Goodbye for now, Ukraine

I have been dreading this moment of time for awhile now... these past two weeks have been heart wrenching. Saying goodbye is difficult. Normally graduation is the cause of most of this sadness because most everyone attends, then departs shortly after for their vacations. This year, however, was different. KCA celebrated its 20^th year anniversary! This event happened two days after graduation on May 25^th. I didn’t do a head count but I think around 300 people were there. That’s enough to start a church! A few alumni, former teachers and even the founder of KCA were able to attend. The event was held at the YWAM property in Kiev; we had volleyball matches, a bouncy obstacle course, pony rides and cotton candy! The day was wrapped up with a program honoring teachers who have taught 15 + years, learning the history of KCA and viewing a 20 year pictorial history slideshow.

After the celebration came the goodbyes. One teacher friend who was here for only the school year decided to get it over with quick like a Band-Aid. I tried this approach, but my goodbyes inevitably ended in tears. More goodbyes came the next day at church, then Monday, my last day at KCA. This was the hardest. As I sat in the library wrapping things up, I couldn’t leave. I felt like I could not physically leave my chair knowing it would be the last time. Many deep breaths later, I stood up, said goodbye and left. By Tuesday, I was exhausted.

Although saying goodbye is difficult, I cannot help but think how much God has blessed me. I have met and worked with so many wonderful people. Taught and helped some amazing kids. I have a thousand memories that I hope to never forget. The best one of all is how God has changed me. I am not the same person I was six years ago. That quiet, afraid-of- everything “girl”. Yes, I still get afraid, but I have learned to trust him with my whole heart knowing that He has planned what is best for me.

And we know in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

 [Read below for an adventure that happened to me when coming back to Ukraine from Christmas break--I meant to publish it earlier. Oops :/ ]

Just another day of travel...
I was blessed this Christmas break to be able to travel home and be with my family for two weeks. My flight took me through Paris; Charles De Gaulle (CDG), an airport known for its bad habit of losing passengers' luggage. My trip home went fine...it was on the trip back to Kiev that I had a little adventure. I had checked my one bag in Boise and was told that it was only checked through to Paris, not Kiev, so I would have to pick it up and recheck it there. This usually only happens when going west, not east...but wasn't a big problem, or so I thought. The 11 hour flight went smoothly and was able to sleep most of the way.

All international flights flying into Paris had to go through passport control. One look at the swarm of people and I could have sworn the whole world was there. The lines, although moving swiftly, took forever to get through. When I finally made it out, I had 15 minutes to locate my bag, recheck it, and board my plane on time. I waited and watched for my familiar overstuffed, maroon colored luggage. And waited. No sign of it. After 15 minutes, I went in search of someone who could help me. I found a man and told him what had happened. He directed me to the baggage service area, which was another 10 minute wait (there's a lot of that in airports). The lady was nice; I described my luggage to her and she made a call to the right people. They couldn't find my luggage. She then filled out a form with all my information telling me that they would mail the luggage to me once it is found. Great! I thought. Now what about my flight? I checked for my bag once last time and headed off in the direction of the gates.

I'm not sure where it was that I ended up, nor do I remember how I got there, but in the center was a giant flight information display; every flight coming in and going out of the entire airport was listed on this screen. Except for mine. Judging by the time, my flight had left 15 minutes before. So off I went again in search of help. I found an airline office and showed the lady my ticket. She interpreted the numbers on it and told me I need to go to gate B55. Okay...I followed the large, brightly colored signs pointing me in the direction of B55. I find another flight info display screen (this one is not so grand) and although it shows my flight, there is no gate listed since it had already left. I find and ask another lady for assistance. She sends me to exit 15. I check the screens again and see Kiev and our eastern European neighbors listed--I must be in the right place! It also told me the time of the next flight out. I had an hour and half. Unfortunately, I could not find exactly where I was supposed to be. Everyone was telling me the same numbers but there were only Arab flights (and people) in that section. I finally found an information booth. The lady was very helpful. She called the flight people from Ukraine International and said they were coming that direction to meet me. "Go to the right, near exit 15", she said. So I did. I would like to say it ended here but no.

