Wrapping Up Cahul

5:32 PM

Last Sunday I got to teach in Sunday School. I taught the kids a song about God’s promise: the rainbow. Oh and did I mention that I sang it in Russian? The kids seemed to be very amused at my Russian speaking skills (or lack thereof). We had two major events in the latter part of the week. On Thursday we led Emmanuel Church’s youth group; the subject was the value of life. This was a chance to do our human trafficking presentation one more time. A fellow team member taught on how much God values us-even more than the lowly sparrow! I even had the opportunity to tell a testimony on how I learned of how God values me despite the things that I can’t do and that he created us each so unique.

Friday we had an evangelism service with the charismatic church. I had no clue that it was actually at a well-known bar in town until we arrived. Turns out that God can move through anyone and anything, even if it’s in a bar.

This weekend we began to have goodbye dinners with our contacts in Cahul. So far we have said goodbye to our friends at Salvation Army and Emmanuel church. It was such a nice time being able to say thank you to these awesome people that we worked with. The nice thing about this town is that we can most likely count on seeing a number of these people around town. We tend to meet people everywhere we go that we are already friends with!

These last couple days in Cahul will be a little relaxing physically but mentally I’m going a little crazy. In a little over a week I will be back at home in my own room, not living with 4 other girls and not having to walk across town to have dinner at the boy’s house. It’s a weird thought for me. There’s going to be substantial changes! Looking forward to the last few days in Cahul while it lasts!

Keep me in your prayers as I try to keep healthy and pack up all of my things for heading back to Kyiv.

Victoria

Last Full Week of Ministry

2:08 PM

Nikolai is an elderly man who lives in his own house in town. Walking to his house you will see the auto shop, and maybe ten or so houses before you get to Nikolai's house, number 3. Almost every house on the street has a decent fence, structure, and even a nice mailbox. When you see Nikolai's house, you may not be sure that you've arrived to the right place. I don't understand how he could have lived there. Our team arrived to help him with some normal tasks: chopping wood, cleaning, and grocery shopping. Since we had little time to go to the store (we were going to eat lunch with YWAM Cahul) walking had to be quick. The nearest grocery store was too far for this man to walk. I was even getting tired from our trip. Once I came back with groceries I took a good look at his kitchen. The "sink", which was old and falling apart, was full of plastic bags and stale bread. There was hardly a stove. Cobwebs hung in every corner, black with dust and dirt. Standing in that place I also noticed an unsubtle slant to the floor I was standing on. Blankets were hung in every doorway, probably to keep the heat in, and the cold out. 

Nikolai is a man who firmly believes in God and attends the charismatic church when he is well enough. We prayed for his lung problem and cataracts. He will not be able to get the surgery needed until he has money. We all hope that he is healed and feels like he is valued and loved. I am especially praying that he finds people in his community who will continue to encourage and pray for him. 

This month we have been working with the charismatic church on many different projects. We have done some practical work like doing things for this man Nikolai, Sunday School, and also a youth club with kids who are in troublesome situations in their home life. With this ministry, called "New Way", we will be teaching the girls in the group on how to make different creative crafts to sell. I am enjoying working with these kids even though it will be for a short time longer!

This week is our last full week of ministry in Cahul. My last week in Eastern Europe will be a debrief and goodbyes. I can't believe how this outreach has been. Experiencing Cahul has brought many stories and people to talk about. I can see how relationship really makes all the difference. So get ready for a wrap-up of life in Cahul! Keep praying hard as the team pushes to make this last full week an awesome one. Thanks for reading!

Victoria

VBS and Other Random Thoughts...

4:14 PM

VBS Lucesti Team

Once again it's time to update you all on A LOT of happenings around here in Cahul. We all had a blast doing the VBS in Lucesti. So you can all experience a little bit of what went on that week, here's a video I put together, so enjoy! The last day of the VBS we distributed shoe-box Christmas gifts to the kids. These kind of things that others across the globe do for low-income communities really does positively effect families in places like Moldova. To see the kids faces light up when they carry a big shoe box is something you don't want to miss. 

