This is Ryan posting in Trevor and Lori's stead. We spoke with Lori on the phone (at least I think it was Lori, Andrea and actually took the call) and they asked that we update the blog with the latest info.
Trevor and Lori did have their court date and received a favorable ruling which means that Cole is offically theirs. Very cool. I think many of you know that they are subject to a 10 day waiting period at this point. With the country's shut down for the New Year holiday, they won't actually have Cole in tow until Jan. 9.
There are some things they'll have to finish up in Ukraine, but for now, the important thing is that whether he's still at the orphanage or here in Findlay, Cole is a Wright, and that's very exciting.
Continue to pray for them as the travel home (and back and then home again). While this most recent news is a VERY important milemarker in the process for them, there are still several steps to come. Prayers for encouragement for the three (four :)) of them I'm sure will be appreciated.
Please feel free to leave your comments here as I'm sure they'll be checking in as they get internet access upon their arrival back in the States.
Happy Newy Year friends!!
Friday, December 29, 2006
Monday, December 25, 2006
A White (and Blue) Christmas
Well, it's Lori again, and I just have to say, thanks everyone for the encouraging comments on the long post. Glad you like to hear it. I just had a lot to say yesterday. Today, I promise it will be significantly shorter.
Thanks, Marcia, for the cheaper-to-call-us hint. She said if you dial 10-10-987, it's cheaper; see her comment from the last post if you want to read it yourself.
Dad W-hahahaha!!!! That made us smile. BIG. Thanks! We needed that.
We woke today to a light snow for our Christmas, making it a little white. Our smiles today, however, are drooping. The good news is that we went to the orphanage to see Cole, and he's still in the infirmary, but while he still has quite a cough, he took one look at me and said, "MAMA!" with a big smile. They'd only let one of us in to see him, so I went, and it was so great to see him. We played for about an hour, which is longer than I'd expected they'd let us. Right away, while the nurse was still there, he asked me for his car, which was pretty cute, and then he was saying "ball" and "oten" (open) before I left. (Open is for the spill and fill that we always play--his favorite, and really only, game at this point. We used the crackers in the little dish I brought. He didn't want to eat them; he just wanted to open it, dump it, fill it, and then close it, and then over and over again.) He let me hug him and hold him for about the first 10 minutes, and I really felt like he truly was glad to see me. We had a good time.
So now for the disappointing news. We took the paperwork from Kiev to the court today so we'd be ready for tomorrow's appointment, but "something has come up" with the public deputy, and there won't be one on hand, so we will have to wait until the 27th, Wednesday, for our court date. I guess at this point, it doesn't really matter, since there's no way we can take him home with us, but it does confirm that we need to figure out what we're doing and buy a plane ticket for my return if I'm doing that. Thus the trip to the internet cafe today. We all three had come, but Emma had to go potty and couldn't wait, so they went home and I'll join them in a minute. I checked out airfare and can find something for about $1000, which is fine, and I'll probably book it tomorrow.
Emma has been doing so well, but the last couple of days have been hard on her, and today she finally expressed that she'd ready to go home to Ohio. Me too, babe. Me too. So it's looking at this point that we'll hire a driver to take us back to Kiev on Thursday, we'll do some embassy stuff on Friday so that Trevor doesn't have to be present for the second trip, and then we'll be on our way on Saturday. So some of you, we'll see you soon. We probably won't post again after we leave here; it's too hard to find a place in Kiev, and we may not have time.
Love you all. Please keep praying.
Lori
Thanks, Marcia, for the cheaper-to-call-us hint. She said if you dial 10-10-987, it's cheaper; see her comment from the last post if you want to read it yourself.
Dad W-hahahaha!!!! That made us smile. BIG. Thanks! We needed that.
We woke today to a light snow for our Christmas, making it a little white. Our smiles today, however, are drooping. The good news is that we went to the orphanage to see Cole, and he's still in the infirmary, but while he still has quite a cough, he took one look at me and said, "MAMA!" with a big smile. They'd only let one of us in to see him, so I went, and it was so great to see him. We played for about an hour, which is longer than I'd expected they'd let us. Right away, while the nurse was still there, he asked me for his car, which was pretty cute, and then he was saying "ball" and "oten" (open) before I left. (Open is for the spill and fill that we always play--his favorite, and really only, game at this point. We used the crackers in the little dish I brought. He didn't want to eat them; he just wanted to open it, dump it, fill it, and then close it, and then over and over again.) He let me hug him and hold him for about the first 10 minutes, and I really felt like he truly was glad to see me. We had a good time.
So now for the disappointing news. We took the paperwork from Kiev to the court today so we'd be ready for tomorrow's appointment, but "something has come up" with the public deputy, and there won't be one on hand, so we will have to wait until the 27th, Wednesday, for our court date. I guess at this point, it doesn't really matter, since there's no way we can take him home with us, but it does confirm that we need to figure out what we're doing and buy a plane ticket for my return if I'm doing that. Thus the trip to the internet cafe today. We all three had come, but Emma had to go potty and couldn't wait, so they went home and I'll join them in a minute. I checked out airfare and can find something for about $1000, which is fine, and I'll probably book it tomorrow.
Emma has been doing so well, but the last couple of days have been hard on her, and today she finally expressed that she'd ready to go home to Ohio. Me too, babe. Me too. So it's looking at this point that we'll hire a driver to take us back to Kiev on Thursday, we'll do some embassy stuff on Friday so that Trevor doesn't have to be present for the second trip, and then we'll be on our way on Saturday. So some of you, we'll see you soon. We probably won't post again after we leave here; it's too hard to find a place in Kiev, and we may not have time.
Love you all. Please keep praying.
Lori
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Merry Christmas
Hey everyone, Lori here. Thanks for your continued love and support over the miles. We feel very loved. :-)
Well, unfortunately, we don't get to see Cole till Monday at the earliest. He has a 40 degree temperature (36 is our 98.6), so he's pretty much out of it and sleeping all of the time in the infirmary. Yes, it's killing me. I don't know how much they're with him, how much they talk to him and calm his fears of being sick, but true or not, I pretty much feel already that I'd do it better. How's that for a mom!
We didn't find out till yesterday morning (Sat.)about an hour after we'd expected Nataliya to arrive to pick us up to go visit him. She'd been gone for two days and had promised to call Friday to check on him for us but we didn't hear from her and we'd run out of minutes on our phone, so we just expected that she'd be there at the normal time, 9:30, to go visit him. She didn't come, so at 10:15, we headed out the door to find a phone card kiosk to get more minutes to call her and see what was going on.
We headed up the hill and found a kiosk near our supermarket. It's a small kiosk that looks like a cell phone, and as we approach it, I hand Trevor the little note that says something to the effect of 50 minute phone card please. He looks at it, then at the kiosk, and is like "how do I do this?" "You give it to the man inside." "There's a man inside?" "Yes, look. There's a man inside." "A man inside? I thought it was automated." "No, there's a man inside." It was really funny. Especially since 1) it does look pretty much like a cool vending machine, and 2) I'd had the exact same conversation with Nataliya two days before when she took me across the street from McDonald's for a phone card.
While we were near the supermarket, we decided might as well run in for some staples like water and cookies, so Trevor ran in and Emma and I loaded the minutes onto the card and called Nataliya. On the second try, we connected, and I'd woken her up. She's taken the 5:00 train over night and got in about 5:00 a.m., but had not gotten any sleep because she was in a sleeper cab with a lady with a newborn, and the baby had screamed all night. Fun fun. (Probably will be us on the way home, just with a two year old...). Now we hadn't talked in a couple of days, since Thursday, and we'd expected her at 9:30, so this is where she tells me that he's still sick and we can't see him for another two days. It was a tough conversation, and I did my best not to cry when I got off the phone, but Emma inquired as to the status, and when I told her, she shed the tears for both of us. This continues to be hard.
But thankfully, the day was saved by plans we'd made with a nice family in the same sort of situation, the Penners. They got here about 5 days before we did and have their court date the same day we do, Tuesday the 26th, but in the afternoon. Imagine their frustration that they've been here 5 days longer and we have our appointment before they do. We'd arranged to meet them around lunch time, after they'd visited their Nadya, at the Chuck E. Cheese kind of place. They have two boys, 3 and 6, and the 3 kids had a blast in the bouncing room and the mega-playland thing with slides and ball pits and tunnels galore. It really it pretty cool. There are all sorts of video games, and bumper cars, and even a bull to ride, although we haven't seen anyone ride it yet. If I get Trevor on it, I'll be sure to post the photos of him flying through the air!
So the kids played, and then we got pizza. So far, I've been super impressed with Ukrainian pizza. While it's different that American pizza, I'd call it just as good, as FAR superior to any Italian pizza I've had, but they didn't actually invent it, if I recall correctly, so it's not really an Italian deal in the first place.
After a while, it was time for the Penners to head back to the orphanage for the afternoon visit with Nadya, and we all headed down to catch a taxi. Their translator had not come because, after being gone all week working with other families and leaving them on their own for the most part, he'd gotten back and stayed up all night playing computer games and was too tired to come with them today. So they were on their own again. (Yes, can we even express how much we appreciate Nataliya and what an amazing job she does!!!!) It was a Saturday afternoon, right before their holidays as well, at one of the biggest mall kinds of places in the city. Needless to say, the two taxis that Nataliya had called for us kept getting taken before we'd gotten into them. It was a mad house. We finally got one and shoved the Penners into it so that they could get over to see Nadya, since we didn't have anywhere we really needed to go. Half an hour later, we were able to get one. Had the weather still been nice, it would have been no big deal, but we were freezing. Trevor had last posted that it was "unseasonably warm, with no snow" in his last post, so of course we woke up the next morning to blustery cold and the ground covered in snow. :-) So we were cold, and we headed over to our favorite coffee shop, the Coffee Club, where they have great coffee AND speak English, with menus even in English. Nataliya was super chatty (did she maybe miss us?), and we had a great time getting to know her some more, hearing about her adventures traveling the globe, and we invited her, if she ever makes it to the states to come and visit us. She lit up when we said that, and that made us feel good. If she does visit the US, I think she'll come see us. :-)
We also asked about court this week. Does the judge even have the power to waive the 10 day waiting period? Answer: NO. He cannot. Which leaves us here till about the 9th of January. That won't work for Trevor; he simply has to get back to be ready for a January 21 launch of Journey to the public. Not really negotiable. We've worked so hard over the last two years that this just can't mess that up. So that leaves two options: Emma and I (or just I) stay and wait it out, or we all 3 go home on Dec. 30, when our plane tickets are for (since we didn't have any idea what to make our return tickets for and we knew Trevor needed to get back). We talked it through with Nataliya, and she said that if just I would come back on like Jan. 7, a Sunday, we could take the overnight train to Donetzk and be there Monday, do the necessary paperwork, be on a train back to Kiev on Tuesday with Cole, have the embassy doctor visit and get his passport in the next couple of days and be on a plane back home that Friday, the 12th. So right now, unless God does something only He can do because getting him yet this week is impossible, we'll all three be coming home on Saturday.
