"Vinnytsia Is For Lovers"

(...sorry Virginia, I kind of took the liberty of stealing your state slogan.)

* On Thursday (9/23), I had the awesome opportunity to go on a little day trip to Vinnytsia with Ruslan and Archie. This is the city that I visited the first time I came to Ukraine when I was 16. Archie and I hung out for most of the day since Ruslan was away taking care of several different things around the city. I had forgotten how much I loved the city. So many good and precious memories flooded back as I walked around Vinnytsia. I couldn't help but smile most of the day.

Here's a list of how my day was summed up.

• Saying good morning at 5:30 a.m. Oof.
• Leaving house at 6:30 a.m.
• Attempting to open the house gate and looking like an idiot doing so
• Seeing the "old Tkachuk home"...hasn't changed at all
• Chilling at the O.M. (Operation Mobilization) house
• Meeting ladies from Ireland and Holland. I want their accents.
• Going to a Ukrainian jewelry store
• Walking through a beautiful park enjoying the fall weather. My absolute favorite.
• Hearing Lady Gaga's 'Alejandro'...for the 100th time.
• Purchasing "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" and "Sleepless in Seattle". Yes, they are in Russian AND English. Booyah.
• Staring at "Slumdog Millionaire" for about 10 minutes debating whether or not to buy it. Let's face it, I have a crush on Dev Patel.
• Discovering episodes of Rugrats, CatDog, Angry Beavers, As Told By Ginger, and Wild Thornberry's on DVD...I teared up a little bit.
• Trying to find Dr. Seuss in Russian...epic fail.
• Going to multiple Ukrainian souvenir stores for Archie's trip to the U.S.
• Comparing prices of Russian nesting dolls. 
• Remembering what apple juice tasted like as the sugar coated my throat
• Resisting the urge to indulge in a double cheeseburger, large french fries, chicken nuggets, M&M McFlurry, Dr. Pepper, chocolate milkshake, and soft serve ice cream from McDonald's. No judging please. Richard Simmons would be so proud of me.
• Eating a super delicious lunch at a potato restaurant
• Putting on my 'lollerskates' as the restaurant played Justin Beaver/Sean Kingston's 'Eenie Meenie'. Gross.
• Drinking my first soda in maybe 4 weeks? Sprite, I have missed your sugary goodness.
• Having many "real talk" discussions with Archie
• Trying to get Archie's passport stamped. Ridiculous.
• Waiting in the van while Ruslan visited the dentist
• Commenting on Ukrainian fashion: neon colors, tight pants, low-rise jeans, bright colored hair, metallic lipstick, animal print, sparkles, caked on makeup, super high heels, etc. It's a pretty princess parade (score for using alliteration).
•  Archie telling me about how there are an abundant number of pregnant women in the spring time. Wonder why...
• Stopping by to visit with Ira (family friend) and her two kiddos. Bless her heart. A mother's work is never done.
• "Uncle Roma" driving Archie and I home while Ruslan stayed in town to take care of some business.
• While going home, the 'Macarena' came on the radio. I couldn't help but dance along. Hello 90's one-hit wonder.
• Exciting day if I do say so myself.

Two of the family pets. I have lovingly named them Sonny and Cher. Yep.

"Little B" making me laugh

Ukrainian fire truck. This one's for you, Daddy!

 

Creeper picture... :)

 

I want my hair to look just.like.hers.

         Flats,Dominoes,& Hedgehogs

    My day began at 7:30 this morning...not my ideal time of rising. Thankfully, there were super delicious heart-shaped waffles and coffee to make everything right. I have volunteered to take the three youngest girls to kindergarten or "sadik" everyday. This is the perfect time to soak in the culture and get my exercise on (right after I consumed a waffle covered in peanut butter, condensed milk, strawberry preservatives...you get the point).

    Stupidly, I slipped on my fabulous purple flats from Target to go walk in mud and mush. As I was walking with the girls, I mumbled under my breath 'these shoes were not made for walking through muddy roads in Ukraine.' At that moment, I realized I was having a "prissy princess" moment. Some of you might read this, and say 'so what, you just put the wrong shoes on, you'll know next time.' Oh, it's much more than that. I spent most of the time with the girls complaining about my shoes getting filthy. My priorities were a little screwed up to say the least. In the amount of time I was whining about my flats, I could have been laughing, skipping, talking with these precious girls. So, when I got home, I just washed off the mud and said out loud, "They are just shoes, Raegan. You can always get another pair."

*As the day continued, Sasha (my baller translator and friend) and I spent some time at the CP Center. We colored, played checkers and dominoes, chatted with the teachers. As I was chatting with one of the teachers she asked me if I would come and help her 16 year old daughter learn English. Of course I said yes, knowing that this was another door opened by 'Papa'. 

     After Sasha left for school, I spent a few more hours hanging out at the center. I spent that time with one of Sasha's teachers who was working with Maxim (picture to the right) on his English, coloring more pictures, playing a little more checkers (and miserably losing), trying to communicate with the workers....Okay. Let's stop here. I was left without any English translation for about 2-3 hours. It.was.wonderfully.fascinating. The teachers spoke to me in straight Ukrainian, using a little sign language to get their point across. This is how you learn language. We worked on a puzzle with one of the students and the teachers kept pointing to pictures wanting me to speak English. There was a picture of a hedgehog (now that I think about it, maybe it was a porcupine. Oops) so I proceeded to tell them what it was. After I said it, they all looked at each other, smiled, and gave 'ooooss' and 'aaaahhhsss'.

  My time at the CP Center ended with me eating cookies and an apple pastry...and Katya (my other baller friend) picking me up. I felt like I was in elementary school again. This will be happening again on Thursday and Friday. Score.

