victorkubik's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries

victorkubik's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member victorkubik on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/victorkubik en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:34:26 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com With dear friends in Ukraine again — Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247085186/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247085186/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247085186/tpod.html Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:34:26 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine

Today is our first day of day camp here in Vinogradov.   The camp is held at what's called "The Center" which is where the soup kitchen, church building and a new addition for a new enterprise that we’ll talk about soon.  We could never have managed this program without the sponsorship of Scott and Carolyn Scharpen of The Scharpen Foundation. Cherie begins our day with coffee.  The Polichko’s brought a coffee maker up to our section of the building.  The first day is not without its hitches and schedule changes.  We spent the night at the “Siloam” Orphan Care Center.  Irina and Vasyl  Polichko are here early….not sure if they spent the night there or not, but they seem to be doing something 24 hours a day that involves the street children  or orphans.  On the other hand, we seem to be in no hurry to get out to the Center.  Everything is in stride and confidence that all will be done as the day goes on.  As everyone who has travelled to this part of Ukraine, we have unending confusion about what time zone we’re in.  The local towns use West European time. The official government time is Kiev time.  So we’re always disputing what time it really is.  It’s one way to gain an hour when you’re behind….change time zones on the fly!Harpers and Zahoras are full of questions and repeatedly ask  “what’s going on?”  and “What do we do next?”  English is in short supply and I’m glad to get be of use.  In the morning the campers arrive.  They bring their medical certificates and “register.”  There will be about 40 campers and they come from Vinogradov, Rokosova and from a few others places in the Transcarpathia oblast (province)  I asked the Polichko’s how they chose who came and they said that they worked through their network of social agencies and acquaintances who worked with children who were from stressed, large or otherswise disadvantaged families.    Most of the children are preteens.  After the registration period we all moved into the assembly hall.  Three campers did not show up yet, but were going to tonight. Vasyl Polichko opened the assembly by talking about the Great Creator God that everyone needed to be aware of.  Vasyl  never wavers from his impassioned message about God and our relationship to him.   We sang a few songs that I’ve become familiar with.  A happy spirit of anticipation prevails.  Prayer precedes and postcedes every activity.  As we get in the vans to go somewhere, we pray.  Of course, before a meal we pray….then we pray afterwards thanking God for the food.  As we get into vans for any length journey, we pray.  In a day, we easily get our half hour of prayer!   In the Sabbatarian community, consciousness of God is always very paramount. Then comes lunch.  But, this is the third time that food is served.  There was a snack of a cheese sandwich about two hours previously and before the assembly a frozen ice cream cone was passed out to everyone.  In the morning young Ivan Yurishko came by to set up a printer and copier.  We really have great equipment with four computers, a networked printer.  Being with Ivan Jr. is such a joy.  He has become like his Dad—entrepreneurial, savvy, knowledgeable and honest.  I’ve known him since he was a little.  I remember once staying at the Polichko’s when he had an appendicitis attack and taken to the hospital—that was in 1994. It’s great to see him filling his Dad’s shoes and taking over the printing part of his Dad’s business.   Dan and Cindy will be teaching the more advanced class while Ken and Cherie in the church hall will teach the beginners. After lunch there’s more play in the courtyard. There’s a ping pong table, a trampoline, volleyball and other play with a soccer ball.  There’s a lot of activity and play.  Then, the English program begins.  It’s put into the afternoon because of all the delays with “registration.”  Cindy explains the program to everyone in her warm and friendly, yet business-like manner. The group will be divided by those who took this class last year and/or took English in school with beginners.  The classes looked about the same in size.  We photographed each child with their name on a card.  I went over with Ken and Cherie to the Church hall for the starting class.  I have known Ken and Cherie for nearly 14 years, but have never seen them in their work role.  Ken has been a schoolteacher for 33 years while Cherie has worked with a school as a librarian and other similar roles.  It was so much fun to see them work together and relate to the kids.  Ken takes on a new personality (at least for me) as a pedagogue and one who is continually in front of children and teaches.  They went through the Genki  Program of greetings, phrases, days of the week etc.  All mixed with music, repetition. The children really did well and were able to repeat the phrases remarkably well. Class came to an end.  Time for the excursion.  The Polichko’s decided to go to the Tissa River.  We stopped by the public beach, but Irina Polichko is not pleased with the cost of admission and asks to speak to the owner.  They negotiated for a 50% off rate, but not until Wednesday.  In the meantime we drove on to a free beach on the Tissa….where the kids splashed around for 45 minutes or so.  We had four vehicles of kids.  I drove the red van.  Back to Center.  Dan and Cindy along with Zahora’s set up for classes the next day.  Then supper….our fifth time to eat today. Then we load up the white LifeNets van to bring a load of kids spending the night to Siloam.  We are tired….it’s been a long day getting going.  After we got back we wanted to go to bed, but the Zahoras (minus Ken), Harper’s  and I ended talking for about two hours and went to bed about midnight.  A great day.  Looking forward to tomorrow.
]]> Intense day with Chernobyl Children at — Chernihiv, Ukraine http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247626780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247626780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247626780/tpod.html Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:28:18 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Chernihiv, Ukraine

In the morning I put the Avast antivirus program on Dr. P's computer.  We also looked at some things on my Website.  I explained some about my Travel Blog.  But, what Vasyl and Natalia enjoyed most was the Peine 50th anniversary photos.   They really enjoyed seeing that along with Cathy McClure who they immediately recognized and photos of my son Michael.  Breakfast.  I really didn’t want any except for coffee. We had  two supercharged Ukrainian-style meals after I got there yesterday.  It’s just not possible to live this way.  However, Natasha did make a pot of porridge.  I took three tablespoons of that and got by OK.  I know there’s going to be all kinds of goodies served throughout the day.  It's raining lightly outside. I’m thinking it’s the kind of rain Bev would like for the garden and yard.  When we get to the Centre we walk around the children’s play area.  More than three years we sent over rubber matting for the Jungle Jim area via container.  I was interested in how it held up.  It looked as good as new and it’s gone through three cold winters.  This matting is  what Vasyl Pasechnik saw at St. Vincent’s Children’s Hospital when he visited in Indianapolis and mentioned that it was very important for the play area at the Centre.  