Greetings to you at Christmas
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.
Pris and I haven’t yet ceased enjoying each other’s company. We celebrate our 20th anniversary in a couple weeks. Some of those years seem but a dream in my memory, while others stand out starkly for some reason. We clearly recognize the blessing of God on our marriage and deeply appreciate the prayer that people have generously surrounded us with. God is and forever will be merciful.
Pris: There is the smell of scalloped potatoes baking in the oven. Pretty paper snowflakes decorate the windows and the archway into the living room where the fireplace is throwing off heat. There are Christmas lights on in the kitchen. The sound of laughter is the background music (one of my favorite sounds); laundry is being sorted; the three girls are almost finished school for the day; the other children are playing upstairs…. It is a peaceful day. That is a gift and one we often enjoy even when the house more closely resembles an amusement park with people coming and going, working quietly and playing/laughing loudly….
We have so much to be thankful for. In the last few months some of the highlights for me:
1. Dad Gollan has recuperated amazingly from the brain aneurism he had in August and is able to return to work almost full time. I praise God for that—it is a comfort and a great joy to hear him chatting with Daniel from time to time.
2. Although the car has been confiscated because of the original owner and the van is very old, God has given us some money towards a different vehicle—which is a dream and many prayers beginning to take shape.
3. We were able to celebrate my Dad’s birthday with him and visit them in their home—it had been a looong time since we had been there. We are excited to be able to share this Christmas with them since we will both be in Ukraine.
4. I have loved meeting with the young mom’s to share with them thoughts on parenting toddlers. How I pray God’s blessing on them as they face an upwards battle since they are the first amongst their families and relatives to even contemplate honoring God as wives and mom’s. Pray for Alexandra (and her husband Martin) and Lena (and her husband Sergei).
There are so many other things… even with our household doubled, God continually provides enough for food and our home is warm. We are getting used to having no electricity 5-6 hours a day (most cities in Ukraine are doing this to economize). We are all growing in character and love, and it is so good to grow that way.
Vlad, Sasha, and Nastya are mainly our responsibility until their mom gets home at 6 or 7 in the evening. They also require her and Tonya (the 22 year old staying with us) to work Saturdays at least twice a month. I did not expect to have so much involvement/responsibility, but I am very glad that at least for this time the children are not home alone for hours and hours. They are precious souls that God has literally placed in our laps. We do pray that God will open a place for them in His time, but in the meantime, we are glad to ‘spill over’ all the goodness God has blessed us with.
20 years… such a deep love… I wonder sometimes how it is possible to treasure Daniel so deeply and yet not grasp or cling to that amazing gift. I remain so thankful to God for Dan who loves God so deeply and is faithful and full of smile lines and laughter and humour, finds satisfaction in his work, and so much more. He made us laugh last night (and had the children riveted) as he told the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth using dolls he had grabbed from the living room (the dolls look a lot younger than Z and E were in real life. Chuckle.)
Our children give us joy. I miss Jesse and wish he would be here for Christmas, naturally. How can love be so beautiful and yet hurt so much? Life is so rich because of love. I would rather love deeply and suffer more than live a loveless life. Marie has a full plate of school, but should finish in the next several months. She loves Jesus and it is reflected in her life. We enjoyed running errands –just the two of us- a couple days ago—laughing, shopping and just enjoying one another. I am glad for that. Angel and Elle agree that our lives seem to be on high speed since the ‘family’ has grown. They are great with the kids and good friends with each other, great helps and sweet girls for me to enjoy too.
Thank you for praying for us and for the people we love and serve here. They are precious. For every hardship or sacrifice we have received grace and blessing from God Himself. =) May Christmas be filled with understanding and gratefulness for a Saviour willing to leave His glorious home and come to a dark world because of love. And may this be a time of joy for you.
Jesse continues to work in Australia and is by all accounts, working long hours and saving like a Scotsman for his next step in life. He is planning to further his studies probably in Bible College. He went for his driving test today and was judged to have cut a corner too fine, so didn’t get his license. He’ll be trying again in the near future.
Marie is… old enough to type something herself:
I am going to pretend like dad wrote, “Marie is… old enough to type something about herself.” Otherwise I have no idea what to write.
I love living my life every day. Okay, maybe getting up when my alarm rings some mornings isn’t my favourite thing, but I am enjoying my last year of school. I enjoy spending time with my siblings and our extended family in the afternoons. I enjoy going to the different meetings in the evenings. Right now, I go to and sometimes translate for the girl’s club at Jemimah’s. On Friday nights, we have youth groups here with some of my friends in town and some students from one of the technikums. This Friday night and all of Saturday, I am going to a Christian conference in Kiev, the topic is “Don’t waste your life.” Everything will be in Russian, which I understand, but I find it much easier to speak and understand Ukrainian. I am still looking forward to it, though. On Sunday nights, we have a second youth group for different students. These students occasionally try my patience, but some of them are really great kids and are just searching for a purpose in life.
Well, that is what the weeks that fill up my life look like. I love it! I appreciate and feel blessed to have so many of you praying for my family and me! Thank you! I hope that you all enjoy celebrating our Saviour’s birth this month!
(Marie just went with a group of us to a conference in Kiev, “Don’t Waste Your Life”. It was attended by about 800 people and was a great encouragement. We enjoyed KFC on the way home.)
Angel is growing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. She’s right now curled up next to the Christmas tree soaking in the Christmas atmosphere. People love her happiness and love.
Elle… has developed a love of reading which no doubt will be of great benefit to her as she grows older. She regularly gets up at about 6:00 and can be found sitting in the lounge room reading her Bible - of even greater benefit as she grows older. She came to me a couple of days ago asking if she could make some brownies for a neighbour widower. I remember when I was nine. Brownies? I couldn’t even cook an egg!
We continue to reach out to the students who come to Rzhyshchiv to study. Some of them have made commitments to Christ over the last year, but so many of them seem to listen to the gospel message and keep on living a Christ-less life. Last night, we had the first of our student Christmas nights. I love being able to do something special for these kids who I’ve grown to love over the last few years. They came into the room exclaiming at the atmosphere. It was beautiful.
Well, we come to the end of another year. A lot has happened and this certainly doesn’t do justice to even a small fraction of the year. What we can say with confidence is that God has blessed us.
And may God bless you richly with all manner of spiritual blessings. Some people have let us know that they pray for us… again, thank you so much!
With love and a blessing of joy upon you over this Christmas holiday!