Matthew chose Star Wars the Clone Wars for his birthday theme this year. After a week of intense preparations, we celebrated with a Jedi training and awarded 11 children their Jedi badges. It was a lot of fun. This video will keep the memories fresh for many years to come.
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_trjb9HMqE8
Monday, February 7, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Astrology for Christians
In case you didn't know, Ukraine is predominately a "Christian" nation with 96.2% of her citizens claiming to be Christians (according to CIA factbook). But this article from the Kyiv Post shows how confused Ukrainians are when it comes to understanding their religion. Here are a few quotes from the article, Ukrainian Love for Astrology.
With a horoscope in the morning and a prayer in the evening, Ukrainians are an odd mix when it comes to believing in things supernatural.
Many Christian Orthodox believers partake in the custom, hardly questioning the clash.
This article gives evidence to the state of the Church in Ukraine. If so many Ukrainians put their faith in a horoscope, then their faith in God is very low indeed.
With a horoscope in the morning and a prayer in the evening, Ukrainians are an odd mix when it comes to believing in things supernatural.
Many Christian Orthodox believers partake in the custom, hardly questioning the clash.
This article gives evidence to the state of the Church in Ukraine. If so many Ukrainians put their faith in a horoscope, then their faith in God is very low indeed.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
CNN-International Highlights Ukraine
If you're interested in learning more about Ukraine, CNN International is featuring Ukraine in their I-List programming. You can check out their website for TV program times as well as for lots of articles and pictures. You can even take a quick test to find out how much you know about Ukraine (not so easy for the average person). I highly recommend the brief, picture profile of Ukraine to get a glimpse of the defining moments in Ukraine. Ukraine Picture profile
Check it out! I'd love to hear what you found interesting...
Check it out! I'd love to hear what you found interesting...
Saturday, January 8, 2011
New Years Before Christmas
It's possible to understand this blog's title in two ways and both would be correct. Being primarily an Orthodox country, Ukraine follows the Julian calendar for their religious holidays but the Gregorian calendar for everything else. Thus, Christmas falls on January 7 - after New Years. Not only does New Years come before Christmas on the calendar but it also trumps Christmas in importance.
Under communism religious holidays were not recognized and celebration of them was extremely limited. But Ukrainians LOVE holidays (during the spring months there's hardly a week without some "saint day" which prohibits some from working) and Ukrainians also know how to throw a good party. I don't know how it actually happened but New Years became the biggest holiday of the year. "Father Frost" (similar to our Santa Claus) comes with gifts and greetings. An evergreen tree is decorated with ornaments and lights. Fireworks and a huge feast typically with lots of alcohol usher in the new year.
Our church started a tradition already 5 or 6 years ago of hosting a New Year's Eve party. This year, as in past years, we started with a worship service followed by a potluck. Church members organized games and we had a great time of fellowship and laughter. Before midnight we all bundled up in warm clothes and headed to the center of town for fireworks. Everyone had a great time and it's wonderful to offer an alternative to the typical drunken festivities.
It is common for people to dress up for New Years or where costumes. Our kids are very happy about this since they don't have Halloween (not a Ukrainian holiday) to dress up on.
Happy New Year!
(P.S. If you're viewing this on Facebook and the pictures and captions are all messed up, you may want to go to the original blog to view. www.devuysts.blogspot.com)
Under communism religious holidays were not recognized and celebration of them was extremely limited. But Ukrainians LOVE holidays (during the spring months there's hardly a week without some "saint day" which prohibits some from working) and Ukrainians also know how to throw a good party. I don't know how it actually happened but New Years became the biggest holiday of the year. "Father Frost" (similar to our Santa Claus) comes with gifts and greetings. An evergreen tree is decorated with ornaments and lights. Fireworks and a huge feast typically with lots of alcohol usher in the new year.
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| The "New Year's" card we sent to family and friends. |
Our church started a tradition already 5 or 6 years ago of hosting a New Year's Eve party. This year, as in past years, we started with a worship service followed by a potluck. Church members organized games and we had a great time of fellowship and laughter. Before midnight we all bundled up in warm clothes and headed to the center of town for fireworks. Everyone had a great time and it's wonderful to offer an alternative to the typical drunken festivities.
It is common for people to dress up for New Years or where costumes. Our kids are very happy about this since they don't have Halloween (not a Ukrainian holiday) to dress up on.
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| Abigail in traditional Ukrainian dress |
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| Matthew as a Star War's Storm Trooper |
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| Elizabeth as Minnie Mouse |
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| We had two "Father Frosts" at church with one reindeer! |
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| The kids at church |
(P.S. If you're viewing this on Facebook and the pictures and captions are all messed up, you may want to go to the original blog to view. www.devuysts.blogspot.com)
Saturday, January 1, 2011
A Visit from Grandma
This Christmas Grandma Snyder made her fourth trip to see us. We had a wonderful time with the only regret being that the visit was too short. Upon leaving she cried, "You guys live too far away." How real the unsung sacrifice the extended families of missionaries make when their loved ones move overseas. I can only imagine how difficult it is to see your grandchildren only every few years.
