All Aboard

Dobre Dien. Many things have happened since our last visit together..... Nah, just kidding :)

Really though. It is a good time up here. Yana and Sergey have been doing a fine job at showing me a nice time. I'm learning more and more that it is really what I needed. God has been teaching me how to take in my surroundings before jumping in and being a difference in the system. As I said it before, it is hard for me to really to be taken care of. Mom, you know I am independent ;) Anywho, though it was kind of a struggle for a while, I am very grateful for my 2 weeks of ministry and rest.

Nothing out of the ordinary has really taken place. I have gone back and forth to the city several times. I'm pro at the subway now. Read about half of an interesting book during that time. First book I've read for pleasure in a LOOONNNNNGGGGG time. In the city we toured a sand sculpting art show depicting many of the Russian and Ukrainian fairy tales. Sergey and I visited an old friend of his. Together the three of us (sergey, vierra and myself) got our nipples pierced.





Sergey, Yana and I went to the river for a few hours one day. Wipe what you think of rivers away from your mind... it was totally different. Not that it was bad.. but it was... different. Trash might has well been the carpet of the dirt and grassy landscape. All around us were people in speedos and super-duper short swimming shorts (and mullets galore). The air was a smoky haze. Everyone smokes out here... but they do it in a more attractive way than back in the states. I'm telling you the scene is straight out of a 1950s movie, when people wore those kind of things and smoked in experimental ways that made the Camel proud. All that was missing was leather jackets and pinned up hair.

So today we leave for Kerch. I catch a train in about 2 hours. If history has taught me anything, it will be a sketchy train car without doors to the cabins and I will be a Ukrainian student named Daneel. :) I'm dressing the part. Sergey has given me linen pants which are all the rage out here. Look out America, Europe is about to take over the fashion scene.

I probably won't have as much access to the internet for the next month. I will update as much as I can... and yes mom, I will call when I can as well ;)

Here is the planned agenda. Arrive tomorrow morning. Go to the Hope Center to make my rounds with my future coworkers. Then Yana's for some G-ma cooking. For the next week I'll be helping an orphanage that I went to twice last year. Then, I'll be in camp as the intern... more details on what that means when i have them :) Then, back up to Kiev to get Ash... then down to Bila to visit some old friends at God's Hidden Treasures and the boys home. Then London. Then LA.

I love you all. No I didn't get my nipples pierced, but thanks for reading intently. I will see you all on here ASAP. Pray pray pray. Much love. Much peace. Much respect. Much God. AMEN!

-Tommy

Here are a few more photos from my photoshoot :)

At last...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!! I love you!






HELLO HELLO!!!
Alright... so things have been interesting. Not a lot of conventional "missionary" events that you all might think of... not a lot that I actually thought I was going to be doing. I haven't been holding any more orphans, scrubbing any walls or anything like that. I have, however, been spending a lot of time with Sergey, his family and Yana. Who's to say that investing in those connections aren't just as important, right? That is what I've been struggling with. Most anyone who knows me knows that I like to push things to their limits. SO, since I have been given to the opportunity to go across the world, naturally I feel inclined to pack my schedule with hard labor in unconventional places. Instead, I have been taken care of and shuffled around the city. I'm finally getting over my own pride in this trip and accepting that there is more to it that any expectation I had.

It has been some fun filled days here in Kharkiv. I have been to the zoo -or what they think is a zoo :) - walked around downtown, went to a graduation, went to church, photoshoot, bible study... yadda yadda :)

Crazy thing happened today. The day started out sunny with just a few clouds in the sky.... then all hell broke loose. The hail fell from the sky as if God were laying out a sheet of ice on the ground. It rained long and hard, both in solid and liquid form. After 20 minutes... it was over and sunny again. During the storm, the power was knocked out and it was literally like living in the 1800s :) SOOOOOOOO good.

This was a very scattered blog. Know that I love you all and that I wish that I could update you with many MEANINGFUL ADVENTURES!! Its just that a lot of what has been going on is internal for a number of us. God is still moving in ways that I will explain later on. Continue to pray.. I need it.

