Time warp: loving through sickness, health, and madness
I seriously can not believe it has been so long since a blog has been posted. Honestly I do not know where the time has gone. I had recently posted on the Radical Facebook page that I was working on a post about Zombies, but feel that this current post needed to come first, so if you are waiting on the zombie post, no worries, it will hopefully get posted soon. Till then I just want to catch you up on life here in L'viv.
First part of this I want to share about Grandpa. Grandpa lived downstairs from my parents.Grandpa in general was a jolly man. He loved to give our dalmatian candy from his balcony window. Throughout this past year, grandpa suffered from having a stroke that left is right side paralyzed. Over time, his condition worsened to the point where his size grew, and he could no longer walk or sit up on his own. In the recent months my dad and brother would go to him three to four times a day to care for grandpa. They both got first hand experience with caring for an "invalid" ( the Ukrainian term) and had to deal with bathroom accidents, bathing, and changing a person who could no longer do that for themselves. It was tedious on all those involved, but God calls us to love, sometimes in the hardest of circumstances. Last night, Grandpa passed away. I don't know if Grandpa knew Jesus, but I'd like to think that through the service my family offered him and his wife, that he saw the light of God. In Ukraine it is not customary to prepare in advance for a funeral, so things are very chaotic in trying to find a place to properly bury grandpa, and of course it is also expensive. So your prayers for Grandma and her family are really appreciated at this time.
Health... if you are on Facebook, which lately has been the only thing I've kept up on, you've noticed a lot of post about me being sick. Had a strange virus for like two weeks... then had a stomach bug for the next week.. then had the flu for awhile, and now a little cold... but I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Luckily me being sick was "well timed" as L'viv has had some crazy snow storms recently, so the week I was most sick, I didn't miss out on much:) But please pray that my immune system regains itself and that I will be done with illness for awhile!
Madness: So the biggest prayer and financial need is concerning mine and my families ability to stay in Ukraine. By talking with lawyers and people, it turns out the reason we've been having problems getting are living permits renewed, is because its Ukraine.. meaning that there are people in positions who don't know the law, or don't know their job position as they should. One government office said we need a document from one office, and that office said no you need that document from that office... and so on... So it looks like instead of renewing our documents, we will have to get a new visa, and then reapply for living permits again... You may remember how much of hassle this was last year. You know, me having to call the US Embassy in Poland because the Ukrainian consulate took our passports hostage for a ransom. It was not the most enjoyable experience of my life, but I do have to say, situations like that our my specialty. Anyways, we do have organizations now offering to write us new invitation letters to get our new visas, which is HUGE and an answer to my prayers. Now we just have to get all the documents in order, and take a trip to somewhere with a Ukrainian consulate to get the visa. Please pray that we can get all these documents in order, that God will reveal to us where we should go to get the visa ( which hopefully will not be back to the guy I had to deal with last year) and that the funds will be provided to cover the visa cost, travel cost and then the new registration...
The Bible compares our relationship with God with that of Marriage. Sometimes I really think about that... I've seen only a few examples of what a good marriage looks like. But more often than not, I've seen lots of examples of what marriage is with two sinners involved. Marriage with God is not always pleasant, God can bring us through trials and put us on rocky boats, but the point is, he will never fail us. He is constant and there, patient and loving. Missions is like marriage too. Sometimes God calls you to love in difficult circumstance, deal with impossible people and often when you feel at your most vulnerable point, even at the point of breaking, God puts people in your life to remind you that God is still holding up on his part of the marriage because He is perfect. People often ask, why stay in Ukraine if things are so difficult... the answer, God is the head of my life, where he leads, I will follow. The road may not always be easy, but through sickness and in health, the good times and the bad, God is faithful and just.
If you are going through your own trials, hang in there, just Believe that God is holding up his end!
Praying for all you who have taken the time to read this, and I thank you who will be in prayer for me, this ministry and my family!
First part of this I want to share about Grandpa. Grandpa lived downstairs from my parents.Grandpa in general was a jolly man. He loved to give our dalmatian candy from his balcony window. Throughout this past year, grandpa suffered from having a stroke that left is right side paralyzed. Over time, his condition worsened to the point where his size grew, and he could no longer walk or sit up on his own. In the recent months my dad and brother would go to him three to four times a day to care for grandpa. They both got first hand experience with caring for an "invalid" ( the Ukrainian term) and had to deal with bathroom accidents, bathing, and changing a person who could no longer do that for themselves. It was tedious on all those involved, but God calls us to love, sometimes in the hardest of circumstances. Last night, Grandpa passed away. I don't know if Grandpa knew Jesus, but I'd like to think that through the service my family offered him and his wife, that he saw the light of God. In Ukraine it is not customary to prepare in advance for a funeral, so things are very chaotic in trying to find a place to properly bury grandpa, and of course it is also expensive. So your prayers for Grandma and her family are really appreciated at this time.
Health... if you are on Facebook, which lately has been the only thing I've kept up on, you've noticed a lot of post about me being sick. Had a strange virus for like two weeks... then had a stomach bug for the next week.. then had the flu for awhile, and now a little cold... but I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Luckily me being sick was "well timed" as L'viv has had some crazy snow storms recently, so the week I was most sick, I didn't miss out on much:) But please pray that my immune system regains itself and that I will be done with illness for awhile!
Madness: So the biggest prayer and financial need is concerning mine and my families ability to stay in Ukraine. By talking with lawyers and people, it turns out the reason we've been having problems getting are living permits renewed, is because its Ukraine.. meaning that there are people in positions who don't know the law, or don't know their job position as they should. One government office said we need a document from one office, and that office said no you need that document from that office... and so on... So it looks like instead of renewing our documents, we will have to get a new visa, and then reapply for living permits again... You may remember how much of hassle this was last year. You know, me having to call the US Embassy in Poland because the Ukrainian consulate took our passports hostage for a ransom. It was not the most enjoyable experience of my life, but I do have to say, situations like that our my specialty. Anyways, we do have organizations now offering to write us new invitation letters to get our new visas, which is HUGE and an answer to my prayers. Now we just have to get all the documents in order, and take a trip to somewhere with a Ukrainian consulate to get the visa. Please pray that we can get all these documents in order, that God will reveal to us where we should go to get the visa ( which hopefully will not be back to the guy I had to deal with last year) and that the funds will be provided to cover the visa cost, travel cost and then the new registration...
The Bible compares our relationship with God with that of Marriage. Sometimes I really think about that... I've seen only a few examples of what a good marriage looks like. But more often than not, I've seen lots of examples of what marriage is with two sinners involved. Marriage with God is not always pleasant, God can bring us through trials and put us on rocky boats, but the point is, he will never fail us. He is constant and there, patient and loving. Missions is like marriage too. Sometimes God calls you to love in difficult circumstance, deal with impossible people and often when you feel at your most vulnerable point, even at the point of breaking, God puts people in your life to remind you that God is still holding up on his part of the marriage because He is perfect. People often ask, why stay in Ukraine if things are so difficult... the answer, God is the head of my life, where he leads, I will follow. The road may not always be easy, but through sickness and in health, the good times and the bad, God is faithful and just.
If you are going through your own trials, hang in there, just Believe that God is holding up his end!
Praying for all you who have taken the time to read this, and I thank you who will be in prayer for me, this ministry and my family!
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