To make the most of our rare opportunity to be together, we kept very active. Grandma baked Christmas cookies with the kids.
We went out on the icy sidewalks in search of tablecloth souvenirs and a Christmas tree. We relented to the poor choice of live trees and bought a fake one. For the first year we actually saw some fake trees that looked like trees rather than a bunch of fuzzy green sticks. We are happy with our decision and this tree will hopefully be our companion for the next few years.
Grandma had a very rare opportunity indeed to attend a piano recital where Abigail played a little Ukrainian piece called Father Frost.
Since the holidays in Ukraine don't actually begin until December 31, Grandma got to sit out in the hall while Abigail had a dance lesson. She was hoping to watch the lesson but the teacher apparently wouldn't allow her in. Grandma made a bad situation worse by leaving her scarf there and in the process of returning the next day to search for it, she lost her hat. We had a good laugh! And we got to spend some more time on the icy sidewalks in search of a new scarf.
We went bowling together in the newly opened "mall" and had a fun competition trying to make it to 100 points.
Other memorable moments were playing Rook after the kids were asleep (or at least should have been), a leisurely dinner at the Star Hotel, and struggling to get pie crusts to turn out.
Grandma left our house at 11pm on the 30th. That night before she left the kids had a hard time falling asleep and were so sad that Grandma would be gone in the morning. Matthew got out of bed and asked me for permission for Grandma to read them "the last story for a long time." Ahh, yes, they too miss having their grandparents as part of their lives. That's why such visits are so very precious.
To make the most of our rare opportunity to be together, we kept very active. Grandma baked Christmas cookies with the kids.
We went out on the icy sidewalks in search of tablecloth souvenirs and a Christmas tree. We relented to the poor choice of live trees and bought a fake one. For the first year we actually saw some fake trees that looked like trees rather than a bunch of fuzzy green sticks. We are happy with our decision and this tree will hopefully be our companion for the next few years.
Grandma had a very rare opportunity indeed to attend a piano recital where Abigail played a little Ukrainian piece called Father Frost.
You can watch the video clip here:
Since the holidays in Ukraine don't actually begin until December 31, Grandma got to sit out in the hall while Abigail had a dance lesson. She was hoping to watch the lesson but the teacher apparently wouldn't allow her in. Grandma made a bad situation worse by leaving her scarf there and in the process of returning the next day to search for it, she lost her hat. We had a good laugh! And we got to spend some more time on the icy sidewalks in search of a new scarf.
We went bowling together in the newly opened "mall" and had a fun competition trying to make it to 100 points.
Other memorable moments were playing Rook after the kids were asleep (or at least should have been), a leisurely dinner at the Star Hotel, and struggling to get pie crusts to turn out.
Grandma left our house at 11pm on the 30th. That night before she left the kids had a hard time falling asleep and were so sad that Grandma would be gone in the morning. Matthew got out of bed and asked me for permission for Grandma to read them "the last story for a long time." Ahh, yes, they too miss having their grandparents as part of their lives. That's why such visits are so very precious.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
DayTrip to Vienna
We have been waiting around in Hungary for my new passport for a week now. During this wait we did some homeschooling, had a cleaning at the dentist and flu shots, but we also had some unusual adventures as well.
Friday we took advantage of the close proximity of Budapest to Vienna and drove to Vienna just for the day. We met our new CRWM colleagues working at the International Christian School of Vienna. They took us to Schonbrunn Imperial Palace. For the kids' sake we took the shortest tour comprising of 22 rooms and to our surprise the kids really enjoyed listening to the audio tour to the point that the four adults were left sharing two devices and the kids learned more about each room than we did. "Princess Sissi" is Abigail's favorite princess and we learned a lot about her tragic life as Empress Elizabeth.
In the evening we attended the Christian school's middle-school performance of Sleeping Beauty. This was the first time the kids had watched a live performance and Elizabeth was quick to point out that the animals were only kids dressed up in costumes. She got very nervous during the sword fight and cheered when "the bad guy is killed". Thoroughly delightful! I think for her mom and dad, Elizabeth was just as entertaining as the play itself.
Today my mom is supposed to arrive and we will head back to Ukraine. Europe was dumped in snow over the past few days and there's a mess at the airports. Her flight is due late into Munich which may severely complicate her connection to Budapest. Despite all the fun of the past week, we're ready to get back home.
Friday we took advantage of the close proximity of Budapest to Vienna and drove to Vienna just for the day. We met our new CRWM colleagues working at the International Christian School of Vienna. They took us to Schonbrunn Imperial Palace. For the kids' sake we took the shortest tour comprising of 22 rooms and to our surprise the kids really enjoyed listening to the audio tour to the point that the four adults were left sharing two devices and the kids learned more about each room than we did. "Princess Sissi" is Abigail's favorite princess and we learned a lot about her tragic life as Empress Elizabeth.
