Sumy Saturday

This is a picture of the Church at Sumy

The Alicia Ministry At Bible study, I'm walking out the door and the ladies are all circled around Alicia talking through Russian/English phrases, best they can, accented by smiles, friendly eyes, and that woman's warmth.







Inventory List

We've had to get some stuff since we've been settling in... I've felt like we are materialistic, but Alicia just says, "We need this" and she's right.

Shower curtain. The one up there was like toilet paper.

One cooking pot. Since we've been cooking more, we've had to use what was here

One mixing bowl

One sharp knife, for which the Russian word is nosh.

Sink strainer

storage bowls

cheese grater

all condiments and supplies for cooking

God bless Mom and Dad for having bought us that Brita Pitcher for Christmas-- we actually brought it with us. However, we STILL have to boil the water we wish to drink BEFORE filterization. After boiling, a yellow silt gathers at the bottom. Many times we use the water boiled the second time after filtering for tea or coffee. Which reminds me that there may be an alternate reason folks around the world have hot beverages.

Notebooks (for our Russian studies)
and of course, being here a month, we've had to replenish personal items, household items including cleaning products

A clothes line and clothes pins -- and laundry soap which happens to include instructions for hand washing on the back. Check that against your American soaps! (It is Tide, though). J & J, P & G, Hienz, Coke, and every other product line didn't get where they are today without a world market. It's the same stuff we have except it has Russian Writing (most of the time).

we even tried our hand at buying a DVD which we're afraid to watch on the computer because of some Microsoft thing that allows you to change your DVD settings a limited number of times. This one is coded zone 5, not zone 1 like USA.

Shoe polish sponge. Shoes get muddy here. And one thing a Ukrainian man doesn't do is walk around with dirty shoes. You don't want to stand out too much. I even shaved my beard off because surprisingly no one here has one. I was actually called a "fascist" on the Metro by a drunk back in Kiev. It was either my V.I. Lenin beard or my red scarf (whose Russian name is krasnya scharf, which can also mean "beautiful scarf," but I'm not bragging, all my beauty comes from my wife).



The Bryan Boys have been calling out Alicia-Brett! Like Mostly just wanting Alicia. She's popular here, everyone loves her.





We went to the market by ourselves. We walked right up and bought that beef! Or is that pig? What head is behind it? What hoof?

the eggs are straight from the chicken -- just like they come from the chicken

when you're looking for sour cream or cottage cheese, they'll put a sample right there on your hand for you to try. What do you do if you don't like it? Wash your hands off.

This is not a place for those who buckle under high pressure sales tactics. Just say Pazhalusta, Horoshow. and walk away.



to mom, we're drinking a lot of tea. It's just not the kind we have back in the South USA!



The Iron Fiasco
An iron. A convetor. A pop. Darkness fell. Hair was wet. Time was up. Grady waited. (Sunday) Electicity off. Long Church. Called Landlord. No English. Just Russian. Bought 220 iron. Hair Dryer too.