(In the above photo: We have a group of ladies at Harding Place Living that sews baby blankets for the baby hospitals in Ukraine. Here is one of the blankets that found its way to Zaporozhye, Ukraine!)
Today I awoke again to temps in the LOW 40s and it seems today was colder than yesterday. Gif said he had to close the window in his room because it got so chilly during the night.
This is the final half day in Zaporozhye and we board the train at 11:00 for the 24+ hour ride to Lviv. Gif and Simba are very excited about such a long train ride. Hopefully we will have the new carriages this time as we did from Kyiv to Zaporozhye. In Lviv we will be met by some of the brethren from Ivano-Frankivsk. Then there will be a two-hour drive from Lviv to Ivano-Frankivsk. Once arriving in Ivano-Frankivsk our front work for the Dalraida group begins in earnest.
Today the Ivano-Frankivsk Church is unloading a container that was loaded in Houston, TX. It has arrived on schedule. Its approval has not yet been given as the process has become even worse. We are being asked to answer all sorts of absurdities—One of the queries received yesterday by Ivano-Frankivsk asked, “Are the t-shirts to be worn by men or women?” I am being told that such delays and questions come because we are unwilling to pay a bribe. Not sure to WHOM this bribe is to be paid but I will find out and announce in in these reports! Not only am I having problems but in the Zaporozhye follow-up I heard that the Consignee and the recipients are being bullied with such absurdities from the “National Police.” They are asking, “Why do you distribute by kilos and not be individual piece count?” And then if they distribute by piece count they are asked “Why are you distributing by piece count and not kilos?”
The time in Zaporozhye has been well-spent and profitable. The shipments into this major city have made a dramatic impression for the Lord’s Church.
Yesterday, after most of the business had concluded, Gif and Simba met with Max and saw some of the sites in Zaporozhye. Gif’s comments on this are below. We had concluded several assessment and on-site visits and all that was remaining was a business meeting with the Veterans of Chernobyl (Gif and Simba both expressed their great disappointment – tongue in cheek—at not being able to attend another meeting!).
One of the most memorable times on the Zaporozhye visit was the worship Sunday. Yuri, the preacher, was out of town and he had arranged the worship services to be conducted by other members. They did a super job and afterward Yuri told us that the young men had all comes from work with orphanages and one involved in the worship had spent 19 years in prison before obeying the gospel! Yuri had asked f our band of three would like to preach but we declined as we were arriving by train and were uncertain of the time. It was great that we did not preach as these young men really did well.
Here is Gif’s report on the past few days in Zaporozhye…“It would be nice to learn a language by process of osmosis. We’ve spent the last few days with Anatoly, Alexander, and George. I wish I could understand what they’re saying but one thing is clear: they are some of the nicest men in Ukraine. Anatoly has even gotten my coffee order and Simba’s tea order figured out and makes sure we’re taken care of when we go to a new place. If coffee orders aren’t the sign of a good friendship then I don’t know what is! Last night we got to spend some time with Max and his father at the weapons museum and an antique store. Max is just now practicing to be a translator and is already very good at it! He had to use Google translate for a couple of words but I told him that was fine because I had to use it for all the words. His family has a very interesting life and I’m excited about the prospect of getting to know them over the years and hopefully have him as a fulltime translator with us some day.”
Continue to pray for us as we continue in this mission.
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
