Above Photo: Ivan, John, Lubov, and Andrew as we visit Village Ugorniky.
Today dawned bright & sunny but cold and colder! The snow is slowly melting although temps barely made it above freezing. While shivering in the cold and walking into a blustery Siberian wind, I continue receiving weather alerts that Montgomery is experiencing 20+ degrees ABOVE the average!
It is amazing here…the “last snow” of the year happened just before I arrived but in spite of nice sunny days, the “last snow” of the year continues to pop up! All day has seen a soft snowfall as flakes lazily glide to the ground. It is beautiful BUT very cold!
Today I had a number of actions planned and all went well. One that sticks in my memory is the visit to Village Ugroniky. This is the location where the church building is being constructed. The recent decentralization forced this village to be incorporated into Ivano-Frankivsk City. Previously the village had its own budget and could make its own decisions. The Mayor (Lubov) had given the congregation the plot of land and wanted us to construct a facility that would bring glory to God and help her village. Today she repeatedly thanked me for all that the village has received through Ivan’s distribution of humanitarian aid.
Due to the decentralization Lubov is no longer the Mayor who is elected but the assistant to the Mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk and can be dismissed for any reason. But she’s still smiling!
Those who have met Lubov are instantly struck with her gregarious joy and winsome smile. Her daughter (Marianna) is very much like her mother and does a fantastic job at the elementary school.
Today Lubov gave me a tour of the building the village had constructed for civic activities. It is a wonderful building. As we talked, Lubov said she loved the village because it was where she was born and grew up. But there was another part of her story that I want to share with you. In 1949 the waning years of Stalin’s rule saw many examples of totalitarian cruelty and inhumanity. Lubov’s grandparents lived in Ugorniky and had some land and a few personal possessions. The Marxists decided that there must be “equality” of ownership throughout the USSR—and especially in Ukraine. Lubov’s mother was a small child (4 years old). One day, totally unexpected, the government officials arrived and those who owned property and possessions were told they had two-hours to pack and assemble at a wagon for transport. They were being exiled to Siberia because they had worked hard and had saved enough to buy just a few things of their own. But this private ownership identified them as an “enemy of the State.”
Lubov’s family stayed in Siberia for ten years. They were a part of a labor camp cutting down the tall trees. Even Lubov’s mother had to chop with an axe as the labor groups were expected to fill a daily quota. At that time her mother was 14 years old.
Her mother married a boy whose family had also been exiled and who were from Ugorniky. As her mother returned to Ukraine, her grandparents remained in Siberia. Upon returning to Ukraine Lubov’s parents could not go back to Ugorniky but had to stay in the mountains as a continuing punishment. Eventually they managed to return to Ugorniky and Lubov was born and the family stayed in the village. Last November Lubov’s father died at 91 years of age. Her mother is still living with Lubov in Ugorniky.
One day Lubov asked her mother, “Mother I never see you cry. No matter how bad the situation is, I never see you cry.” Lubov teared up and her voice trembled as she gave her mother’s reply, “Daughter this is because I am all cried out. If you opened me up you would see only black inside of me because of the horrors I’ve lived. I have no more tears.” I can only imagine a young girl in Siberian exile sobbing in her soul, night after night, year after year. She experienced unimagined cruelty. How sad to hear one confess, “I have no more tears.”
All this horror resulted because those deluded by Marxism practiced “equality in ownership” or in today’s Marxism “income equity.” As socialist they claimed that all men ought to be on the same economic level. Those who had worked hard, saved and bought personal possessions should be arrested and exiled and their possessions confiscated by the State. The Marxists identified those who worked hard and tried to own a few personal things as the “enemy of the State”. This happened in 1949 USSR but the same Marxist verbiage is heard in 2021 and most shrug and say “it cannot happen here.”
Today I heard that a new decision has been handed down by the Ministry of Social Policy. According to this report no humanitarian aid distribution can be made through churches! Lunacy! Just about all involved in shipping humanitarian aid are “faith-based groups.” Ridiculous. If such is true then most of the assistance coming into Ukraine will cease. I will address this when I get to Kyiv.
For lunch today I was invited to Andrew and Marina’s home. Marina had a splendid table spread with varinikis and pelmeni and other delightful treats!
Tonight’s classes went well. We maintained an in-person number at each class of 16 and then there were a number listening on their phones.
Tomorrow a visit to Village Zelena is planned. We are to leave early. Hopefully the snows have melted enough so the roads are passable!
Thank you for your interest, concerns and prayers!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
(Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine)
Ivan, John, Asst. Mayor Lubov and Andrew visiting Village Ugorniky 
Ugorniky was established in 1378! 
New outside theatre in Ugorniky 
New social auditorium in Ugorniky 
The new music room 
Blustery day day in Ugorniky 
Marina’s fried salo 
Marina’s fried mushrooms 
Marina’s dessert poppy seed crepes
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