In the play area there was only concrete below the climbing bars and slides.  The Mike Snyder family provided this matting that is manufactured in Indiana as a gift We sent it over by container.  It’s well-remembered.  Also, we saw the bus that we donated as a special gift for the 10th anniversary in 2006.We then went over to Lydia Sayenko’s Montessori area.  LifeNets provided all the Russian Montessori teaching materials that was only available in Toronto, Canada.  We did that about three years ago, too.  It was a difficult process of getting through customs without duty, but we finally did.  All the items looked brand new  new.  Lydia Sayenko was working with a child to put shapes into a board.  The child’s mother was at hand.  There is an amazing spirit of light and positive thought at the Center.  Dr. P truly believes that it helps in the overall healing process for children.  I saw quite a few children with cerebral palsy and Down Syndrome in therapy at the Centre this time.  Therapy for disabled children is so different than in the United States.  In the US therapists usually come to the homes of many of the children that we had here. The children come here and various kinds of therapy are applied during their treatment.  Not sure if I mentioned this before, but 160 of the children’s cost is financed by the government.  Thirty children stay overnight.  That’s 160. Another 30 children are part of the original "Revival" program. The cost to handle a child for three week’s rehabilitation  is 1343 grivnas which is $176. An amazing value.  Some parents are not able to pay.  LifeNets has been providing a $15,000 a year in support to this most wonderful center and the phenomenal work that they do.  Doctors are paid a paltry wage of about $150 a month.  Teachers get more than doctors.  Teachers have an automatic government ranking for extra pay given to them for a set number of years of services.  This classification is not granted to doctors.  Dr. Pasechnik and Natalia live in a very modest apartment and I stayed with them in the living room.  He told me his salary and it was shockingly low. We also toured the choreography therapy room.  LifeNets supported this in a fundraising drive in 2005.  In the morning young children use the room, in the afternoon it’s the older ones.  Everything is so light and bright in the Center….such a contrast to the dreariness of the city around.   Then came the children’s program. Whenever there are visitors a program is always put on where children recite, sing and dance.  I felt a bit awkward being only one person for the whom the program was performed.  My friend Katya was playing the piano and coaching the children.  Two boys sang one of my favorite Russian songs “My Babushka.”  But, the most wonderful song was sung by a little girl with cerebral palsy.  She had so much of her heart in it and I was captivated by it.  It was so beautiful to see her try so hard and want to perform.  The program went about half an hour.  Nice things were said by Dr. P about LifeNets work.  Sometimes I don’t think we do very much because of all the frustration of funding, sending things (as we used to but not any more) and other factors.  But, when he listed all the things LifeNets had done I, too, was amazed.  I thank all the supporters of LifeNets who had helped make this place on Island of Hope and Healing.  So much of it is because of the marvelous spirit of the people who are a team and family….even as the staff has grown to more than 115.  It’s amazing that most of these people make only $150 a month yet put their hearts into their work.  Then Dr. P, Natalya and I went to visit Galina Mayurnko who was in the hospital.  She is in charge of the staff in the government section of the Center.  She had kidney stones and was hospitalized.  She was in what the Pasechnik’s said was a “good” hospital.   Before going there we stopped at a supermarket to by here a rose.  Then we stopped a fruit stand to get her some bananas, cranberry juice and apricots.  The ladies at the stand used an abacus to calculate the cost.  Off to the hospital.  There are only wards with no less than six to eight people per room. Since she was on fourth floor it is not high enough to risk an elevator.  Up we walked and all the way down the hall to the last ward.  She was so surprised to see me.  I have known her before because of her unique humorous personality.  We walked out into a reception area to talk.  It was very enjoyable and she appreciated our visit. Then we left.  As we left the hallway I noticed a collage of stones behind glass?  What was this?  It was an artistic layout of kidney stones from patients!   Argh!  We came back to the Center for lunch.  Valerie Hrymchak, Dr. P’s son-in-law, a neurologist , came by.  He connected me to 3-G modem on my laptop and I was able to send out four of these blog posts.  He saw my Blackberry and asked a lot of questions about it.  He is a very competent person and is the second in charge of a medical company in Kiev and has to travel there two to three times a week.  One person they have connected with well is a Lyena Yakivna in Kharkiv who comes over three to four times a year and does various diagnoses.  Then Dr. P took me to the relaxation room.  Our people who have visited here loved this room.  It has been moved to another part of the building and expanded. It was darkened with bubbles and lights and soothing music. I stretched back in a chair and promptly fell asleep for about 15 minutes.  This rooms is part of the therapy that children go through. Then I went back to the choreography room to video more of that.  The choreographer teacher whose name is Artem is a young man who is really good with children.  He is a good dancer, but also focused on the therapeutic value of what he does.  Finally several of us gathered togethe for the evening:  the Hrymchak’s (Valerie, Anya and Cyril) and Volodymer Ivanovich Yashenko and his wife Lyudmilla Leonidovna came over for the “vechirka.”  The literal for that is “little evening.”  It means a social evening with a meal. The table was nicely set by the secretary Natasha and Julie, the lawyer.  It really was nice.  Volodymer is the head of health services for the Chernihev province and his wife Lyudmilla is the director of the psychiatric hospital. All sat around the table and we started talking about all kinds of things.  Barak Obama, the US economy, Michael  Jackson (briefly), Ukrainian politics and lots of other things. There is great disenchantment with the current president Yushchenko whose term runs out in January.  He had promised so much in his campaigning and there was great hope for Ukraine, but he has not fulfilled hardly any of his promises.  Instead his speeches blamed various likely targets: the opposition parties, Parliament, etc.  Now there is a three way battle by a Russian sympathizer candidate (Yankovich), a woman similar in political leanings to Yuschenko whose name is Julia Timoshenko and another younger candidate. As usual, as the evening unfolded toasts were made. The first by Dr. P for our friendship.  As usually is an artful oratory saying kind things…..that you only say holding a cognac in your hand.   Toasts are a way to socially say things that you could never really say any other way.  It’s hard to explain, but you have to live it to understand it.  After a while Volodymier Yashenko proposed a toast. I had toast number three….probably 45 minutes into the dinner.  Number three is always for love and the women.  I praised Beverly and everyone who knew here went “hear hear.”  I spoke kindly of Natalia Pasechnik and our 13 years of friendship and working together.  And, of the new lady in our midst, Lyudmilla Yaschenko, the head of the psychiatric hospital in Chernihev.   We then spent another hour and a half in lively conversation.  It was fun.  More toasts came, but the important first three were the main ones.  Dr. Pasechnik is most artful in expression.  We then went back to the apartment a short distance away.  Tomorrow I pack up and leave for home!
