A Walk Through a Ukrainian Market

The sun peeped through my window this morning when I woke...exciting as I am beginning to feel a bit like Noah's wife.  I wonder what her first thought was when she woke each day to the rain pounding on the roof of the ark with the bleating of sheep, mooing of cows and the occasional two lizards running across her feet.  But, this is June and this is the Pacific Northwest and it is graduation week.  Life is normal here.

With day #2 of the writer's challenge comes the assignment of rising two hours early tomorrow morning and writing.  Oooh, not so sure on that one!!  I already get up @ 6:30 a.m. to get a few people out the door to jobs and school.  We also have out-of-country guests (that's different than out-of-town) for a couple of days.  Hospitality, cooking and a couple of meetings thrown in make for a busy day....but I will rise to the challenge and do what I can do :) Doesn't help me being a night person...

Today and in coming days, I want to continue to share some photos of our recent trip to Ukraine and beyond.  Perhaps a story thrown in.  I am drawn to anything with color, life and humor, so with camera in hand, here's a trip through the market in Ukraine.

Amazing produce !

Loved that "just picked" look!

We were looking for fish...

Look what we found...

The infamous sala...fat...that is a delicacy...

bacon anyone...

there are no words...

Eastern/Central European salads are incredible!

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I discovered the ubiquitous 
poppyseed ..... 

And then there is the meat department...

More fish, this time dried which is pretty common in these parts.

I had to buy some of these fruit-filled, poppy seeded lovelies for
breakfast:

And don't forget the paper products..

But one of my favorite venues are the flowers
in the underground metro areas...

Shopping in the markets of any eastern/central European country is an adventure and on the list of things to do before you ... do anything else :)
It is a sensory delight and a photographer's dream...in my eye anyway.
Although you do need to be careful not to offend....and run faster than the
gentleman I seemed to offend when I was clicking away.  

I began this blog this morning...and am finishing it tonight.  It has been that kind of day.  Writing in bits and pieces.  Hope you enjoyed a bit of a
shopping trip in Ukraine.  More to come tomorrow.  
That is if I obey the second challenge and get up two hours early!

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I Am A Writer

June 5, 2012...the day I am doing something bold.  I am stepping out of my comfort zone...the one I privately live in :)  The one where I can do what I love but don't really want anyone else to "see" it in case it "isn't good enough".  Let me explain by making a declaration...

I am a writer.

That simple.  I am a woman (because I am :)   I am a believer in Jesus Christ...because I am and I do :)  I am a mother.  I am a wife.  I am a friend.  I am a reader.  I am a cook.  I am a walker.  (that word "am" is beginning to look funny to me...misspelled maybe...or I just used it a lot and it now makes my eyes cross...).  All of these declarations are true, because I am all of them.  So, I am a writer, because I am and do.  I love to write.  I love words.  I love languages (I know a smattering of several :).  I love communication and I love to express ideas.  I do it far better in words on paper than I do straight from my mouth.  Am I a writer because I am published?  Am I a writer because thousands of people have read my writings?  Am I a writer because I am well-known?  Am I a writer because hundreds read my blog?  Probably not, because most of my friends don't know how to "subscribe" to a blog....

I am a writer because I love to write.  I started this blog a year or so ago because I wanted to write.  I love to tell stories.  I love to share my faith and what God is doing in my life and around the world because we are involved in missions. I want to share the stories that no one else hears...those we don't hear on the news.   I enjoy sharing stories of the past and the present. I heard a line in a movie awhile ago that expresses how I feel..."If a story is never told, it becomes something else...forgotten."  There are over 30 years of stories tucked away in my heart and mind...I think it is time to tell them.

I am a busy mom, big family and involved in ministry among women, so I don't have a lot of time.  I think now that has been somewhat of an excuse for not keeping up my blog.  Yes, life happens, but if I don't do what I love...what am I doing?  I love my family and the women in my life...but I also love to write.

I came across the writer of the above (15 Habits of Great Writers) a while back.  I read his blog every day.  I am reading his book.  I decided I would participate in this 15-day challenge.  I am going to write.  Every day.  (would someone please keep me accountable to that???)  School is almost out, summer is upon us...and a perfect time for me to relax a bit and challenge myself in an area God has long been prompting me to develop in my life.  Most people have "projects" around the house and yard they set goals for in the summer...this will be mine.  And may the grace of God help me along the way.

So...out of my comfort zone...my declaration for all to see....(my girlfriends would be proud :)   Stories to come.  I still plan to do a blog on "random photos of the Ukraine and Moldova" for you to judge best photo story.  

So...Hello June 5th.....guess what?

I am a writer!!

(photo credit: the writers workshop)

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Speaking Up and Praying For

A few nights ago I was sharing photos of our recent trip with some lovely ladies in our small group from church.  Horrific stories of human trafficking and orphaned children became reality as they listened to all we had experienced in recent weeks. A persistent thought played over and over in my mind...."do not forget these little ones!"  As we looked at the faces of children, I was reminded to pray, pray and pray some more.  Give, give and give some more.  Reach, reach, and keep reaching - "speaking up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute...speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." (Proverbs 31: 8,9)  

Jesus said in Mark 10:14-15 to "let the children come to Him, do not hinder them...the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."  Innocent and needing direction and protection.

