Spring 2011 - Report #5

Wednesday March 23

Spring seems to have sprung as there a flowers popping and sun shining. The wind is still a little cool but really quite nice.

Vadym phoned to say that Amelia, his daughter had woken with a tooth ache, so he was on his way to pick us up in a taxi and take her to the dentist. We had a little personal shopping to do so we shopped while the dentist fixed Amelia. We then met the man who had the vehicle we wanted to buy and went to the Mercedes dealer and had the van diagnosed again, just to be sure everything was good. It checked out 100% and no charge as the man who did it is a friend of Vadym’s. The same old story, it’s not WHAT you know but WHO you know that counts, in Ukraine any way.

Once this was done we paid for the vehicle and went to a notary public, called an “Advocat” here, to prepare a legal bill of sale. It took her about an hour to write up the 5 pages of the contract. The cost was 400Rhivney or $50.00. So now the van is ours and we are very happy with it. I don’t think this vehicle is in North America, it is called a Mercedes Vito.

It is a 9 passenger with removable seats. A 2000 with a Diesel engine.

By the time all this was done it was time to get ready for meeting at 5pm.

We were glad to see the room fill up with old friends and some new people that I had not met but Dan had met last year. Tania and he mother were out. Her mother looked wonderful since the surgery to replace her nose that had to be removed. I found out the problem that had attacked her was Lupus. Some of you will have heard of it.

Tania is leaving tomorrow for Montreal, Canada. She has got her visa and is going to seek and work to better the situation for her mother and brothers. She needs our prayers.

We went to Tania’s home for a nice lunch and then home to bed.

Thursday.

Vadym arrived in the van at 8:30 am to pick us up as well as some supplies for an old folk’s home. We were going to the town this home is in because Vadym’s father-in-law was to be buried today. We arrived to find the upstairs of an apartment house, full of people singing in response to the priest’s prayers over the open coffin. We stayed until they moved outside and brought the coffin outside, with the coffin open and “Grandpa” lying in state for the entire crowd to see. Now there was another session, with everyone who wanted to, kissing the corpse. There must have been 50 people attending. While we were standing outside, some ladies moved through the crowd giving everyone a fresh round loaf of bread in a plastic bag.

After a while (about a good hour so far) they loaded the casket, now with its top on, onto an old WW 2 truck, draped in black and began the “march” to the cemetery.

We left in the van to go another route to the cemetery. It was way up in the hills on terrible roads. It took the procession a good hour to walk all the way to the cemetery. It really was a beautiful spot overlooking a beautiful valley. The wind was fierce but not too cold. Once there, they then crowded into the church at the cemetery for another service and then to the grave side for another service before lowering the casket in to a VERY deep grave.

We had gone to the old people’s home before going to the cemetery and gave out some clothes. I spoke briefly to two staff and a few of the residents.

We were going to head home after the party returned to the house from the funeral, but one of the daughters of the man who died would not hear of it, we HAD to go in and eat. What a spread of food, and our waists I’m sure.

We packed the van with 10 of us and headed home, quite weary after so long in the wind and fresh air but looking to do some visiting in town tomorrow.

All for now and thank you for those who donated and prayed for us to get a good vehicle. God answered prayer.

Malcolm and Dan.