Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Jazz Singer

For the last 2 months Jerry and I have been helping in English conversation classes at a nearby University. We go to talk with students, giving them the opportunity to speak with native English speakers. The students are such fun, each week we have the opportunity to talk and interact with them. We have met at least 150 students so far and 14 teachers.

This week, we are so happy that our son Parker has been able to join us in our classes.

Yesterday we were in a class and one of the students, Oleg, brought his harmonica to perform a jazz song he had written. (I have included a short video clip of his performance.)

Today the class we attended organized a "virtual tour" of some famous sites in Ukraine. They gave us a map of Ukraine and pointed out the location of sites and told us about famous Ukrainians who lived in those places.

This is such a wonderful opportunity and we are very thankful for the chance to meet so many people.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Fabulous Friday


Fabulous Friday. Why? because that was the day I was supposed to make cinnamon buns at HBR, our son's dorm. After riding the bus home with all the guys, we mixed up the dough. I really didn't make the buns at all, I just sort of directed the making. Parker and the guys enjoyed an afternoon of baking. And then came the most important part...the eating of them...yeah, they were delicious! It was good to hang out with Parker and his dorm brothers, he is blessed with many great friends.
We are very thankful for God's goodness. We are so happy to have Parker home with us for Spring Break! I am hoping the time goes by very slowly!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

REAL life

Well, we're English teachers.
Only Kim always corrects me and says "We're not REALLY 'teachers.'" Well, no we're not.

All the same, the students (at least 80 that we've now not really taught) seem to like us and the REAL teachers and administrators are always expressing gratitude for our help.
They keep us pretty busy, about 10 class periods a week. It's a very enjoyable project and we keep acquiring new friends through the process, which is half the point.
Recently the U offered to hire us, though they promised the pay would be quite symbolic. We countered with our own offer: use the money you'd pay us to hire a REAL teacher of Ukrainian and give us lessons. They liked that idea and are working to find someone.

This thought brings me around to Pasha, the lady you've seen in pictures in this blog helping us make our first batch of Rundstrom Family sauerkraut. Coming home late from the sauna last night (seems I'm 'one of the guys' at sauna now) I saw Pasha on the street, packing up her wares on her cart to head home. She is our favorite teacher of Ukrainian because she insists on only speaking Russian-which she quaintly calls 'your' language-only if we don't understand what she's said in Ukrainian.
As we always do I inquired after the health of Ivan. "Unimportant", she answered which, being interpreted, means "Poor". Her eyes teared up, "We've been together 47 years and he isn't eating. He only wants a few bites and that's all. 47 years..." We pray often for Ivan, that some new medicine might help him, but so far there has been no miraculous answer. We know that in this life there are more important questions than just health, though.
Our work learning Ukrainian is about connecting better wth people like this.
You can imagine, though, how we already share Pasha's pain.

Well, that's it for this round. Hope all is good where you are.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Sauna have I loved but basketball have I hated

It was the Big Sports Day this Sunday. But first, after church but before sports, we had guests from southern Ukraine. These were the pastor and one of the leaders from a church that we have a close relationship with. This church is located in Sevastopol (a city famous in history in both  the Crimean War and WW2).

Anyway, it was a good time connecting with those guys. I don’t know how much influence my wife’s good cooking had on the mood but they expressed a desire to work together with us in Kiev…but how? If you follow our adventure here then you know we’re ‘hunting and pecking’ in our search for The Ministry that fits God’s call to us and our own gifts. So, when we have some live possibilities we’re happy about it. But desire on their part and ours answers one question and asks about 13 others. We’ll see what happens. We could use some wisdom here…

Those guests, Yura and Andrey, rode with me on the metro as they returned to the place they were staying and I went to meet Sasha, Ski Buddy Yura, and 4 new friends, for basketball. I guess I expected to be doing 360 slams and No-look, smooth-and-sweet-as-butter, touch-passes. It was actually more like “Yo, oxygen right here! And don’t be afraid to crank that valve wide open!”

Well, the spiritual lesson for today (it is Sunday after all) is that sometimes the things you think you’ll love, like sports day, you don’t love so much; the things you’d rather not - sauna - turn out to be the fun things. This is one way God teases us out of our shells of false security (I have mental picture of a hermit crab here) and encourages us to try new things.

So in all, another good day in the big city.

 

Friday, March 13, 2009

Sweat again

First, Congratulations ski fans on Lindsey Vonn's (fomerly of Buck Hill, Minnesota) victory in the World Cup to make her the most successful US woman skier ever.