Maxim and Sasha swinging :)

*Janus Friis, you the man. If you don't know who he is--this is the brosef who invented Skype. We thought the telephone was awesome, and then BAM this device makes communication with family/friends/sweethearts so much easier. I have loved being able to get on the computer and talk to my loved ones back home. I'm sure my "family" here thinks I'm ca-ca for coco puffs due to the fact that I play the laughing game with my best friend, Rae Hop. Story of my life.

Here's Daddy and my furry brother, Charlie saying hello on Skype. So sorry you can't see his "boogly eyes"

 

 

 

Daddy again with my other furry brother, Mike. Bless his heart, he's a little camera shy (talking about the dog, of course)

I have always been certain that Abba has a great sense of humor. Not only that, but He prepares us for future opportunities that we never even thought were possible. Examples? A door has been opened to work at the CP Center here in Mohyliv. I will be there to play with the kids, help them with crafts, teach them a little bit of English, etc. This center is for mentally/physically handicapped children and some adults. This is a safe haven for them to learn, grow, and be loved on. 

*I had the chance to go down there yesterday to meet some of the staff and to let them know that I'd love to volunteer down there. Thankfully, I have an awesome translator that will be going with me. While talking with the psychologist there, she just happened to mention that they had been looking for a female or male singer. (This is where I took a moment to mentally throw my hands up and say-"I get it!") Reluctantly, I told her that I could sing a little bit. This is where His humor kicks in plus a mixture of Divine opportunity. So, I guess I will be using my music ability to sing to the students. Awesome blossom.

P.S.-- 

1. When I was a Freshman in high school, I worked with mentally and physically handicapped students for two weeks in Franklin, Tennessee.

2. I have been singing since I was 7 years old: taking private vocal lessons for 8 years, member of the high school choral ensemble for 4 years (Thank you, "Mama C" for helping me prepare for times like there. You're the best!)

3. My Senior year, I spent two weeks working at the English Language Institute of The University of Tennessee. 

Jesus, you've been preparing me for all these years for this moment in my life. That's legit.

  

--I have the advantage to live in a village just a little bit outside of the city. It's far from where I've lived for the past 18-19 years. Every morning, I look out the window to see a vineyard, little green and white houses, cow pastures, a railroad track, small Orthodox churches, and a river that separates Ukraine and Moldova. Absolutely breathtaking.

  After I spent a hour or so having "real talk" time with Archie and Ruslan, I decided that the best thing I could do for myself was to take a walk alone. Well, not alone...just me and Papa. I needed to get away just for a little bit, to sit and chat with the only One who knows the very depths of my heart.

  If you know me well, you know I'm not an "outdoorsy" girl. I have never been camping (I know, take a moment to say-"But you've lived near the Smokey Mountains most of your life"), have only been "hiking" 3-4 times in my life, and I hate to sweat. However, this didn't stop me. I stapped on my Chacos and went on my way. Thankfully, there is a path behind the house that seems to go on for miles. I had no plan on where or how to go, I just began walking and talking.

  After walking for awhile, I just took a seat on the path....beside two cows grazing less than 20 feet away from me. I felt alive and accomplished, like I had moved a mountain. It was wonderful to be in the midst of solitude and quiet even if it was just an hour.

--Lessons Learned or Reaffirmed:

*I am his Beloved

*He is never going to leave me or forsake me in my weakness

*He's molding me into the woman He desires for me to become

*Abba is weaning me of materialism, image, useless desires, etc. only to draw me closer to Himself

*He restores my soul

*He's breaking down walls that I've built around myself for 19 years

*He is teaching me to live and walk in compassion, humility, and justice

*"The Lord has promised good to me, His Word my hope secures."

*When this journey ends in May, I can walk away with a smile knowing that if nothing else, I have hopefully found myself and more of Jesus.

I've been living in the Ukraine for almost two weeks and I thought I would share some wicked sweet stuff I've been doing. I know you're interested.

-peeling potatoes. Yes. I'm completely serious.

-watching a baptism in a pool

-learning the word for spanking in Ukrainian "po-pop-i"

-watching the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol in German

-watching The Jungle Book and Monsters Inc. in English

-having a Snickers bar (or maybe 5) 

-going to see Ruslan's precious mother and grandmother

-attending the first day of school for the kiddos (the ceremony was longer than my high school graduation. no joke)

-eating Ukrainian icecream

-riding the marshootka (mar-shoot-ka)

-hearing "I Will Survive" while riding the the marshootka

-dancing on the backporch to Lady Gaga's "Alejandro" (...by myself...)

-attempting to hula-hoop

-having real talk time with Andy and Lori 

-trying to get geese back in their pen. I was scared.

-having real talk time with Ruslan and Archie

-watching Ukrainian kids hip-hop dance. Extreme.

-watching movies at night with Katya and Sasha, one of my favorite things to do

-going to the market in Mohyliv

-learning how to cook and bake (for those of you that know me really well, I'm sure you're chuckling)

-spending a little time with Dima 

-eating dinner with probably one of the tallest men in the world, no lies.

-living, loving, learning

P-O-T-W (Picture of the Week)

Just take about 5 minutes to study this picture. I found this picture as I was walking through a school. There were several pictures like this showing kids what not to do and what to do in different situations. I put on my Ukrainian "lollerskates" for this one.

Here were some of my initial thoughts when I discovered this wicked sweet safety picture:

1. The little boys are wearing Speedos (all of them are different colors, might I add)

2. The facial expression of the little boy in the blue Speedo as he's being drowned by his friend

3. Why are there no females present in the top picture, but one seems to show up in the bottom one

4. The little girl in the bottom picture doesn't have a bathing suit top on. Scandalous.

5.  Last, but not least, the overly buff lifeguard. His name is Sven.