Now we are moving on to the girl’s room upstairs.

First up, Allison! Allison is the other infamous Canadian, she is from Saskatchewan region, but is living in the Toronto area. Allison is a powerhouse! She just turned 29 in November and is overflowing with life. She loves to sing and play her guitar and loves to cook good food. She is dedicated in all she does and is always wanting to know more about God. I love spending time with her and discussing life. She is a woman full of wisdom!

Allison displaying justice

Sveta is Allison’s bunk buddy. Sveta is from Russia and will be turning 25 in December while she is in India. Her full name is Svetlanna. Sveta has an absolutely amazing voice and she naturally loves to use it. She gives the best hugs you could ever imagine. She has three sisters in Russia. In October her father suddenly died, she was not close to him and was unable to go to his funeral. She has such faith in God that no matter what happens, she can still sing to Him.

Loving Sveta

Across the room is Lena. I had the privilege of meeting Lena in the spring when I was here teaching English. Lena is from Kiev and is probably the cutest Ukrainian you will ever meet. Everyday I ask her “how do it? How are you so cute?” She just gives a cute little laugh and says “oh meggie.” She is so sweet and tender-hearted, but also very insightful. She loves to be with her friends and keep in contact with everyone. She is currently on her way to India.

Sunny Lena

Lena’s bunk buddy is Liliya. Liliya is from Ternopil and will be turning 19 in India. How do I describe Liliya? She is a true Ukrainian girl. She is bold, bright, and full of confidence. She has a great family that loves her very much. She enjoys being with her friends singing or dancing. I love talking with Liliya because she will tell you how it is. She likes to teach me Ukrainian, especially when I ask for a word in Russian!

Dynamic Liliya

I am quickly running out for time for doing blog updates. Since it does not make sense to wait until I come back form Ethiopia to finish the rest of the profiles, I will briefly do them all at one time.

Let me finish with the people in my room, Natasha, Joanne, and Valya.

Natasha’s real name is Natalia. For whatever reason, most Natalias here go by Natasha as their nickname. Natasha has many talents, one of them is that she knows sign language. She has been going to different deaf groups to help translate. She is very spunky and mischievous. She left yesterday with the team to India.

Queen Natasha

Joanne is one of the infamous Canadians. She hails from the New Brunswick region. Joanne is 26 and came to Ukraine in the spring with me when we came to teach English. I met her for the first time in Port Townsend where she came for the TESOL training. Joanne is simply amazing. She may look quiet and reserved, but look out! This girl is hungry for adventure. She once tried to convince me we should hop on a random bus and see where it went… I finally gave in. 🙂 She has big dreams and is content to simply see where God leads her.

Beautiful Joanne

Valya is from Russia. She is 24 and this is her first year on staff in Ternopil. She is a great leader to have in our room. Valya likes to knit and sew. This has come in handy for people who buy clothes too big for them. She is always looking to give hugs and loves to laugh. Valya is leading the team that is staying in Ukraine.

Lovely Valya

Slavic Saying: I heard one more saying yesterday. Poor Valya was locked out of the house last night and had to sleep in the office. When I saw her this morning I asked her how she was doing. She told me that she will be “like cucumber after shower.” She tried to explain that just like cucumbers are fresh and green, she will be fresh after her shower.

I just had to let you in on a few interesting sayings that, well… they are just interesting.

The most recent one that I heard was this past week. We had a girls night* on Tuesday and some of you may know the main topic of discussion when a bunch of mostly single girls get together is. Yes, we were discussing guys, nothing strange or over the top. Just what we like in a man, how do we imagine a future families, etc. etc. etc. Well one girl was explaining the qualities that she would want in her future husband and it went something like this “I want a man who is neither fish nor meat.” Hmmm, that gives a clear picture of the kind of man she wants doesn’t it? I guess it has something to do with not a wimpy guy, but not an overly manly guy.