VBS Emmanuel

The past two weeks have been more of relationship weeks. We have been doing a number of things from praying for people and even going out into the city to help YWAM Cahul by searching for organizations in the city that they can possibly work with. We also did a short VBS with Emmanuel church. Even though it was only two days it sure was a fun two days! It's structure was very similar to Lucesti's VBS with English Club, Bible class, Crafts, and games. The kids seemed very excited to be there. Emmanuel church had an encouraging team helping us with the VBS, we are all so glad that we got to minister with this church.

Last Thursday me and a few others went to visit a friend that helped get our team leader's car out of the ice a while back. This man just happened to be the director of Cahulpan, the largest bread bakery in Cahul. Upon our arrival we were led up the stairs to his office. Ivan, the director, greeted us with a big smile. We talked for a few minutes, and then he said that we could even have a tour of the factory! After our tour, we said goodbye to Ivan, and he said that we would be getting a box of cookies as a gift. This guy seriously has a lot of generosity. I am so thankful for people like Ivan that welcome us in and take time just to talk. 

When you go away from home for an extended amount of time there are so many possibilities of how you could react. For most there is a "romantic" period where you are just happy to be in a new place and experience new things. Then after that period is over you figure out that maybe you just might miss home more than you thought...I have definitely been experiencing a bit of homesickness. It doesn't mean that I don't love ministering to the people here in Cahul or anything like that. Sometimes our bodies just can't handle the change especially if we are already sick. One of my team members had to go home at the beginning of this month because she wasn't getting better. Her body was really trying to heal but after a time sometimes we have to make a choice. Please keep her in your prayers! 

Please pray for our last few weeks here in Moldova. The students will be doing much of leading the different ministries that we are a part of. Because of this your prayers are very appreciated! 

Victoria

Snowy Babushkas

"WHIRLWIND" is one word to describe the past week. Just a few days after my last blog post, I was slowly waking up (and not wanting to get up I might add), and I heard someone walk in my doorway. Once I gained the energy to turn around one of my teammates said to me, "Hey, did you see the SNOW?!" I immediately jumped up to look out the window and saw a blanket of white across the apartment complex. That day was an exciting one with our first of many experiences with snow in Moldova. 

Last week we had our usual, but of course not ordinary, English Club and Salvation Army outreaches. Due to the snow that week, we only had one English Club meeting, but it was a great start. There were probably 6 or so kids that were ready and excited to learn. Our lesson was on animal names. You can guess how much fun that is for kids around the ages of 7-10! 

Honestly the snow really is a blessing to ministry. We have made lots of new friends by throwing snow at each other and even going sledding (unfortunately this day I was sick so I couldn't go). The team will be using these types of outings for sure when we want to spend time with our new Moldovan friends.

On the 16h the team split for church ministry. My team went to a church in a nearby village called Lucesti to attend a small church there. Our driver, the pastor of this church, told us lots of information about this village and the church that we were going to. Like many places in the Cahul area, the young people are leaving to find a better life. In this particular church there is one young family, which unfortunately couldn't attend this day because they were visiting their ill son in the hospital. Knowing all of this we walked in to the church, ready to meet some new faces. As soon as we walked in the small meeting room, all we saw were pews filled with babushkas (grandmas in Russian). The pastor really wasn't kidding about there being no youth in Lucesti! The service was so cool to be able to pray and worship with the babushkas and understand their heart for ministry in their village. 

In closing up that week of ministry, it's safe for us to say that it is extremely important to build relationships and minister to the youth here. You may see this repeated a lot in my blog, but it really is true! There are many children with their hearts and hopes shattered for their future life. Giving them hope and something to look forward to in life is important so that they can help grow their community instead of having to leave it like so many have done. 

