Report of our visit to Ukraine from October 23 to Nov 7th. (Malcolm & Jean Stanley)

I was privileged to have my wife Jean accompany me to Ukraine this time. She
had been with me in 2003 but not again until now.
We arrived on Oct. 23rd from England, where we had spent two weeks visiting
our remaining relatives and friends.
We settled into Flo Kancir's former apartment and spent time with Gilles and
Helene Plourdes as well as Agnes and Edmund Johnston.
As the Annual Conference was to be held on the 25th and 26th, things were
quite busy getting food etc. ready. There had been a glitch in the
arrangements for the location when Edmund was informed that we could not
have the meetings at the church as they had booked a youth retreat on the
same weekend, but we could still use the sleeping accommodation. This meant
that another venue had to be found in another church. This was done but the
place was almost a half hour from the sleeping quarters, hence a lot of
shuttling back and forth.
Well all things worked out and it was felt that all were blessed by being
there. We believe there were about 60 people present from several different
locations. A brother from N Ireland, Leslie Craig was one of the invited
speakers along with Nick Mazerolle and me from Canada.
We stayed for the Lords Day as the assembly in Lviv and then headed back to
Ivano frankivsk for the meeting at 5 pm. There were a nice number out but
Dan Perez, who is in Ivano until early January, had not been able to get
hold of some of the regulars to let them know we were back. We let those who
were out to meeting, know that we had booked a room in the centre of town to
have meetings on a trial basis beginning on the following Tuesday. We felt
the need to move the meeting out of the apartment for various reasons.
As Jean and I had only limited time we wanted to do two things. One was to
sort out as many of the 40 or so boxes in both the apartment and a brother's
garage. Well Jean set to, getting boxes sorted into the various categories,
men, women, boys, girls and little children. The other priority was to
deliver the boxes as soon as possible.
We started with a run to two homes for mentally handicapped boys and men. As
usual, we were well received and had the opportunity to speak to a large
number of staff in both locations.
The condition of the roads still leaves much to be desired and adds to the
weariness of the day.
We had institutions or individuals to visit each day as well as meetings on
Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoons. We visited Petriliv village, a
favourite one for me, and met with the lady mayor and then in the school of
only 35 students now. This village is dying gradually as the old people are
dying, 17, this year, and young families move away for work. We also visited
the "Half Way House" in Ivano as we call it, but there were no children as
they were doing a complete renovation, prior to opening again next month
with a different program for the children they get from the streets and
abusive or neglectful homes.
We had a lovely visit with our long-time friend Natalia, who is failing more
and more from MS. She is so sweet and never complains though now completely
bed ridden at only just over 40 years old.
I should say that we were breaking in a new interpreter, a young man named
Sasha who is one of the sons of Oleg and Oleh. He is doing well but has a
lot of bible words to learn and translate.
We were invited out to our former interpreter, Svetlana's, mother for a
lovely supper. Svetlana is presently in Dubai working for a year.
Our last long trip was to Virhovina, near the Romanian border to visit the
school where we had installed indoor toilets 2 years ago. We found they are
only now putting in the sewer pipes to connect to the city. Oxana is the
principal of this school of over 400 students, 200 of whom board at the
school from Monday to Friday. We invited her to meet us for lunch, intending
to treat her but when we got to the cafe, she had phoned ahead and ordered a
meal and refused to let us pay.               The last time I was there, I
mentioned that we didn't mind speaking to a larger group of students. She
took me up on my word and they crammed about 300 students and staff into the
auditorium! It was bedlam as there were grade 1 to 12 children sitting two
or more to a chair. We did our best but it was very hard to be heard as they
did not set up the PA system. We arranged to speak to classes in their rooms
next time.
The next day was a Tuesday and Edmund had suggested that they come to Ivano
and attend our meeting and then take Jean and I back to Lviv. We all met for
supper before going to meeting. I was fully expecting that Edmund would
speak at the meeting but he insisted that I give my "parting message". We
said our good-byes to the Ivano folks and to Dan who will stay in Ivano.
On Wednesday we had supper at Edmund and Agnes and, as it was the meeting in
Lviv I was asked to give my "parting message" here too.
And so Thursday came and we were all packed and ready to head to Munich and
on to Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg in good time.
It is always a bitter/sweet experience to leave Ukraine. We know how much
the people need help, both spiritually and materially, but the homeland also
calls and so, until the Lord sends us again, we come home to family and
friends.
Thank you, those who knew we were away and prayed for us.
God bless you all.
Malcolm and Jean Stanley

The Lviv Conference in progress

Malcolm preaching with Brother Volodia interpreting.