Some others that I have heard are:

• If you are asking a question about ‘who’ then you can respond with “the horse in the coat.” That would definitely narrow it down.
• If someone is just not understanding something you can say “even the horse understands!” That would make me feel real smart.
• If someone asks a question about ‘how long until…’ you can respond with “until the cancer whistles on the mountain.” I don’t even know how to explain that one.

*Every night is kinda a girls night here, but this was an officially organized one. There’s a difference.

Fiasco could be too strong of a word, but really, it has simply turned into a much longer and more difficult process than originally thought.

No I am not talking about visas for Ethiopia (that could be another matter) I am referring to the visas for those going to India. They have had a crazy time getting their visas. I thought I would try and tell the whole story to give you the big picture of how part of the my whole team is doing.

There were 10 people going to India. Six of them Ukrainian, 2 Russians, and 2 Canadians. I am not sure where to begin. Hmmm, two weeks ago, they all left for the Indian embassy in Kiev. They traveled all night to get there by the time the embassy opened. Some went by train and the rest went in the van. People tried to sleep in the car, but we all know how that goes. Well, they thought it would be better if they separated and stood in line in pairs, not as a big group. No big deal, except the train was late so everyone had to wait.

The line to get into the embassy was huge, massive, stretching forever out the door. (This is all according to those that were there. I was back in sunny Ternopil in a warm room reading a book.) So the poor team of 10 stood in line for hours in the rain waiting to get into the embassy. People were pressing and cutting in front trying to get into the door. Apparently they only let a certain amount of people in each day so the urgency of getting the whole team inside in one day was critical. I am happy to say that our team managed to smush their way in despite some disgruntled people behind them.

The trials just kept coming though. My dear Canadian friends were taken to a back room to be questioned. “Why didn’t you apply for a visa in Canada?” “What are you going to be doing there?” “Who are you staying with? Do you know them personally? How do you know them?” “Why are you staying for three months?” “Are you working with a religious organization?” After some time of being question they were told that they will have to leave and call back the next week. The embassy officer said that he would review their paperwork.

This was just the Canadians. Since Dima is gypsy they did not believe that he was Ukrainain. They thought he might have come to Ukraine illegally, stolen a passport and now wanted to go back to India. So they turned him away and required a birth certificate. (I can’t imagine if this happened in the states!)

The two Russians were also given the same treatment as the Canadians. They were turned away and told only to call back next week. Valya had to turn in some additional paperwork on Monday so she stayed with another staff member, Oksana until then.

Oksana came to pick up everyone’s visas on Monday only to be told hers was missing. She had to come back on Friday. So after many phone calls were made this week, the two Canadians went back to Kiev this past Friday. Dima also went to Kiev on Friday after having to go to his hometown to get a copy of his birth certificate. Again, the Canadians were questioned and interrogated. The embassy took their paperwork to be processed but were told they needed to show their airline tickets and confirmation numbers to hotels. Before they even took their paperwork, they each had to sign a document that said they were not going to do any social or charity work. Crazy! Dima did finally get his visa- praise the Lord!!! Oksana was given hers, but with a strict warning. Her picture, along with the Canadians, has been passed on to the embassy in India. If they are caught doing any kind of social or charitable work they could be deported. Double crazy!

So what has this crazy story led us to now? There have been many discussions about what to do. It was finally decided last weekend that the Canadians, Valya and Lena and Riza will stay here in Ukraine to form a third outreach team. That is correct, you heard me. Lena and Riza are no longer going to Ethiopia and yes, we will have a group of people stay in Ukraine. This decision was made based on the fact that it would really be jeopardizing the team to have so many people being watched and told they could not do charitable or social work. Oksana is taking a risk on going to India. Lena and Riza are joining this team because it was just getting to be too difficult for Riza to be able to get his visa to Ethiopia.

We are all sad about the changes, but we know it is also exciting and will lead to more exciting stories and experiences. Oh and our second Russian was able to get their visa yesterday!! Hooray! The visa fiasco has come to an end!