In Cahul, our ministry is not limited to planned  events and church meetings. We often see our friends on the street and are able  to talk to them or sometimes even see opportunities to help random people on the street. For instance, we were walking around town on our day off when we saw a woman lying on the snow. It was a very strange sight actually, since obviously this weather is not meant for taking naps on planter boxes on the sidewalk. We quickly ran to this woman (who had probably had a few drinks and was unable to move off of the ice and snow). She didn’t really respond, and still didn’t move a muscle. Long story short, with some help from some nearby women, we were able to convince the ambulance to pick up the woman and take her home. In all of this, one man was kind enough to stop to pick her up to carry her to the truck. It was a great shock to us that people didn’t really want to help. It’s people like these that need to hear the message that we have come to say. People are meant to be valued, not ignored.

Please keep us in your prayers as we build relationships in this city. Next week we are putting together a VBS for kids in a nearby village. All of us are also VERY excited to be having our remaining team members come to us from Kyiv this week. Blessings to you all, and Merry Christmas from Moldova! :)

Victoria

New Home, New Places, New Faces

3:28 PM

After a fairly long bus rides and tricky border crossings we finally made it to Cahul on Tuesday afternoon! We were greeted by one of our contacts and were taken to the places that we are going to be staying for the next 2 months. Overall Cahul gives a very friendly and inviting small-town feeling. 

Thursday was our first day of ministry. Here in the Cahul they have a few churches that we will be working with. On this particular day we went to Salvation Army Church to help decorate for Christmas and work with the kids there. Salvation Army works with kids who are a part of difficult family situations; some are orphans or are having a tough relationship with their family. Most likely we will continue to prepare lunch, play with the kids, or help them with their homework. Those of us that speak English have a great opportunity to help some of these kids with their English homework!

Later on Thursday the team walked over to Emmanuel church for the youth meeting. Our first night of youth was pretty different from what we will normally be doing. It was a discussion about family dynamics and why there is often conflict between generations. This church speaks Moldovan, so for our team we need everything translated from Moldovan to English, then English to Russian! Sometimes it can be pretty funny when I sit there and realize how many times the same statement is said, but it different languages. With all of these languages also comes many cultural differences. Being in Moldova I have been learning much more about the cultural dynamics even in our own team.

Friday was more of a practical day, since we needed to get a few things done about housing and other things. One thing we did do was walk around and observe the people here in Cahul. What we have been told (and noticed) is that much of the youth here have left, looking for better opportunities. This means that youth ministry is very important and helpful work to build up future generations that will benefit and spiritually nourish this community. 

Saturday the team split; one half went to an English Club in a nearby village and the other to a different village where a church is building a kids camp. My group went to the camp. The four of us came expecting to plant trees, but we hadn't thought about the frozen ground! I think we all learned about how to work hard and get covered in ice and mud. It was a pretty fun and tiring day!

Sunday the team split again. Each half went to different churches, some to preach and some to say their testimony. It was a fun Sunday and good start to the weekend (we have Mondays off from ministry, this will be our weekends :] ). 

I'm looking forward to continuing ministry with the churches and contacts that we have met so far. Some things to look forward to are English Clubs and VBS and lots of other things. Please be praying for our team in ministry. Relationships here are really important, so some of us need to learn how to be open and outwardly friendly to just anyone here. It even means a lot to these people to have someone say hello or give them a gift (Moldovans LOVE gifts!). Hopefully I will be able to update you all soon, luckily there is internet to update my blog here in the local cafes! The girls on my team are very blessed to get a permanent apartment to live in for the remainder of our time here. So thankful for the people who made it possible for us to rent this apartment. Keep us in your prayers,

