Malcolm Report #1

Report #1 April 2 2012

After an excellent flight to Lviv, I was picked up from the airport by Edmund and Agnes Johnson and taken to their apartment for the night. This is the first time I haven’t Gone to Flo Kancir’s  apartment where everyone has stays on arrival. The reason for the change is that Flo is not at all well and was booked to return home unexpectedly to get immediate medical help. Please pray for her.

I spent the morning with the Assembly in their new meeting room which is very accommodating and was well packed for the meetings. After the ministry, lunch was served and then we left for Ivano Frankivsk with several who had come up to the meeting as well as Volodia, who is going to be our interpreter for a couple of weeks.

We made it in good time for the meeting at 3:30 and a good number were out and had good attention.

We have a full week planned with a visit to a prison each of the first four days. We made our first visit today in the main prison in this area located in Ivano. We spoke to 20 men with 2 guards watching on. We found out that this is a 100 year old maximum security prison with 500 prisoners, some in for life.

We then came home for a sandwich before heading to one of our favourite spots, Petriliv or Peter Village. We met with Olya the mayor at the village office. She was out working with a bunch of ladies cleaning up the garden and grass. She is an amazing grandmother who is mayor of 5 villages. Some of the things she has to put up with would make you cry. The government is so cruel, it is hard to believe.

After she had given us tea and coffee we went to the school in the village. We went straight to see the Administrator who sent for something to warm us up as there was no heat in the school and there was a cold wind. We thought it would be a cup of something but it was a bowl of soup and a plate of a bean type of mashed somehow, buttered bread with lemon and red kaviar on it. All followed by a cup of sweet tea that was made from two plant, grown and dried in the village. It was very nice and washed everything down nicely.

We then visited a school we passed on the way to the village, that I had visited when my grand son Kevin was with me. The Director recognized me and asked about Kevin. Quite a memory. We are booked to visit the school on Wednesday and speak to probably about 6 classes of children,

We came home and shopped for some things we needed, Went to a pizza type restaurant and then home. Altogether a profitable day. Another one planned for tomorrow DV.

Malcolm Dan and Volodia.