Random Craziness

Blog # 1

Written by Jennifer Jeske

It all started at 8:00am at the Ministry Center of BRCC…

Everything was all fine going through the airport. We had time to relax and took off a little late to New York. The late takeoff ended up giving us only 4 MINUTES to get to the connecting flight. We made the flight, but we didn’t know if our luggage made it. The flight went well and was uneventful. We landed and went through customs without any problems. Life was great and we had no major glitches….yet. Well, our luggage never got on our flight with us and the language barrier did cause some problems in filling out forms for the lost luggage. Pastor Vitale had sent Alex to help up get safety to Kharkov and help in any translating issues. Eventually, we finally got on the bus to go to Kharkov. The bus ride was very, very long but most everyone was sooo tired from traveling that we slept. About an hour into the drive the engine overheated and we had to stop to let it cool down. Both Pastor Vitale and Alex were extremely helpful when we ended up getting into a car accident about 15 minutes from where we would get off. Pastor Vitale helped put us up because the bus had actually side swiped the car and was unable to move at all with a report and other paperwork. Needless, to say we were rather hungry because we ate dinner and breakfast on the plane but that was about it. We drove to the hotel and dropped off our stuff (the little that there was). It was then time to walk to dinner. We went to the downtown area and at ate a 24-hour café. Everyone loved the food. It was all a combination of Russian/Ukraine twist American foods like baked potatoes, steak, grilled chicken, burritos, and others. The city is really beautiful at night and it cooled down a lot so walking back was comfortable. We finally got to sleep around 1:30/2:00 AM because of how long traveling and everything had taken. The day wasn’t over for us. We enjoyed sleep until 4am when we were woken up that our luggage arrived. It was a relief and answer to prayer but we were all too tired to enjoy it. Everyone has gotten all their bags except James, Faith, Melissa, and Mr. Borick. Pastor Vitale had sent enough extra toiletries and has taken amazing care of us that they have no worries and are by God’s grace here enjoying this beautiful country. We enjoyed breakfast this morning which was different from us having bread, jam, cereal, cheese, meat, coffee, and hot tea. It was again great food and everyone is adjusting to the culture and enjoying the Ukraine. The service we attended this morning was also amazing because we got to sing songs in 5 different languages since there are many gifted international students. I personally liked the Chinese group that performed. We met many of the local students and people we will be working with this week. I think that was all the highlights from the past couple days. I just want to say the prayer and the comments you guys have been making are amazing and encouraging. I hope all the families back home are not worried because we are in God’s hand and the best thing you can do it pray for the team, New Hope church, and the evangelizing we will be doing this week. O ya and the water ( I forgot) is all carbonated and slightly salty which is an extra lovely perk to being in the Ukraine! (haha- it’s hot so we are drinking A LOT of water). Paka (Good bye in Russian). Hopefully we can write again tomorrow.

P.S. Sorry. The time difference is 7 hours ahead so it’s an adjustment.