“We have to leave now or we won’t make the train.”
That was Aug 6. Our stuff for Canada was already sitting in another location ready for our departure on Aug 24. Our stuff for storage was sitting in piles in different rooms awaiting the crew that was to move it to Sumy that coming Saturday.
With that, we said goodbye to Calvin (our cat) and walked out of our apartment in Kiev. We made the train with 20 minutes to spare (thankfully), embarking on the final stage of our transition from Ukraine to Canada prior to our flight. We spent 26 hours traveling west to Bucharest, Romania to visit my brother & his family and then to spend a little bit of time on holidays near the Black Sea.
When we left Sumy on July 22, we thought we had two weeks to pack up our stuff, pack up our apartment, participate in a few events and get everything done prior to our departure on Aug 6. We had just completed Jr High Camp (photos here) and wrapped up our summer ministries there. We planned on traveling back to Kiev on Mon, July 21.
But the best plans always need to be prepared to be changed. Our plans began to change quickly as Daniel got sick the evening prior to our departure from the camp with a bug that had been going around. Thankfully by Tues he was able to travel so Leanne & Alicia got on the early train and Daniel and I loaded up the Niva and drove back to Kiev. On Wed, I (John) got really sick, and I was down for almost a week. That slowed everything down. We had planned to have all the packing down by July 31 so that we could go out and participate with a final ministry weekend in Sumy. That too didn’t happen the way we planned. Leanne & Alicia traveled out for the weekend, while Daniel & I stayed in Kiev and worked on packing a bit while I slowly regained my strength.
When Wednesday Aug. 6 rolled around, we were in a bit of a state of unrest, attempting to get everything done because at 7:00 p.m. we had to walk out of the apartment. By God’s grace, somehow everything got done to a point where others could finish it up for us. So we climbed on the train for Romania, and have been taking a bit of a rest in the midst of the hurricane of change. In the meantime, a crew put our stuff that needed to be stored on a truck and it is now in storage. So thankful for those who helped load and unload the vehicle. Without their help we never would have been able to do it.
Lord willing, on Friday we are back on the train to Kiev (arriving Saturday a.m.), and on Sunday we are getting on a plane to fly to Calgary. Mixed emotions is a good way to describe how we are feeling at the moment. But we know this is the right path, and are thankful that God is working out so many details in such a short time to make it all happen.
Here are few things that God has done in a few short weeks:
– He has provided a vehicle. When the word got out that we were going to be heading back to Canada, we were contacted by people we knew with the offer of a vehicle. Big question/concern taken care of. Praise the Lord!
– He has provided housing. With what our family will need and the ministry role that we will have over the next two years, we needed to be more central and closer to an airport. We contacted friends in Cochrane, AB to ask for some contacts etc. We were informed that housing there was in short supply and lots of people looking at each place. So in the midst of everything happening here in UA we were checking sites, making contacts etc. A week later our friends noticed a listing and made contact for us. We also made contact, and three days later we had rented a townhouse. Praise the Lord!
– He has provided a good home for Calvin, our cat. This was a concern for our family – what do we do with our cat? Bringing him along was going to be too expensive and probably too traumatic for him anyways. So that means leaving him in Ukraine, but where and with who? God provided another missionary family who were looking for a cat for their kids. So now Calvin & Sherlock (the hamster) have a new home and our kids are at peace knowing that the animals are in good hands. Praise the Lord!
So what is the plan for the next little while? Well, here is our itinerary as best as we know at the moment.
Aug 24: Fly from Kiev to Calgary, Alberta
Aug 25-26: Cochrane AB
Aug 27-31: Bow Island, AB (need to get some stuff out of storage for Lanae, and we will touch base with supporters and our home church then too)
Sept 1-7: Edmonton area (Lanae is wrapping up her camp ministry that week)
Sept 8-12: family holiday
Sept 12: drop Lanae off at school in western BC
Sept 13: back to Cochrane and begin to get life into some semblance of order
Aug 25-26: Cochrane AB
Aug 27-31: Bow Island, AB (need to get some stuff out of storage for Lanae, and we will touch base with supporters and our home church then too)
Sept 1-7: Edmonton area (Lanae is wrapping up her camp ministry that week)
Sept 8-12: family holiday
Sept 12: drop Lanae off at school in western BC
Sept 13: back to Cochrane and begin to get life into some semblance of order
We are looking forward to seeing many of you soon – but all in good time. Under a normal “home service” we begin to make plans for traveling and seeing our families and supporters etc well in advance of our departure from Ukraine. This departure is a bit different than “normal”, and so we will be working out details and contacting you in time. At the moment we are just thankful to have figured out details up to this point, let alone anything farther than that. Please pray for us as we transition, as it will be a challenge.