Yes, it's hard to leave him for that time, but we don't get to see him anyway at this point with him being sick, and no matter how much we see him before, the adjustment of being together and him being off his schedule will be a huge adjustment. We've spent some really great time together and have bonded well, so we really don't feel it will negatively impact his life long term. Most adoptions, you go and meet them, do paperwork and then leave. So this will probably end up being no different. It beats spending 5 weeks here.
In response to some of your posts:
We are 7 hours ahead of you guys, and our appt. for the court hearing is Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. That's Tuesday morning at 3:00 a.m. for those of you in Eastern time, and 2:00 a.m. if you're in Central. Feel free to pray for us before you go to bed, and thanks so much EVERYONE for all your prayers. We definitely feel them. Things may not be ideal for us, but we're really doing great and enjoying ourselves for the most part. We feel a lot more comfortable now and have enjoyed relaxing, watching movies together, reading, and just enjoying being together. We have lots of laughs and cuddles.
Laundry is going well. :-) I keep washing because it keeps coming. My friend Marcia, who lived a few years in Bulgaria, mentioned that we got the "foreigner rate," and I'm sure she's right. Oh well. Makes for a great story!
We haven't ventured into any Orthodox churches yet. It's taken us so long to get comfortable here that it just wasn't really something we'd considered, but if we could have found a Baptist church with an American pastor, we might have considered it. Both Yuri, our facilitator back in Kiev, and then the other translator here with the Penners, learned English that way, by growing up going to church with an American pastor. Pretty cool.
Someone had asked about pictures...We're not allowed to post them on the blog yet becuase it's a public site--can't do that till he's ours, so we sent some back to both Ryan to send to the Journey folks and then to Priscilla who I believe sent them out to the St. Paul's folks I think. So that's where people have been seeing them.
Oh! I almost forgot! In case anyone wants to call us, here's our number (hint hint parents! or anyone else who wants to call!): 011 3 8066 428 0189. I have no idea what it costs to call Ukraine, but if you want to give us a call and say hi, please feel free. :-)
And last but not least, dear friends, have a wonderful, merry, and blessed Christmas. It's extremely understated here, even when they do have it on Jan. 7, so this week here is nothing but preparations for the New Year's celebration (fireworks and the tent and pony show), but as we think of you and all that you'll be doing over the next few days wherever you're off to, we are reminded of all of the blessings in our life--you, our dear friends; the blessing of family; and the gift of an amazing God of love who reached out to us because we couldn't reach back to him. May your hearts be filled with love, wonder, mystery, and the joy of knowing God loves you, just as you are.
Merry Christmas, dear friends. Merry Christmas.
Well, unfortunately, we don't get to see Cole till Monday at the earliest. He has a 40 degree temperature (36 is our 98.6), so he's pretty much out of it and sleeping all of the time in the infirmary. Yes, it's killing me. I don't know how much they're with him, how much they talk to him and calm his fears of being sick, but true or not, I pretty much feel already that I'd do it better. How's that for a mom!
We didn't find out till yesterday morning (Sat.)about an hour after we'd expected Nataliya to arrive to pick us up to go visit him. She'd been gone for two days and had promised to call Friday to check on him for us but we didn't hear from her and we'd run out of minutes on our phone, so we just expected that she'd be there at the normal time, 9:30, to go visit him. She didn't come, so at 10:15, we headed out the door to find a phone card kiosk to get more minutes to call her and see what was going on.
We headed up the hill and found a kiosk near our supermarket. It's a small kiosk that looks like a cell phone, and as we approach it, I hand Trevor the little note that says something to the effect of 50 minute phone card please. He looks at it, then at the kiosk, and is like "how do I do this?" "You give it to the man inside." "There's a man inside?" "Yes, look. There's a man inside." "A man inside? I thought it was automated." "No, there's a man inside." It was really funny. Especially since 1) it does look pretty much like a cool vending machine, and 2) I'd had the exact same conversation with Nataliya two days before when she took me across the street from McDonald's for a phone card.
While we were near the supermarket, we decided might as well run in for some staples like water and cookies, so Trevor ran in and Emma and I loaded the minutes onto the card and called Nataliya. On the second try, we connected, and I'd woken her up. She's taken the 5:00 train over night and got in about 5:00 a.m., but had not gotten any sleep because she was in a sleeper cab with a lady with a newborn, and the baby had screamed all night. Fun fun. (Probably will be us on the way home, just with a two year old...). Now we hadn't talked in a couple of days, since Thursday, and we'd expected her at 9:30, so this is where she tells me that he's still sick and we can't see him for another two days. It was a tough conversation, and I did my best not to cry when I got off the phone, but Emma inquired as to the status, and when I told her, she shed the tears for both of us. This continues to be hard.
But thankfully, the day was saved by plans we'd made with a nice family in the same sort of situation, the Penners. They got here about 5 days before we did and have their court date the same day we do, Tuesday the 26th, but in the afternoon. Imagine their frustration that they've been here 5 days longer and we have our appointment before they do. We'd arranged to meet them around lunch time, after they'd visited their Nadya, at the Chuck E. Cheese kind of place. They have two boys, 3 and 6, and the 3 kids had a blast in the bouncing room and the mega-playland thing with slides and ball pits and tunnels galore. It really it pretty cool. There are all sorts of video games, and bumper cars, and even a bull to ride, although we haven't seen anyone ride it yet. If I get Trevor on it, I'll be sure to post the photos of him flying through the air!
So the kids played, and then we got pizza. So far, I've been super impressed with Ukrainian pizza. While it's different that American pizza, I'd call it just as good, as FAR superior to any Italian pizza I've had, but they didn't actually invent it, if I recall correctly, so it's not really an Italian deal in the first place.
After a while, it was time for the Penners to head back to the orphanage for the afternoon visit with Nadya, and we all headed down to catch a taxi. Their translator had not come because, after being gone all week working with other families and leaving them on their own for the most part, he'd gotten back and stayed up all night playing computer games and was too tired to come with them today. So they were on their own again. (Yes, can we even express how much we appreciate Nataliya and what an amazing job she does!!!!) It was a Saturday afternoon, right before their holidays as well, at one of the biggest mall kinds of places in the city. Needless to say, the two taxis that Nataliya had called for us kept getting taken before we'd gotten into them. It was a mad house. We finally got one and shoved the Penners into it so that they could get over to see Nadya, since we didn't have anywhere we really needed to go. Half an hour later, we were able to get one. Had the weather still been nice, it would have been no big deal, but we were freezing. Trevor had last posted that it was "unseasonably warm, with no snow" in his last post, so of course we woke up the next morning to blustery cold and the ground covered in snow. :-) So we were cold, and we headed over to our favorite coffee shop, the Coffee Club, where they have great coffee AND speak English, with menus even in English. Nataliya was super chatty (did she maybe miss us?), and we had a great time getting to know her some more, hearing about her adventures traveling the globe, and we invited her, if she ever makes it to the states to come and visit us. She lit up when we said that, and that made us feel good. If she does visit the US, I think she'll come see us. :-)
We also asked about court this week. Does the judge even have the power to waive the 10 day waiting period? Answer: NO. He cannot. Which leaves us here till about the 9th of January. That won't work for Trevor; he simply has to get back to be ready for a January 21 launch of Journey to the public. Not really negotiable. We've worked so hard over the last two years that this just can't mess that up. So that leaves two options: Emma and I (or just I) stay and wait it out, or we all 3 go home on Dec. 30, when our plane tickets are for (since we didn't have any idea what to make our return tickets for and we knew Trevor needed to get back). We talked it through with Nataliya, and she said that if just I would come back on like Jan. 7, a Sunday, we could take the overnight train to Donetzk and be there Monday, do the necessary paperwork, be on a train back to Kiev on Tuesday with Cole, have the embassy doctor visit and get his passport in the next couple of days and be on a plane back home that Friday, the 12th. So right now, unless God does something only He can do because getting him yet this week is impossible, we'll all three be coming home on Saturday.
Yes, it's hard to leave him for that time, but we don't get to see him anyway at this point with him being sick, and no matter how much we see him before, the adjustment of being together and him being off his schedule will be a huge adjustment. We've spent some really great time together and have bonded well, so we really don't feel it will negatively impact his life long term. Most adoptions, you go and meet them, do paperwork and then leave. So this will probably end up being no different. It beats spending 5 weeks here.
In response to some of your posts:
We are 7 hours ahead of you guys, and our appt. for the court hearing is Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. That's Tuesday morning at 3:00 a.m. for those of you in Eastern time, and 2:00 a.m. if you're in Central. Feel free to pray for us before you go to bed, and thanks so much EVERYONE for all your prayers. We definitely feel them. Things may not be ideal for us, but we're really doing great and enjoying ourselves for the most part. We feel a lot more comfortable now and have enjoyed relaxing, watching movies together, reading, and just enjoying being together. We have lots of laughs and cuddles.
Laundry is going well. :-) I keep washing because it keeps coming. My friend Marcia, who lived a few years in Bulgaria, mentioned that we got the "foreigner rate," and I'm sure she's right. Oh well. Makes for a great story!
We haven't ventured into any Orthodox churches yet. It's taken us so long to get comfortable here that it just wasn't really something we'd considered, but if we could have found a Baptist church with an American pastor, we might have considered it. Both Yuri, our facilitator back in Kiev, and then the other translator here with the Penners, learned English that way, by growing up going to church with an American pastor. Pretty cool.
Someone had asked about pictures...We're not allowed to post them on the blog yet becuase it's a public site--can't do that till he's ours, so we sent some back to both Ryan to send to the Journey folks and then to Priscilla who I believe sent them out to the St. Paul's folks I think. So that's where people have been seeing them.
