What a great start!
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2006
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7
24
Trip End
Jun 25, 2006
Khust,
Ukraine
Friday, June 9, 2006
Shayan has changed tremendously since our visits here in 1992 where it was the site of an old Soviet Sanatorium which was given for vacation perks given to worthy Communist Party members. The site is know for natural spring carbonated water flowing from natural wells. One previous visits we would come out to Shayan to fill up on mineral water that we used for drinking water during our stay. The beauty of nature was always there, but the buildings were dilapidated. The location of summer camp had many of its buildings in disrepair.
That has dramatically changed!
With Ukraine's economies, both legal and underground booming, much Western-style development has taken place. A bottling plant is producing thousands of bottles of renowned Shayan water daily. Private summer homes for Kiev officials abound or under construction. New sanatoriums are also under construction. Cars are everywhere.
Friday morning we out to Vasyl and Irina's Vinogradov mission "Light of Love." Vasyl Polichko is a Sabbatarian pastor who along with his wife have done a wonderful work of caring for street children and orphans in Vinogradov. They help and average of 30 children per year with a special program of care, food, education and mostly just lots of love.
01 Chalet where we stayed
That's their gift. They have no children of their own, but they have transformed confused, neglected or abandoned street children into functional children. I have seen that dramatic transformation take place over the past five years of the program we have sponsored with the help of three families in Southern California. This program has been funded by LifeNets since 2001. The Polichko's were given a building by the government to be used in perpetuity for this program. They built a kitchen and a meeting hall in it. Outside they have made major improvements and now there is a volleyball net, ping pong table and fence enclosing the dining/meeting hall and the church building.
The children sang a set of songs for us. They were skillfully directed by Irina Polichko. Tears always come to my eyes hearing the children happily singing and I thank God continually for making it possible for us to keep this program going. We recognize many of the children from past visit.
Katherine Rowland from our group also sang acapella a lullaby song.
A day camp will begin on these grounds and extra children are being added to the number for the 15 day summer session. This is being sponsored by LifeNets.
After songs were sung it was time for lunch which was a feast! The kitchen is staffed with a cook who had the entire meal for 40 well in hand. The children were all around us and we enjoyed taking their pictures and immediately showing them the digital photos. Meals served here are vegetarian to cut food costs.
02 Actual building we stayed in
A soy dish tasted just like veal. One of the special kids is a boy I member just wandering the streets when I visited in 2001. His home life was non-existent. Now, he is extra friendly and always comes up to talk when we visit. His alchoholic father died last year when was laying on railroad tracks and a train cut him in half.
We stopped by to see Ivan Yurishko's LifeNets computer laboratory at his place of business. It was a class taught by a Maria Pavlovina of Hungarian origin. Also Vasyl Ivanovich Popovich, the director or the entire school program that Ivan Yurishko helps provide vocational classroom space that includes computer training through LifeNets.
After lunch and playing with the children in the courtyard, we headed back to Khust where we stopped at the city high school which has an art school with it. Ivan Yurishko's daughter Nelya works at the school as a secretary and showed us around her office.
The school donated classroom space for our first computer classes in the year 2000. When we moved the computer class to another location in 2004 we let the school keep the computers. The head computer teacher Irnessa Ivanivna Kucherniuk thanked us warmly for the donated computers.
From there we headed to the mayor's office where we spent two hours and 15 minutes with Michaylo Michaylovich Djanda, a mayor reelected for a second term, a rarity in Khust. He is a very ambitious. It was amazing to see Ivan Yurishko just barge into the mayor's office and seat us around a reception table. This room under Soviet times was the head office of the Communist Party for the region.
The mayor called in the head architect for the city Oleg Borshowski who joined us in a long discussion reminiscing about the abuses of the Communist system and the challenges in store for Ukraine.
As the discussion ended and as they learned of our itinerary on to Chernihev, they offered to go part way with us and show us the city of Lviv. The architect is from there and is an authority on magnificent architectural sites in Lviv.
From the mayor's office off to Ivan's home, a delicious dinner prepared by his Nina. Then back to our hotel Golubaya Shayan.
Comments
Wonderful
That sounds like it was a marvelous way to spend the Sabbath. The children are adorable!
Interesting route
I saw the route of your travels through Ukraine, noticing the trip through the two 'counties' to the east/southeast of Lviv. Since I have relatives who were born in Chmieliska, somewhere between Lviv and Ternopol, I was wonder if you happened to pass anywhere near the village....that is, if it still exists. I have not been able to locate the village on any of the maps I have found, yet it is listed in the Archdiocise of Lviv. Can you be of any help as to how and where I might locate CHMIELISKA? Thank you. Pat Tarashuk