Nick Mazerolle, Leslie Craig and myself in the Lviv Meeting room.

Morning Meeting in Lviv.

Jean and I with Olga the lady mayor of Petriliv. (Peter Village)

School children hearing a message in the Petriliv school.

Jean and I with the school principal in Petriliv

Speaking to staff of mentally challenged boys home.

Speaking to staff of mentally challenged men's home.

Conference Weekend

What a weekend.
This was the weekend for the Lviv Assembly conference.
People came from Lutsk and Ivano Frankivsk Ukraine. A married couple from Slovakia were with us.  There were of course a few Canadians, several Irish and one American.  It was a great time, all together because of our common bond in Christ.  We were approximately 75 people.

Malcolm & Jean Stanley with Yacob & Yanna of Slovakia

Timothy Sloan Edmund Johnston Leslie Craig

Ruslan, Agnes, Ola & Gilles

Rhoda Sloan & Nadia Karpa

Nicholas Mazerolle Leslie Craig & Malcolm Stanley

So the weekend was very busy.
It was interesting transporting two large pots of soup from the apartment to the church, several miles on cobblestone streets, which are in terrible shape.  But nothing was spilt thanks to packing tape to seal the lid to the pot and lots of stretch wrap on the other pot.
We had the best weather possible which we were all thankful for.
These ladies worked very hard to make sure everything was in place for the meals.

Some of us were very happy everyone liked the food!!

Sunday we brought Leslie to the airport to catch his flight to England.
Monday we brought Nick to the airport to catch his flight to Canada.

The day was pretty quiet.  Tomorrow is our last long trip.  This time to the area of Truskavets.  Google it to find out more about this area.
Time to start thinking about packing to return home....

Wednesday-Lost in Lviv

Gilles and I had a bit of time to ourselves so we headed to the center to look around and maybe buy a thing or two.
We discovered this very nice coffee/sweet shop. The place was called Veronica's.  The desserts were calling our names so we went in and sat down. We ordered our coffees and our early morning dessert!!! It was 10:30 a.m.....good time for some food.  We didn't know just how happy we would be that we had this "energy food".



The weather was surprisingly warm (+20).  After a while, we went on our way, mindful that we had to be home in good time because we were having seven guests for supper.  At three o'clock we got on marshrutka #138 to head home since we read on the side of the bus, without any doubt, the name of the street just adjacent to ours.  So we got on this extremely crowded bus.  Much to our surprise, it was not at all going in the direction of "home".  Since we were sure, "without a shadow of a doubt" that we were on the right bus, we stayed on the extremely crowded bus as it wound its way through the downtown core.  Now anyone who knows Kapuskasing will know that we don't have a public transit system.  So, what difference would it make if we took #138 on "this" side of the street or on "that" side of the street?  After the crowd started thinning out and we had taken a few turns too many in the wrong direction, we started seeing signs for the airport! & the big box stores on the outskirts of town. When we saw the runway for the airport, Gilles went to the front of the bus and asked the driver about Pasitchna Street, where we wanted to go.  Now, you have to appreciate the problem with asking the simplest of questions in a language you aren't fluent in. Add to this that most people have a scowl on their face and don't answer in a very friendly tone of voice.  Well, Gilles came back and said he thought we needed to get off and wait for another bus.  At this point we are out of town, 6 miles out of town to be exact.  Then we turned off the highway onto a secondary highway.  Since there were only three people on the bus at this point, Gilles, myself and another man, I went to the front to ask about our street again.  My sentence sounded like this "Which number - Pasitcha?"  He looked at me, took the bus number off the window and pointed to it!!  Was that simple enough?  We finally stopped at a corner store .... (company is coming for for supper @ 5 o'clock??!!)
The driver was having a cigarette, went to get some water and finally we were on our way again.  We went through the whole route again, thankfully heading in the right direction eventually.  When we got to the street we wanted, he was kind enough to tell us we were there.  We got off at this point, still about 1/2 mile from where we wanted to go.  We walked the rest of the way, wondering where that early morning dessert had disappeared to. By this time it is 4:30.  I had tried to call Jean who was at the apartment but the call was not going through.  So I was very happy to arrive to the smell of the spaghetti sauce warming up and the spaghetti cooking.  After catching our breath the rest of the company arrived and we enjoyed our meal very much.
One cherry danish in the morning and spaghetti supper at 5:30.  Is it any wonder I could hardly stay awake during the meeting at night.
Thursday was spent getting all the food needed for the conference on the weekend.  It really did take the better part of the day.  To avoid anyone having to make supper, all nine of us went down to the center (by car this time) and had something to eat in one of the many restaurants to choose from.  It was a perfect end to another good day.  The weekend is ahead of us with much food to prepare for the meals of the conference.  We are expecting approximately 60 people.  Should be a wonderful time...can't wait to hear the singing. Ukrainians can sing!!!  Will add more on Monday.   Have a good weekend everyone.  It is a balmy +20 here again.  

