessing though because a lot of the kids from the first camp came to the second. They heard the gospel again, discussed the bible further, and developed more and better relationships with us, each other, and the ukrainian team.It was amazing to see and today like 20 of them from the first camp by the lake who had been coming this last week as well came to church with us and then to the Airport to say good-bye to the Texans. It was really cool to see these relationships that had been built, and I know of a few of the kids who did repent who will be continuing to come to church...Please pray for all the kids who were at camp... they did hear the gospel and often times they said they understand but said it is just a lot to take in... so pray that the Holy Spirit would move in them and that they would continue to seek God, and that he would just keep tugging on their hearts. It was a truly amazing 3 weeks, and although tiring, sometimes I think it would just be great to do summer camp non-stop! Thank you all for your prayers and support and know that I love you and miss you!

Your Brother in Christ - Joey Kader