]]> This NOT the last day of my trip. Did not get home — Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247722276/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247722276/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247722276/tpod.html Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:54:22 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Today was supposed to be my last day of the trip and I was to return home to Bev at 11:37 PM.  Not so. The day began at the Pasechnyk's apartment with us watching Good Morning, Ukraine!  on  television.  It was very good and every bit as interesting as any morning TV show in the United States.  A very nice-looking, well-spoken Ukrainian female host did interviews, bantered with the weather girl….all the stuff that you see on American TV.  It was pretty much all women as they modeled clothes from manufacturers who were listed.  The weather girl's dress was really bizarre. The host spoke impeccable Ukrainian.  The big question on the table was about corporal punishment. There were quickie street interviews.  She did interview another very adroit woman who was some director of child services who again was intelligent and well-spoken.  She spoke in Russian.  So the questions all came in Ukrainian, the answers in Russian. I didn’t even notice it, but the two languages are very intermixed. At Church services the language would go back and forth between Russian and Ukrainian. Even in the songbook, some were in one language across the page from the other and people just switch back and forth effortlessly.  When we did the Lord’s Prayer at the Siloam it was in Ukrainian; when we did it in Khust, it was in Russian.  The minister would intermix Ukrainian and Russian words along with a few local Ruthenian ones for good measure. After a while you don’t even pay attention to which languageit’s in….you just take it in!We went over to the "Revival" Center one last time.  On the street a young woman is staggering.  Dr. P tells me that she is drunk and probably will never recover.  He was very quick to assess this in a country where alcoholism is so widespread.  She was a young lady in her late 20’s or early 30’s.  He told me that they have some success in helping men recover.  Once a woman is an alcoholic of this type, the chances of recovery are almost nil.  At the Center  I wanted to see Lydia Sayenko in the Montessori Room one more time.  I’m amazed at how well she keeps it up and how well she uses all the materials.  LifeNets sponsored this room completely about three years ago.  We bought the Russian Montessori materials in the only place they were available: Toronto, Canada.Went one more time to the choreography hall.  Again, LifeNets did a capital drive in 2005 which  paid for the construction of this wing.  I had almost forgotten, but was reminded by the plaque on the wall with all you great supporters. It is well used as part of therapy for children with various nerve-based problem including cerebral palsy and various epilepsies. I gave up my Canon G-10 camera here.  The Center wants to do some serious photography of their activities and really needed  a better camera than the little rinky-dink digital camera they had.  They now have a computer teacher Natasha (one of the 18 Natashas working at the Center) who is developing a Website. She is also a savvy photographer.  I wanted to leave something behind that’s hard to ship over and the camera turned out to be ther right thing. I’m amazed at the pace the Pasechnyk’s work.  While they are very busy with phone calls coming in and people asking to see him in his office, there is always time to just STOP, have coffee and tea and talk.  They commented how much they appreciated having me around because I was easy to talk to.  It was interesting observing to see who came by.  Various people from the health department, the city council and even the internal revenue – there was a question that needed to be resolved about one of the suppliers of equipment. Off the airport.  Dr. P now has a much newer car. It’s a Chevy, would you believe?  Assembled in South Korea.  It rides smoothly over the bumpy roads.  Before in the old cars and vans our bodies were the shock absorbers.  Not with his new Chevy. Kiev Airport is a mess.  Parking is hard to find.  But, we finally did.  It’s crowded at the entrance with all kinds of seedy people staring at you.  It is really crowded not because of all the people, but because the airport is so small and they have to stand in the traffic lane.  It is one of the few countries of the world that you go through customs AS YOU LEAVE.  Usually, they ask if you have any guns or holy icons.  Never a problem with me. I dutifully lined up in a slow-moving line for my Lufthanasa flight to Frankfurt, Germany and off the gate. But, no gate was posted.  No one had answers.  The only things that were clearly marked outside the gate was Guiness Beer at the Irish pub.  The 2:10 pm departure time came and went and all of us German-bound passengers are wondering what’s going on. Finally, officials show up and we gather that the flight is late coming in, but who knows.  My connection for my United flight to the US is tight as it is.  We finally pull away from the gate about 45 minutes late, but the pilot tells us that Frankfurt Air Traffic control won’t let us take off for another 20 minutes.  We’re finally off. The pilot made great time and we arrived 45 minutes before the departure of my next flight to Washington DC.  But, we were herded into a bus, made to wait.  Then driven to another part of the airport.  Doors were shut, then finally opened.  Now it's 25 minutes until the flight.  I scampered through the terminal and got to the United boarding 15 minutes before.  Whew!  But, the flight was now CLOSED.  Luggage was offloaded.  Passengers were not allowed.  A group of us were told to go back to where we started and get rebooked.  A BIG disappointment.  I’m tired….I want to get home. I walked back a long distance and out through security. Lufthansa was kind enough to rebook me during this busy time through Toronto back to the USA.  A 21 hour delay.  I have our grandson’s wedding coming up and really need to get back ASAP.  Lufthansa was very kind and offered complimentary hotel and two meals. What should I do now?  Maybe I should call the Bonn Office of the United Church of God and talk to my good friends Jesmina Allaoua and Paul Kieffer.  Good idea!  I called Jesmina.  She immediately invited me to come up.  The new bullet train now runs between the Frankfurt Airport and Amsterdam and makes it’s first stop in Bonn.  I was advised to take it.  So, I did. I got a round trip ticket for the bullet train that runs at 300 km per hour.  I had never been on any train that fast.  A contrast from the "Transcarpathia" that took 14 hours from Western Ukraine to Kiev.  It is supposed to be the fast train for the bankers in Bonn travelling to the aiport.  I got on and took a window seat.  A big person in a black outfit sat down next to me.  He was not a banker.  His smell was atrocious.  There was little air moving and I was suffocating.  He looked like a foreigner.  He pulled out a vile-smelling ham sandwich and ate it. I smelled everything in it. Then he made disgusting slurphing sounds with his mouth. Then he took out ANOTHER sandwich that was just as vile. More disgusting sounds and then the grand finale: a belch and summary of all the odors.  As the conductor came by to look at tickets, he had some discussion with him.  But, the speedy train ride was a thrill still.  We rode alongside a German autobahn.  They drive at outrageous speeds.  But on the bullet train we zipped right past them.  Amazing.  I tweetet and facebooked my joyride.  37 minutes to Bonn, Germany. Jesmina was on the platform waiting. We went to the German Office.  I was really impressed by how the Office was laid out.   I talk to Jesmina regularly because we often intersect with Eastern European mail that comes to them.  She lives in an apartment right across the hallway from the Office. Paul Kieffer had been about 50 miles away on a visit to chuch members.  When he returned we all went to his flat which was very functional and had a very nice loft from where he worked. Paul Kieffer is one of the hardest workers that I know with what he does with translation, mailing, pasturing and all.  It was interesting to see where he works from. We all went to dinner to an outside restaurant by a little river that empties into the Rhine.  We had a great time with good German food.  I was exhausted at the end of the day……hope to get back to Indianapolis tomorrow!  But Ukraine is still on my brain.