Oh! I almost forgot! In case anyone wants to call us, here's our number (hint hint parents! or anyone else who wants to call!): 011 3 8066 428 0189. I have no idea what it costs to call Ukraine, but if you want to give us a call and say hi, please feel free. :-)
And last but not least, dear friends, have a wonderful, merry, and blessed Christmas. It's extremely understated here, even when they do have it on Jan. 7, so this week here is nothing but preparations for the New Year's celebration (fireworks and the tent and pony show), but as we think of you and all that you'll be doing over the next few days wherever you're off to, we are reminded of all of the blessings in our life--you, our dear friends; the blessing of family; and the gift of an amazing God of love who reached out to us because we couldn't reach back to him. May your hearts be filled with love, wonder, mystery, and the joy of knowing God loves you, just as you are.
Merry Christmas, dear friends. Merry Christmas.
Friday, December 22, 2006
TGIFriday?
Well, it's Friday, but I don't know about TGI... I guess it means that we can go tomorrow to see Cole, and that is a case of TG! It's been strange sitting around and not visiting him these two days. We miss him and hope that he misses us. It's such a strange set up to go, visit for two hours, tell him it's time for us to go, and then have him hop down and walk back to his room. It's tough to think that he's accustomed to us visiting in two-hour increments, but possibly not realizing that at some point we'll take him home. We don't know how/if they are attempting to communicate to him that we'll be taking him away from the orphanage at some point. So it seems that he's content to hang out with us for a little while and then head back to his little group of friends.
We spoke with some people that told us that probably none of these kids have ever been in a car to their recollection(which obviously means they've never been on a train or plane). So it'll be interesting when we finally ARE able to take him with us and get into a car, and then take a train, and then take three planes to get back to Ohio. Interesting might be an optimistic word.
Here are some more random thoughts so you can picture where we are: it's been "unseasonably warm" here for this time of year. The average has been about 5 degrees celsius which translates to somewhere in the mid 30's. Typically it's much colder we're told, so we're very pleased. There's no snow here which is fine by me. It has rained and been wet from time to time which makes a lot of dirt and mud. We don't see very much grass anywhere. Our apartment is clustered with other apartements in a sort of development and there are trees and dirt in the midst of those. The outsides of the apartments are not really cared for at all. They look dilapidated and run-down, but the insides are often quite nice. Ours is amazing inside, but it's scary walking the hallways. There are 60 steps up to our apartment according to Lori - 4th floor. That's a long ways when carrying large bottles of water (without gas). We did the math and realized that using one computer at this internet cafe for one hour only costs 5 grivna = $1.00. Not bad! There are a few American cars here and there, some Fords and Chevies, but it's rare. Almost every taxi that we've taken has been a Daewoo Lanos. There are some luxury cars like Lexus and BMW, but they are rare, as are SUV's. It finally occured to me that European cars are small b/c of the parking problem. You never know where someone is going to park or drive around here and lines on the road don't REALLY mean that you have to stay within them. It's a bit funny and a bit scary. Their version of Santa is Father Frost and he will come on January 7th. The entire city is decorated for New Year's instead of Christmas. Lenin Square (yes, that Lenin) is decked out and they appear to be setting up festival/carnival rides of sort for a big celebration. Brrr...
Yesterday we ventured out to go to the park (on the coldest day of our visit of course) b/c Emma was going stir-crazy. We played on their equivalent of the Fort Findlay Playground and was pretty nice. We then tried to find a bakery that someone recommended to us, but had no luck. The store fronts are sometimes deceiving, so we may have walked right past it. We did get more water (always need more it seems)at the store and discovered some great Ukrainian sweets, one of which was a giant swiss cake roll kind of thing. We definitely need to go get more of them!!
Our court date has been changed to 10:00 am on the 26th due to a paperwork thing. If our paperwork comes today instead of Monday, it's possible that we could be moved back to the 25th. Either way, please pray for that process. We don't know what to expect, but we look forward to seeing what God does. Thanks again for your prayers and your comments. Merry Christmas...almost!
We spoke with some people that told us that probably none of these kids have ever been in a car to their recollection(which obviously means they've never been on a train or plane). So it'll be interesting when we finally ARE able to take him with us and get into a car, and then take a train, and then take three planes to get back to Ohio. Interesting might be an optimistic word.
Here are some more random thoughts so you can picture where we are: it's been "unseasonably warm" here for this time of year. The average has been about 5 degrees celsius which translates to somewhere in the mid 30's. Typically it's much colder we're told, so we're very pleased. There's no snow here which is fine by me. It has rained and been wet from time to time which makes a lot of dirt and mud. We don't see very much grass anywhere. Our apartment is clustered with other apartements in a sort of development and there are trees and dirt in the midst of those. The outsides of the apartments are not really cared for at all. They look dilapidated and run-down, but the insides are often quite nice. Ours is amazing inside, but it's scary walking the hallways. There are 60 steps up to our apartment according to Lori - 4th floor. That's a long ways when carrying large bottles of water (without gas). We did the math and realized that using one computer at this internet cafe for one hour only costs 5 grivna = $1.00. Not bad! There are a few American cars here and there, some Fords and Chevies, but it's rare. Almost every taxi that we've taken has been a Daewoo Lanos. There are some luxury cars like Lexus and BMW, but they are rare, as are SUV's. It finally occured to me that European cars are small b/c of the parking problem. You never know where someone is going to park or drive around here and lines on the road don't REALLY mean that you have to stay within them. It's a bit funny and a bit scary. Their version of Santa is Father Frost and he will come on January 7th. The entire city is decorated for New Year's instead of Christmas. Lenin Square (yes, that Lenin) is decked out and they appear to be setting up festival/carnival rides of sort for a big celebration. Brrr...
Yesterday we ventured out to go to the park (on the coldest day of our visit of course) b/c Emma was going stir-crazy. We played on their equivalent of the Fort Findlay Playground and was pretty nice. We then tried to find a bakery that someone recommended to us, but had no luck. The store fronts are sometimes deceiving, so we may have walked right past it. We did get more water (always need more it seems)at the store and discovered some great Ukrainian sweets, one of which was a giant swiss cake roll kind of thing. We definitely need to go get more of them!!
Our court date has been changed to 10:00 am on the 26th due to a paperwork thing. If our paperwork comes today instead of Monday, it's possible that we could be moved back to the 25th. Either way, please pray for that process. We don't know what to expect, but we look forward to seeing what God does. Thanks again for your prayers and your comments. Merry Christmas...almost!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Lazy Day
Hi there! It's Lori. Not much new since yesterday, but here are a few thoughts.
Rachel, could you pass this on to Emma's class for her? :-) "Class, I miss you. I have a special brother named Cole. He speaks Russian, and he's two. If we want him to sit down, we say 'soondis.' And chew chew is 'joo-ey.' We tell him to chew because he takes a full hand of crackers and puts them all in his mouth. So that's why we say chew chew. But he's getting better at it. And we got a bottle water here that had bubbles in it like pop. It was really yucky! Very bad. We have a lady who helps us talk Russian and understand things, and we went on a train with her. She's gone today, and I miss her. She's really fun; we color at the orphanage, and she's really good at it. She's an artiste! :-) I miss Mrs. Christopher because I love her. Hi Mrs. Christopher!"
We've actually been in a couple of taxis that have nitrous kits. Carol, those are for going really fast, like for street racing. But the funny part is that because of the lack of space in Europe at all, everyone's cars are the size of like a Ford Escort or smaller--all compacts. So it always makes us chuckle when a Ford Focus pulls up and it had a big 'ol exhaust pipe--almost always a dead give away that inside, we'll see that special gauge for rpms or whatever that's connected with the nitrous kit, and if we have STUFF, then we're extra lucky--we get to SEE the nitrous kit in the trunk. Haha!
We slept in this morning, and I did some serious laundry. I kind of have to do it in shifts. Our landlord brought a cleaning lady yesterday, since we're staying here so long, so I took advantage of the clean "tub" (it's a shower stall with a basin big enought to plug and fill a little) and washed clothes last night and then again this morning before we got in it and dirtied it, but the limiting factor is the space to be able to hang them up in the shower stall and let them drip dry before we set them on the registers to finish drying. Once they're on the registers, they dry fast. So that's it for a while. We're going to turn them inside out before I wash them again! ;-)
Some of you have asked about food... A lot of it's the same. The produce doesn't offer nearly the selection that Kroger does, but it's certainly enough. Emma has finally discovered the joy of mashed potatoes, so that makes life easier. So a typical meal cooked "in" is ham, mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. Or spaghetti. And then if we eat out, we often go to McDonald's, but if we go someplace else, so far we've gone pretty much to "La Boulangerie," which is French for bakery, but it's just a nice, regular restaurant that's not too expensive. Trevor and I have Meatballs A la Kiev, which is chicken patties that are not breaded but frie in a thin layer of egg--very good--which some little mashed potato fry things that are kind of like the smiley fries, and cole slaw. Emma gets a cheese pizza. Otherwise, it's a double cheeseburger and fries or McNuggets.
I called Nataliya to see if she could call the orphanage and check on Cole, just to see how he's doing today. Since we don't get to see him, I have no way of knowing how he is, if he's any bettter yet, if he's worse, etc. And of course any mother wants to know those things. I'd rather we had him, but you know....
I finished reading a book by Don Miller, for all you "Jazzers" out there. This is the prequel to "Blue Like Jazz;" it's "Through Painted Desserts," and it's the road trip he takes with his friend Paul. I know he refers in "Blue Like Jazz" to Paul as "Paul the _____", but I can't remember what that ______ is. Do any of you Jazzers remember? Or could someone look it up? And also, is Paul married to Danielle? I think so, but they meet in this book. It's frustrating that I can't look these things up, since I ponder his musings on and off throughout the day!
Okay, could someone also look up for me metric equivalents for kids clothing if you have a chance? The only tag I saw on Cole said "92", but the metric chart I brought doesn't go that small. I'm still confident he's in a 2T or 3T, but of course I'd really rather know than guess; I'm sure you understand. :-) So if you have time on your hands or expertise in this area, give me a shout out!
Okay, all for now. Keep up the love and prayers--they really make a difference!!!! We love you all and can't wait to see you again.
