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In honour of Baba Galya

IMG_0019Today, we laid the body of a dear neighbour to rest.  Baba Galya was loved by everyone who knew her.  We feel as if God blessed us so much over the years through this special lady. 

The very first time I met her, she gave us a bag full of beetroot and… zucchini.  She never really stopped giving after we bought this place and then moved in.  We were continually being sent up preserved tomatoes or cucumbers.  If she thought we had a lot of guests, she would regularly send up some extra “something”.  She was a classic.

During the last year, she had been talking more about God and Jesse had even “got her” reading her Bible.  She understood that Jesus was God and put her trust in Him so we have hope that she is in Heaven right now.

 

A few weeks ago, I was practicing guitar with Kolya when I looked out the window and saw an ambulance at their place.  I rushed down and sure enough, Galya had experienced a stroke.  We carried her into the ambulance and they took her off to our local hospital – paralyzed down her left side.  We visited her in hospital several times here and then in Kiev expecting her to slowly improve over time – but her heart gave out on Monday.

Today, we walked with the relatives and friends from her home down to the church, where we had a service for her.  We then walked on to the cemetery.  Pris carried the “holy water” with which the priest blessed her body one final time.  (You can see Pris near the front of the line of mourners -behind Vova who was carrying the cross.)  All in all, if feels as if it didn’t do justice to this lady who we have loved and appreciated so much over the years. 

“Enjoy eternity, Galya.”

Darkness and Light

This year, for our family holiday, we went out to the island for two nights with Priscilla’s Dad and Mom.  We had classic weather and for three days, really didn’t do much.  For Elle, the holiday will never be forgotten as it was on this holiday that she learned to wake-board.  First, she rode on Jesse’s back, then on the board, then she did it by herself.  She felt like a champ.  

We got to see the perseids this year.  That was special.  We lay out for about an hour Monday night and saw several brilliant streaks and about 40 smaller ones.  The sudden flashes normally lasted less than a second and sometimes we waited for a few minutes before catching the next one.  But it was well-worth it.  It is hard for me to look up at the night sky and NOT think about the power of God.  His awesomeness kinda smacks you in the face if you give it a minute.  Our calendar for August aptly decided to use the Psalm that reads, “The heavens declare the glory of the Lord…”

The last evening on the island was a bit of a scramble.  We were expecting to spend three nights out there, but the gathering black clouds off to the north changed our plans.  An hour before dusk, we decided to pack up real quick and send five people back home to escape the storm.  By the time we arrived back in Rzhyshchiv, it was dark and windy and the small waves in the main part of the river were in the process of shooting up with steroids.  We unloaded the people and stuff as quick as we could and I then took off back to the Island.  The experience of piloting an old, light-weight boat through blackness was one I’ll actually cherish for a number of years.  I could see only dimly the outlines of the surrounding countryside… that’s how dark it was.  I managed to avoid the worst of the growth of water lilies, but still managed to foul the propeller in the “waviest” part of the river!

Visitors

Gav came!  Gaven and his brother Travis rocked up to the kids club that Simeon and a heap of helpers organized last week.  (One of the photos below has a pic from the kids club.)  We’d just finished a water balloon fight and I was on my phone when a strange car pulled up behind me.  I turned around to check the driver and saw that familiar grin of Gav’s.  He managed to plan and execute rather well a surprise visit… at least, he surprised me!  Good to see him and his little brother again.  There was a lot of nostalgia floating about as we all played cricket together in Kaharlyk against an Indian team.  We lost the game with two balls to bowl.  It was a close one! 

While Gav and Trav were here, we learned that if you put diesel in a car that runs on petrol, all you need to do is drain most of the tank and fill it up with petrol!  They rented a car while here and were under the impression that it was a diesel car until they put 30 litres of diesel in it and drove 5 km further.  We pumped the petrol out by disconnecting the fuel filter and turning the starter over.  It worked like a charm until the battery ran out of juice.  So we bought a set of jumper leads and kept at it until the tank emptied.  Then we just kept on turning the starter over until the motor caught.We felt pretty good about our fix. 

The other visitors we’ve enjoyed having are Jon and Ruth and Gabriella.  Not withstanding Gabbie’s cuteness, the highlight for me has been just spending time with J & R.  I’ve enjoyed too, seeing them show love and care for the people here.  They left this morning very early to go back to NZ.

Home

Camp 120 has wrapped up.  Jono and Marie’s wedding is a done thing.  And I’m sitting here feeling strongly like home is a good place. 

First, the wedding trip:  It was good to see some special people:  Nathan and Rachel and girls, Priscilla’s grandmother, and Bill and Sarah, Matty and Anya, as well as Sam and Mel and the four girlies.  It was strange being in the U.S. with all the Australian/NZ contingent who came to be at J & M’s wedding.  Jesse and I spent some special times with all of these people… and my four girls survived decently well while we were away.

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We took a drive with Grandma Oswalt and had a visit to the cemetery where Grandpa is buried.  We enjoyed our time with her over the days we got to spend in Ohio. 

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The computer is a six-headed monster with which only the bravest 80-year-old grandmothers do battle!