I went to a Moldovan wedding, that is a wedding in the quaint little country of Moldova. My dear friend, Ruslan, was getting married. (Ruslan was staff here in Ternopil, you can read my staff bio on him here.)

I met Lance the day before and together we attended our first Moldovan wedding. It all started at the church, actually the festivities started at 6 in the morning when Ruslan’s mom and sister got up to do the kids hair and then go and have theirs done, but I was asleep for all that. The church service was at 10 and was part of the normal Sunday morning service. The church had their worship time and then as soon as the music ended they brought out the arbor and flowers. It was really much like a typical church wedding just set in the middle of the church service. They said their vows, had communion, were prayed over by the pastor and the church and that was that. Nothing huge, beautifully simple.

The happy couple

Exchanging vows

The real party began later at the reception which began at 6. Moldovans like to dance… a lot. Everyone dances, no excuses, there’s no reason good enough to not dance. You started the night by giving a blessing, flowers, or gift to the happy couple and then get your picture taken with them. Then you dance while you wait for everyone else to do the same thing. We finally sat down to eat at 7ish. Moldovans like to eat… a lot, especially at weddings. There was so much food.

Food on the horizon

Fellowship and food

There were multiple meat platters, chicken with mushrooms, sardines, veggies, salads, salted fish, holodets (meat jelly), bread, zucchini rolls, cabbage rolls, mamaliga (a Moldovan dish), fruit, candy, cake, crepes, canned mushrooms, stuffed chicken… it just never ended! This all came out in stages through out the night, stacking up plate upon plate. The cake was finally cut around midnight and then more desserts came out around 1 in the morning.

Dancing the food away!

And then we danced so we could keep eating more and keep ourselves awake. Moldovans have several traditional dances, one is similar to a waltz/salsa, the other pictured above is a circle dance that is a basic grapevine step. Easy to learn and enjoy. All of Ruslan’s friends and family were out dancing, I danced with his dad, his uncle kept calling me out onto the floor, his sisters danced every dance… there was nothing weird about it. You must dance at a wedding. I even got Lance to dance 🙂

Couples dance

Some unique things about the evening were that many people had prepared a song to sing for the couple. It is normal to prepare something to present the couple at the reception. His sisters also prepared a little dance to show everyone. There were games to be played by everyone. We had to spell out their names using separate letters that people were holding, they played a game with the couple asking questions on who would be responsible for what. They had their backs to each other and held up the corresponding shoe for you was responsible for something. Really funny.

Playing games

The night ended with everyone in attendance standing up and saying a blessing or wish for the couple. They did this as they gave them a money laden envelope. It was a great way to end the night and hear what everyone had to say. The couple got to hear from everyone. This would be a great tradition to have in the states.

The wedding began to break up around 2ish. Lance and I stayed to help clean up and gather the food up in bags. The couple was there until the end too. I finally fell into bed at 3 in the morning, having been thoroughly exhausted from my first Moldovan wedding. It was a wonderful experience and I’m so glad I made the trip. Ruslan was glad we made it as well.

Lance and I at the wedding

Herrnhut has been called the little town that blessed the world. I had read the book by the afore mentioned name and wondered what it was like there. At the time that I read the book, I had no idea that I would one day visit the places mentioned in the book.

Herrnhut’s history begins in 1722 when a group of Moravians arrived and asked Count Zinzendorf if they could settle on a portion of is property. This soon turned into the town of Herrnhut which translates to “under the Lord’s hat.” The little community continued to grow but disagreements between the churches of the area also grew. In 1727, Zinzendorf worked to reconcile the churches and bring people together. They did and in August they had communion together which was followed by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This was the start of one of the longest lasting revivals.

Hanging out with the count

Out of this revival came a 24/7 prayer movement that lasted a 100 years! The Moravian church was one of the first church bodies to begin sending out missionaries. They sent missionaries to the Caribbean, North and South America, the Arctic, Africa, and the Far East. They actually came to America and worked with Cherokee and Algonquin Indians! Their missionaries started new works, they learned and translated the Bible into other languages around the world.

View of the prayer tower from afar

Inside the Moravian Church

Zinzendorf's grave

And I got to see where it all started first hand! Allison and I visited Count Zinzendorf’s house, the first Moravian church, the prayer tower, and various places of note in the area. The YWAM base in Herrnhut wants to carry on that tradition of sending missionaries out. The base functions out of a small castle that is nestled in the woods and surrounded by peaceful trails. They are over 100 staff and have over a hundred students at the moment. There are lots of things going on!!

View of downtown

It was great to see this base that has a large focus on areas of justice (human trafficking, prostitution…) as well as focusing on the arts. They run different DTS schools that have different foci; for instance, at the moment they are running a justice DTS and a Marriage of the Arts DTS, earlier in the year they ran what is called a fire and fragrance DTS. There are examples of art all over the building; paintings, photos, sculptures, handicrafts… you name it. The leadership of the base love to have young people leading therefore many of the leaders are under 30. You can learn more about the base by visiting their website here.

Allison and I met with so many people and gathered so many different ideas, we had a hard time sorting everything out! It was great to meet with the students there and encourage them as well as challenge them. We connected with people interested in Ukraine and helped them make more connections for the surrounding countries. We of course encouraged lots of people to come to Ukraine, we are naturally biased and think that everyone should experience Ukraine.

I look forward to being able to visit Herrnhut again.

Sometimes it’s fun to just be a tourist and enjoy the local culture. I was able to spend several days in Berlin with my dear friend Allison while she applied for a new Ukrainian visa. We left our homes Sunday morning and traveled by train to Lviv (2 hours) then we took a trolley to the bus station (30 min) and waited for our bus. We boarded our bus and were off! Yes, I said bus, yes that does mean that I took a bus from Ukraine to Berlin. Really it’s wasn’t all that bad, only 16 hours or so… We arrived in Berlin around 5 in the morning on Monday.

