First day of school!

To all my supporters,

Thank you for your prayers and for being my "cloud of witnesses," as Hebrews 12:1-2 references.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Today was my first day of teaching at KCA, and it went pretty well! (Throughout the day, the other teachers kept asking me how things were going--it was encouraging to know they were looking out for me.)

In the morning, it was a bit overwhelming to see all the students, because I only knew the names of a handful of them. By the end of the day, I knew more names and faces.

2nd pd: 6th grade math.

This is a fun bunch, and I hadn't realized that they wouldn't be used to the daily routine of middle school. I spent a lot of time answering logistical questions about materials needed, changing classes, and hall passes, because after all, this is not elementary school any more! I have 14 students in this class, with 2 sibling sets.

3rd pd: Geometry (mostly 9th/10th grade)

I really hadn't expected to get through all of the logistical first day items (like handing out textbooks, describing my expectations) by the end of class, but lo and behold that's what happened. I had left the nice overhead transparencies I'd prepared in the other room, so I winged it without them, because I had to use the time I had available. That went okay, but not great (what do you expect?), but for tomorrow, I have overheads ready to go and a lesson to teach (and homework to give). I have 14 students in this class, but 6 were absent today!

4th pd: Algebra 2 (mostly 10th/11th grade)

This is a good group too. One of the students asked me if I had Dutch roots, but I told him I wasn't sure (someone on the train last year asked me if I was Dutch). I began (and almost finished) the first lesson with this group.

With a number of the students, I know I will need to call on them to draw them out and get them talking and participating, and also to make sure they understand the material (I don't want them falling behind).

All in all, I think I've been adjusting fairly well. Each day I feel a little culture shock switching from everyday Ukraine life and the English/American-ness of KCA.

My roommate and I have had a few cooking adventures (like buying what we thought was pasta sauce for spaghetti but was really tomato paste), and I've spent my weekends with the Nazarene bunch (Josh and Robyn Allen, Trino Jara, and Dougie). We have gone walking around the city, and the first weekend I was here, Josh, Robyn, Dougie, Zena (from Kiev church), and I went down to Odessa on the coast of the Black Sea--it was great!

Prayer requests:

~A number of students and families are still traveling back to Ukraine from wherever they have been this summer. Also, a few of the teachers/staff are still en route. Pray for their travel safety and smooth sailing through customs/visa issues.

~Due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the other teachers is returning home to the States. Pray for her in this time of transition.

~Pray that I will fix my eyes on Christ and persevere through this year, have patience with my students, and do my best to serve them.

~Raising the rest of my needed support--I still need approximately $3,800 for the year.

In Christ,

Jessica H.

http://ukrainejh.blogspot.com for more entries and photos. This page also has links to my Facebook group and financial support pages.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Just thought I'd share these verses with you today, as I am just about finished the teacher work week but not very close to being ready for the start of school.

You are my "cloud of witnesses". As I am so busy with trying to get things ready for school, whether it is writing lesson plans or trying to orient myself to KCA, I need to keep my eyes on Christ, the only source of stability and peace.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Photo Links

Photos from my first week and a half in Ukraine:

Flying the Friendly Skies to Ukraine: Photos from airports and airplanes

Kiev, week 1: Getting Acclimated and Settled

Weekend in Odessa: Touristy trip

Happy birthday, Ukraine!: Independence Day celebration in downtown Kyiv

Kiev, week 2: More settling

Soon I hope to post photos from our train travels to and from Odessa as well.

Enjoy!

First week, Odesa, Independence Day

Today is Ukraine's 18th birthday!!! Happy birthday Ukraine!!!

Ukraine may "technically" be a young country, but its roots go back many many centuries. Volodomyr converted to Christianity in 988 AD, and it is said that St. Andrew the apostle visited Kyiv on one of his missionary travels.

My first week consisted primarily of settling into the apartment and remembering my way around. I spent a day or two with Josh and Robyn, 2 of the Nazarene missionaries here, and also navigated the trams (something I didn't do last summer). I will have to blog about that experience, and public transport in general.

For the weekend, a handful of us went down to Odesa on the Black Sea. Our group consisted of Josh and Robyn, Dougie (a Scottish volunteer here working with children), and Zena (from the Kyiv church). We walked around the city a lot, and enjoyed the sites. One highlight for me was descending and then climbing the Potemkin stairs--which I wanted to see after watching the movie Everything is Illuminated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Potěmkinovy_schody.jpg

We also met up with Vasiya, one of the kids from Vapnyarka, and Pastor Oleg of Gorodkivka.

Today was my first day at KCA, with the teachers, for the start of the teacher work week. I met most of the other teachers, and am looking forward to getting to know them more! There is so much for me to do, and go through. I am sharing classrooms with 2 other teachers (one for my Bible class, and one for my math classes), so I don't have to do too much with room arranging and organizing. I've just got a lot of curriculum to sort through, and lessons to plan.

Tonight Dougie, Jodi, and I wandered downtown to try to watch fireworks for Independence Day--we did eventually succeed, after much walking! However, I am tired now, it is midnight and we are leaving here at 7:45am to catch the marshrutka to school!