-With love that knows no distance,
Tommy

Attached are pictures from my photoshoot with sergey and his photographer friend. It is in an abandoned building where people actually are living. Beds were made, shoes were laid out and toothbrushes lay in the rubble. ALSO, there are pictures from the "zoo" and from today's freak storm/family that I'm living with (minus babushka).

Team Tommy/Sergey meets Team America

Today set the tone. Sergey and I investigated a lead that said that there was an American team at an orphanage on the other side of town. We left in the morning and took public transit for about an hour... then walked around asking strangers where the street was that we needed... then finally found the orphanage as the American team was pulling up. Sergey was a little nervous... me too... but only in a... this is a strange request sorta way. We made our way upstairs and talked to the Director of the house and then the leader of the other team.

Joy was a pleasant soul :) Pleasantan Baptist Church or Georgia welcomed us in without too many questions and we carried on with linked ministries. It was their last day with the kids (Salvation day). After talking to some of their team members about trivial things, we finally were able to go play with the kids. (The kids are on an uninterrupted time schedule). We went outside to sing, play games and tell stories. All in Russian :) We then had our lunch break where we sung some worship songs and goofed off. THEN, arts and crafts time, which meant: String some beads and a cross to a necklace. woot...

I got to help out Artom. (red head little guy in the below pictures) Broke my heart. Love that little guy. Anywho.. he went to the restroom and never came back. Flushed? Who knows...

This camp is an interesting one. We had some background info explained to us about the orphans. Some of them come from the sewers, 99% of them were sexually abused, 2 of them (that I know of) were dropped off by their parents and most of them are in survival mode. There was a fight that nearly broke out right after songs... left a kid crying. Sergey and I intercepted him. It is a place I would like to go back and help again.

Sergey and I met some awesome people today. They were loving and welcoming just like a family should be. We will be keeping in touch with them after they leave back for the states. We also met some locals, including a local pastor's daughter and their church interpreter. We will be going to their graduation from high school tomorrow and then to their church on saturday for a youth service. And then, maybe Sunday. Hopefully a continued partnership can be established for the next week and a half.

After all this was said and done, we met Yana at the train station and hit up the local amusement park (fair.... run down carnival) where Sergey's babushka (grandma) works. We rode the ferris wheel, the death defying roller coaster, bumper cars (which were on their last tank of gas.. couldn't bump any body... and there were only two cars in working existence) and the swings powered by a giant fan. :) what a day. God is good.

Sarah ^

Artom ^

I love you all. Seriously. I will update you again soon. Promise. Until then. Live love and love the people in your life.

-Tommy

Tomorrow

Pray for me. Tomorrow, bright and early, Sergey and I will travel to an orphanage to talk the leaders and a coexisting American team to see if we can join forces. Most all of the other orphanages are at camp (GREAT NEWS!!). Pray that God reveals my actual place here, as waiting can be mistaken for insecurity. God has big plans. I'm the day worker, hoping to get a job every morning... but knowing that I will be provided for ;)

Check the food I had today... plus more... like strawberries and sour cream

You must

Go here

http://truecoppers.blogspot.com/

Thanks Sergey

Day in the life of a Ukrainian Mall Shopper

I finally got to bed after the sun came up. It comes up rather early here. When we woke up and got out of bed it was 11ish. Today was another resting day. It was a day of traveling, eating and shopping.. sorta.

Sergey and I walked in the rain to the bus stop. We were crammed inside with wet ukrainians who don't believe in deodorant :) It wasn't toooo bad... by that I mean... you get used to it after awhile. We took the subway to Yana's flat where we had coffee and cake. From there... more public transportation as we headed to the "trade center" (the mall). I pulled out some money and felt like a millionaire :) but then realized that a lot of things cost about the same... After picking out some traditional euro attire (which I never bought) we headed upstairs for a little LASER TAG. It was only the three of us in there.. so it was pretty fun to have the whole course to ourselves.