]]> Back to Chernihiv, Ukraine after three years! — Chernihiv, Ukraine http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572611/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572611/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572611/tpod.html Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:25:20 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Chernihiv, Ukraine

Slept all night on the rocking Uzhgorod-Kiev Train, called "Zakarpatya." I woke up on the train on wobbly tracks and looked forward to seeing Dr. Pasichnyk.  I'm glad I have a GSM phone to call within Ukraine.  I called Dr. P.  and he told me he was working through morning Kiev rush hour traffic and thought he might be a few minutes late.  No worries.  We have our phones.  Our passenger train is nearly 20 cars long and I’m in sleeper car 6.  Dr. P. was right outside the car in Kiev.  It was SO WONDERFUL to see him….it had been three years….not since the 10th anniversary celebration of the “Revival” Center in 2006.  We gave each other a hug and the Ukrainian kiss.  It’s too complicated to explain, but men do that and it seems so natural here.    We headed out to the street from this very large railway station.  Everything in Soviet / Ukraine public places is so handicap inaccessible.  We had to walk up a long flight of stairs. No escalator or elevator. I had to carry my 50 pound case all the way.  But’s it’s not heavy….it’s Ukraine.   We headed through downtown to the Dnieper River.  I still get excited about driving through this anciengt city more than 1100 years old with churches almost that old.  Popular Christianity came to Ukraine in 988 when Prince Vladimir accepted Christianity as the official religion. The population of Kiev was driven down to the Dnieper River to be baptized.  Those who refused were drowned.  For most it was a no-brainer what to do. We crossed this wide famous river which has the city of Kiev high on the west bank.  We were getting out of rush hour and headed for our two hour drive to Chernihev. At the border of the Kiev and Chernihev provinces Dr. Pasechnik stopped.  He took out his insulated picnic basket with cold Champaign and chocolates. He does this most times when we come visit….an old tradition of stopping at this border of two kingdoms at one time. We got to Chernihev in good time – a little after noon.  It was wonderful to see Natalia.  I’m staying in their apartment in the living room on the sofa.  Natalya immediately asks about Tom Peine and the McClures…..and Katherine Rowland and Cassie, Snyder’s daughter.  They want to know about Tom Peine’s health.  I told them all about the great 50th Wedding Anniversary for the Peine’s last month.  All people who have come to visit here  with me.  Then Katie Durham and the Shabi’s.  They remembered and reminisced about everyone.  I passed on greetings from all these people to the Pasechnik’.  Mostly Natalia and Vasyl  Pasechnik asked about Bev and commented over and over about how beautiful, kind and good-natured she is.We talked about health in Ukraine.  The birth rate is alarmingly low in the country and the province of Chernihev has the lowest birth rate in the country.  Ukraine has adopted a policy of paying 10,000 grivna’s for having a child and 25,000 for having one after that.  But, that has backfired as people were now having children just for the money and then taking it and drinking and smoking it away.  They said that the birth rate has been rising a little, but not enough to keep the population from dropping.  The birth rate was highest in Transcarpathia and other western provinces because people were religious and more responsible.  Then Anya Hrymchak came over.  She is Natalia’s daughter and lives in the next apartment over.  She brought over their 13 month old son Cyril.  Their first son is Yegor who is now 11.  Natalia then fixed lunch and we talked and reminisced.   Dr. P. asked me to ask the blessing on the food. They had never done that before.  No prayer is asked ever.  They seemed quite pleased by what I said  asking  God’s blessing our continuing relationship and Him being the source of all the good things that have come to them.  We had been working, after all, for more than 13 years now. If you’e like to see more about what we’ve done in this part of the world, please see the whole history of our working together at www.lifenets.org/chernobyl.The next stop is to see the Revival Centre, but first we had to stop at the Department of Health and drop by some papers.  Natalia showed me a medical journal and there was a very technical article about hard to diagnose diseases that was written bv her and Dr. P.  After she was gone inside the Department of Health a while she came out with the Head of the Province’s Department of Health who immediately invited us up to his office for a cup of coffee.  His name was Volodymer Ivanovich Yaschenko. This is real hospitality.  People are hospitable, curious and want to socialize. He brought us up to his nice office with the usual conference table for people of his rank.  We had coffee and talked about 45 minutes.  There seems to always be time for coffee and socializing.  While we were talking one of his secretaries came up to him and told him about an unfolding international incident.  Someone relatively young from the United States who came to Kiev had a heart attack and needed specialized services.  He told her to do this and that and then our socializing continued.  He asked all about me and what my work was.  I told him about my current trip, my pastoral work and LifeNets working with Dr. Pasechnik.  Dr. Pasechnik started talking about coming to the United States in 1999 and 2003.  He reminisced about how Teddi and Sharon Treybig (at that time) hosted him in Memphis and Columbia, Missouri and his visits to various children’s rehabilitation centers in the United States.  He had picked up quite a bit and implemented it in his Center.Then the discussion went to talking about their dachas…the summer garden place outside town.  They have them very close to one another.  The Pasechnik’s had just gotten some land outside town and are building a “dachka” or “little” dacha.  It will have a sauna and they are inviting Beverly and me to come and stay with them. Dr. P started from the humblest beginning.  We were honored to be with him at the point when he was just starting a humble little center with three doctors to rehabilitate 30 children at one time in a corner of a children’s nursery.  He has since taken over all the area of the nursery complex and treats 180-200 children a continuously.  He Has a staff of 115 doctors, therapists, and other workers.  He has facilities for 30 children to stay overnight and now building another addition for 30 more children.  He has been honored by the President of Ukraine for his work.  We at LifeNets have been so honored to have had a significant part in all this.   It’s a long and happy story and you can follow it on LifeNets Website at www.lifenets.org/chernobyl. Dr. P and his wife Natalia (who is the head neurologist for the province) treat me like one of their family. We then go over his Revival Rehabilitation Centre.  It’s truly an island of brightness and hope in the midst of a gray and murky society whose health has been violated by the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident 23 years ago.  The effects are still there.  The center is a contrast as it offers hope, healing, happiness….you immediately see it.  It is an amazing contrast to the environment around.  And anyone who gets to know Dr. P knows it well.  He absolutely loves children and is so concerned about their health. We are there towards the end of the work day now.  Actually the power was off all day long because of some electrical maintenance work and it’s hot in the center.  Since being here three years ago they have put in two elevators on two ends of the rehabilitation center. He now has a stand-in director Svetlana Mikolayevna Chorna, a striking and competent woman in her late 30’s.  He is so happy with her….she is a fast learner and a big help to him.  She came in and we talked about half an hour.  I just love the pace.  Everyone is so kind with their time and treats me like I’m some very special visitor. I don’t think of myself as that since I’m not a medical professional, however, I do know that with many others, LifeNets has been a significant part of the development of this Center for children.  Then we went over to the woman in charge of the overnight children.  Again, a bright positive and team member of “Revival.”  Everyone in this place KNOWS that thye are part of a team of professionals who make a difference… Their staff is now more than 115.  Of that there are 18 Natasha’s!  Only two Victor’s and one Ivan.  That’s strange. A dinner is prepared at the Center and served by one of the staff who works as a lawyer.  A very pleasant lady by the name of Julia.  Her mother Galina actually manages of one of the sections of the rehabilitation center, but she is in the hospital with kidney stones. We all plan to go to the hospital to see her.  I remember Galina well.  A woman with a great sense of humor.  Dinner was as usually with too much of too many things.  We talked till about 9 pm and then took Julia home.  It’s been raining.  Then we went back to Pasechnik’s apartment on the ninth floor of an old building.  There are two dangerous appearing elevators.  One is very small and the other is large.  The large has been inactivated because they say it’s been breaking down a lot and leaves people in it for long periods of time, hours, as it’s being repaired.  The three of us pack into the little one. They say that they often walk the nine floors up, but it’s been harder to do.  At the apartment we talk some more, watch the news in Ukrainian from Channel One Kiev and go to bed.  Wow.