Blog topics IOU:

~Riding the trams for the first time, other public transport, and people watching

~Weekend in Odesa

~Train travel to and from Odesa

~Teacher work week here at KCA

~Independence Day celebration

First few days in Kiev

These first few days in Kiev have been pretty low-key, with me mostly visiting/meeting people and hanging out at the apartment.

Quick overview, also so I can distinguish what I did each day.

Monday:

Had lunch with Josh, Robyn, Zena, and Dougie at the same restaurant Charly took us to last summer. It's like Puzata Hata, but it also offers pasta and other types of food too, Zena says. My eyes were bigger than my stomach, and I bought more food than I could eat: 1 holubtsi (meat stuffed in cabbage), 1 chicken Kiev, some salad (some cole slaw type stuff and some chicken salad type), some buckwheat (not a big fan), and 2 apple vareniki (yum). I got all that for 40 griven, which is about $5 US at the current exchange rate. Not too bad!

We also went to a cell phone store to figure out Josh's new phone, to add minutes to mine, and to get Dougie a number. The cell phone providers here are called Kyivstar, life:), and Beeline.

Tuesday:

The water guy (bringing huge jugs of drinking water) came at 11:30am! Quite impressive! I was told he would come between 11am and 3pm, and I was not holding out any hope that he would come earlier in the day. You know, killing my chance of actually doing anything or going anywhere. I was able to communicate with him in Russian a bit, to ask him if he wanted the empty jugs, and to put one full one on the kitchen counter, and for him to tell me to sign the forms.

After that, I met with KCA's headmaster, Day, at McDonald's and talked for a bit. Then we headed to his house just outside of Kiev--only 20 minutes' driving--in a village called something like "Peter and Paul's Cabbage Patch." I met his wife Neva, daughters Kayla (11th grade) and Kara (6th grade), and sons Kolya (6th grade) and Kasey (9th?). Also, another new teacher was there--Faith had just arrived that morning from the States.

We enjoyed sitting together and talking, going for a walk around the neighborhood, eating dinner, and playing Guesstures.

Today I will probably tidy up the apartment a bit, as Jodi arrives tomorrow, and might do a test run of taking the bus to the school and back.

Day 1 in Ukraine (the first full day, that is)

Right now it is about 11:30am on Monday, and I'm just hanging out at Josh and Robyn's apartment. They are some of the Nazarene missionaries here.

Yesterday, along with Kolya, they picked me up at the airport. I actually enjoyed the Amsterdam airport, as I'd never really seen the Dutch language before--it's really funny to try and read. While I was on a moving walkway, I passed some bathrooms, and the sign said, "Toilets; next toilets 30 meters," as though it was the interstate and you needed to plan your stops! Every few minutes I also heard announcements of this type: "Passenger John Smith traveling to Paris. You are delaying the flight. Immediate boarding at gate C7 please or we will proceed to offload your baggage." In the US, I don't think they threaten to get rid of your baggage!

Once in Kiev, we drove back to my apartment, dropped off most of my stuff, and checked the hot water heater (it was fine). We also drove past a football (soccer) stadium where the Germans challenged the Ukrainians to a game during WWII--and told them, "You WILL lose." Well, the Ukrainians won, having not let the Germans win, and the Germans consequently killed them all. There is now a memorial to those players at today's Kyiv Dynamo football stadium.

We returned to Josh and Robyn's apartment, where they proceeded to "torture" me until around 9pm. This "torture" took the form of keeping me awake and moving, not allowing me to succumb to my exhaustion until a "reasonable" hour.

Around 5:30pm, they connected with a church on their home district via their webcam. We were able to see their congregation and part of their church service. Josh and Robyn gave a video tour of their apartment, and the view outside the window (there's a lovely flower garden), as well as a recent ministry update. After that, the church prayed for them/us, and that was really neat. Even though we were separated by 7 hours and who knows how many miles, we were still together in spirit. Even though I am in Ukraine, and you are wherever you are (East Coast, the Midwest, or a western state), you are still part of the ministry here as you pray and give. :)

In the evening, we walked down to the river (Dnipro) and then bought ice cream at McDonalds before riding the metro back to Josh and Robyn's. I know, rough transition to another country! :) Finally, I was able to get some much-needed rest, and it felt wonderful to be 100% off my feet and laying in a bed!

Today we are meeting up with one of the girls from the Kiev church for a little while, and then I will probably sleep at my own apartment. :)

Click here to see photos from my air travels

I'm here!

I'm not terribly coherent right now, but here is a post to say,

Here I am, in Ukraine!

I had a full day of travel between home and Kiev, and then Josh and Robyn kept me busy and moving and awake to fight off jet lag. Hence I'm exhausted and going to bed really really soon.

Thanks for your prayers for traveling safety.....made it here with no glitches in customs or lost baggage or anything! Yeah!

I'll write more tomorrow, when I've gotten some sleep.

спокойная ночь! (good night!)