Now, to business.
Tuesday was sauna day again. (They say that back in the Old Days of Europe the Rus were the cleanest people around. This was all thanks to their love for the sauna, the purpose of which was to chase the bone-charring cold out of a person's very soul. The bonus was cleanliness.) I went, again, since it is the best, culturally relevant way to build relationships. The bonus is that it keeps my foot in the door for Sunday afternoon sports day (basketball and soccer) which I find much more interesting than sauna in terms of meeting new people.

So, the sauna is a small room, panelled in pine or cedar. Temps in a good sauna start at 212F. Yeah, I never thought it was possible to be in a room that hot and I'm sure you could make antelope jerky in 24 hours or less, but really is the minimum optimal temperature.

After a good sweat the beatings begin. This consists of a flogging with oak branches, which have been previously dried with their leaves on, (a few other types of foliage are also used). These are soaked in hot water and become soft again. The thrashing isn't all that painful except for the heat which becomes like a convection oven. After it's over your skin is red and even welted.
You're thinking "But 'Why do this?'"
"I don't have a clue", I answer, "it's just like the complicated grammar of the Russian language: nobody knows for sure why."

And then there's the cold water pool. After the heat gets to be too much you cool off in the pool. This is a pretty big 'pond' 10' x 10' and 6' deep. The water is somehow colder than ice water. I know this because there is a lake where we do the sauna. During one of our cool-offs we went to the lake and dipped in through a hole in the ice; the pool was colder.
In fact, it's so cold that you dont' want to get too far from the ladder because after 5 seconds your muscles stiffen so much you can barely get up the ladder. Really.

Well, there's some sauna stuff. I'm headed for basketball this Sunday so I hope to make some new connections there.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Flower Power

Women's Day card
Mimosa sprig
Pasha's cabbage buns

Pasha's Cherry and cheese Ukrainian Pie

I want to wish all the women of the world a happy International Women’s Day! This holiday is not the same as our Mother’s Day in the States. The 8th of March is a holiday that honors ALL women, whether you are just a small girl, or you are one of the older gals on the block.
On Friday, I gathered a small gift for each of the women we know. I found special 8th of March cards and the traditional flower, a branch of Mimosa. Only 2 of our friends were outside selling their foodstuffs on Friday and so I brought them these little gifts. I was disappointed that Pasha wasn’t there. So, I waited…
She called us yesterday and explained that she had caught a cold and wasn’t going to be out selling her goods on Saturday either, BUT, that she had something that she wanted to give to me for the holiday. She asked if Jerry would meet her as she was sick and didn’t want to infect us. Jerry went to meet her, bringing her gift along. He returned with a bag of home baked cabbage buns and a Ukrainian Pie. How delicious!
We are going to our neighbor’s home later today to wish Galina a happy Women’s Day.

Today our family in Oregon is gathering for a big family dinner…missing those family dinners, grandparents, Aunt, Uncle, daughters, son-in-law…hope they will have a great time of being together, laughing together and the great food! Our son is on a school retreat, enjoying a break from studies, hanging out with friends and being challenged to live a deeper life in Christ!
Happy International Women’s Day, whatever you have going on in your lives!
~kim

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Home and the Range

I was just looking at our blog. Mostly I look for comments, but I also look for grammatical errors. I usually find less of the first than I'd hope-enough of the second to be embarasssed...sorry.

Anyway, looking at the picture of Pasha making sauerkraut I noticed the buildings that you can see through the window.
It's a CITY out there.

In the English classes kids ask about American life. One kid haltingly read the question he had prepared, "What life is like in America and how different it is from life in Ukraine?" Don't laugh; learning another language is really hard. Well, my answer was that life is so different in so many places that it's hard for a kid from Wyoming to know how his life was different from kids who grow up in a country's capital city.
And a few days ago, like many other days before, I found myself saying, "Thanks, God, for letting me live here." I don't really understand the dynamic that makes me love the wide open spaces of the western US and still love the pace and the hustle and the sometimes claustrophobic closeness of the Big City.
Except that there is a promise about Abundant Life that seems to explain it: life's richness doesn't have to depend on the circumstances that might appear to dictate how we live and the good life is more than the ideal neighborhood.

I'll be the first to admit that it doesn't always seem this easy, I guess today was one of those abundant days.