If you remember correctly, exit 15 was the same place I was directed to earlier. I waited there again. I didn't see anyone that looked like they could be from Ukraine. Back to the information booth (thankfully, this was not too far away). The lady was gone. What?? I then saw her walk past me, I caught her eye but she was on the phone and didn't recognize me. I heard her say my name, "Mademoiselle Wagner...", so I followed her until she went too far. Although I was a bit confused I felt I was in the right area so I stayed put. A few seconds later I heard my name over the speaker. "Would Miss Sarah Wagner please report to gate..." I couldn't really make out the rest with all the noise and the thick accent. I walk back to the info booth where I found a man in place of the lady. I explained that they just called my name but I didn't know where I was supposed to go. He informed me that someone is waiting for me at exit 15. Oh, really? Good to know. (I was a bit frustrated at this point) BACK to exit 15. I see no one. I walk back to the info booth (at this point I think all the Arabs watching me walk back and forth must think I'm crazy). I confess to the man that maybe I am confused. He tells me to go past the gates and I will then see an "office" with blue and yellow. Can't miss it. (Apparently, you can) I head that direction again, stop at exit 15 and carefully look around. I see a few airline "booths" that I had just glanced at before. They are the kind you would see at a county fair. I didn't notice any blue and yellow (Ukraine national colors) but see a large-ish poster with a picture of St. Sophia, across it saying "Ukraine". Bingo. I waited a few minutes for the lady to return to her "office" and I began to tell her my plight. She lets me know that I cannot get on the next flight because it is too late, that it is my fault that I missed the flight and I will have to wait until the same flight the next day.  This is where I burst into tears that had been held back this whole time. She then tells me that maybe AirFrance can help but she cannot. There is no solution from her side (her words)

No solution? Well, I will make a solution. What I really wanted to do at this point though was hide in a bathroom stall and cry. But I was determined to get on the next flight. No way on earth was I spending 24 hours in that airport. This time I went through exit 15 (goodbye!) to the outside world. Took a shuttle to Terminal B (which of course is clear on the other side) where the next flight was going out. After a few moments of wandering, I found the AirFrance booking center. A super nice lady was able to help me, she said it was too late for the next flight (already boarding) but there is another in the evening going out. After speaking with a coworker, she re-checked the computer and noticed that the next flight out had been delayed. If I hurried, I could make it. She printed out a boarding pass and handed it to me. I could have kissed her. THANK YOU, JESUS!

I made it to the gate in time, which ironically was the same one I had flown out of last summer. As I was checking the time, I heard my name...I turned around and saw a friend of mine! She also works at KCA and we were on the same flight! After my little adventure that day I was incredibly happy to see her. 

When I arrived in Kiev, I waited for my luggage to see if it would show up. I thought maybe somehow it got sent on the same flight as me. After about 10 minutes, I saw the familiar maroon luggage turn the corner of the carousel...God is good!  :)

Adventures

Last night the kids decided they wanted to go ice skating, so we put the little ones to bed early and headed out to the mall. We arrived at the skating arena at 7:30 and were told we had to wait 30 minutes. Of course. The skating times in the evening are 6:30-7:30 and 8:00-9:00. Our bus stops picking people up at 8:30... We talked it over and decided to go ahead and skate as long as we wanted and take another bus home halfway, then walk. 

Me and Bethay

Blake, Dima and Seth

Hannah and Jordan

The skating was a lot of fun-- I only fell once! I have to admit though that I didn't stray too far from the wall, but I was doing pretty good after a half an hour. 

The real adventure didn't begin until we were waiting at the bus stop. We saw our regular bus come and go but knew the driver wouldn't let us on that late. Being Americans (and mostly teenagers) we generally stand out and are pretty loud. A man standing nearby noticed us right away and starting talking to us. He thought we were lost tourists and wanted to help. Using Russian, sign language and the three words of English he knew, he asked us where we were staying. We tried to tell him that we live here and knew where we were going. After more waiting for the bus, he insisted several times on getting us a taxi. Some of the kids were not comfortable with this idea and didn't think their father would approve, so we told him 'no, thank you'.

By this time two buses had already gone by. Bus #3 came and the man got on to talk to the driver, telling him we were tourists and needed to get where we were staying. After several minutes of persuasion the driver let us on. Hannah and I stood (yep, you can stand on the bus) up front with the man who told me to watch the road so I could tell the driver where to stop. We made it safely to our destination and left with much thanks to the driver and the man who helped us, our persistent guardian angel.





 

Back in Ukraine

Wow. Praise God! I have been back in Ukraine since Thursday and I don't think my flights could have been any more perfect. I know a lot of people were praying... God knows I freak out easily, so I am very thankful there were no problems.