]]> Good-bye to Khust, Hello to Kiev by 14 hr. train — Kiev, Misto Kyyiv, Ukraine http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572382/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572382/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572382/tpod.html Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:49:47 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Kiev, Misto Kyyiv, Ukraine

It's my last day in Transcarpathia before taking the overnight train to Kiev. I’ve done that several times and rather enjoy and look forward to it. The scenery in the Carpathians is beautiful.  The train doesn’t move that fast and sleeping in the sleeper car is OK.  The train rocks you and kind of keeps you asleep. In the morning Ivan and I needed to spend some focused time discussing things that we can only get through in person.  I had m agenda with five things that I had to resolve while here. One was to discuss the printing of literature – lessons 7 – 12 of the UCG Bible Study Course.  We decided to print 1000 copies of each lesson. 500 will stay in Ukraine and the rest will be shipped to Tartu, Estonia. Next, we need to get about 1000 pounds of literature to Estonia from Ukraine.  We’ve really had a terrible time with shipping. But, with the volume of printed matter we have on hand we need to take a load by van to Tartu, Estonia.  We talked about doing that while Johnnie Lambert is in Estonia in August and September.  We have a driver (a LifeNets board member here in Ukraine) who will get it across the border in Hungary.  Once there there are no barriers to drive it all the way up to Estonia. We are printing 1500 copies of the booklets about the Holy Days.  Our group of four teaching English will bring back 200 copies for immediate use.  The rest will be printed and delivered to Estonia. We discussed Vasyl Mondich’s evangelistic travels and the need to buy a church building in central Ukraine.  He gave his perspective about how the Church in Khust finances his travels and about the Church building.  One thing I find is that while the world’s economy is suffering and horror stories abound about people’s plights, there HAS been overall improvement in so many economies. When we worked with these same people in 1993 things were REALLY bad.  Nothing was available.  Virtually nothing was imported.  Now, you see all kinds of goods, vehicles around.  The city of Khust has public works going (of which Ivan is very much a part of).  More and more people are getting their own computers at home.  High speed Internet is readily available. People wear better and more fashionable clothing.  In church the people look very nicely dressed.  Sure, their living standard is far below ours, but it does not carry the desperation it did when we first knew them.  [We had a few other very needed subjects to discuss and did so at brunch.  From there we went to Ivan’s Shturmer Office.  We call him the Kinko’s of Ukraine.  There we downloaded some immigration documents for said issue and filled them out.  We then drove around town and Ivan showed me all the curbing sidewalks that he has been contracted by the city to do!  Ivan designed colorful patterns in sidewalks and plazas all over Khust.  It’s everywhere.  Monday he’ll be doing a major bid for an abandoned city park.  The mayor is in constant contact with him.  Ivan is changing the face of Khust.  Then back to his house before our drive to Mukachevo where I’ll take the 5:57 PM train to Kiev. His brother-in-law Victor Pavliy came by to talk a bit.  He runs Mission Nazareth.  We used to work with him in the harder earlier times, but have not since 1999.  We had some strained relations and he’s wanted to clear some issues up. It was good just to try to.  Off to Mukachevo.  Before we went to the train station we stopped a supermarket to buy some water and other items for the road.  The big supermarket was no less than any US market. This is what I mean. Everything seems to be available and the store was full of shoppers.  There were all kinds of specialty food items.  Even dog food!  I had never seem special food for animals sold in Ukraine before.  At the train station Ivan, his son Vladik and I parted.  So sorry to say good-bye. It will no doubt be another year before we see each other again.  But, who knows. The platform is full of people.  It’s Sunday night and it looks like many people who came to Transcarpathia from Kiev are headed back to work. I have a bunkmate in my compartment.  He is Vasyl, a 75 year old man who is headed to Kiev for diagnosis and consultation for a serious illness.  He was a Russian and Hungarian schoolteacher in Irshawa, near Khust.  I’m writing this on the train as I view the spectacular scenery of the Carpathian Mountains.  My wife called me on my GSM cell phone via Skype.  This really works great.  I’ve got my computer, my Blackberry, my GSM phone….my bunkmate is asking me what next I’ll put out of my bag.  Will sleep and meet my friend Dr. Vasyl Pasichnik in Kiev at 9:30 am. I’m loving every minute of this, but am really getting anxious to get back to Indiana. 
]]> The Sabbath in Khust - not a dull moment — Khust, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572265/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572265/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572265/tpod.html Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:23:50 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Khust, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine

Breakfast was served in the Presidential Suite. We had cheese, chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers,  omelet, juice, coffee.  It was all served so nicely.  Total cost of breakfast for five:  $11.50.  Great value!  Dinner the night before was equally a good value.  We then walked about 300 meters to services.  The marketplace was especially busy this morning….it is once again a beautiful sunny day in Transcarpathia. We arrive at services at two minutes to starting time 10 am.  Ken and Cherie continue the last minute Lafayette tradition here in Ukraine.  It was great to see the people again…it's like a reunion.  This is probably my 15th or so trip to Knust.  Maybe more.    The service has a "service leader."  It’s usually the pastor, but sometimes others are called upon to assume this role…especially when he’s away.  Services begin with Vasyl Mondich leading in prayer and  a song.  Services are no nonsense, intense and directed towards God.  There are a few more songs.  Then attention is focused on the children.  Children are always upheld in a special way. Some children recite scripture  and poetry.  After they recite they receive their “reward” which is a piece of candy.  But, today was special: they also got a plum and Vasyl Mondich commented how this was a special Sabbath of a double reward.  Scott and Carolyn Scharpen who were with us in January were touched by this practice and have adopted it in their church.  Then the youth choir sang.  Then all the youth and children came up for the blessing.  The pastor asked:  Why do we bless our children so often?  The answer is the same as, why do we eat so often?  Then we sang our three songs from the hymnal.  I thought our singers did a great job.  I accompanied on the piano.  Ken was the first speaker and talked about his understanding the Truth of God as a young person.  He admonished the people to appreciate their calling.  Then Dan spoke about Fellowship and the great value that Fellowship has.  He recounted how he and Cindy are quite isolated and can only make it to Paris Sabbath services once a month.  His two main points were that fellowship nourishes the congregation with fruits of the spirit and it unites the congregation as well. Then I gave my message which was about the Satan—his origins, methods, work and future.  It was basic information from our Fundamental Beliefs.  Then Vasyl Mondich talked his evangelistic travel in Greater Ukraine raising up churches  in Vinnitsa, Kirovograd and Simferopol, Crimea. It was very interesting.  He talked about the church in the Kirovograd buying a church building.  The cost of the building was $1000.  The church was able to come up with $200.  They were going to go on a fundraising drive the next month to raise the remainder.   Our Lafayette contingency (Ken, Cherie and me) decided that we would help supply the rest.  We comprise three of our seven person board…..we need just one more vote and we most likely will get it. The building needs some work on the roof, but it will give them a meeting place for the newly planted church of 18 or so people.  After services we went on over to the Yurishko’s for lunch and just to relax for the afternoon.  The Yurishko’s are so hospitable and easy to be with.  Nina Yurishko prepared a tasty lunch with two kinds of soup, one with noodles and the other with beans, chicken Kiev, vegetable and all sorts of other goodies. From Vinogradov we were given two cakes and that was dessert.  Vasyl Mondich was with us for lunch. Then drowsiness overtook us and I was going to lay down for a few minutes….it turned to about an hour and a half.   We then talked so more at Yurishko’s.  We had some digital photos to transfer between Harpers, Zahora’s and myself.  We then went over to Mondich’s who live a minutes away.  It was good to see Lyuda, their daughter who now has four children.  The youngest being David less than a month old. We spent about three hours with the Mondich’s in a fascinating conversation about his ministry and the pastoral work he does.  His pastoral training program which is founded on three principles:1.  “Lord, send me”2.  Close communication with God 3.  Using the power of the Holy Spirit to confidently do the Work He is a very dedicated person and very focused.  Vasyl is always full of testimonial style stories about how things work out. He went into great detail about his evangelistic recent journey across Ukraine.  It’s quite a job as he visits people on a route….starts meetings…..identifies leaders, starts churches.  Very much like the Apostle Paul.  He enjoys talking about all the people who are moved to change their lives and come to repentance.  In the course of discussion he asked the Zahora’s and Harper’s about their experience. I was very interested in the Zahora’s story about.  I have known them for more than 13 years, but it was this evening that I really got to know some things about their faith and experience for more than 30 plus years in the faith. Vasyl recounted the stories of our working with Worldwide and now the United Church of God. It was all so interesting and enlightening to all of us. We finally left at 9:15 from the Mondich’s.  Harpers and Zahora’s need to go back to Siloam.  But, Ivan decides to go back, too.  He is concerned about the red van in darkness.  No one in the red van has a cell phone.  Ivan drove the red van while Dan drove Ivan’s Mercedes SUV.  The SUV was wonderful to be in.  Ivan and the Zahora’s were in the red van.A word about the Mercedes.  Ivan bought it in Portland, Oregon and shipped it by container to Europe.  He picked it up in Hamburg, Germany.  He still has Oregon plates on it.  Looks a bit strange in Khust.  I do now that his vehicle turns heads in the area.  The police and other traffic officials turn their heads away.  There is always something exciting and fun about Ivan.  He is so successful in this depressed economy.  He has an attitude.  An attitude of success.  He’s hard-working, honest, generous and aggressive.  He makes LifeNets work for us in Ukraine.  One funny thing before I get back to our story.  The ringtone on Ivan’s phone is “Jingle Bells.”  He has no idea that it has any Xmas connotation.  It’s so funny to hear Jingle Bells in July over and over again. It’s a good thing that we all caravanned.  The gate to Siloam was locked and the formidable building was pitch black.  We eventually found out that help was on its way.  And we returned to Ivan and Nina’s home in Khust.  We stayed up another half hour to talk and then went to bed.  What a great day . 