For lunch- you guessed it- McDONALDS!! 3 people can eat for under 10 dollars ;) I treated that time. Then, back home. Babushka made us some dinner... as seen below.... interesting but rather tasty.


On a personal note, I think my body is starting to adjust more and more. Its midnight + 15 minutes and I'm actually getting a little tired.

Sergey and I will find out if I can start at the orphanages soon. There is a slight chance that they still might go to a camp, kinda like the one I'll be interning for. Good for them if they do, it should be a great experience for them. That would put me in a bind though. Sergey said he would take the two weeks to teach me Russian if that happened. That would be a huge tool for my ladder ministry.

Hey mom... I think I'm gonna get a tattoo :) We'll talk later ;)

Sergey says "Check out my blogs about REAL Tommy in Ukraine." hahaha, should be funny.


Alright. Until next time, I leave you with three lasting things. A message to guide your paths. Faith(Вера), Hope(Надежда) and Love(Любовь)... but the greatest of these is Любовь.

Sweet dreams,
Томми

...

Best nap of my life....

Longest Layover of my life

First and foremost, I am safe! Its been a long 4 days, but I am here in Kharkiv, Ukraine. After everything that has happened so far.. I'm convinced that this trip is going to be interesting to say the least :)
Ash and I started our journey without complications. We got out our seats on the plane and realized we had an empty seat next to us... SCORE! ... but then it was filled... not by a screaming baby though. They were, however, all around us :) 11.5 hours, 4 movies, 2 tv shows, 2 meals and 0 sleep later, we were in London.















23 hours in London... what to do? We decided to get a day pass on the metro, carry all of our crap and see where the rail took us. At first, it took us no where interesting. We finally made our way to Westminster Abby and took a much needed nap on the lawn. The day was basically one big exploration. With our backpacks and my laptop, there was really no where to go that we could enjoy, so we were nomads.




We got back to the airport to discover that we were also homeless. We were told that the airport closes and that we would have to find lodging for the evening. Problem was... it was already getting late and we had no money... After asking everyone and their mum, we finally got a straight answer, and made camp in the lobby of International arrivals. We took shifts sleeping on the bench.


DAY 3: Leaving London for Ukraine.
We made it to our terminal, checked in and sat in the lobby for even more of a wait. 20 minutes before our flight, the screen finally told us where our gate was. We scurried off and boarded our plane with everyone else, only to hear that we were going to be delayed another hour and a half. Apparently they overloaded the cargo bin on the previous flight which buckled the gears on the luggage cart. "A peculiar situation" was the phrase they used... Worried, because neither Ash or I had the means of contacting the people picking us up, we prayed that they would wait around for us.

Arriving in Kiev, we were home free! That is, we were going to be, but customs decided to take years. I swear they were doing background checks on everyone or something... or just trying to ruin our lives. It seemed that it was only my line that was taking days... 4 other planes had unboarded and made it through customs on the other side of the building. We had hope in our line... so we stuck it out... all 3.5 hours worth...

On the outside, we found our company. Ash and I parted ways.. God rest her soul.. and once I escaped Sergey's hug we took a few buses to where he was staying the week. I freshened up after 3 days and we were off to Kiev's train station.

Sergey treated me to my first dinner in Ukraine... PIZZA!!! It was untraditional to what we would have in the states, but still really good. We then ran to our train, boarded just in time and set down. OH YA.. and I was smuggled on board as a Ukrainian university student so that I could get the discount. HAHAHA Sergey pulled me in and told me to "shut up" as he handed her the tickets and two student cards. I slept a total of 3 hours that night. You would think that a dodgy overnight train would be comfortable... and it was.... but also very hot.



I arrived this morning at the metro station to meet up with Yana. We took another bus and NOW we are at Sergey's family's house. His grandma made us lunch... real Ukrainian food... and now I am writing this thing before I take a nap. We will probably go to the city later on for a walk around.

I'm tired. 4 days of traveling 6 hours of sleep maximum. :) Good bye for now. I love you all. I am praying for you constantly. Do the same for me.

Ash gave me this to meditate on:

1 John 3:18 "Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in action and truth."