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!

Hooray for Kiev!

The conference was not the end of our adventures away from Ternopil! Oh we were there for a whole nother week!

After the conference, we joined forces with the Kiev DTS team to sit under the tutelage of the prestigious Al Akimoff. It was an honor to hear from such a man of God. He had worked in the Soviet Union smuggling Bibles in for years. Let me just say he was full of story after story! I though surely we have heard all the good ones, but no, there was always more.

The housing got complicated, it wasn’t like Ternopil. We couldn’t just wake-up, mosey on over to the shower, get ready for the day in a nice and orderly fashion, and meander down to breakfast. Nope, life just can’t always be that easy. [Note: Maybe I exaggerated a little bit on how “easy” my life is.] The YWAM base in Kiev is on a barge and yes, the barge is in the river. So space is limited needless to say and there was not enough room for us to sleep at the base. The staff graciously opened up their homes to us. We were all split up into small groups, some groups had 5 some had 1.

I was fortunate enough to spend the week with Lena’s family. Lena’s (our translator) parents allowed four completely strange girls to come and stay with them for a whole week. Yes, I meant to say completely strange as opposed to complete strangers- we can be strange. There were actually 6 of us total staying in a tiny Soviet apartment. Her parents were so incredibly loving, they each felt like they had adopted new daughters.

Outside of teaching times, we led different times of worship and fellowship with the Kiev DTS. It was overall, a great opportunity for the Ternopil team to see how it is being outside our comfort zone. We were not in charge, we did not know the schedule, we had to simply be ready and wait. Everyone is grateful to be back in Ternopil and we are even more grateful to be where we are.

That’s right, my team if off to Kiev (the capital of Ukraine) tomorrow morning. As much as I hate to give an information dump, I am afraid that is all I have time for!

It is midnight here and I have to get up at 5:30. All of us girls are running around trying to get our bags packed and ready. We were just informed that our first night in Kiev will be a special formal dinner so now we need to pack nice clothes. For those of you who live with 13 girls you will know that this process will probably take a couple of hours. You know, trying on each others dresses, looking at everyone’s jewelry, playing with shoes and talking about hair-dos. Yes, this takes a couple of hours!

We will be in Kiev to celebrate 50 years of YWAM in Ukraine! How amazing is that?! We are all very excited about it. Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM, will be there and we will be able to meet him at some point during the conference. It is truly an honor for us to hear a message from him.

After the conference, we will head over to the YWAM base in Kiev to spend the week with their DTS team. We will all join together for some time of teaching and fellowship. We will return the 8th (so yes, it will be awhile until I can post anything.)

Ok, to back up a little. If anyone noticed I said there were 13 girls in the house, which means that another girl joined our team. Yep, one more girl has come to Ternopil! Her family has been in India for the past year and a half. Her and her father and some problems with their visas and so returned to Ukraine. While here they happened to remember about the DTS and thought they would call to see if there was still room. Naturally, there was one more bed in the girls room so of course she was meant to fill it. Now there are 11 girls (+2 staff girls who live here) and 3 boys (+2 male staff members.) We are very excited to have her here with us, I can already tell she will be a ton of fun!

A few cultural moments from last week:

1) Riza and I decided to hold an impromptu English class for other students who wanted to learn English. Riza is from Turkey and his wife Lena, is our translator. We were teaching a few key phrases such as “Hi, my name is ______. What is your name? How are you? I am fine.” All was going well until someone got a little mixed up.

Lena: Hi, my name is Lena. What is your name?

Marichka: I am fine.

It has become a running joke now.

2) On Sunday a few of us went out to pizza. The waitress was taking my order for a drink (I abstained from asking for tea with milk) instead I asked for water with gas. Her next question was a new one. “Do you want little gas or lots gas?” I was so dumbfounded that I could only give a blank stare and Dima (who was translating for me) just ordered for me. Apparently you can get water with lots gas of little gas. You learn something new everyday.

I thought it would be a good idea to set the stage by giving you a few more details on the living conditions and who I am living with. Perhaps in posts to come, I will elaborate on the individuals that make up the fine team I am blessed to be a part of.

As was mentioned in the email update, I am one of 6 in a quaint room on the second floor of our building. The ages in my room range from 19 to 32. I am the only American here, but there are my two dear Canadian friends, one of which is in my room, the other is upstairs in a room of five. There is one staff member in my room, Valya, who is from Russia. My Canadian friend, Joanne, hails from Astle in New Brunswick. Natasha came all the way from northeast Ukraine while Ina took the train from the Crimea area in southern Ukraine. Lena also took the train but only from Kiev, the capital.

None of the us speak enough of each others language to hold a conversation but we make do with what we know. I think we are all trying to learn as much as we can and as quickly as we can. (Note: this act of “trying” can cause a sense of being overwhelmed, but can be remedied with a hot cup of tea and a little silence. Luckily, tea is quite prevalent here.)

Space is limited in our homy room. The furniture that makes up our aforementioned homy room are three bunk beds, one desk, two small drawer sets, and a closet. Oh and a mirror, but that just occupies wall space but becomes is very valuable in the morning. There are two showers for the ten girls that live here. This might sound scary to some, but really, we have not had any problems or complaints. In fact, not a squeak of a complaint has been heard from anyone and I will most certainly not be the first one. I love it here. I really do.

This past week was filled with stories of God’s grace in each of our lives as everyone shared their testimony. I am blessed to be with such an amazing team. The stories vary from person to person and each brings a unique aspect to the team. The girls in my room have experienced different things and each has a different passion in their lives.

This next week we will have a guest speaker who will be focusing on evangelism. We are also to decide this next week where we will go on outreach. Either Ethiopia or India. I look forward to some great times of fellowship and learning moments.

Lost in Translation moment of the week:

At lunch

Lena (we have three Lenas on our team, this was our translator Lena): These grapes are so nice without the bones in them.

North Americans: [Blank stares]

Allison (Canadian): Do you mean seeds?

Lena: Oh! Yes, yes, yes. These grapes are great without seeds!

As many of you may have figured out or already heard. I have arrived in Ukraine with every bit of my luggage. Thank you for those that were praying for my bags, they did miraculously loose weight! Praise the Lord!!

I kept weighing my bags at home, hoping that our scale was some how off. I am sure everybody wishes there scale was some how off, but mine was a matter of laying down some serious cash of not. When we arrived at the airport, I weighed them again… walked to another scale and weighed them again… and reshuffled a few things. I took out my yummy scone mix which apparently weighed a little over a pound as well as my lotion out of another bag. Weighed them one last time and made my way to the counter.

It certainly does not help that you have to wait forever in line unsure if you will have to pay extra or not. It really was nerve racking. As the attendant asked for the first bag to be put on the scale, I caught myself holding my breath. It was like Biggest Looser, watching the scale numbers bounce around hoping that it lands on something good.

God is amazingly faithful. The scale finally came to rest on 50lbs!! I put the second bag on the scale and again, the scale stopped at 50lbs!! Even the attendant was amazed. Both my bags met the weight limit! What an answer to prayer!

So now I am settled into my room which will have 5 other girls in it by the end of today. The whole DTS will be here by tonight and I will have much more to tell with in the next 24 hours!