Ivano and family visits

Tuesday was the day we had set aside to go visit two families in Ivano with ties in Kapuskasing.
Tony Leniuk, Barb Arsenault's father, has a sister living in Ivano Frankivsk as well as a niece in a neighbouring village.
Three boxes were sent along with ours in late February and set aside when they arrived. We loaded these in the van along with other things we had brought along for some of the Christians in Ivano and headed out. Once we got to the village of Yavoriv, we had to ask around about Maria, Tony's niece. One lady we asked directions to came along with us in the van to bring us to the right house and while we were driving along we met up with the Maria we were looking for so we brought her home. We explained who we were and that we had a letter from her uncle as well as a box for her. She was very happy to talk to us, introduced us to her brother but didn't seem too sure of things. We left after a short time of talking and proceeded to Ivano to find the address to deliver the other box.
Vadym, a Christian we know, got in with us when we got to Ivano so that he could help us find the address we needed. It was actually very simple to find the place. This was a typical forty year old structure with five storeys and many apartments. We found the door we wanted and Vadym went before us all to see if there was anyone home. He came down, announced to us that yes there was someone there and that "no" there was no elevator!! Five flights left some more winded than others, but we all managed to get there! Flo and I had gone first and we got to the fifth floor just as a lady opened the door. This was the apartment we were looking for so Flo started to talk to her. She took one look at us and promptly closed the door! Flo knocked on the door and a younger woman answered. It was indeed the apartment we were looking for and the lady who had opened the door was Natala, Tony's sister. Her daughter let us in the apartment in total disbelief that we were standing there. Flo explained to her who we were and what we were doing there. Lesia then told us that she had just arrived from France where she works and was visiting her mother and her 22 year old son for three weeks. She said that they were just sitting and talking about their relatives in Canada and there we suddenly appeared at the door. She kept saying it was nothing short of a miracle. When she explained to her mother that we were there because Tony and Barb had asked us to deliver this box to them and to deliver a letter to her, she put her face in her hands and just sobbed and sobbed. We were all invited in and made to feel very welcomed. It took a few minutes for Natala to regain her composure, she told us that Antonio was her favorite brother. It has been quite a few years since she has last seen him. Flo told her what she could about Tony and the family. Flo was instantly made part of the family when she said that her granddaughter Kimberly is married to Tony's grandson Matthew. We sat and had tea and probably the strongest coffee we ever had!! Flo spoke to Natala about God and about the Bible and we were told how when the communists came they took all the Bibles and anything that was remotely Ukrainian looking or sounding. She told us of pictures being destroyed because they had blue and yellow in them which are the Ukrainian colours. She had a Bible there and we had brought a New Testament.
Next Tuesday we are heading to a village past Ivano so we told Natala and Lesia that we would stop by and bring some pictures of Tony's grandchildren and great grandchildren.
We then left there and went to the gospel meeting that had been arranged for five o'clock. The usual people showed up and were all very happy to see us. Gilles and Rylan spoke gave a word in the gospel, but Flo had to do the interpreting because Vadym didn't make it back in time for the meeting. We had brought clothing along for a young woman who just had a baby boy. Forgive me as I cannot remember her name just now. It was nice to see everyone again and after a long day we made our way back to Lviv.