The Neighbourhood

 Took a walk to the grocery store up the street.  Thought maybe you'd like to see the scenery. The one is of the Ruka Vitchka and the three others are right across the street from the small grocery store.




I'm very thankful when the trees are full of leaves and there are flowers growing since it takes a person's eyes off the aging cement structures.   So right now, most of the leaves are fallen off, the flowers are gone and the structures look even more bleak.  But the sun is shining!!!!   :o)

Carpathians - Ilnyk (Oct 21)

We were blessed with another beautiful sunny day to make the long drive to the Carpathian mountains, this time to a small village named Ilnyk.  It's such a remote place.  I was curious how anyone ever came to know of this village having people in need. So this is what I was told.  Flo and Ruslan (and whoever was visiting here) started going to a jail for boys in Sambir.  Whenever any place is visited, clothes and food are brought along as there is always a need. An institutiion often gets cleaning supplies, lightbulbs, toilet paper, soap/shampoo.  So one of the guards there took note of that and asked if it was possible that a visit could be made to his village because there was a lot of needy people there.  Shortly afterwards, a trip was made to this very remote area by Flo and Ruslan.  Regular visits have been made to this place since then.  I think Edmund & Agnes & Ruslan go about three or four times a year.  It might not sound like a lot but it is only one out of three villages that are visited in the Carpathians.








The people of the village were called ahead of time and we were expected to arrive around 2:00. Surprisingly we arrived on time.   Our main purpose when we go anywhere is to preach the gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Both Nick and Leslie spoke to the people with a short message.  There were approximately 50 people present.  They listened very quietly to what was being spoken from the Word of God.
There were groceries purchased for about 18 needy families.
About six large boxes of clothes received from various areas of the States and Canada were also brought along for anyone who needed some clothing.
The groceries get delivered to the individuals who need them. We went along with the couple from the area who distribute these bags of groceries.  The conditions some of these people live in are terrible.  One lady had several children but they were all gone to other areas and she is alone.  Her little house was very very cold and she is basically confined to one room. She sleeps, eats, prepares her little bit of food all in the same 12 x 12 room filled with everything she might need.
We stopped in at our host's house, had a bite to eat.  I decided to be brave and tried some salo!  What is salo you say? think in the lines of raw bacon fat!  When Vera asked me if I liked it, I said "not very much", she took out another 'different' one...which tasted no different to me.  It had the texture of chicken meat that wasn't cooked enough.  Ruslan assured me that if I had it with a slice of bread and some kielbasa with the slice of thinly sliced salo that I would love it.  Maybe I'll have the opportunity to try it again.....and then again, maybe not!!
Our drive back home was bumpy, fast, tiring, in other words normal.
We all landed at Agnes & Edmund's apartment for some chicken fried rice at 8:00.  A full stomach to get to sleep.
We were very thankful for a great day.  

Sunday October 20th

What a great day.
We had some visitors this morning at the Breaking of Bread.
One man arrived from Ireland and a couple of younger fellas came from Belarus.  They are from Manitoba Canada but were visiting different areas in Belarus. Alexi is actually from Belarus but has been in Canada with his family for four years.
So this morning we were quite a few people since the people from Ivano Frankivsk also come to the morning remembrance supper.  It was a wonderful time and the singing was wonderful.  For the most part the Ukrainians sure can sing well.
After we were done and everyone was delivered to their destination, we headed out to see Stefka and her family.  Stephka is Flo's sister in law and since the very beginning in 1995, contact has been maintained with this family. Everyone who comes to Ukraine eventually goes and visits Stephka.
Her sister was visiting, unfortunately I cannot remember her name.
I asked them if I could take a picture of the both of them.
So when they were looking at this picture they were going on about which one looks the oldest.
 