I think I am starting to adjust to living with a big family. I was a little concerned before I left about what it was going to be like, but it's been great. The kids are so much fun to be around! My favorite time of the day is after lunch. That is when it gets really crazy. Kids running every direction, objects flying (including a large exercise ball) and loud music! I think it will be hard for me to feel like a grown up now...not that I ever have. Ha! ;)


Tomorrow I will go into school and start work in the library. I ordered A LOT of new books so it will take some time to get them ready. Ready or not, school starts the 20th! 

Thank you so much for your prayers! Please continue to pray as teachers and students prepare for school.


With love, 
Sarah

June/July Update

“If there were any more tears shed we may all float away” 

This quote perfectly describes my last two weeks in Ukraine as we as a community said goodbye to several families and individuals leaving Kiev. Some have been here for 20 years, others only two, but they have been like our family and we will miss them greatly.

As I was searching for the source for the above quote, the verse from Revelation came up that says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…” I cannot wait for that day!

HUGE Praise!! I have a place to live for next year! I will be living with the Malones, a family of nine kids. Yep, nine. The oldest, Blake, just graduated high school and is currently in Ukraine; the second oldest, Hannah, will be a junior at KCA. Next are Bethany, Seth, then their fifth child, Eli, who was born with Down Syndrome. Over the last several years they adopted four more children with special needs (Micah, Eliana, Matthew, Ethan) from Ukraine. I will be extra eyes and hands in the house and will also be helping Hannah get to and from school. I met with the whole family before I left and I am excited to be a part of their lives!

I will be returning to Kiev on August 8 for my sixth and last year. Please keep me in your prayers as I transition to a new location and a bigger family. :)

Thank you!

In Christ,

Sarah

P.S. Every year we have a special chapel for the seniors and this year I was asked to make the slideshow. Here is the link: Senior Chapel.

March 2011 Update

Hello from Kiev!

After weeks of stubborn winter chill, spring has finally come, hopefully to stay. The month of March is always a busy one and has seemed to flown by again this year. Here is a glimpse of what the month looked like for me:

"Our friendship is indestructible"

Woman's Day (March 8), which originally started as a political holiday for woman's rights, is now celebrated all over the world for women in general. In Ukraine every woman can be seen carrying flowers of an odd number (an even number of flowers means bad luck). We also get the day off! My friend, Lisa, and I spent the day with our friend, Pam and her three boys. We met them at their house, then drove to Zhytomyr, a smaller town, 130 km west of Kiev. We walked around a bit, took a look inside St. Johns, a Catholic church, then ordered pizza at a “New York style” pizza place. On our way home we stopped for ice cream and coffee at McDonald's.

The third week of March was Spiritual Emphasis Week. All the middle and high school students gathered together each morning in our small cafeteria for a special chapel. The topic was A New Birth Into a New Family. The following week was Spirit Week (not to be confused with the previous week) to celebrate the end of the basketball season. Each day had a different theme that allowed the kids to dress up as crazy as they wanted. My favorite was the Senior class who dressed up as the cast from Despicable Me.

I am still taking Russian lessons twice a week and they are going pretty well, even my tutor says I am a good student—sometimes, I am not so sure. The Russian language can be very frustrating. There are at least six different verbs meaning 'to go'! Even listening to the language can be exhausting. But I still enjoy learning it and I am beginning to understand more.

I will be leaving Kiev and heading home on June 13, ten days after school gets out. I do not, however, have enough funds to pay for my ticket. Can you help? The cost of the ticket is $1129. If you are able to help financially, please click on the RCE link to the right (account # 7910). Thank you so much!

Prayer requests:

• For God to provide my funds needed for next year

• Possible summer job
• KCA staffing needs

I appreciate your prayers! Thank you!!

If you have any questions, or just want to send me a note, please email me at: smwagner82@gmail.com

In Christ,

Sarah

L to R: me, Lisa, Jessica, Amy at KCA's annual Teacher's Appreciation Banquet

Busy, busy

School has been so busy! I have a new job now; working with the EFL (English Foreign Language) students. One of the girls, Iulia, a fifth grader, needed help with a reading worksheet. Her class has been reading Amos Fortune, a book about a slave in the late 1700s. Since I had never read the book it was a little hard to help her with the questions. A few minutes after she had gone back to class, she came into the office to give me a copy of the book, saying "You have homework!". She was very pleased at the thought that I had to do homework too.

There is no school this Friday! It is a Teacher workday, but I get the day off. Sadly, I will miss the free lunch which happens to be my favorite: chicken steak and mashed potatoes. The lunches come from a Ukrainian lady that comes to school four times a week.

It is now 4 o'clock! The time I have been waiting for: time to call home! 

Oh, in case you were wondering...yes, I did my homework. :)