I give you... the Reichstag!

Much of our time was spent getting other papers and documents for Allison’s visa, but we were able to see the sights of the city in between waiting for banks to open and for people to get back to us about insurance. On Monday we walked everywhere and saw lots with our delirious and half closed eyes (remember we basically hadn’t slept since Sunday…)

Tuesday we had learned our lesson and rented bikes.

The Berlin Dom from behind

Me and my glowing bike...

MY BIGGEST ADVICE TO ANYONE GOING TO BERLIN: RENT BIKES!!!!!!!! Your feet will thank you later.

Monument to Russian Soldiers

At the Wall

The city is set up beautifully for biking and everyone, I mean everyone, rides bikes. So despite the fact that banks seemed to not have their open times right, we got to see more of the city on our bikes. We were able to see the classic sites of the Berlin Dom, the Brandenburger Gate, Museum Island, The Holocaust Memorial, the victory tower, the Reichstag, and the Topography of Terror museum. We got to stroll through the peaceful Tiergarten and we got to enjoy Asian food, which is impossible to find in Ternopil!

The Holocaust Memorial from above

In the midst of the Holocaust Memorial

On Wednesday we said our goodbyes to Berlin and made our way by train to the peaceful little town of Herrnhut where a YWAM base has been established for some time.

Just thought I would let you know what in the world I am doing in Montana. (Yeah, in case some of you missed that memo, I’m in Montana.)

I decided earlier in the year to go to Montana for a 6 week training. I am now in my second week and it has been great!The course is set up for those who work in DTS, but it covers areas for every leader. The course is based on the verse from 2 Timothy 2:2 “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others also.” It is all about being able to develop disciples who will turn around and disciple other people. You can check out their website for more info here.

Here are the spring students and staff!

Today we just finished two sessions on mentoring and spiritual disciplines. So good and such needed training! Topics in the coming weeks include pioneering, calling & conduct, conflict resolution, communication, working with people from difficult backgrounds, working with the local church… the list could go on. But it is all such great stuff for people who desire to be leaders in any sphere.

There is something special about this school in that there is a small focus to help us bring this same school to Eastern Europe. There are many leaders who need this kind of training in our region of the world. Due to this focus, besides myself and Lance who both work in Ukraine, there are several others from Eastern Europe. One girl, Oksana, did the Equip last year and came back to staff it. She works at the Lutsk base in Ukraine. There is David and Masha who work in Russia and Wanda who lives in Moscow, but helps everywhere. There is also one couple who work here in Montana, but had a desire to do this training with us. We are hoping to have this school available next year in Eastern Europe!

Teaching through skype!

While here in Montana, I am also connecting with the English ministry they run. I’m hoping to develop some kind of partnership or recruiting for more teachers! Just making connections everywhere… 🙂 The Montana base overall has a great system down and has a high level of integrity and excellence in all they do. It is fun to see how other YWAM bases run things. I anticipate learning  lost during this time that I can use in the English school and in ministry overall. I already have learned a ton!

Never tire of learning!

Many of you have been concerned and wondering if I was snowed in at my apartment, curled up under 10 blankets, slowing turning into an ice cube. I can safely tell you that is not the case. I actually had no idea that it was such a big deal, I thought this was normal weather and that I just needed to deal with it.

Let me tell you how I deal with it. Every morning as I am preparing to leave, I put on my fleece jacket, then my down jacket, then a long wooly scarf, my ear warmers, gloves, and snow boots. Besides all that, since November I have been wearing long johns, two pairs of socks and an undershirt every day. I open the door and walk the 20 min it takes me to get to the base. That’s how I deal with it.

I can usually tell about how cold it is by how fast of have little snot icicles in my nose. I had no idea what was happening when this first happened. I just thought ‘why is my nose all stiff?’ If I get snot icicles the instant I walk out the door… it’s cold. If not, it’s only kinda cold. That’s all you need to know.

I generally make a point to plow through the deep snow so I get a work out walking to the base, then I’m nice and toasty. That is also another way to gauge the weather. If I get to the base and I’m not hot, it’s really cold. I get some funny looks not walking on the beaten path, but it’s just more fun to make my own trail. (Really though, do I ever follow the beaten path?)

One of our students is from Siberia and absolutely loves this weather. She told me the trick to make the shivers go away. “Just embrace the coldness Megan, and the shivering will go away.” That’s what she told me, so helpful my students are.

Nothing has really effected us too much. A pipe broke at the base so we had to close down the kitchen our last two weeks of school. The kitchen has now been moved into the laundry room and the laundry room has been moved upstairs. Marichka and I’s neighbor upstairs had a pipe break which manifested itself in a waterfall down our kitchen wall. All pipes have been fixed to some extent or another. The only annoying thing is that our heater goes off randomly at the apartment due to air pressure changes, this just means we wake up cold and have to restart the heater. Nothing we can’t handle.

Most things go on as normal here. The buses still run, there are still taxis, businesses are open. There is about a quarter inch of ice on the inside of most bus windows so you really need to pay attention to the stops. Schools close not because of the amount of snow, but because it gets so cold. They close at -4F only because the schools don’t have heating systems that are good enough to heat the buildings. So kids here have missed quite a lot of school.

Yes, it has been cold here. I think the coldest was -24F, that was with low humidity though so I think it has been colder with humidity and wind chill. But really, I have not minded it. It has been fun to have so much snow. I enjoy walking to and from the base every day. I can’t complain.