Stephka was teasing her sister because she had no teeth, but then as she was laughing heartily at this, we saw that she only has one top tooth and a few teeth at the bottom.  She thought it was all very funny.  We were all laughing at this also.

Stephka and her daughter Luba with her daughter Oxana.  Whenever we go there they always prepare a lunch for us... food food and always some more food.

Next door there is a couple who always welcome us for a short visit.  Gilles befriended this man in 2001 when he went and helped him with his crops, riding in the wagon with him and with limited language talking together.  Someone had taken a picture of these two on the wagon.  Everytime we drop in, he takes out the picture to remind Gilles of that time.
This time around, we left with a bag of fresh pears, freshly fallen off the pear tree in the yard.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day as we are heading to the Carpathian mountains again. Should be interesting!

Yosopovitchy & Stryii (Oct 19)

Friday we drove an hour and fifteen minutes to get to everyone's favorite orphanage - Yosopovitchy.  Anyone who has been to Ukraine will know about this little place.  Very small with about 16-18 young children, ranging from 4-8. We picked up some food, fruits and cleaning supplies to bring there as well as a box of children's clothing.  The kids were all fitted with winter boots the last time Tanya and Ruslan where there.  These boots all come from donations from the various assemblies who send boxes to Lviv.  We are very thankful for every single box that arrives here as it shows the care that people have for those less fortunate.
Unfortunately we were unable to interact with the kids on this visit since they were having their afternoon nap.


We chatted with the staff for awhile and went on our way to see the family we have gotten to know quite well in the neighbouring town of Stryii.
A lot of you would remember past posts of this family, the father being a doctor who is unable to work.  He is very good at making different wood carvings and these he sells at the bazaars.
His wife has had open heart surgery and is recovering from that but is still not well.
Their oldest son has special needs.
The youngest boy of the family required surgery a couple of years ago after he was struck by a bus, but he has recovered completely from that.
 
The conditions they live in leave a lot to be desired.  Since two of their daughters are now married they are down to six people living in a two room apartment. No running water and no indoor facilities presents many challenges. The smell of mold very quickly gets to you when you're there for any length of time.  It is a very unhealthy place to live, but there is no other place.  However Maria manages to keep her apartment very clean. 
We brought some groceries along with us to help them, chatted for a while. The kids were anxious to show us their rabbits.
 

After praying with them we got back in the van and drove back to Lviv.
Gilles took the bible study on the last 15 verses of John 20.  It was nice to see everyone one more time and a nice way to spend part of a Friday evening.

Starry Rosedil (Oct 17)

Starry Rosedil - meaning old chapter
Here in what was an old monestary there are approximately 75 developmentally challenged boys, ranging from 6 to 18.  It is one of the saddest places to visit I think.  We brought some soaps, laundry soap, a bit of clothing, diapers and candy.  We needed to see the repairs that have been done on part of their roof. They've changed part of the roof with funds donated to help in Ukraine.  The director got local people to do the work for a fraction of the cost of getting it done by a contractor.
Here are a few pictures of the people who live there.  Some of the younger ones were in bed, drinking their formula out of recycled bottles!  I couldn't get myself to take a picture.





Plans now are underway for the Lviv annual  Christian conference.  We know of ppl coming from Moldova, Canada, Ireland, Lutsk & Ivano Frankivsk and well as the US.  Should be an enjoyable time on the last weekend of our time here.

Birthday Girl (Oct 17)

nya is celebrating her 45th birthday Sunday.  Today she treated us to her birthday dinner, the custom here. You have people in for your birthday and watch them enjoy the meal you took all day to prepare!

Lviv Orphanage (Oct 16)

Not too far from where we are living, an orphanage is tucked away, surrounded by trees and aging playground equipment.  The building is not new by any stretch of the imagination, but it is very clean.  Today was a very lighthearted day as we went to see these kids and bring them some fruits and candy as well as a bit of clothing.
The children are around 4-6.  They all came in to the large room and were so cute to see.  The staff here takes very good care of these little ones.  They are all clean, their clothes in good condition, the girls' hair in ponytails, or braided.  I counted ten staff taking care of 55 children.  So five children to one caregiver.
Edmund spoke about a story from the bible and asked them simple questions, the answers they were happy to repeat loudly for him. 
Here are a few pictures I took.  They were all very happy to get some bananas.  The oranges and yogurt were left in the dining area to avoid a mess in the hall.





The director of the orphanage was very happy to tell us that 20 of the children have been adopted in Ukrainian homes within the last year.  Keeping them in their own country is certainly easier for the children.