Love,
Lori
Rachel, could you pass this on to Emma's class for her? :-) "Class, I miss you. I have a special brother named Cole. He speaks Russian, and he's two. If we want him to sit down, we say 'soondis.' And chew chew is 'joo-ey.' We tell him to chew because he takes a full hand of crackers and puts them all in his mouth. So that's why we say chew chew. But he's getting better at it. And we got a bottle water here that had bubbles in it like pop. It was really yucky! Very bad. We have a lady who helps us talk Russian and understand things, and we went on a train with her. She's gone today, and I miss her. She's really fun; we color at the orphanage, and she's really good at it. She's an artiste! :-) I miss Mrs. Christopher because I love her. Hi Mrs. Christopher!"
We've actually been in a couple of taxis that have nitrous kits. Carol, those are for going really fast, like for street racing. But the funny part is that because of the lack of space in Europe at all, everyone's cars are the size of like a Ford Escort or smaller--all compacts. So it always makes us chuckle when a Ford Focus pulls up and it had a big 'ol exhaust pipe--almost always a dead give away that inside, we'll see that special gauge for rpms or whatever that's connected with the nitrous kit, and if we have STUFF, then we're extra lucky--we get to SEE the nitrous kit in the trunk. Haha!
We slept in this morning, and I did some serious laundry. I kind of have to do it in shifts. Our landlord brought a cleaning lady yesterday, since we're staying here so long, so I took advantage of the clean "tub" (it's a shower stall with a basin big enought to plug and fill a little) and washed clothes last night and then again this morning before we got in it and dirtied it, but the limiting factor is the space to be able to hang them up in the shower stall and let them drip dry before we set them on the registers to finish drying. Once they're on the registers, they dry fast. So that's it for a while. We're going to turn them inside out before I wash them again! ;-)
Some of you have asked about food... A lot of it's the same. The produce doesn't offer nearly the selection that Kroger does, but it's certainly enough. Emma has finally discovered the joy of mashed potatoes, so that makes life easier. So a typical meal cooked "in" is ham, mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. Or spaghetti. And then if we eat out, we often go to McDonald's, but if we go someplace else, so far we've gone pretty much to "La Boulangerie," which is French for bakery, but it's just a nice, regular restaurant that's not too expensive. Trevor and I have Meatballs A la Kiev, which is chicken patties that are not breaded but frie in a thin layer of egg--very good--which some little mashed potato fry things that are kind of like the smiley fries, and cole slaw. Emma gets a cheese pizza. Otherwise, it's a double cheeseburger and fries or McNuggets.
I called Nataliya to see if she could call the orphanage and check on Cole, just to see how he's doing today. Since we don't get to see him, I have no way of knowing how he is, if he's any bettter yet, if he's worse, etc. And of course any mother wants to know those things. I'd rather we had him, but you know....
I finished reading a book by Don Miller, for all you "Jazzers" out there. This is the prequel to "Blue Like Jazz;" it's "Through Painted Desserts," and it's the road trip he takes with his friend Paul. I know he refers in "Blue Like Jazz" to Paul as "Paul the _____", but I can't remember what that ______ is. Do any of you Jazzers remember? Or could someone look it up? And also, is Paul married to Danielle? I think so, but they meet in this book. It's frustrating that I can't look these things up, since I ponder his musings on and off throughout the day!
Okay, could someone also look up for me metric equivalents for kids clothing if you have a chance? The only tag I saw on Cole said "92", but the metric chart I brought doesn't go that small. I'm still confident he's in a 2T or 3T, but of course I'd really rather know than guess; I'm sure you understand. :-) So if you have time on your hands or expertise in this area, give me a shout out!
Okay, all for now. Keep up the love and prayers--they really make a difference!!!! We love you all and can't wait to see you again.
Love,
Lori
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
sunny day!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS!!! They make us so very thankful for your thoughts and the encouragment through prayer is certainly felt across the miles.
Yay! Today was the first fully sunny day that we've seen on our trip so far. It was invigorating to see the sun and feel it pouring in through our windows. I want to start with some random thoughts and occurrences. Today we rode in a pimped out taxi that had a nitrous kit...nice...too bad he didn't use it. At McDonald's you have to pay extra for ketchup and sauces for nuggets. At grocery stores you have to pay for a bag to take your items home in. You also have to put your backpack into a little locker b/c theft in stores is a big problem. It gets dark here at about 4:00 pm which is very odd...it starts getting dark around 3:30. Our translator said that the longest day of the year in summer has light until 11:00 pm. Wow!
Tonight (Wednesday) our translator is going back to Kiev to take care of some personal business. She gave us hand-written notes that we can show to people to communicate how to get places and order things. We are of course at the mercy of the honesty of people when it comes to that. We know reasonably well the way to get from our apartment to the orphanage and whatnot, so we'll probably be okay. We used a note today to get our two computers at the internet cafe right now. We have addresses for the orphanage and our apartment and we now know how to ask for water "without gas" since they typically drink carbonated water (Emma calls this the yucky water). We'll get along alright while Natalyia is gone b/c we can't go see Cole for two days anyway. He has a cold and it seems to have moved to his chest and his cough is rattling. They asked us not to come so he can get better. It pains us to accept this b/c: 1) we want to see him and don't want to take steps backward, and 2) we already feel like his parents and feel like we can care for him and want to just take him with us.
So, for the next few days we'll be hanging out on our own with no Cole and no Natalyia. We'll walk up to the store and over to the internet cafe and possibly venture out to the indoor playground which is just like chucky cheese. We're reading books and coloring and whatnot. Lori might do more laundry in our bathtub which I've take pictures and video of for the benefit of all of you loyal readers. :-)
We often think of all of you and wonder what's happening back home. We typically do the math to figure out what time it is for you guys and it's odd to think that we're going about our day long before most of you are awake. I'll sign off of this now and let Lori do her commenting. We love you...
Yay! Today was the first fully sunny day that we've seen on our trip so far. It was invigorating to see the sun and feel it pouring in through our windows. I want to start with some random thoughts and occurrences. Today we rode in a pimped out taxi that had a nitrous kit...nice...too bad he didn't use it. At McDonald's you have to pay extra for ketchup and sauces for nuggets. At grocery stores you have to pay for a bag to take your items home in. You also have to put your backpack into a little locker b/c theft in stores is a big problem. It gets dark here at about 4:00 pm which is very odd...it starts getting dark around 3:30. Our translator said that the longest day of the year in summer has light until 11:00 pm. Wow!
Tonight (Wednesday) our translator is going back to Kiev to take care of some personal business. She gave us hand-written notes that we can show to people to communicate how to get places and order things. We are of course at the mercy of the honesty of people when it comes to that. We know reasonably well the way to get from our apartment to the orphanage and whatnot, so we'll probably be okay. We used a note today to get our two computers at the internet cafe right now. We have addresses for the orphanage and our apartment and we now know how to ask for water "without gas" since they typically drink carbonated water (Emma calls this the yucky water). We'll get along alright while Natalyia is gone b/c we can't go see Cole for two days anyway. He has a cold and it seems to have moved to his chest and his cough is rattling. They asked us not to come so he can get better. It pains us to accept this b/c: 1) we want to see him and don't want to take steps backward, and 2) we already feel like his parents and feel like we can care for him and want to just take him with us.
So, for the next few days we'll be hanging out on our own with no Cole and no Natalyia. We'll walk up to the store and over to the internet cafe and possibly venture out to the indoor playground which is just like chucky cheese. We're reading books and coloring and whatnot. Lori might do more laundry in our bathtub which I've take pictures and video of for the benefit of all of you loyal readers. :-)
We often think of all of you and wonder what's happening back home. We typically do the math to figure out what time it is for you guys and it's odd to think that we're going about our day long before most of you are awake. I'll sign off of this now and let Lori do her commenting. We love you...
Monday, December 18, 2006
Waiting...
This is Lori. I just want to start by saying that we can't even tell you how much your comments help us. Today is a full week that we've been here, and we're starting to feel it. We're still not completely adjusted to the time change yet (we tend to be fully awake often between 2-4 am), and just everything is different. So to know that you're thinking of us, and to hear familiar "voices" by computer really just brings us smiles and the extra lift we need to keep chugging away in this somewhat lonely place. We're realizing it's going to be a long month.
So what are we doing these days? We go each morning and spend 1-2 hours playing with Cole, have lunch and rest in the afternoon, and then go back and play about 4-6 p.m. Each time we go, we never know quite what to expect. We haven't made it twice every day, with trying to get everything put together--just the details of living--but I think that will make a difference. It's so hard to know what we're supposed to do sometimes. We do the things we think we should, but then there are also the "appearances" things we need to think about. Nataliya (Emma asked her last night how to spell it, and I've been doing it wrong) told us just this morning that for our court date, the judge will ask us what we've been doing with Cole, how we play, how often we visit and how long we stay, what we speak to him, and things like that. So that has me pondering. We obviously are here to do those things, of course, but it made me more aware that we need to be... aware...of perceptions of us.
It's also frustrating because they do things quite differently with him than we would. For example, every time they bring him out to see us, which is the little room right in front of his "area," they bundle him up in several layers--at least 3 every time. With a hat. He looks cute, but in 2 minutes, he's dripping, so we strip him down a bit to cool him off, but then when people come back and forth through the area we're in, they see him stripped down and they bundle him back up. So the perception dilemma--do we let him drip all over himself and us, or do we do what's better for him and cool him off to a more happy medium? It feels like this is kind of always where we live right now. It's hard.
We're working on helping him to see alsothat the snacks that we bring him are for him, that they're not going to disappear, so he doesn't need to eat 6 animal crackers at a time to finish the back ASAP. That was certainly to be expected, but learning the words in Russian for "chew" and other things was certainly necessary for slowing him down! But we're making some progress there, and I think he's starting to trust us more. He's been pretty good with making eye contact with us; he's even initiated it a few times, which has been great.
And then some days he comes out, takes one look at us, and starts to bawl. So it often feels like two steps forward, one step back. But there's always progress, and the other thing is you never know what fun he may have just been ripped away from, either. So we just go with it.