Victoria

The End and the Beginning

12:33 PM

The last couple weeks have been pretty crazy. With Thanksgiving, English Club and Outreach preparation I've had my hands full with a lot of stuff! Thanksgiving was an exciting event, mostly run by the Americans on the base. We had all of the essentials: turkey, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, stuffing, casserole, and even homemade pies. Everyone pitched in with what they could to get the meal cooked for almost 60 people! Despite a few complications with cooking the turkey in the ovens we have here, the meal turned out to be a success. And yes, most of the decorations still haven't  been taken down. :) We started out the night with, of course, the dinner. Later on we wrote on pieces of paper what we were  thankful for. These pieces of paper were hung on our "tree" which was really some branches put in a vase. It was actually a very pretty decoration to add to the room. The Titus team (another ministry in YWAM) had any Americans or Canadians tell those who didn't know what Thanksgiving was about the meaning of the holiday. I think that everyone had a great time learning about the importance of remembering what we are thankful for! 

English Club-teaching words

 We had our last night of ministry at the English Club on Wednesday. The club asked us to teach a song to the members as kind of a going away gift. The team decided that "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" was an appropriate song for this occasion. So we mustered up the courage and sang this song for the club, including the hand motions. It was pretty comical, I wish you all were there to see it. Thankfully some of the members joined in with us to learn the words and hand motions. The church blessed us afterwards with Dominos pizza (it's in Ukraine too!) and gave us lots of Ukrainian candy to enjoy (for those in the states, they sell this brand in stores, you just have to look for it-Roshen candy made in Kyiv). I was so thankful for this opportunity to help the Ukrainians learn my language. I am looking forward to doing something similar to this in Cahul, Moldova!

Here's that video I promised you guys. It is the video of the original drama that we made to teach others about the dangers of human trafficking. Hope you enjoy watching this. We take the audience through one of the ways that people are deceived into forced labor, specifically sex trafficking. A girl has a normal life, normal relationships with friends, family and her boss. One day a man comes and convinces her of a better life, but it is not what she thought it would be. We will be doing this drama sometime when we are in Moldova, and I will be taking more videos of ministry soon!

I have been attempting to learn more about photography for the project we will be doing in Cahul. This picture above was an accident, it proves that I have a lot to learn yet I may have the potential to make a good photo! 

I should be able to post more updates while we are on outreach. I'm almost packed and ready to go to Moldova tomorrow night. Please keep us in prayer for the border crossings and traveling time. We make a stop in Chisinau, Moldova before we head over to Cahul. Looking forward to a great trip and wonderful outreach! 

Victoria

Baked Goods, Tears and Cahul

9:15 PM

If any of you have lived in a different country or known someone that has been through border problems, etc. (the list goes on), you might understand what happened to our team this past week. In order for the Ukrainians on our team to go to Romania, they need a International Passport to get in. Unfortunately at this point they will not be able to get these Visas in time. This means that we will only be going to Moldova for outreach! We do not see this as a horrible thing; it's really a blessing. There will be more time to build relationships in Moldova as we do ministry. 

In Moldova we will be going to the city of Cahul, a smaller sized city on the west side of the country. This area has a lot of youth that desperately needs to hear the message that we will be bringing in just a few weeks! I am really excited for the ministry time that we will be having there in Cahul. As the time gets closer and closer to our arrival I am growing more impatient to get out there at go!

The team is faithfully working hard to get things ready for outreach. Among the things that we are doing is photography practice, drama practice, and putting together presentations for schools. Yesterday, we went to a church outside the city to fundraise for the remaining money that we need for outreach. We made lots (and I mean lots) of cookies and cards for the church members to buy and performed our drama for the first time in public. This drama is featured on the subject of human trafficking, and features a girl who is tricked into slavery and cut off from all of the relationships in her life. I was surprised to hear that the sniffles from the audience weren't due to colds but actually because of the impact of our drama on the congregation! I am impressed at the creative minds of my fellow team members who worked so hard to coordinate this skit.(I will be sure to post the video on this blog once we are able to get a good recording.) 

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this blog. I really appreciate all of your prayers! 

Victoria