Weeks ago when I came away from holding, laughing and playing with the children in an orphanage we visited, I was struck with the harsh impact of "what I just saw and experienced is a microcosm of what is in the world.  The fatherless and motherless children of the world....a drop in the bucket of humanity."  This was not the first orphanage I had visited in my lifetime...there have been others...and each time my heart is broken over the lack of family experienced by these little ones.

Webster's defines an orphan as "a child deprived by death or abandonment of one or both parents; one deprived of protection."  UNICEF states that today there is approximately 143 million orphans worldwide (between 140-190 million roughly estimated).  As I viewed on a website dealing with orphans, to put this into perspective, if all the orphans were to stand shoulder to shoulder, they would reach around the 10,913 mile perimeter of the United States four times, or reach around the world two times.  UNICEF also estimates that by the year 2020, the orphan population of the world will equal 200 million, roughly 2.8% of the world's population.  These are real-life children without mothers and fathers.  I applaud, respect and honor the orphanage workers worldwide who give of themselves to provide love and care and a semblance of "home" and "family" to the hundreds and thousands of lives they touch daily.  

For those of us/you out there who are mothers and fathers, who hope to be mothers and fathers, who have a heart (I think that pretty much includes all of us)....as we pray for daily for the multitude of needs that surround us, remember Lamentations 2:19 and pray those children who do not have praying parents...

"Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.  Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of our children, who faint from hunger at every street corner."

I want to share some dear hearts with you....not in any way to publish or exploit them, but to ask you to PRAY for their future....pray for their hearts....pray for a family, a hope and a future for them. I don't have names for all of them, but God KNOWS their names...

Could I ask you to do me a favor?  Would you please intercede for these children, and the staff and ministries who selflessly provide for them?  At the age of about 15, children are "released" from orphanages, given a bit of money and taken to the bus station - to go begin a future somewhere.  Often times, human traffickers are waiting their for them.  Someone approaches them in nice clothes and offers them work....an opportunity for a future.  And they are led away believing they are about to enter a good life, instead of the labor and sex industry they are being sold into. PLEASE pray for children to be rescued from this.  Many ministries are providing "transition homes" for those leaving the orphanages to live for a time, learning life skills, occupations, and being given the tools and awareness they need to enter into society. Pray for these ministries.  When you look at the above photos of these sweet innocent children, please lift up their hearts, souls and lives to the King and Father who loves them and CARES DEEPLY for their future.

"And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them."  Mark 10:16

WE can be His Hands.....

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Windows of the Ukraine

Photos should tell a story and that is what I wanted to do when I finally had time to show you our stories from the Ukraine.  I love color (as you know) and windows always catch my eye, especially in the Slavic nations.  When God created man and said "Let us make mankind in OUR IMAGE, in OUR LIKENESS", He formed His creation...to be creative. He then gave Adam the creative task of naming the animals (Genesis 1 and 2) and taking care of His garden.  Although he didn't do such a great job in the garden and succumbed to the lies of the serpent, He still remains to this day, the image of God and creativity.  In the midst of an ungodly government and regime during the 70 years of communism (and even before that!), the Slavic peoples continue - and always will be - creative in bringing out the beauty of who they are.

Even in the rural areas where homes are behind fences,

the beauty is captured...

(I confess....I could have climbed up on the fence to get a full view, but

somehow the grandmother working in her garden on the other side

kind of scared me off :)

I love the lace in the windows of their homes :)

The brick work really allows the color to stand out...

Notice the cross above the window

This one below was on a side street in the city of Kiev...

Each home is different; and I am sure they tell a story of their own

of the occupants inside...

They love flowers and use every inch of window sill to display

and get light...

Again, in the city...

And the windows of the city dwellers take on a whole new 

task of being the add-on laundry room...you see this everywhere

in the towns where apartment buildings abound...but again they find ways of bringing beauty and creativity out in who God made them to be and for some this will be indoors...I still like seeing the laundry when the bright colors of a fabric stand out against the old buildings...

And a window yet to be finished....in a transition home set up

for orphans which will be filled with the blessings and

creativity of God their Father :)

And not to leave out the beauty of the windows of the churches...

Windows of a nation...only a glimpse...the word "window" means...an opening in the wall of a building to let in light and air; and a moment period of time especially favorable for a certain occurrence.  Since the "fall of the wall", these nations have had that "window" for "light" to enter.  Many eternal works of God are taking place in the Ukraine today.  Please pray for the beauty and creativity of the Ukrainian people to overcome the darkness that threatens this land to close this window.  Pray for God to continue to move in the hearts of the people - this can only happen through the work of the Holy Spirit of God.  When you see a window, think opening...think opportunity...think beauty and pray into that window :)

P.S....I hope to do a bit of photoblogging (is that a word?) and share unusual and fun photos in the days to come of our trip.  Hope you enjoy!

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