In the evening we attended the Christian school's middle-school performance of Sleeping Beauty. This was the first time the kids had watched a live performance and Elizabeth was quick to point out that the animals were only kids dressed up in costumes. She got very nervous during the sword fight and cheered when "the bad guy is killed". Thoroughly delightful! I think for her mom and dad, Elizabeth was just as entertaining as the play itself.
Today my mom is supposed to arrive and we will head back to Ukraine. Europe was dumped in snow over the past few days and there's a mess at the airports. Her flight is due late into Munich which may severely complicate her connection to Budapest. Despite all the fun of the past week, we're ready to get back home.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Christmas Letter
This Christmas will be a bit different for us this year. First of all, Sarah’s mom is coming to spend ten days with us in December. We are looking forward to baking Christmas cookies and spending time together. Although it is quite unusual for us to be with extended family over a holiday, the strangest thing will be celebrating Christmas in January. Our congregation has decided to celebrate the official Ukrainian Christmas which falls on January 7 according to the Orthodox (Julian) calendar. December 25 is a normal school and work day in Ukraine, and although some people (mostly Hungarians) in our region celebrate this day as Christmas, celebrating January 7 is more missiologically sound considering our goal to reach Ukrainians. One more way this Christmas is different is that in addition to our prayer letter, you are receiving a special letter just about us as a family.
I’ll start with the youngest in the family. Elizabeth turned 3 in September and tells everyone she meets that she is “three,” holding up three little fingers as she does so. She feels so big and grown-up now, often reminding mommy that she isn’t a baby anymore but has become “a kid.” Elizabeth loves to color in yellow and can write the first letter of her name. A couple months ago she started attending a private preschool 3 mornings a week. Our reason for sending her was so that she could learn Ukrainian. Lately she hasn’t been happy there, seemingly because her teachers don’t understand her (not because she doesn’t understand them). We aren’t in any hurry so if she prefers to stay home, then we’re happy to have her with us. Elizabeth is a great communicator, even if she doesn’t speak the language of the person she’s talking to. She uses her hands and facial expressions to get across what she wants. One day I heard her say a sentence consisting of words in three languages – English, Ukrainian and Hungarian: “No, ні szabad!” (Translated all into English it means, “No, that’s not allowed.”) Elizabeth is highly task oriented and can accomplish nearly anything she sets her mind to. (In other words, nothing is out of reach.) We see her as a leader someday.
Matthew will soon turn 6. He loves turtles, Star War’s the Clone Wars, and Wall-E. He wants to become a farmer when he grows up. Matthew started kindergarten in our homeschool and is doing great. He caught on to math very fast and is nearly finished with his book for the whole year already. He has learned 12 letters of the alphabet so far and can read some simple books using those letters. He and Abigail made a great lapbook about Ukraine this year. Matthew loves swimming and has just started to move beyond doggy-paddling.
Abigail, 7, fills the role of the oldest child perfectly. She is mature and dependable, paying careful attention to details. She wants to be a ballet teacher, piano teacher, golf teacher, and school teacher when she grows up. There’s definitely some teacher in her! This is her second year of taking piano lessons and her first year of ballroom dance lessons. She has a gift for languages and can communicate in Russian with her piano teacher, in Ukrainian at dance lessons and Sunday School, and in Hungarian with her friends. Abigail loves drawing and coloring, playing with Playmobil, and taking pictures.
I, Sarah, love homeschooling Abigail and Matthew with Sonlight’s curriculum. Ideally, we would like to be able to send our children to a Christian school, but there are not any decent schools in our area, much less a Christian school. I am glad to have studied elementary education and pleased that the kids are happy here at home. Their education down the road remains a question and a matter of prayer. Besides homeschooling, I lead an English bible study at church and participate in an English book club comprised of English teachers from the language school I helped start 7 years ago. I also started a blog this year at www.devuysts.blogspot.com to help family and friends know what we’re up to.
George enjoys his work with the Mukachevo Reformed congregation although this year has presented a lot of new challenges especially with developing healthy leadership. The church’s seminary intern, Robert Shpontak, has been a great blessing. Our prayer is that he will eventually become their pastor. George has especially enjoyed being trained and training others in the Timothy Leadership Training. He sees a lot of potential for (and a lot of work in) getting this program running in multiple cities in Ukraine, Hungary and Romania. If the weather is good and time is available, George appreciates a day of peace and quiet on the golf course. He has to travel to Debrecen, Hungary (it takes at least 3 hours to get there) for such an opportunity but it’s well worth it. George is a great father and husband and no matter how busy or stressed he is, he makes time for his family.
We remain happy living in Ukraine and encouraged by the little signs of transformation we see in the lives we minister to. Even after 14 years overseas, we are constantly learning about ministry in the in Ukrainian context. We pray for God to use us as His instruments.
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