Dan and Pris Gollan

We look upon the view out of our window and recognize that we are encroached upon by a world of white. The wind picked up this morning and effectively covered the tree branches with a coating of white frost. The temperature was hovering around -10C when we awoke, so for winter in Ukraine, it isn’t that cold… but it still feels cold enough to turn the heat up a bit more and put more layers on. I pity the soldiers who don’t have heaters to turn up and warm themselves by. It’s going to be a long winter for them.

The situation in Ukraine is in a state of… fluidity. Things are changing in dramatic ways. The Ukrainian government is faced with an incredible work-load as they attempt to get a handle on two major issues. One of those is of course the conflict with Russia and the Separatists in the east. The other is the conflict with the economy. It’s hard to see how they can come out of either of those with something that even remotely looks like a success, but hope springs eternal, (thank you Alexander Pope). And there is the chance that God may intervene for His great purposes and bring about what we are praying for: a spiritual change in this culture that is Ukrainian, (may that be your will, God).

Our family is doing well.

Happy Birthday Tonya!  

Someone asked me yesterday if if was possible to get our blog post automatically sent to their email address so that they would be informed when we’d posted on the blog site.    Feedly.com is possibly the way to go.  They have millions of users around the world using their service to bring content that you regularly view to one site… or to your inbox.  It isn’t too difficult to set up.  And Tim, the most computer savvy bloke I know, highly recommends it.

Even easier… if you drop me an email at dan@danandpris.com asking to be added to a list, I will send out a quick email informing you of new content added any time we do that.

We’re doing well.  Winter has set in nicely and we are grateful for a warm home.  There is still much talk about lack of gas for heating and lack of coal for the energy plants, but apart from the couple of times a day the electricity is turned off for 90 minutes… life goes on as per normal.  The kids in our home actually hope for the lights to go off!  They get to light candles!  I went into a store today and saw candles and kerosene lanterns prominently displayed.  I asked about them and the store-keeper said that they’d been a very popular buy the last few days as the government has announced blackouts.  As we spoke, a lady entered the store and bought a whack of candles.  It’s a good month for the candle sellers! 

It’s Monday morning again and the girls are in school.  They’re reading about the New Jerusalem together with Pris right now circled around the fireplace and drinking hot tea.  Yesterday, we had our first snow settle in Rzhyshchiv, and it isn’t melting yet, so the temps must be below freezing.  We’re doing what most people are doing and keeping our gas heating on low while-ever we can.  Once the temperatures drop to –15, we’ll have no option but to turn it up… but for now, the fireplace does a good job of heating the lounge room and we are nice and warm.

Our visitors from the conflict in the east of Ukraine are doing well.  The kids have settled into school and say that they keep on getting points off for answering in Russian instead of Ukrainian.  They find it difficult.  Lena, their mother, has found work where Tonia has been working at the sewing factory.  She is a bit nervous about exactly how much she will bring home at the end of the month as she hasn’t been promised a minimum salary.  She has a week before she finds out.  But she does know that if she sews seven buttons onto a dressing gown, she gets paid 35 kopeks, (less than 3 cents)!!  That isn’t exactly inspiring.

I’ve always felt that the financial market is a fascinating study.  Currency fluctuations, being influenced by economy, by current events, by charts, by formulas, by history, by fear and greed… it is truly a complex world!  I remember the days in Ukraine’s history when the local currency was experiencing super-hyper inflation.  Each month, for a period of a few years, money in Ukraine was losing 30% or more of it’s value.  So a car which cost the equivalent of $10,000 in January would cost the equivalent of $16,000in March.  There was great incentive to spend your salary as soon as you got it. 

The last week has seen the local currency drop in value by 18%, (about 50% during the last year).  All those who took advantage of the 24% interest rate offered on savings last year are feeling a bit burnt.  I was talking with some people over the weekend who said that they are so thankful for their gardens.  They will do ok throughout this tough period.  One of them had received a 50% pay cut on top of the incredible inflation (18%)… but they still had the produce from their garden to fall back on.  As is so often the case… when people feel like the pressures are piling on… they will often humble themselves before God.  And while I aren’t going to be cheering on the suffering, I definitely recognize the beautiful way that God works through suffering in bringing us to our knees in humility before Him.  Suffering also gives those who can love an opportunity to reveal the beautiful character of God through helping, giving, loving and speaking words of wisdom into the lives of the sufferers.