1 Year & 3 months on...

I’m sure it is true that good things take time…because although it has taken time, it has been very good to move into our own house!

Coming back

Well we arrived back from NZ with our luggage safe & sound 3 weeks ago and it almost seems like we never even went there!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time there catching up with friends and family. It was with mixed emotions that we headed back to Ukraine and after 40 hours of travel arrived to a snowy but not too cold Kiev.

We began school again the next day and although it was a shock to the system it was good to get back into a work routine again.

School

We have contracts up until Sept 2010 but have asked that next year we only take one position/class and share the job. This proposal doesn’t seem too popular at the moment, but we are just praying about this as it would give us more time down at our house and being involved with people there.

The economic crisis has hit people in Ukraine hard & we feel the effects at the school which sometimes makes for strange decisions and interesting situations. The students & staff still remain fun to work with, so that keeps us going.

Housing

3 days after arriving back we signed up a new apartment which is about 10 mins walk from our school. In the last few months rent prices in Kiev have almost halved so we were able to get a very nice, big 4 room apartment for not much more than what we were paying last year for a 2 room apartment. We are living here during the week and although we have moved most of our stuff into our house in Rzhyshchiv we are only staying there for the weekends at this stage.

But it is good to see our project to come to some sort of completion…and we are very thankful to God for this beautiful place to relax in & entertain people. It’s a never ending job owning property, but we can now comfortably (very) live there.

People

We are in the process of applying for a visa for our friend Sveta to come & study in NZ. Most other details have fallen into place, and we are just awaiting this. We hope that she will be on the plane at the beginning of March ready for a huge year at EXCEL!

We are making inquires and would like to be involved in some sort of way with street kids/orphanage work here in Kiev. Not sure what form this will take, but are looking into this.

Future

We are unsure as we look into the hazy distance, but just enjoying what life throws us at the moment.

While in NZ we had tests done regarding having children, and are still trying to figure out the best path for us to take. We are not 100% sure what needs to happen, but this may result in us coming back to NZ for medical help within the next 12-18 months.

Our half-term ends next week, so we are taking a short break to Norway, Oslo were we also hope to get Jon’s computer fixed and have a relaxing break.

Thanks for your friendship & prayers

Until next time

Ruth & Jon