]]> Last Day in Vinogodrov--on to Khust — Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572083/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572083/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247572083/tpod.html Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:51:46 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine

Last night I had trouble sleeping as I was thinking about the lives of our kids in Vinogradov.   All the young people that I had pizza with last night we have known for eight years.  They have been cared for through the Polichko's through the tender preteen and teen years.  Now they have facing another hurdle.  What do they do next?  Where do they go?  Some come from very dark backgrounds.  The fear is that they might just fade into the society that they had made do much progress to come out of.  Some can go on to further education, but some are just not cut out for higher education.  Anyway---things to think about.  I do want to add at least one immediately to our LifeNets Developing Nations Scholarship Fund. Today is my last day at Love of Life Mission.  I really wish that I could be with our great group another week, but I have to move on to Chernihev to see our friends there, too. I have not been back since the summer of 2006 when our "Revival" Centre of Medical Social Rehabilitation of Disabled Children celebrated its 10th anniversary.  We have been glad to be part of their life since the beginning in 1996.  I really enjoy the English classes conducted by the Harper’s and Zahora’s.  I love to see the children interact and really desire to participate and learn.  In the morning one of our boys Slava, now becoming a young man,  that has been part of the soup kitchen came by. We had a meaningful conversation about the kids who have now been growing up, who came from stressed families….who now needed to move on.  What does that mean? The town of Vinogradov has nothing to offer for vocation.  For a decent vocation, more education is needed.  In talking to him and Emile the day previously, I was really beginning to see from ground level how bleak life can look.  No education, no job…..but lots of youthful thoughts and energy.  What can we do to help to help these really nice people get a hand up on life? With Edita and her nieces Gabriella and Adrianna perhaps education is the solution.  Edita needs an answer right away and I’ll be finding a way for her to go to a technical school in Khust.  The cost for tuition for one year:  $400.  The others don’t need an urgent answer right away.  I have really appreciated being able to talk to our kids privately and from a different perspective than ever before.  Then there was a chalk picture drawing contest on the patio of the courtyard.  Paul Rebrik organizes this event.  First a note about the Rebrik’s.  A father and his son/daughter-in-law Paul and Maya are visiting from Washington State.  They are from Vinogradov originally and emigrated to the United States in the late 1990’s.  They have come back to visit and came by the our day camp and English class. They, too, are staying at the Siloam Orphanage.  They have been a big help as adult staff for the camp and have been involved in organizing activities for the children, such as this Chalk drawing contest.  Paul and Maya have been talking a lot with our group.  Some of their stories going back to Soviet times (before 1991) are very interesting.  Paul would recount how he was a Sabbath-keeper and the humiliation he would endure as a student.  One time a student assembly was called where teachers pointed out certain students to all the others.  In this assembly of 1500 students he was called out and brought up front with a few others as a BAD example.  What he did wrong was to not go to school on Saturday.  He was publicly humiliated.  Not only that, but pictures were drawn of him and posted around town.  Can you imagine what this does to a teenage student?   The kids loved the chalk drawing contest. There were few really nice expressions of creativity.  One honored the Americans.  One drew a big butterfly etc.  It was fun to go around and see more than 30 drawings.  Dan Harper got Rosetta Stone installed.  On the technical front, Dan has been a God-send.  We’ve had to set up four networked computers.  The Windows version is all in Russian, so you have to kind of guess what the commands are from what you can remember the placement of menus is like in English.  We have new equipment, but as everyone knows,  hardware and software installations are not always “quick and easy.”  There’s always some glitch that can be very frustrating and time-consuming.  Dan has plowed his way through all this and taken charge of understanding our issues at hand.  As of today we still have a networking problem (probably because of a wrong router).  But, we have a single user of Rosetta Stone that teaches English up and running.  Once the networking issue is resolved early next week, we should have the multi-user Rosetta Stone working.  I tried  Rosetta Stone for the first time.  Cherie Zahora was actually familiar with it from her working with it in school in Indianapolis.  It’s a great program.  On the pronunciation part, you speak using a microphone / headset.  The program evaluates your response and has you repeat it until you get the pronunciation right.   Again, as with grammar and writing sections and far more.  We want to continue English education after we leave.   We’re glad we got the four new desktop computers – it does take robust computers to make the program work.  Snacks are served between meals.  There is breakfast, then morning snack is usually bread and cheese, then a snack of juice or watermelon or a fruit, then lunch, then an afternoon snack and the big dinner.  The meals are always on time and well-organized.  After lunch we took the group picture.  Actually ten of the kids from Rokosova were picked up before the picture, but we still have a nice one.  Hopefully Zahoras and Harpers can get the missing kids photo.   In the afternoon things wind down.  There is no camp or instruction the next two days over the weekend.   Zahora’s and me sneak off to the coffee shop one more time.  The temperature and weather overall is just perfect.  It’s not too hot.  Time to pack up and go.  The five of us are going to spend the Sabbath in Khust and the Polichko’s give us their van (the red one).  The only hesitation is that we will get stuck somewhere with it, but we prefer not to have people drive from all over and wait on us.  We like to be able to travel ourselves.  And so we do.  We went to the Siloam Orphanage where we packed up.  I’m leaving for good and will stay on in Khust and take the train to Kiev on Sunday.  The rest will return to Vinogradov Saturday night.  We made it to Khust…only 12 miles away and stayed at the Renaissance Hotel.  It’s a small but very nice hotel right in the center of Khust.  We have three rooms.  One room is the best room in town…it’s called the Presidential Suite that is used for dignitaries who visit Khust.  Dan and Cindy stay in it.  It has a living room and yet another room.  It will be good for all of us to get together there Friday night and Saturday morning.  Everyone seems pleased with the arrangements.  We really enjoyed this place with the Scharpens when we travelled together in January.    We went to the restaurant a floor down and again it was a pleasant experience.  We were the only ones there and had a nice quiet meal  Ivan Yurishko dropped by and talked a while, but he didn’t stay for dinner.  We had lots to recollect from the week and were very grateful for how everything was going.  Afterwards we went back to the Presidential Suite and went over our messages for the next day.  Ken and Dan will be speaking along with me.  We will also sing three songs from our Church hymnal for the service.  We have great Internet connectivity at the Renaissance and I update my Travel blog and email.
