Ternopil

Alicia and me in front of the KGB building in Ternopil.
(Notice we already have our jackets on... we were wearing them July 31. )

This is me and Valya on a boat on the lake in Ternopil, Alicia photograph credit.
Valya and Volodya took really good care of us during our stay. They are the parents of our good friend Anya. Valya fed us very well up until we left on the marshrutka which she flagged down and passed off some muffins (apples and currants).

This is after our Bible study Wednesday evening at the Loposhyak home (and garden).
Micola is on the the left and Volodya on the right.

Here is Alicia and Miroslava in the most beautiful home garden we have seen in Ukraine.



Grapes, apples, wild strawberries, peppers, those things I don't know the name of, eggplant, mint, and a wonderful array of flowers.


The grapes should be ready in September.

Enough about gardens, we came for the VBS... and it was GREAT!
Everyone was speaking Ukrainian which made Alicia and my Russian-speaking skills a little crippled. I do prefer Ukrainian pronunciation better: phonetically, the letters simply are what they are; Russian has a secret emphasis code that is kept secret to foreigners. This may or may not be verifiable.

Enough about language fun, let me show you some pictures from the week:

The day's activities lasted from ten through about two. We did singing and a puppet skit, then Bible class, then lunch, then crafts, then sports, then a final assembly where we sang again.

A people bridge of fun and laughter

Lilly must be the most popular dog in Ukraine. When Alicia was bringing her from the States, she talked about how many "connections" it was going to make with people. She has been proven right every time she goes outside with her. Lilly has started many conversations between Alicia and people in the street.

After a week of fun-tivities, on Saturday, many of the kids brought their parents for a special program. The volunteers put a full production of the puppet show they had shown in parts during the week; then the children sang for the parents choir-style the songs they had learned during the week. After that, all the workers from the church got together and ate homemade pizza. That and a few games of Phase 10 made it a wonderful day.

We boarded the marshrutka late Tuesday and arrived in Kiev in time to ride the metro home before they closed it down for the night. The church in Ternopil will soon be planning a song-fest for churches of Christ in western Ukraine.