Until next time.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

How to make sauerkraut, Ukrainian style

Pasha showing Kim how to make kraut
kneading the salt into the cabbage

For weeks my friend Pasha has been patiently explaining how to make several different Ukrainian national dishes. We always buy Pasha’s homemade sauerkraut. It is absolutely delicious! Have you ever tried homemade? There isn’t any comparison to the kraut sold in a can.
Just yesterday Pasha offered to show me how to make kraut (in Ukrainian it is called kvashena kapusta). She told me, “All you need is 5 kilos of cabbage and salt….” Today, she reminded me that we were going to make kraut. So, I bought 2 large heads of cabbage and shredded them. Then as she promised Pasha came up to our apartment and showed me what to do next. I was so excited that she finally came to our place! We had informally invited her several times to our place, and now…success! She began by kneading a HEAPING tablespoon of salt into the cabbage and then the 3 of us, (yes, even Jerry helped…he’s wonderful!) packed it into a 3 liter jar. She said that the juice resulting from this process is very good for digestion. I couldn’t believe that we got all 10lbs of cabbage into the 3 liter jar.
Now we’ll need to let it stand on the counter for at least 48 hours. She said that we need to bring her some on Friday so that she can taste it to see if we are ready for the next step. We will see what that next step is.
I am so excited that our friendship with Pasha has developed to the point that she could come to our place. We look forward to the day when we can meet her husband Ivan. He is still sick. It is difficult to keep asking about his health, instead we just continue to pray for him. Pasha told me that he is feeling pretty down because of his health and the restrictions that it puts on him.
~kim

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

A Great Time At The Sauna

A great time at the sauna? Yep, I know it's a surprise after yesterday's blog.

I took the subway to meet Yura (a contractor who is out of work) and Alexey, a dentist, and Sasha, a painter of murals in Orthodox churches, at the subway station on the edge of town. We drove from there to the 'resort zone' where the sauna was located. Before we got into the car Yura asked if I drink beer, "Uh, um, not so much" I said, not wanting to say "No".
"Well, you better get one right now", he said.
"It's ok, I have water".
"Oh, okay then" he said and he was really not offended and didn't think it was weird.
Actually Kim was helping me by praying that it wouldn't be a big deal since the sauna experience can often mean drinking. But these guys were cool.
On the 10 minute drive we talked skiing. It was nice, non-threatening.

We stripped down- you can forget bathing suits in a Russian Sauna (Ukrainians call the sauna experience a 'Russian Sauna'; in Russia it's just a sauna)- and went in to the sauna to find the temperature an unacceptable 158F. Yura quickly got them to crank up the heat and by the time of our last dip in the ice-water pool it was in the 200F range, which is still more of a temperature for women (that's what Russians and Ukrainians say, not me) but it was nice.

Well, we talked about a lot of things. I've never had such open conversations about the Bible, politics, religion in general, and of course, more skiing, than we had in the three hours there. It was a very nice time.

Ok, this is a lot. I need to go to a few meetings today and one of those will be early so it's time to scoot. This means I still owe a blog about what the sauna experience is like. I won't forget.

Yura and Sasha, (not the church painter but a guy who came a little later and owns two autoparts stores) begged me to go skiing with them this weekend in Western Ukraine. I'm begging off of this trip due to time constraints but the acutal cost is embarassingly cheap- all travel, lodging and ski passes for 3 days for $100. Lord willing, next season...? Anyway, remember these guys. I haven't had this kind of opportunity with unbelievers ever in Russia and these are some good-hearted guys who I'd like to see make life-changing decisions.

Until next time...

Monday, March 2, 2009

Sweat

So, my ski buddy Yura finally called today, Tuesday, to make sure I was going to the sauna with him and his buddies this afternoon.
Whew! A better missionary than I would find it in himself to love the sauna experience...(I guess I'll write and describe it soon- The Russian Sauna is a cultural event that is unique.) There are plenty of things I do love about life in Eastern Europe- borsch, friendships, hot mustard, the whole "the clock works for us, we don't work for the clock" way of doing business...But for me the only reason to go to the sauna is because it is something you do with real friends and you deepen friendships while doing it.
Meeting people skiing was good but this is definitely taking acquaintance to a deeper level, culturally speaking. How could I say no?

So, while the sauna would not be my choice for getting to know new people, Yura did invite me and this was AFTER he asked me for some written statement of my Christian beliefs (which I had with me and gave him there on top of the slopes) so I'll be putting my towel, slippers, water bottles, toga, and some salty snacks in a bag and catching the subway out to a far side of town where the sauna dudes will meet me with their car.

Whew! again.

While I sweat Kim will be in class by herself at the U. She likes the whole english-thing a lot but would prefer to have me along. I guess today we both get to go beyond our comfort zones.
There is probably a good illustration for the whole 'going beyond the comfort zone' in here somewhere. Maybe we'll have miraculous news to report on the outcome of all of this.

Ok, thanks for reading and remembering us.
Jerry