]]> Parachute, Beach, Pizza with Kids Becoming Adults — Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247199447/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247199447/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247199447/tpod.html Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:07:51 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine

The idea of day camp and Teaching English as a Second Language is working out great.  All the kids from the area are in one place.  There are a lot of fun things to do. The kids love it all.  The day begins with playing in the courtyard:  volleyball, ping pong, playing with balls, badminton.  Then the first activity is English class.  Then more play….then the Bible class and lunch.  After lunch there is more play….then the daily excursion.  All ends with dinner.   Snacks are served through the day.  There are plenty of activities and the day ends up being fun and education-filled event.  Most of the kids go home in the evening while some of those living further out stay at Siloam.  I started the English class at Dan and Cindy’s.  It begins with a catchy warm-up song….then review and learning of new words.  There is lots of activity for the one and a half hour class and the kids really stay with it the entire time.  We are so blessed to have the computers with the extra-sized monitor to display the Genki program.  It’s a bit humorous as the program is Australian and we hear the Australian accent.  After the class we get out the "parachute" to try out.  It looks something like a parachute, but lots of team activity can be done with it.  All the kids hold on to it and walk around, manage a ball inside it.  Make a tent with it.  It’s quite ingenious and attracts kids to it and makes them learn to work together.  After this Ken, Cherie and I sneaked off to the Coffee Shop at the end of the street. It’s a five minute walk and the coffee is great.  We branched out into the cappuccinos this morning. We came back for the Bible class. Today the lesson was day four and five of creation.  Then songs and prayers.  Everything is well-attended and taken in stride with an obviously positive spirit.   Then just after class I got my telephone cal l from Bev on my cell phone.  Through Skype she was able to call my GSM phone and we talked for half an hour.  I sure wish she was here for the camp as this is the best way to be with and interact with the kids.  Every day our relationship gets closer.  I see that all four of our Americans communicate quite well with the kids even though there is the language issue.  After lunch our team of five practiced some songs that we will sing to the chilrdren tomorrow.  The four sing while I play the keyboard.  The songs are hymns from our hymnal.  We will also be doing the songs for services on the Sabbath in Khust.  Then we go off on our excursion in three vehicles.  The LifeNets van is by far the most reliable vehicle.  The other two—the red one and the old Love of Light Mission vehicle that I thought had long been dead has been resurrected.  We carried 40 children plus eight adults in these barely tottering vehicles. We went to another beach with water slides. This time in Berehovo….very close to the Hungarian border.  The kids just love water and it’s a good way to vent a lot of energy.  But on the way to Berehovo the old van that should have been buried long ago, stalled.  It was something just waiting to happen.  They were about a kilometer behind us. There was a chaperone Paul from Washington State in that van who was a mechanic. After half an hour it started running again. It had about 20 people in it.  Whew!  It’s amazing how these people operate on the edge like this.  I admire them.  No one else does anything like this with children and hats off to their courage and faith that it can be done.   While driving I got another Skype call and this time my two granddaughters Alyssa and Elena chattered with the grandpa (me).  Then we returned to the Center….it was 8:15 PM.  I really wanted to get together with some of the kids that I had known before and was hoping we still could.  Some were there.  Four of us went out to a Pizza place down the street called the “Crocus.”  It was very eye-opening and enjoyable to be with them and hear about what they were doing, their hopes and dream.  They are becoming young adults now and have reached another vulnerable plateau in life.  They really need to get focused on some education so that they have more than menial jobs.  Certainly there is nothing in Vinogradov for them.   We talked seriously about vocational training and further education.  We had a very honest discussion where they shared a lot of very personal observations and thoughts.  I’d like to add a few of these to our LifeNets Developing Nations Scholarship Program. Two of them still have high school to finish.  But, I was talking to them as young adults and not as children.  We have known them since 2001 and have observed them on our five or six trips over here over this period.I came back home with a lot to think about.  I am going to do something about a very important investment in these young people who were regulars at the soup kitchen and now embarking into another chapter in their lives.   
]]> English class, Camp, Internet, Excursion, Mondich — Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247172702/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247172702/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247172702/tpod.html Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:29:02 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine

Off the Center again. It's the third day of classes and the camp.  We’re lovin’ it. We get so tired at the end of the day, but Irina and I comment that’s it’s a "good" tired.  We love the experience with the kids, the activity, the Ukrainian experience.  Daniel is wearing his UYC  (United Youth Camp) shirt which I have now renamed Ukrainian Youth Camp.  I am now the official driver of the red van.  It’s terrible.  Sometimes I call it the red death.  Ivan Yurishko told me that I should not drive it—it has lots of bugs.  Second gear is dysfunctional and there is trick of working gears one, two and three.  There is no rear-view mirror, so I use the kids I drive as rear view mirrors. They tell me everything that’s going on behind me. The signal blinker has to be turned off manually and I forget to do that often, so one of the kids in the van is assigned to remind me turn the blinker off.  Finally, the locks on the doors of the van don’t work.  Well, they LOCK, but they don’t UNLOCK except for the back door.  This means that if you lock the van, you have to unlock the back, let one of the boys in to climb over the seats and open the doors.  Our workaround, however, is NOT to lock the doors.  I sometimes call this van the “red death.”  The children are really a delight and I enjoy my role as being the gopher for all the things going on….mostly translating and expediting things.  They always greet us enthusiastically.  They are always so good so open and trusting of us as adults.  Just wonderful. Hardly a child is sullen.  We have a great team here with everyone filling an important and key role.  The Polichko’s are the heart and soul of this children’s project.  I cannot say enough how fortunate I am to find an environment that is as great as the one that we have here with kids.  All the children love the Polichko’s and call them Aunt Ira and Uncle Vasya.   As I’ve said before all four teachers, Ken and Cherie Zahora, Dan and Cindy Harper, are absolutely awesome in how they relate to the children whose language they do not know.  Then there’s Vasya and Maria who work at the home.  Alyona works full-time in the kitchen. The regular cook fell and broke her ankle and is out of commission.  Alyona worked at an electronics plant here in Vinogradov run by Slovaks but it is now closed permanently. Edita came by with a friend and we talked some.  Tomorrow I plan to get together with the kids we had known over the years at the soup kitchen:  Ondika, Emille, Lolita, Goby, Edita and perhaps others. Then I played ping pong and volleyball with some of the kids. Lunch.  Special this meal was the borscht, which is a famous soup made from beets and vegetable.  There are over 300 recipes for borscht. This was a good light one. Ivan Yurishko Jr. came out to try to connect the Internet and network our four computers.  We’re having trouble getting Internet out here.  It’s broadcast from the tall TV tower over Khust.  We worked on it for about an hour and nothing.  We ultimately find out that there is a mountain blocking the signal from that location to Vinogradov.   Ivan took the modem out to Siloam and it worked just fine….Siloam is just outside the blocking part of the mountain.  So, out here we have good Internet coverage.  But, we were still having trouble initializing and networking our Rosetta Stone.  Ivan was going to come out later in the afternoon after our excursion to try to solve these problems .  I’m so fortunate that Dan Harper is really savvy on networking and configuration issues and persistently stays with issues until they are resolved.  Then out to the “water park.” The kids really love water and swimming.  There was one medium-sized slide.  Of the adults, Ken and Daniel went into the water. The boys love to swarm all over Dan and took turns climbing on him.  We came back to the Center and my friend Vasyl Mondich  arrived soon after.  So did Ivan Yurishko, Jr.  Vasyl and I sauntered into town and ate a meal at an outdoor café.  We have known each other since 1992.  We will always be good friends.  We talked about evangelism, humanitarian work and doctrine.  Then we returned to the soup kitchen and Ivan  Jr. was still there with Dan trying to figure out what the problems were. We worked on it for a bit and decided to call it quits.  Dan brought home one of the desktops  to configure it at Siloam.  We came really tired.  No discussion tonight….I did take some time to upload several days worth ot Travel blogs and download 250 email messages.  I’m done.  Time to crash at 12:15 am.
