Gilles and Helene Plourdes. First blog of their visit in September 2018
We arrived at Lviv airport right on time and Ruslan and Tania were waiting for us. We left the airport and went to their house for a feast! Tania again had outdone herself. Mushroom soup, vegetable salad, roast duck, potatoes and fruit salad for supper. After a nice meal with them and their niece Vika (Victoria), and spending a bit of time being entertained by Timothy , Ruslan & Tania’s grandson, we got in the van and headed to what would be our home for the next seven weeks. There is a comforting familiarity with the apartment. We unpacked some of our things, got our second wind and unpacked more of our things, put away the few groceries we had bought and then headed to bed at 9:00. So we had in fact been up for 30 hours!
High on our list of priorities is getting a SIM card for our phones. Funny how being connected is part of life.
Sept 12
Well, time to try to get some more sleep. Been awake from 1:30-4:30 a.m.
Well what a wonderful surprise to wake up at 10:30!!!
We did not plan anything official to do today. Since we have some Ryvnii we will go to the store and buy a few groceries and just organize our stuff and take the day to rest.
We headed out to Arsene’s around 1:30. It is only about 3/4 of a mile but uphill most of the way from here. Fitbit tells me it’s 1400 steps. We were exhausted when we returned. Gilles went for a nap and I also snoozed but only for about 15 minutes.
Picked up some few things at Arsene’s, but I will go visit the little ladies who sell produce in this neighbourhood for my veggies.
Walked to the hall at 6:30 for the mid week meeting. Not too many people were out. After a couple hymns and a short time to pray Gilles spoke on the five things a Christian should love.
Had a small snack after mtg and walked back home, changed and went for a short walk to get my 10,000 steps per day. We went to get some Pepsi. A rather grumpy lady was trying to tell us the cooler did not work...after we had tugged on the cooler handle several times. A smile on her part would have gone a long way to make this a little less embarrassing.
Thursday September 13th
Nights are proving to be a challenge with jet lag fighting for its hold on us.
We sleep for a couple of hours but then are awake for three or more and then sleep perhaps another two or three hours.
Today was our day to go around town to get some things done, one of which was changing our Canadian currency to Ukrainian currency. The first year I was here (2005) our $1 bought four of their rhivny. Now our $1 purchases twenty of their rhivny. Needless to say the Ukrainian currency has lost a lot of its value over the years. Gas prices are approximately the same as what we pay in most parts of Canada.
We were able to get new SIM cards for our phones. Now that we can get our cell phones unlocked in Canada, it allows us to keep using our own phones here with the purchase of a new SIM card. That in itself took a good hour.
When we finally got that done we located a second hand store that is run by a homeless shelter to raise funds for themselves. Spoke with them about their other location that houses the homeless shelter itself. Hoping to go see how it is run.
We have plans to go to Yosopovytch tomorrow to visit the small orphanage we care for over there. Bought the items they asked us to pick up, one of which is lightbulbs. The govt doesn’t supply lightbulbs, or soap or detergents. We also bring fruits to the kids and try to speak to them about God who loves and cares for them, bringing them the story of Jesus. We also purpose to go see the wood carver and his family who live in that area, another person we have visited for years.
Picked up groceries and came back home determined to figure out this gas oven. I’ve never used one and the temperature readings are less than accurate. Once Gilles was able to light it we were in business!! Trout and salad for supper, though more tired than hungry.
Heard today that Eric Fowler is in the hospital in St John NF. Will bring him and his wife before God in their need. Gilles and I were both thankful that this happened to him while at home and not in Ukraine.
I want to get out for a walk, but it gets dark way too fast and the roads are so full of holes and uneven surfaces....it’s a bit daunting at night. Had a bit of a chuckle as I was walking, this car drove down the road, stopped and a man came out with a large bag filled with old bricks and mortar. He dumped the contents of the bag in one of the many potholes! One less hole to dodge when driving. No need for speed bumps here!
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