T.E.A.M. Ukraine is a ministry of the Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission

The men from Salmon Arm, BC arrived here about 10:45pm on Tuesday and went straight to bed! Breakfast all week is at 7am at Garry and Teresa's, followed by a devotional and prayer. Work usually began at 8am. Lunch is hauled down to Yana's house and is usually soup and sandwiches and includes all the students who are working that day. Suppers are back at our house or Verhoog's, depending on who is cooking that day, and is generally just the Canadians (and the girls who live at Garry and Teresa's). Lunch at the job site There are a number of projects on the go, the main one being Yana's house. (Yana is the Barn Manager and has worked for Garry since he bought the herd of cows from her former employer about 9 years ago.) It had been totally gutted and some concrete poured last week, as well as some studs put up to frame in new interior walls. This week there is insulation, wiring, drywall and mud happening on the inside.  Yana's kitchen through demoli...

Over the past few days, we continue to work on our Russian as Ulzana always gives us homework and our lessons are every Tuesday and Saturday. We are so blessed with Ulzana as our teacher. She is always so well prepared and in her lessons she is always moving us forward. Today, was one of those moments where it was a good day. There is still so much we don't understand, but Ulzana is very good at teaching us the ins and outs of why things work as they do. This past week we have been to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned and for Scott to get an estimate on repairing his back left molar. The cleaning cost us $45 each which is amazing to the last cost we had in Canada. The dentist told Scott that she recommended rebuilding the molar as the tooth looks overall good and healthy. The rebuild will cost around $75, whereas to do a root canal and crown would cost about $200. That is quite a bit different than dental costs in Canada. We also had the car back in the garage the same day t...

As I write this blog, we are receiving a beautiful rain here in the village. It was a little spotty on our way home from Dnipro after church and a few things to pick up. This is a blessing as the fall crops are looking good and some of this year's crops have already been planted. On Friday, we loaded up three vehicles and celebrated International Women's Day by going on a picnic to Zaparosia where there is a park called Khortytsia. It is at the base of the Dam and Cossack Fort is located there. It was a beautiful day and many others thought the same thing as parking was at a premium. This is a huge holiday in  Ukraine.  Photo before lunch (Scott and Teresa were taking photos)   Garry and Daniel Kolya & Oksana My beautiful Bride Julia and Shannon   We took along sandwiches, muffins, apples, cookies, coffee and tea. We had fun walking along the rocks along the shore. We took some pictures as we had a great view of the dam. After lunch we co...

Since we last did our blog, many things have happened. Bowling, three Russian lessons, yard work and more. Last Wednesday morning, we took the students to Zaporosia to go bowling. Everyone had a great time and we were home in time for a late lunch. It is different bowling than what we are used to in Canada. They have 10 pin bowling and the bowling balls are a handful! Takes some getting used to, but I do better in 10 pin against Shannon; 5 pin is where she usually beats me easily.  Dima, Sasha and Shannon  Dima and Julia  Max (works for Garry) and his wife Yulia and son Mafew  Garry & Teresa and Vika We have had two more Russian lessons in the past week. We are both very encouraged with Ulzana teaching us. She is very challenging, but it feels like we are starting to get a bit more understanding  each time. Shannon still catches on much better than me, but then she helps me to understand. So I am blessed ...