Sizes, many of you have asked. Hm. None of his clothes have tags, and most of them are too big anyway, at least the ones on the outside that we can find. Sleeves rolled up, that kind of thing, which is completely understandable. So we still have no real feel for how big this boy actually is because he's bundled up so much, he looks like the Stay Puff guy. :-) I'm guessing he's a 2T, maybe a 3T, but I'm not really sure yet. He has an impressive belly on him, though. :-)
Things he likes: tickles, cars, and spill and fill (dumping and then filling it back up, over and over and over and over....). Animal crackers, sippy cups minus the lid (yeah, those are just useful to spill and fill--never had to suck something out of a cup, but he's great with drinking out of a cup all by himself), and his Papa. When he gets a big grin, his tongue kind of curls up to the side, which is really cute. I told Trevor it's just like Katie Holmes, but he didn't get it... Cole and Daddy/Papa are getting along really well these days, which is fabulous. I think perhaps because he has so many female caregivers that at this point, I'm kind of just one more. That's fine; I get it. There are lots of things that are like that. The more we get into this, the more I see that this adjustment will really be a gradual thing and that we will have to not expect much of anything, just roll with it, and be glad when do make some progress.
Now here's a word from Emma. Emma, what do you want to say to our friends back home? "I love you. Cole is very happy with me. I'm a good big sister. I hope he has a great time with me when we spend time there and play. Thanks for writing to me!" (Yes, we do read to her the things that you all put in the comments for her.)
We have our court date on either the 25th or 26th--it's uncertain right now, and then it's a 10 business day wait after that, so more like 14 days. We'll be home mid-January, from the way it's looking. Not ideal, but what can you do? Pray. :-) We don't expect anything out of the ordinary, but if something like that DID happen, our own little Christmas miracle, we'd be very grateful.
We just found this internet cafe around the corner from our apartment, so we'll be able to check in a little bit more often and can even do email, so you want to send emails, you can; we just guarantee when we'll get back to you, but we will.
Love you and miss you all!!!!
So what are we doing these days? We go each morning and spend 1-2 hours playing with Cole, have lunch and rest in the afternoon, and then go back and play about 4-6 p.m. Each time we go, we never know quite what to expect. We haven't made it twice every day, with trying to get everything put together--just the details of living--but I think that will make a difference. It's so hard to know what we're supposed to do sometimes. We do the things we think we should, but then there are also the "appearances" things we need to think about. Nataliya (Emma asked her last night how to spell it, and I've been doing it wrong) told us just this morning that for our court date, the judge will ask us what we've been doing with Cole, how we play, how often we visit and how long we stay, what we speak to him, and things like that. So that has me pondering. We obviously are here to do those things, of course, but it made me more aware that we need to be... aware...of perceptions of us.
It's also frustrating because they do things quite differently with him than we would. For example, every time they bring him out to see us, which is the little room right in front of his "area," they bundle him up in several layers--at least 3 every time. With a hat. He looks cute, but in 2 minutes, he's dripping, so we strip him down a bit to cool him off, but then when people come back and forth through the area we're in, they see him stripped down and they bundle him back up. So the perception dilemma--do we let him drip all over himself and us, or do we do what's better for him and cool him off to a more happy medium? It feels like this is kind of always where we live right now. It's hard.
We're working on helping him to see alsothat the snacks that we bring him are for him, that they're not going to disappear, so he doesn't need to eat 6 animal crackers at a time to finish the back ASAP. That was certainly to be expected, but learning the words in Russian for "chew" and other things was certainly necessary for slowing him down! But we're making some progress there, and I think he's starting to trust us more. He's been pretty good with making eye contact with us; he's even initiated it a few times, which has been great.
And then some days he comes out, takes one look at us, and starts to bawl. So it often feels like two steps forward, one step back. But there's always progress, and the other thing is you never know what fun he may have just been ripped away from, either. So we just go with it.
Sizes, many of you have asked. Hm. None of his clothes have tags, and most of them are too big anyway, at least the ones on the outside that we can find. Sleeves rolled up, that kind of thing, which is completely understandable. So we still have no real feel for how big this boy actually is because he's bundled up so much, he looks like the Stay Puff guy. :-) I'm guessing he's a 2T, maybe a 3T, but I'm not really sure yet. He has an impressive belly on him, though. :-)
Things he likes: tickles, cars, and spill and fill (dumping and then filling it back up, over and over and over and over....). Animal crackers, sippy cups minus the lid (yeah, those are just useful to spill and fill--never had to suck something out of a cup, but he's great with drinking out of a cup all by himself), and his Papa. When he gets a big grin, his tongue kind of curls up to the side, which is really cute. I told Trevor it's just like Katie Holmes, but he didn't get it... Cole and Daddy/Papa are getting along really well these days, which is fabulous. I think perhaps because he has so many female caregivers that at this point, I'm kind of just one more. That's fine; I get it. There are lots of things that are like that. The more we get into this, the more I see that this adjustment will really be a gradual thing and that we will have to not expect much of anything, just roll with it, and be glad when do make some progress.
Now here's a word from Emma. Emma, what do you want to say to our friends back home? "I love you. Cole is very happy with me. I'm a good big sister. I hope he has a great time with me when we spend time there and play. Thanks for writing to me!" (Yes, we do read to her the things that you all put in the comments for her.)
We have our court date on either the 25th or 26th--it's uncertain right now, and then it's a 10 business day wait after that, so more like 14 days. We'll be home mid-January, from the way it's looking. Not ideal, but what can you do? Pray. :-) We don't expect anything out of the ordinary, but if something like that DID happen, our own little Christmas miracle, we'd be very grateful.
We just found this internet cafe around the corner from our apartment, so we'll be able to check in a little bit more often and can even do email, so you want to send emails, you can; we just guarantee when we'll get back to you, but we will.
Love you and miss you all!!!!
Saturday, December 16, 2006
more news from donetzk
Well, the first two times that we got online were mere chance. This time we had to go hunting for an internet cafe. Found one! It's so nice to read everyone's comments, so please keep it up. It's nice to know that we are missed and that people are praying for us. Many thanks.
Okay, so the latest news for across the pond. It seems that we spend most all of our time in taxis. We take a taxi from our apartment to various errands and stop to the orphanage for time with Cole (more on him later). Then we head our for more errands and more errands and stop at the orphanage in late afternoon for more time with Cole. It seems that most of my time is spent riding in a taxi or paying for a taxi. The good thing is that we can ride for quite a long time here and the charge is minimal. We spent literally a couple hours in a taxi and it was 47 grivnas. The exchange rate is 1 to 5, so the cost was about $9.00. Not bad! Our lunch today was 95 grivnas, which seemed high, until I mentally converted and realized that it was less than $20.00! We've eaten at McDonalds a few times just b/c it's one of the few places open for breakfast. Of course they don't have breakfast food at all, so we get burgers and fries. Nice!
Our translator, Natasha (also Natalia, they're interchangeable), is absolutely awesome. We got almost all of our paperwork here for the local court done in two days. The packet was sent to Kiev on Friday and will hopefully be processed on Monday. Pray for that. Our official court appearance is December 25th. With the time change (we're 7 hours ahead) you all can pray for us on Christmas Eve. While you're praying for a positive decision by the judge, please throw in a prayer for the waiting period to be waived. God will take care of the rest.
Now more about Cole. Our awesome boy's name is actually Mykola (the Ukrainian derivative of Nicolai). So we talked about possibilities of Michael or Nicholas. Everyone at the orphanage, though, calls him Kola. It sounds very cool the way that they say it, nothing like the soft drink. We can't seem to get our mouths to make the sound. Anyway, we've decided to name him Cole b/c that's pretty darn close to what he's used to being called. His middle name will be Michael as a tribute to his full given name. So, we've got Cole Michael to love. He's awesome. He calls us Mama and Papa and has a great deep laugh. Of course he also has quite a cry. It's taken him some time to get used to us at times just b/c it's out of his routine. They keep him very structured, but it seems that his caregiver has truly loved him. His voice is a bit low. He's blond with blue eyes and is very much a boy. He loves playing with trucks and cars and is intrigued with putting objects inside of other objects. He'll love the tupperware shapes toy that we have at home! We're not allowed yet to put his picture on here b/c we don't have court approval, but as soon as we're allowed we'll add it. For those of you in Findlay and connected with St. Paul's, picture him as a little Jacob Barger with a rolly polly belly. Very good looking boy, just like papa! :-)
Emma doesn't always like the attention that we lavish on Cole while visiting with him, but we're trying to involve her in the visits as a big sister. She likes Cole but doesn't necessarily like not getting all the attention, which is understandable after four years of ruling the roost. We'll get there.
New Year's is coming up. That's the big holiday here. They will celebrate Christmas on January 7th. There are statues of Lenin everywhere. There are also advertisements for Marlboro, Nike, and other American brands. The driving is chaotic, but there's a rhythm and order to the chaos. In spite of all of the craziness, we've only seen one accident so far. They're very good drivers, they just don't pay attention to the lines, lanes, signs, or pedestrians. :-)
That's all for now, unless Lori reads this and needs to add something.
Okay, so the latest news for across the pond. It seems that we spend most all of our time in taxis. We take a taxi from our apartment to various errands and stop to the orphanage for time with Cole (more on him later). Then we head our for more errands and more errands and stop at the orphanage in late afternoon for more time with Cole. It seems that most of my time is spent riding in a taxi or paying for a taxi. The good thing is that we can ride for quite a long time here and the charge is minimal. We spent literally a couple hours in a taxi and it was 47 grivnas. The exchange rate is 1 to 5, so the cost was about $9.00. Not bad! Our lunch today was 95 grivnas, which seemed high, until I mentally converted and realized that it was less than $20.00! We've eaten at McDonalds a few times just b/c it's one of the few places open for breakfast. Of course they don't have breakfast food at all, so we get burgers and fries. Nice!
Our translator, Natasha (also Natalia, they're interchangeable), is absolutely awesome. We got almost all of our paperwork here for the local court done in two days. The packet was sent to Kiev on Friday and will hopefully be processed on Monday. Pray for that. Our official court appearance is December 25th. With the time change (we're 7 hours ahead) you all can pray for us on Christmas Eve. While you're praying for a positive decision by the judge, please throw in a prayer for the waiting period to be waived. God will take care of the rest.
