Back In Ukraine

Well, I'm back to blogging and back to Ukraine after a pretty decent flight. It was hard to leave. When it was time to say goodbye, my emotions sort of shut down and all the nice things I was going to tell everyone fled my brain, and my hugs got all mechanical and robotic. Just when you want to feel the most, you can't anymore.

I guess I expected to go away and be independent and not need my family so much, but if I saw anything over Christmas, it was that I love them more deeply than ever. They have their problems, just like I do, but I guess that's the beauty of it. They understand my issues better than anyone else. But maybe that's just another reason it's good to be gone, too. God's growing all kinds of crazy things in me that couldn't happen without this pressure. In any case, the intensity of separation drives me to God, and God...well, He's pretty amazing. He's deep love. Deeper than the need I have, which is saying a lot.

I lost both my check in bags. They are presently at large in the universe between here and Dallas. As Jono, who also lost his luggage coming here, said, "I'm now free of all unnecessary baggage." :) I prayed that God would give me grace in carrying those heavy bags, and He did! I don't have to carry them at all. If they come home, they'll go through customs themselves and get delivered here, (from what I'm told).

As I said, the flight was good and my connections were pretty much on time. I didn't even have time to buy a bottle of water! There were some really kind folks around to hoist my carry on into the compartment :)

When I arrived at the Borispol airport it was snowing and somewhere just above freezing, actually really pleasant out. The snow is so beautiful falling down. I got to see Kiev under snow, and the river frozen over, Today I saw a bunch of guys squatting out there on the ice, fishing. It seems to be a pretty big thing around here.

Masha welcomed me home...she had soup cooking. I got cleaned up and went to bed around 9 and didn't get up until 12:30 today. I got up in the middle of the night for an hour or two and had a good cry, but other than that I got a great sleep, and I'm so thankful. I realized I just have to be patient with this jetlag/adjustment thing. After other flights I've spent a lot of time kicking myself for feeling so flaky and out of it, but this time I'm just going to ride out the storm and accept that this is just part of this...lifestyle...whatever it is.

It's funny...I'm remembering that I'm back in Ukraine, and there are some things that are different from East Texas :) Today after I got up I came over to see the Crowelings, and I walked by their neighbors...The guy has a shed where he butchers hogs (I think for a living) and when I walked by, there was a huge hog hanging up by it's feet, dead. It looked like a gigantic plastic pig. I've seen heads in there before, but since it's so cold there's not a smell from it, so it's hard to believe they're...real. Actually, come to think of it, it's not so much different than East Texas after all, I've seen a few deer guttings taking place in yards back home lately...

Anyway, by that time I had shed my coat because I got so warm coming up the hill, even though it was pretty chilly out. So I was walking by in just a longsleeve shirt and jeans, and the man saw me and came out, pointing at my coat. I said I was hot from walking, and then made motions and tried to come up with the words to explain that I'd been walking a lot (I still recognize words when I hear them, but I'm a little rusty on the little Russian I know. He said something to the effect of, "Put your coat on! You're going to catch a cold! Hack hack." (Demonstrating coughing.) "And put on a hat." I laughed and obliged by donning my coat and hood, just to make him feel better. People around here really seem to care about you, even if they do it by yelling sometimes (He was really nice and didn't yell, but I've had the neighbors or the babushkas at the market get sort of irate sometimes.) I almost expect them to inquire after whether or not I'm eating my vegetables :) But I kind of like it.