In the Gorodische Village!!!

Well, its hard to believe that already two days have already gone by since we got to Ukraine.  We left Kiev yesterday around 2pm.  It was four hour bus trip.  It was a small bus (more like a big van), but it carried 20 people and all the luggage.  We were definately very cozzy and friendly :) The actual trip itself was very beautiful.  I enjoyed seeing the Ukrainian scenary and way of life from outside my window.  The four hour drive went by very fast, and before we knew it, we arrived at the Berznov bus station.  Bereznov is a small town that connects several surrounding villages.  Our next and final stop was the Gorodische Village.

We were warmly greeted by Mr. Konstantin Tsipan (one of the Dolzhanskiy's uncles) once we arrived.  He has graciously allowed us to spend the week in his home while we minister in Gorodische.  He has a very nice Ukrainian home which is still under construction.  There is plenty of room for all of us and he has been very hospitable.  Last night, we had time to relax from our traveling and settle in our beds for the night!

Today was spent getting to know the village.  We had a wonderful Ukrainian breakfast and headed to the village to visit extended family and friends of the Dolzhanskiys.  I had the opportunity to play with two little guys all afternoon, Paul and Roman.  We also had a wonderful lunch at one of the Ukrainian families here in the village, the Ivanovs.  I got to try RABBIT meat for the first time in my life! It was very much like chicken.  We also got to see their farm animals and I even got to milk a cow!  We walked back home which was about a 15 minute walk.  I forgot to mention that we rode on a horse and wagon around town early in the afternoon.

Tomorrow, we will be ministering at the local village churches.  We will be preaching, singing, quoting poetry, and playing instruments (guitar, piano, and flute).  Please pray that we will have good turn outs with attendance.  We have been inviting a lot of people from the village who do not normally go promotting our special music and speaking. In addition, people here are naturally curious to see the 'Americans' that are in the village for the week.

We will also be meeting with the youth pastor who is incharge of helping us run the children's camp beginning Monday morning.  Please pray that we get everything ready for this special week for the children in this village.  I will personally be teaching some songs, telling Bible stories, playing the flute, doing some skits, and doing crafts with the children.  The camp will run from Monday to Thursday.  On Friday, we will head back to Kiev.

Ok, there is a small update for now. I hope to write again soon. Thank you for your prayers.  I want to add some picutres, but unfortunately, the internet is not the best here in the village so my pictures are not loading.....but I will keep on trying! God bless.