Now more about Cole. Our awesome boy's name is actually Mykola (the Ukrainian derivative of Nicolai). So we talked about possibilities of Michael or Nicholas. Everyone at the orphanage, though, calls him Kola. It sounds very cool the way that they say it, nothing like the soft drink. We can't seem to get our mouths to make the sound. Anyway, we've decided to name him Cole b/c that's pretty darn close to what he's used to being called. His middle name will be Michael as a tribute to his full given name. So, we've got Cole Michael to love. He's awesome. He calls us Mama and Papa and has a great deep laugh. Of course he also has quite a cry. It's taken him some time to get used to us at times just b/c it's out of his routine. They keep him very structured, but it seems that his caregiver has truly loved him. His voice is a bit low. He's blond with blue eyes and is very much a boy. He loves playing with trucks and cars and is intrigued with putting objects inside of other objects. He'll love the tupperware shapes toy that we have at home! We're not allowed yet to put his picture on here b/c we don't have court approval, but as soon as we're allowed we'll add it. For those of you in Findlay and connected with St. Paul's, picture him as a little Jacob Barger with a rolly polly belly. Very good looking boy, just like papa! :-)
Emma doesn't always like the attention that we lavish on Cole while visiting with him, but we're trying to involve her in the visits as a big sister. She likes Cole but doesn't necessarily like not getting all the attention, which is understandable after four years of ruling the roost. We'll get there.
New Year's is coming up. That's the big holiday here. They will celebrate Christmas on January 7th. There are statues of Lenin everywhere. There are also advertisements for Marlboro, Nike, and other American brands. The driving is chaotic, but there's a rhythm and order to the chaos. In spite of all of the craziness, we've only seen one accident so far. They're very good drivers, they just don't pay attention to the lines, lanes, signs, or pedestrians. :-)
That's all for now, unless Lori reads this and needs to add something.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Well hello! It's Lori this time--only fair you get to hear from the other half. We just got into Donetsk after a 12 hour overnight train ride. Not a great way to spend a night while we're still trying to get over the time change, since none of us slept except Natalya, our translator, who's really cute and nice. They're all pretty much cute and nice here, though. I've never seen such a good looking bunch of people.
So we're off to do the paperwork part, which should be quite short, according to Natalya, and then we're off to meet Mykola. Emma is sure he's her brother, but we keep reminder her that we need to meet him first. "Picking" a child off a piece of paper is kind of like deciding to go on vacation by grabbing a map, shutting your eyes and just pointing somewhere with your finger. But we certainly do hope he is the one. His picture was really cute. :-)
Miss you all. Libby, Emma says hi right back atcha. More later. We should know in the next 6 hours if he's the one, so we'll write again as soon as we can, but for now, we're off to McDonald's. Some things are very much the same. :-)
So we're off to do the paperwork part, which should be quite short, according to Natalya, and then we're off to meet Mykola. Emma is sure he's her brother, but we keep reminder her that we need to meet him first. "Picking" a child off a piece of paper is kind of like deciding to go on vacation by grabbing a map, shutting your eyes and just pointing somewhere with your finger. But we certainly do hope he is the one. His picture was really cute. :-)
Miss you all. Libby, Emma says hi right back atcha. More later. We should know in the next 6 hours if he's the one, so we'll write again as soon as we can, but for now, we're off to McDonald's. Some things are very much the same. :-)
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
We're here and on our way...
Well, we're here in Kiev and we're on our way in the process. We arrived yesterday (I think) and spent the day trying to acclimate ourselves and get some rest. It was 10:00 am in Kiev, but 3:00 am our body's time. Nice. We slept, ate snacks we brought, got some groceries, and settled in to our apartment.
We JUST got done with our appointment at the State Department of Adoption and met with a few people regarding our adoption. We have chosen a child and his name is Mykola Gagarin and he is just over two years old. He is living in an orphanage in Donetzk. We will travel tomorrow night by train most likely and will meet the child on Thursday.
All for now...
We JUST got done with our appointment at the State Department of Adoption and met with a few people regarding our adoption. We have chosen a child and his name is Mykola Gagarin and he is just over two years old. He is living in an orphanage in Donetzk. We will travel tomorrow night by train most likely and will meet the child on Thursday.
All for now...
Monday, December 04, 2006
almost on our way...
We leave in less than a week to go to Ukraine for our adoption. Our child is so close...WE'RE ON OUR WAY LITTLE ONE!!! We'll take off on Sunday morning from Cincy, stop at JFK and then on to Kiev, Ukraine. I won't officially relax until we're somewhere over the Atlantic. We leave on the 10th and our appointment date with the national adoption center is the 12th.
Life has been stressful as we try to get ready to go. God has blessed us at Journey, however, with the addition of Ryan to our team. We have partnered with another church and Ryan now joins us a worship leader at Journey. He'll lend the leadership to Journey while we're out of the country. The timing on that couldn't have been better.
In the midst of the chaos of getting ready, my friend Carol sent me a note with this quote regarding peace. "It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." (unknown)
Please pray for peace for us. Pray for safe and very speedy travels. Pray for us as we seek out the child God has chosen for us. Pray for the judge...that he would look favorably on us and completely waive the waiting period so we can get home sooner.
We'll update this blog from internet cafes in Kiev as we're able. Peace...
Life has been stressful as we try to get ready to go. God has blessed us at Journey, however, with the addition of Ryan to our team. We have partnered with another church and Ryan now joins us a worship leader at Journey. He'll lend the leadership to Journey while we're out of the country. The timing on that couldn't have been better.
In the midst of the chaos of getting ready, my friend Carol sent me a note with this quote regarding peace. "It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." (unknown)
Please pray for peace for us. Pray for safe and very speedy travels. Pray for us as we seek out the child God has chosen for us. Pray for the judge...that he would look favorably on us and completely waive the waiting period so we can get home sooner.
We'll update this blog from internet cafes in Kiev as we're able. Peace...
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Adoption news
Lori and I have been in the adoption process for 22 months. We've been waiting and waiting and finally on Tuesday we got news that we finally have an appointment with the National Adoption Council in Ukraine on December 12. Thank you, God. It's been a long time coming and we're finally there.
Please pray that our process is a speedy one. We're trying to determine who will step in to lead Journey while we are gone. We leave on December 10th and there are a few scenarios that could happen. Typically the process takes about 4 weeks. Oy! But here are some possiblilities: 1) everything could move as typical and we will be back around January 13th; 2) we could go over for the first portion of the process, come back, and then return to pick up our child; 3) they could speed us along in order to clear us from the system by the end of 2006 and before the government shuts down for a 10-day period following Christmas.
We're praying for scenario #3. Please pray with us for a speedy and smooth process. For the courts to favor us and speed us along. For wisdom as we seek the child that God has chosen for us. For safe travel. For a return, with a child, in 2006.
Please pray that our process is a speedy one. We're trying to determine who will step in to lead Journey while we are gone. We leave on December 10th and there are a few scenarios that could happen. Typically the process takes about 4 weeks. Oy! But here are some possiblilities: 1) everything could move as typical and we will be back around January 13th; 2) we could go over for the first portion of the process, come back, and then return to pick up our child; 3) they could speed us along in order to clear us from the system by the end of 2006 and before the government shuts down for a 10-day period following Christmas.
We're praying for scenario #3. Please pray with us for a speedy and smooth process. For the courts to favor us and speed us along. For wisdom as we seek the child that God has chosen for us. For safe travel. For a return, with a child, in 2006.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
to be "perfect"...
Here are some thoughts from a book I'm reading by Brennan Manning...
"Our hearts of stone become hearts of flesh when we learn where others weep. The sons and daughters of Abba are to be the most nonjudgmental people. They ought to get along amously with sinners.
Remember the passage in Matthew where Jesus says, 'Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect'? In Luke, the same verse is translated, 'Be compassionate as your heavenly father is compassionate.' Biblical scholars say that the two words, perfect and compassionate, can be reduced to the same reality. Conclusion: To follow Jesus in His ministry of compassion precisely defines the biblical meaning of being perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect."
To love God and to love others. These are our 2 things...
"Our hearts of stone become hearts of flesh when we learn where others weep. The sons and daughters of Abba are to be the most nonjudgmental people. They ought to get along amously with sinners.
Remember the passage in Matthew where Jesus says, 'Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect'? In Luke, the same verse is translated, 'Be compassionate as your heavenly father is compassionate.' Biblical scholars say that the two words, perfect and compassionate, can be reduced to the same reality. Conclusion: To follow Jesus in His ministry of compassion precisely defines the biblical meaning of being perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect."
To love God and to love others. These are our 2 things...
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Forget you!
St. Augustine wrote, "There can only be two basic loves: the love of God unto the forgetfulness of self, or the love of self unto the forgetfulness of God."
Insightful to say the least. Convicting to be sure. I guess there are two basic loves, but there can only be one at any given time. I have many times loved God more than myself. I have also (confession time) loved myself far more often. Too often.
Being a follower of Jesus is easy on paper, but hard in practice. Jesus gave us a great working example of what it looks like to love God more than yourself. How else can you explain his prayer in Mark 14:35-36? To love God more than yourself, to the forgetfulness of self, means praying daily that God's will would be done instead of what I want. Honestly, as a human, that sucks. As a follower of Jesus, and therefore not bound to this life, it's humbling and admirable to be like Christ. I need to be less human and more a follower of Jesus.
I don't have it figured out. I don't know how live it out nearly as well as I can type it in this space. It's a target, however, and a prayer that I know I need to pray every morning. "Lord, let me love you unto the forgetfulness of myself. Not my will be done, but Your will, God."
Insightful to say the least. Convicting to be sure. I guess there are two basic loves, but there can only be one at any given time. I have many times loved God more than myself. I have also (confession time) loved myself far more often. Too often.
Being a follower of Jesus is easy on paper, but hard in practice. Jesus gave us a great working example of what it looks like to love God more than yourself. How else can you explain his prayer in Mark 14:35-36? To love God more than yourself, to the forgetfulness of self, means praying daily that God's will would be done instead of what I want. Honestly, as a human, that sucks. As a follower of Jesus, and therefore not bound to this life, it's humbling and admirable to be like Christ. I need to be less human and more a follower of Jesus.
I don't have it figured out. I don't know how live it out nearly as well as I can type it in this space. It's a target, however, and a prayer that I know I need to pray every morning. "Lord, let me love you unto the forgetfulness of myself. Not my will be done, but Your will, God."
Monday, October 23, 2006
weird week
Well, it's a weird week this week. We won't be having our Bible Discussion Group on Tuesday b/c of all things...the Halloween Parade. What sort of statement does it make that the Halloween Parade of Findlay is the largest and most attended parade of the year? I've never known that to be the case in any other town that I've lived in...and I've lived in a lot of towns. Weird.
We also won't be having our Life Group on Thursday b/c that's Trick or Treat. This brings me to another weird factoid of Findlay. To my knowledge, Trick or Treat has never been on Halloween. It's always several days prior to the actual observance, in this case it's five days early. I could understand if it was an effort to make Trick or Treat land on a weekend instead of a school night, but seriously, what's the point of making it on Thursday five days before? Weird.
