Superstition Reigns
Today, we had a young friend of Angel’s come by the house. She needed help with her English homework. Angel and Pris spent about 20 minutes with her and gave her an English-Ukrainian dictionary to take home. She told them the reason she stopped coming to church. Her grandma died. Huh? Well, turns out her mother decided that her grandma died because poor little Sveta had been coming to church with us. That’s a decent sized burden for a little 12 year-old to carry round! Her mother has told her that she can go to the Orthodox church if she wants to go to church. Mmmm…
I’ve been visiting the mechanic quite a bit lately. Last week, I took the rear stabilizer bar off because it broke (took the front one off a couple of years ago because it snapped in half). It doesn’t seem to make any difference. (And I’m not about to go rally car driving in a vw van!) Anyway, a few days ago on the way back from the mechanics, I stopped to take this picture. This is a dorm in which some of the poorest in our town live. They share a kitchen and the “facilities” are out the back. But how many satellite dishes can you count? It amazes me. Admittedly, it costs less than $150 to put one in, but a TV costs a few hundred. The “essentials” of our times: TV, Computer, Mobile Phone, and a Satellite dish?
Today, I talked with Valera, an old “acquaintance”. He fixes cars, mopeds, and any other motor he can get his hands dirty on. Anyway, he came by to see the chainsaw Timo gave us. I’d told him that I was having trouble tuning it properly, but in reality, the problem was bad petrol. Anyway, he always has plans to leave and get a job overseas somewhere. Today was no exception. Generally, in the west we are so free. We have the financial ability to travel. A very small percentage of Ukrainians can “escape”.
Pris and I took Jono to the airport last night. On the way home, we stopped off at the old monument of the founders of Kiev and then went to a restaurant to eat before heading home. Here’s a photo of our stroll down to the banks of the Dnepr River.
This week, I will be working with Igor and hopefully some of the returning students in the afternoons. Shane and Jemi are going to be doing a lot with the students during this year. This week, we plan to go talk with the directors of the different tech colleges to see if we can get a room. Well, at least, if the first one refuses, we will go to the next one and check there. We’ll be starting “Friday Nights” with the dorm students again where they will come hang out at our home for a few hours. Should be good.
And now I’ll get back to the cricket. I’m watching Australia play Pakistan. Everyone has gone to bed and I am keen to as well. Unthinkable though. I’ll watch this until the result is basically obvious.
God bless.