It's been a BEAUTIFUL fall here in Ukraine, with a colder than usual September and rain combining to turn the leaves bright shades of yellow and orange. The leaves just started falling from the trees in the past week or two and it's been nice to have something bright to look at before the grey of winter sets in soon.
A few weeks ago, two of my closest friends here, Anya & Ben, were married. It was a simple, God-centered ceremony and the reception was casual and fun. It was nice to attend a wedding that wasn't fussy or fancy. It was more like a fun celebration/party. The evening before the wedding, I started sewing a nice dress b/c I'm tired of looking disheveled and mis-matched in pictures, even though Anya decided not to have any attendants for her church wedding. I was maid of honor in her civil ceremony earlier and was embarrassed by my frumpy appearance in the pictures. Thankfully, my mother was here for a visit and she helped me by cooking, giving advice, and sewing in the zipper by hand (quite a feat). The morning of the wedding, I finished the dress within a few minutes of when we had to leave for the church. As it turns out, it's a good thing I sewed the dress b/c Ethan and I ended up being her attendants after all! :-)
This month, sports were just getting started again after the summer hiatus. My schedule keeps changing each week, but that's fairly normal for me here. So far, it looks like I'll have floorball 2-3 times per week, women's football once a week (assuming we can find a sports hall in which to play), and girls' club and sauna time with the rugby girls once a week. I made the difficult decision to stop attending rugby training sessions, but it was necessary in order to restore my health and have a more balanced schedule than previously (one that includes adequate time for sleeping and eating).
I'm excited about the possibilities in floorball and with the girl's rugby team. Next month, if all goes well, I should be heading to Finland for a floorball training for sport trainers and in December we plan to take our girls teams to Poland for a competition (their first in floorball and first international). There are also some new possibilities for our "home group" to get involved in a once a month service outreach together. We're praying about this and waiting to see how God leads us.
After a difficult year, I feel more positive and excited about what's going on here than I have all year. I've been praying a long time and it seems like God is now working to make things happen after a period of drought and difficulty and waiting with no clear answers. Although my health is still not back to what it was, I'm doing a lot better and once my schedule settles down a bit more in the next few weeks will start to add regular exercise back into the routine. All in all, I'm looking forward to what this school year has in store and am "preparing for rain" (from Facing the Giants - a great film by the way).
A few weeks ago, two of my closest friends here, Anya & Ben, were married. It was a simple, God-centered ceremony and the reception was casual and fun. It was nice to attend a wedding that wasn't fussy or fancy. It was more like a fun celebration/party. The evening before the wedding, I started sewing a nice dress b/c I'm tired of looking disheveled and mis-matched in pictures, even though Anya decided not to have any attendants for her church wedding. I was maid of honor in her civil ceremony earlier and was embarrassed by my frumpy appearance in the pictures. Thankfully, my mother was here for a visit and she helped me by cooking, giving advice, and sewing in the zipper by hand (quite a feat). The morning of the wedding, I finished the dress within a few minutes of when we had to leave for the church. As it turns out, it's a good thing I sewed the dress b/c Ethan and I ended up being her attendants after all! :-)
This month, sports were just getting started again after the summer hiatus. My schedule keeps changing each week, but that's fairly normal for me here. So far, it looks like I'll have floorball 2-3 times per week, women's football once a week (assuming we can find a sports hall in which to play), and girls' club and sauna time with the rugby girls once a week. I made the difficult decision to stop attending rugby training sessions, but it was necessary in order to restore my health and have a more balanced schedule than previously (one that includes adequate time for sleeping and eating).
I'm excited about the possibilities in floorball and with the girl's rugby team. Next month, if all goes well, I should be heading to Finland for a floorball training for sport trainers and in December we plan to take our girls teams to Poland for a competition (their first in floorball and first international). There are also some new possibilities for our "home group" to get involved in a once a month service outreach together. We're praying about this and waiting to see how God leads us.
After a difficult year, I feel more positive and excited about what's going on here than I have all year. I've been praying a long time and it seems like God is now working to make things happen after a period of drought and difficulty and waiting with no clear answers. Although my health is still not back to what it was, I'm doing a lot better and once my schedule settles down a bit more in the next few weeks will start to add regular exercise back into the routine. All in all, I'm looking forward to what this school year has in store and am "preparing for rain" (from Facing the Giants - a great film by the way).
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