Anyway, all that rambling aside, we will not be gathering this week in group format. If you have observations/questions/insights/etc. regarding Mark 13 for this coming Sunday's teaching time, please post them here.
Have a weird week!
We also won't be having our Life Group on Thursday b/c that's Trick or Treat. This brings me to another weird factoid of Findlay. To my knowledge, Trick or Treat has never been on Halloween. It's always several days prior to the actual observance, in this case it's five days early. I could understand if it was an effort to make Trick or Treat land on a weekend instead of a school night, but seriously, what's the point of making it on Thursday five days before? Weird.
Anyway, all that rambling aside, we will not be gathering this week in group format. If you have observations/questions/insights/etc. regarding Mark 13 for this coming Sunday's teaching time, please post them here.
Have a weird week!
Saturday, October 14, 2006
wounded healers
Here's a great excerpt from "The Rabbi's Heartbeat" by Brennan Manning:
"In love's service, only wounded soldiers can serve."
Wow. What a picture of community and walking through life together during the good and the bad. Why is it that we as the church must look to Alcoholics Anonymous to see the best example of what the church should be?
I'd love to demonstrate that sort of love and healing within the relationships around me and within the relationships of Journey. I pray that God will enable that to happen - that we might become a family of wounded healers who seek to share our lives (both the good and the bad) with one another and offer healing that only Jesus can provide.
"In love's service, only wounded soldiers can serve."
"Alcoholics Anonymous is a community of wounded healers. Psychiatrist James Knight wrote:
These persons have had their lives laid bare and pushed to the brink of destruction by alcoholism and its accompanying problems. When these persons arise from teh ashes of the hellfire and additive bondage, they have an understanding, sensitivity, and willingness to enter into and maintain healing encounters with their fellow alcoholics. In this encounter they cannot and will not permit themselves to forget their brokenness and vulnerability. Their wounds are acknowledged, accepted, and kept visible. Further, their woulnds are used to illuminate and stabilize theri own lives while they work to bring the healing of sobriety to their alcholic brothers and sisters. The effectiveness of AA's members in the care and treatment of their fellow alcoholics is one of the great success stories of our time, and graphically illustrates the power of wounds, when used creatively, to lighten the burden of pain and suffering."
Wow. What a picture of community and walking through life together during the good and the bad. Why is it that we as the church must look to Alcoholics Anonymous to see the best example of what the church should be?
I'd love to demonstrate that sort of love and healing within the relationships around me and within the relationships of Journey. I pray that God will enable that to happen - that we might become a family of wounded healers who seek to share our lives (both the good and the bad) with one another and offer healing that only Jesus can provide.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Into the swing
I'm finally getting into the swing of things with the new site. Once we get the internet hook-up settled I'll be able to post to this more often. It's amazing how tough it can be to get someone out there to get some internet. Argh!
This coming week we will be looking at Mark 10 for the teaching time. If you've got some thoughts to share about the text and you can't make it to the Bible Discussion Group on Tuesday, please post your comments here.
This coming week we will be looking at Mark 10 for the teaching time. If you've got some thoughts to share about the text and you can't make it to the Bible Discussion Group on Tuesday, please post your comments here.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
location location location
We have a location! Our new address is 1716 North Ridge Rd. in Findlay and our new phone number will be 419.422.5665. That number will take effect in a day or two.
We'll be adding couches, love seats, and chairs as people donate them. If you have items to donate, please let us know. We'll be gathering at our new site this Sunday evening at 5:30 pm for worship.
Thanks to our awesome God for providing this site!
We'll be adding couches, love seats, and chairs as people donate them. If you have items to donate, please let us know. We'll be gathering at our new site this Sunday evening at 5:30 pm for worship.
Thanks to our awesome God for providing this site!
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
learning and implicating
I'm reading a great book by Doug Pagitt right now. There's an interesting point in the current chapter that talks about learning and that "we only learn out of frustration - the frustration that we don't know but need to, the frustration that life isn't working but there could be a better way."
He goes on to say that learning (in this context he's talking about preaching) should lead to implication rather than application. We always try to apply things to our lives, but implication instead means that our learning leads to a change. "Application is about how a piece of information fits into your life. Implication is not about fitting; it's about redefining. It's not value-added suggestion; it's a call to see the story and join in it."
Journey, then, is about frustration and implication. We want to be an environment where we learn b/c we need to find a better way. We want an environment where our confrontation with the Bible leads to implication--how will this change me/us and the life I/we live?
Journey...frustrated and implicated. How's that for a slogan? :-)
He goes on to say that learning (in this context he's talking about preaching) should lead to implication rather than application. We always try to apply things to our lives, but implication instead means that our learning leads to a change. "Application is about how a piece of information fits into your life. Implication is not about fitting; it's about redefining. It's not value-added suggestion; it's a call to see the story and join in it."
Journey, then, is about frustration and implication. We want to be an environment where we learn b/c we need to find a better way. We want an environment where our confrontation with the Bible leads to implication--how will this change me/us and the life I/we live?
Journey...frustrated and implicated. How's that for a slogan? :-)
Saturday, August 26, 2006
life...
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: take your everday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out." - Romans 12:1-2 The Message
Don't forget our worship gathering on Sunday at 5:30 pm at the church.
Don't forget our worship gathering on Sunday at 5:30 pm at the church.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Dying to Live
I've been reading Blue Like Jazz lately and I came across a great quote on page 185. He relays a story about a man who owned a bed and breakfast and tirelessly served the guests. Don asked him how he does it day in and day out. He replied, "Don, if we are not willing to wake up in the morning and die to ourselves, perhaps we should ask ourselves whether or not we are really following Jesus."
Wow. There's a thought provoking sentence. I confess that I am incredibly selfish. I regularly wonder why life isn't about me. Why can't it be about me? Why can't I have mine? Why can't... I'm selfish. Perhaps I should ask myself whether or not I am really following Jesus. He was not selfish...far from it. If I'm following Jesus then I need to be becoming more like Him. John the Baptist referred to Jesus and said, "He must become greater and I must become less." (That's my paraphrase) We need to follow that approach to life.
Our statements from work camp a few years ago: It's not about me. I will choose joy. When in doubt, keep on loving.
Bible Discussion group at our house tonight at 7:00. Worship Gathering at 5:30 pm on Sunday at the church.
Wow. There's a thought provoking sentence. I confess that I am incredibly selfish. I regularly wonder why life isn't about me. Why can't it be about me? Why can't I have mine? Why can't... I'm selfish. Perhaps I should ask myself whether or not I am really following Jesus. He was not selfish...far from it. If I'm following Jesus then I need to be becoming more like Him. John the Baptist referred to Jesus and said, "He must become greater and I must become less." (That's my paraphrase) We need to follow that approach to life.
Our statements from work camp a few years ago: It's not about me. I will choose joy. When in doubt, keep on loving.
Bible Discussion group at our house tonight at 7:00. Worship Gathering at 5:30 pm on Sunday at the church.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Discussion Group
Hey, gang. Tonight we had our first worship gathering as a core team. Good stuff! We worshipped through song, had a teaching time, etc. We looked at Mark chapter 1 and had a great discussion on it. We will have another worship gathering next Sunday night at 5:30 pm at the church.
In preparation for Sunday, as will be the custom in the life of Journey, we will be having a Bible Discussion Group on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm at our house (call for directions if you need them). Anyone who is interested is welcome, but it’s also not any requirement. It will basically function as a Bible study sort of time and the discussion will form the basis of the teaching for next Sunday night. You’re not tied in to being a part of the discussion group on a regular basis, although anyone who wants to be a “regular” is certainly welcome. If you can only make it from time to time, that’s fine too. So, if you’d like to join us, please do so this week and check it out. If you can't make it, feel free to post your questions, comments, or insights on Mark chapter 2 right here on the blog.
In preparation for Sunday, as will be the custom in the life of Journey, we will be having a Bible Discussion Group on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm at our house (call for directions if you need them). Anyone who is interested is welcome, but it’s also not any requirement. It will basically function as a Bible study sort of time and the discussion will form the basis of the teaching for next Sunday night. You’re not tied in to being a part of the discussion group on a regular basis, although anyone who wants to be a “regular” is certainly welcome. If you can only make it from time to time, that’s fine too. So, if you’d like to join us, please do so this week and check it out. If you can't make it, feel free to post your questions, comments, or insights on Mark chapter 2 right here on the blog.
Friday, August 04, 2006
This week at Journey
We're having a worship gathering at the church at 5:30 pm on Sunday. Be there...
Monday, July 31, 2006
perspective
I spent all of last week at local pastor's licensing school. To say that there was a diverse group of people there is to make the understatement of the year. There were people in our group of 53 that I would be proud to serve with. There were also people in our group who were the polar opposite of me in every way. (That's putting it nicely isn't it?) Regardless, however, it was very obvious to me that they all had a love for Jesus and a desire to see others know Him. I spent most of the week frustrated by a variety of parts of the school experience, but it was a great lesson to see that everyone there, regardless of the label that I would like to slap on them, had a heart to help others love Jesus. That's really the point, isn't it? It was a good reminder.
Monday, July 17, 2006
wincing quote
I've been reading tons of books for the Licensing process to become a local pastor. Most of them have been a waste of time. Here's a quote from one of the books that made me chuckle and wince, all at the same time:
At Journey, our hope is to break this cycle and truly follow Jesus' commands to love our neighbors, embrace peace, and offer the kingdom of God to those around us. May we be that kind of people!
"It is a sad commentary on our witness that the persons in our society who are most indifferent toward the poor, most enthusiastic about guns and war, most relucatant to rehabilitate prisoners or provide treatment for drug addicts and AIDS victims, [those people] make the strongest claims about having a Christian nation and argue for prayer in public schools."True! Ouch!
At Journey, our hope is to break this cycle and truly follow Jesus' commands to love our neighbors, embrace peace, and offer the kingdom of God to those around us. May we be that kind of people!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
logo and updates
Here's the almost completed logo:
This is pretty much the idea. The tagline will change color and we're good to go.
As an update on the finances...keep praying for money. The financial campaign at St. Paul's has been much more sparse than we anticipated and we're quite a ways away from the goal that we had. Keep praying that God will provide the finances so that we can get set up with a space and start-up equipment. We may have to push back the public launch of Journey, but we can still begin to function as the Journey community without a rented space and a public launch.