]]> Classes/Camp/Reunion in Khust — Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247085629/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247085629/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1247085629/tpod.html Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:37:15 -0400 Scandinavia & Ukraine: Visiting scattered UCG, Teaching English to Orphans, Chernobyl

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Vynohradiv, Zakarpats'ka Oblast', Ukraine

It's great sleeping out here at the Siloam orphan care center. The air is so fresh and we wake up so refreshed.  The water is so pure here, too, as it comes from a spring about half mile away.  We explained all this from our January 2009 blog when we were here last. Breakfast was blini with strawberry jam and sour cream.  Of course, Cherie’s coffee.  We really enjoy being all together – it’s just a great spirit with Mission, Purpose, GREAT OUTCOMES.  This is a great project and as we talk about it more people want to become part of it.  Off to the center with the kids who are staying here.  There are about 38 children total for this camp.  Ten stay overnight….and it’s here at Siloam.  Nine are the orphans from Siloam. Ten children come from Rokosova every day and then go home in the evening and the rest come from Vinogradov, Khust and other towns around.  As we got into the car little Vasyl got some crayfish out of the stream outside Siloam.  He wanted to show them to us…and  to terrorize the girls a little….who I wasn’t sure whether they liked it or not.  At the Center this was day two of education.  I spent half the time at Ken and Cherie’s and half the time at Dan and Cindy’s.  I absolutely marvel as to how well the Genki program works. It reinforces with fun graphics and music very basic English.  All the practical things that people will say throughout the day:  How are you?  My name is _____, the days of the week, the numbers.  I feel _______ etc. etc.  Again, I’m amazed as to how quickly these kids pick up on the English pronunciation.After class the kids play outside a bit.  Then we have the Bible class.  Yesterday, I noted (and our team told me also) about some of the unacceptable behavior that we have seen.  Kids calling each other names, hitting each other.  Boys pulling girls hair and the sort.  Our team really feels that we need to include some instruction about behavior in the Bible Class.  The Polichko’s are more than happy for me to cover some of these points and we decide to introduce the ZONE in Ukraine. So after Vasyl Polichko’s lesson about the second day of creation, I spoke about conduct.  Since we spoke about Light being created on the first day of creation and the Mission here called the Love of Light, we decided to call the two week camp period as the Zone of Light.  We were going to create an environment of light and brightness.  In this lesson I spoke about retaliation. I came up to a little girl and asked her what she would do to if I came and hit her.  She immediately replied, "I’d hit you back."  Others chimed in with the same answer.  I went on to explain that all that did was escalate the conflict and cause the first hitter to become more violent.  We then talked about taking a hit, walking away and not give cause for escalation.  Then the staff asked what we could do about violations at camp.  It was decided to report unsocial behavior and talk to the offenders….and have them sit separately from the group at mealtime. It was so interesting to see this process in a country whose culture is so different from what we would see in the United States.  Some of things we saw would not be tolerated at all in our country.Then lunch.  It’s always tasty with a bean soup, bread, a kind of noodle—quite tasty and tofu cutlets.  All meals are vegetarian. After lunch our group wanted to go to the new coffee shop and the Internet Café.  The coffee shop was really neat.  Vinogradov has all kinds of neat new places, and this one was like a Starbucks.  We asked for coffee with cream…..what we got was coffee with whipped fresh cream.  Then we walked over to the Internet Café where our group sent out messages. I stopped by a bank to change some cash.  I wanted to get rid of Hungarian Forint.After all it's the next door country....just a few miles away.  The cashier with a smirk told me: "We don't take that that money." I was hoping to get rid of excess Hungarian money.  Well, then I came up with three twenty dollar bills.  A smile came across her face.  I felt good that the US dollar still has respect in the world.  We walked back about a mile….or almost a mile back to the Center partially in the rain.  For the evening Ivan Yurishko invited us to a cafeteria he built for his cement plant workers.  As usual, Ivan does things with class and style.  He calls the cafeteria “Yum Yum.”  In Ukrainian it’s “Nyam Nyam.”  We decided to have a get-together with a lot of the people that we had known over the years from our first September 1992 meeting.  Present were Ivan and Anya Pavliy from Rokosovo.  Then Vasyl  Mondich, the pastor of the Khust Church.  Then Victor Pavliy, director of the Nazareth Mission.  It was like a family reunion.  The cafeteria staff prepared a nice meal.  Ivan first showed us around.  He will also have a sausage-making facility attached.  Ivan can put so many things put together….cement, sausage, cafeteria and who knows what else in just this facility.  After the meal Ivan Pavliy and I talked intensely about all kinds of things….mostly about doctrine.  We talked about two of the differences in our understanding of Passover and Pentecost.  We are printing the United Church of God’s booklet God’s Holy Days here on this trip.  While I was talking to Ivan, Vasyl and Victor, Ivan took our four Americans around town to show them curbing and sidewalk work he’s been doing.  He has put in Class A sidewalks with patterns and colors of all sorts. We really had a chance to catch up on a lot of things that go back almost two decades now.  There is a real brotherly bond between us.  We left for home, but not before taking photos of one another.  Then we drove to Vinogradov.  Back at the home Vasya and Maria Tomaschuk came up to our section of the building and we talked for a while.  The Harper’s gave them some nice candle holders.  Off to bed again at midnight.
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