God will provide. He always does.
This is pretty much the idea. The tagline will change color and we're good to go.
As an update on the finances...keep praying for money. The financial campaign at St. Paul's has been much more sparse than we anticipated and we're quite a ways away from the goal that we had. Keep praying that God will provide the finances so that we can get set up with a space and start-up equipment. We may have to push back the public launch of Journey, but we can still begin to function as the Journey community without a rented space and a public launch.
God will provide. He always does.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Journey Sunday - 7/9/06
Don't forget that this Sunday is designated as Journey Sunday at St. Paul's. This is the week that people will be giving one-time gifts toward start-up expenses for Journey, as well as making a long-term commitment to helping fund Journey.
Please be in prayer for the people of St. Paul's to seek God and what He is calling them to give (or not give). Also, please be in prayer for yourselves and what God might be calling you to give towards the one-time gifts. [Remember that we as Journey participants will not be giving commitments to the campaign, just for the one-time gifts. Our ongoing giving will be our commitment at the point that we shift to Journey full-time.] While you're at it, pray for the men who have our business plan in hand...that they would feel called by God to help us get our start with a generous donation.
See you Sunday. There will be a team meeting at 5:30 pm on Sunday evening. Lori will be leading since I'll be off to spend a week with the kids at church camp. Blessings!
Please be in prayer for the people of St. Paul's to seek God and what He is calling them to give (or not give). Also, please be in prayer for yourselves and what God might be calling you to give towards the one-time gifts. [Remember that we as Journey participants will not be giving commitments to the campaign, just for the one-time gifts. Our ongoing giving will be our commitment at the point that we shift to Journey full-time.] While you're at it, pray for the men who have our business plan in hand...that they would feel called by God to help us get our start with a generous donation.
See you Sunday. There will be a team meeting at 5:30 pm on Sunday evening. Lori will be leading since I'll be off to spend a week with the kids at church camp. Blessings!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Spiritual Development
This diagram comes from Gateway Church in Austin, TX. The pastor is also the author of "No Perfect People Allowed."
These are the steps of personal development. Love God first. Love people because you love God. Build character because you love God and you love people. Build Christ's Church because you love God, love people, and have grown in character. Simple. Clean.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Connecting
Great quote that ties to my previous post: "When two people connect...something is poured out of one and into the other that has the power to heal the soul of its deepest wounds and restore it to health...In recent days, I have made a shift. I am now working toward the day when communities of God's people, ordinary Christians whose lives regularly intersect, will accomplish most of the good that we now depend on mental health professionals to provide. And they will do it by connecting with each other in ways that only the gospel makes possible." - Dr. Larry Crabb
What a vision of the church! An admirable goal for Journey...
What a vision of the church! An admirable goal for Journey...
community concept
Nobody stands alone. What a great concept. I'm reading a book right now that talks about the concept of community, and the author's church has a policy...nobody stands alone. It's a literal policy and a figurative policy. Literally, they make sure that no one is left out of conversation and all people are made to feel connected at church. Figuratively, it's their philosophy to walk along side of people and ensure the concept of community through relationships, small groups, etc.
The book states, "If churches do not help connect people into the community of Christ in meaningful ways, then we have failed in the full ministry of [restoring authentic relationship] that the Lord has entrusted to us."
It's not our job...it's our ministry to make sure that nobody stands alone.
We need to embrace this now in the Core Team phase before we ever launch Journey to the public. We must engage each other now...not later.
The book states, "If churches do not help connect people into the community of Christ in meaningful ways, then we have failed in the full ministry of [restoring authentic relationship] that the Lord has entrusted to us."
It's not our job...it's our ministry to make sure that nobody stands alone.
We need to embrace this now in the Core Team phase before we ever launch Journey to the public. We must engage each other now...not later.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Re:Discover
Here we go:
Journey...Re:Discovering Jesus Together
Mark and I will be playing with logo #1 from below and we'll let you know what we come up with.
On Tuesday, at 10:30 am, I have my interview with the committee for licensing. Pray for that. Also, pray for meetings with some of our contacts to happen...building and money.
Sunday, June 25th is the congregational information meeting. Please try to be there to show your support and to share input. Also, we'll meet as a core group that evening at 5:30 pm.
Journey...Re:Discovering Jesus Together
Mark and I will be playing with logo #1 from below and we'll let you know what we come up with.
On Tuesday, at 10:30 am, I have my interview with the committee for licensing. Pray for that. Also, pray for meetings with some of our contacts to happen...building and money.
Sunday, June 25th is the congregational information meeting. Please try to be there to show your support and to share input. Also, we'll meet as a core group that evening at 5:30 pm.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
meeting schedule
We'll meet again this Sunday the 18th at 9:00 am. The following week, Sunday the 25th, we begin meeting in the evenings at 5:30. That same day, the 25th, there will be a congregational meeting at 9:00 am for St. Paul's to discuss the financial side of this church plant. Please plan to be there in support of Journey. I'll be updating the calendar page of the website so that you can check there for meetings and information.
Here are three logo concepts in no particular order. Please weigh in:
Here are three logo concepts in no particular order. Please weigh in:
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Tag line...
QUESTION: I was looking at the banner on our webpage and began to wonder...when someone reads "A Christian Community," will they understand that we're a church? I love the concept of community and I really wanted to stay away from the word "church," but will people understand that Journey is a church instead of a planned christian sub-division/housing development?
Please share your thoughts...
Please share your thoughts...
Saturday, June 03, 2006
website
Here's the link to our new website. Take a look around and let me know what you think. Certainly some of the content will change as we continue to talk about what some of the components of the ministry will look like.
How's everyone coming on their books? Is anyone still in need of one? Just let me know...
How's everyone coming on their books? Is anyone still in need of one? Just let me know...
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Marketing?
I'm reading a book called Church Marketing 101. Many dislike the concept of marketing in connection with church. The author tackles that and explains a simple definition of marketing: managing perception. Put in that light, whether we like it or not, all churches are invovled in marketing. Every time we do (or don't do) something, we are marketing our church, our selves, and our God. Scary. Good marketing therefore manages well the perception that others have for your product or service. The author assumes that most people who are reading this book are currently in an existing church and must evaluate where they are and determine where they want to go. Many readers will have to undo poor marketing. Many will have to completely change the public perception of who they are. What a blessing to be reading this book now as we are embarking on something new and have the marketing in front of us!
The author says, "Marketing must first affect who we become before it can affect those we pursue. If it does not, we promote hypocrisy and drive people even farther away."
This is vital! We must all be on board with who we as a church community are becoming. We must understand the vision and direction. We must understand the love that God has for us is just the same as the love He has for anyone else on this planet regardless of background. We must market to ourselves before we market to others.
It's my hope that all of us will be reaching out to the people around us as we near the public launch of Journey. Certainly it's a little ways off still. We can still be building relationships with others...earning the right to share with others. Before we do that, however, we must clearly understand why we are setting out to do this new thing. We must clearly understand why we would undertake such a large task with so many unknowns instead of staying with an established church with very few unknowns.
It is the hope that we would resemble the church that Jesus intended. It is the hope that we can share Jesus with people who have given up on the church or denied the church or been hurt by the church. It is the hope that we can grow in Christ and resemble Him so that we offer an appealing picture of faith in Jesus. It is the hope that people will look at our church and at us and see Jesus instead of a nice building or slick programs. We must market this to ourselves before we market it to others.
Next meeting: Sunday, June 11th at 9:00 am
The author says, "Marketing must first affect who we become before it can affect those we pursue. If it does not, we promote hypocrisy and drive people even farther away."
This is vital! We must all be on board with who we as a church community are becoming. We must understand the vision and direction. We must understand the love that God has for us is just the same as the love He has for anyone else on this planet regardless of background. We must market to ourselves before we market to others.
It's my hope that all of us will be reaching out to the people around us as we near the public launch of Journey. Certainly it's a little ways off still. We can still be building relationships with others...earning the right to share with others. Before we do that, however, we must clearly understand why we are setting out to do this new thing. We must clearly understand why we would undertake such a large task with so many unknowns instead of staying with an established church with very few unknowns.
It is the hope that we would resemble the church that Jesus intended. It is the hope that we can share Jesus with people who have given up on the church or denied the church or been hurt by the church. It is the hope that we can grow in Christ and resemble Him so that we offer an appealing picture of faith in Jesus. It is the hope that people will look at our church and at us and see Jesus instead of a nice building or slick programs. We must market this to ourselves before we market it to others.
Next meeting: Sunday, June 11th at 9:00 am
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
jOURney
Well...it's official! From here on out we will be referred to as Journey with a focus on the OUR. I'm in process of developing something for the web and choosing a domain name. Once that site goes live, I'll send you all the link. I'll also be working with some people on a logo for print/advertising purposes.
Now that we have the name chosen, we need to think about some sort of tag line to go along with it. We talked on Sunday about developing some sort of phrase that would give a nugget about who we are...something that would explain and create interest. One that I gave as an example was: Journey, a convergence of community and faith. It could be something like a community of Jesus followers or simply a Christian community. Basically we decided to stay away from using the outright word "church," but we need something to key people in to who we are. So...give it some thought and weigh in on that discussion.
Beginning this Sunday we will meet right after the 8:00 service. This isn't our permanent time, but with holidays and graduation, this is the best short-term solution. We'll already be at the church for one of the services so it saves us a trip and eliminates an evening meeting during the week. We will meet each Sunday from 9:00-ish until about 11:00 from May 28th through June 18th. Then on June 25th we'll shift to Sunday evenings for the rest of the summer. If you need to come late or leave early while we're meeting on these mornings, that's fine. This Sunday we'll spend some time sharing stories and we'll discuss what Children's and Youth Ministry might look like at Journey where we're seeking to learn and live the ways of God through authentic missional community.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Name Update and Misc.
Mission: “Seeking to learn and live the ways of God through authentic missional community”
Loving God
Loving People
Building Character
Building Christ’s Church
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Prayer Points
Hi, team. Here's the blog...a little later than I anticipated. Chaos!
Keep praying:
Keep praying:
- for the development of the Core Group: relationally, spritually, etc.
- that God would supply the finances and therefore a location and equipment for the launch
- for God to widen our circles of influence and show us people outside the church to reach out to and build relationships with in preparation for the launch
- that God would open the path for my licensure through the UMC to move quickly and smoothly
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