Week 5

Well we are now into week 5 of our visit and work continues on installing the internal doors on the second floor of Transition House. Last Friday the remaining 6 doors arrived, these have an all round frame with the bottom section being recessed into the floor, as you can imagine fitting these doors provides some new challenges.

Last Thursday morning we were able to take some of the older children from the shelter ten pin bowling along with a couple of the helpers. We played for 2 hours and the children had an enjoyable time.

Saturday, we again went to the Black Sea Camp, this time with more of the younger children, to continue with clearing fallen branches which had come down during the winter.

At the Sunday morning service we witnessed the ordination of three Deacons into Grace Baptist Church. We had also been invited to have lunch afterwards with the families of the three Deacons along with the pastors of the church. We felt privileged and honoured and it was again another moment on this trip that provided further insight into the lives of the people of the church, something we would not normally see on these trips to Odessa.

After Sundays lunch, we were taken down to the sea port of Odessa with Alex and his family. After a brief stroll along the harbour and watching a large ship come into dock, we sat and enjoyed a drink at one of the coffee shops along the sea port. While we sat, we could see in the distance a demonstration taking place at the top of a flight of steps leading to the town centre. Our second time on this trip where we have witnessed first hand the unrest that continues in the Ukraine.

Rob

Visit to Kyiv

Yesterday we went on a day trip to Kyiv, we set out early, before 5am on the 296 mile journey. Which took us through the heart of Ukraine, past acres of ploughed fields stretching for miles either side of the motorway.

We arrived at about 10.30am on the outskirts of the city and took the metro (underground) train to the Olympic Stadium, which is the home to FC Dynamo Kyiv.

We then walked towards the city centre past massive office blocks and smart shops.

We arrived in Maidan Square, the location of much of the violence and demonstrations a few weeks ago. It is all quiet at the moment but the barricades are still there, being manned by protesters.

Pedestrian access to and from the square is through a number of gaps in the barricade.

 Vehicle access is the same.

Many tents have pictures and flowers outside in memory of those who died during the violence a few weeks ago. 

However if you turn round from the barricades life still goes on, with businesses and cafes still operating.

We continued our sightseeing past museums and grand building with beautiful architecture.

 Later we again caught the Metro to the Dnieper River, which is very wide as it flows through Kyiv on it's way to the Black Sea.

On our way back we stopped off at a roadside transport cafe where they BBQ your kebabs over a wood fire while you wait.

Here we are about to tuck into our kebabs and salad.

We then went to a man on the roadside just outside the cafe who was serving tea & coffee using water boiled in a 'Samovar' which is a heated brass container with a central  metal pipe where wood is burnt to heat the water. It originates from Persia and is now used in Russia, many eastern European countries as well as Kashmir and the Middle East. As you travel along the road you see many of these set up on the side of the road for travellers to stop and obtain drinks.

We continued our journey back to Odesa arriving sometime after 8pm, we were all tired but it had been worth the long journey for the experience of visiting Kyiv and seeing more of Ukraine than we would normally see on a regular team visit.

Week 4

It's amazing that we are now starting week 4, the time is flying by, each day seems to be packed full with little time to rest.

On Saturday we again went to the Black Sea camp with a group of children from the shelter. There were still plenty of fallen branches to collect and tidy up. This time most of the adults went down to the lower camp and cut down some of the branches that had broken in the bad weather but were still attached to trees, we also cut off some branches that looked as though they might be a hazard in the future.

As you can see from Rob's clothing, it was quite cold and foggy as well.

We left some of the children preparing the BBQ for lunch.

On Sunday we went to Church and had lunch at the shelter, after lunch Alex took us out with his family to an open air museum, which was south of Odessa. We then travelled back up the coast to Odessa where we had something to eat in a typical Ukrainian restaurant. After Church in the evening we returned to Transition House for supper.

Today has been cold and foggy again, we seem to have lost the warm sunshine at the moment, however it hasn't worried us as we have been hanging doors again. We only have 2 more to do out of our second batch, but Peter has said this evening that he will be buying some more, which will be the large doors to the apartments, so when those are done all the doors will be completed on this floor which will really make it look good.

Later this week we hope to go bowling with the children, as it's now half term in Odessa.

Well, we have just about reached the half way point of our visit to Odessa and work continues steadily on installing doors and frames. We have now installed 10 doors plus frames with 4 are awaiting for us to fit handles, hinges and locks and make the frames. Peter and Bogdan spent some time today doing some more cutting of walls, as this creates a lot of dust we were told to go and have some rest so we took the opportunity to explore the local beach. As you can see the weather has turned quite warm.

The local beach.

Dust cloud from cutting walls.

On Tuesday evening we were invited to have take away pizza with Alex and his family at their apartment. We had a lovely evening with his wife and children, it gave us an insight into the family life of the person who hosts our visits to Odessa. Alex was able to show us photos of the progression of the building work on Transition House over the last 8 years. Its amazing to see how this project has developed, seeing some of  the earlier photos of the adults and children from Grace Baptist church building the main structure of the house, to seeing photos of the very first visit our friends from Gwersyllt Church, Wrexham, to more recent photos showing parts of the house completed. We hope to be able to show some of these photos soon.

Tomorrow we are going back to the Black Sea camp with some of the children from the shelter, again to do some more clearing up of fallen branches and no doubt having the pleasure of one of Peters bbq's.

As we go into next week, we ask you continue to pray for the people of Ukraine during this continuing period of unrest.

John sitting down on the job!

Rob.

Back to work

Well the weekend is over, so it's back to work today. We just can't believe that we are starting our 3rd week, time has really flown by.

After our outing on Saturday it was good to worship again with our friends at Grace Baptist Church. We had the help of a translator for both services and recognised the tunes to some of the songs, so we were able to sing in english alongside our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, it is amazing how difficult it is to do this when the predominant singing is in another language.

During the afternoon we had some time to rest as we seem to have been on the go since we arrived.

After the evening service Pastor Igor led a session to explain the situation for people if the country does have to go to war and the government decides to bring in a compulsory call up. It certainly focuses the mind being here and witnessing the situation as it develops. It is comforting to know that we have a great God who is in control of all things.

Today we have hung our last 2 doors, which took longer than expected as we had to cut some more bits out of the walls to get the frames fitted properly. We are now left with some tidying up work to do around the frames and fitting the plates on for the catch & locks to go into on the frames.

Just when we thought we had finished, Peter announced that he had ordered 2 more doors and that they would be arriving later today, which they did as we left for the church.

Last night we stayed at the church in the visitors apartment, as there has been no mains water at Transition House since Saturday morning, we are there again tonight, however it is supposed to be back on later tomorrow so we hope to be back in our apartment in Transition House tomorrow night.

We might be going bowling later this week or perhaps next week when the children are on holiday. It seems that we may also be going to the camp again next Saturday to do some more clearing up, which will most probably involve another football match and barbecue!

Sunny day out

Today we've had a day out with some of the children from the shelter. We left Odessa this morning to go to the Black Sea camp which is about 30/40 minutes drive away.

When we arrived there we set about collecting branches and small trees that had come down during the winter storms and bad weather. There was quite a bit of timber to move and it took all morning to collect it into several large piles, it will be cut up later to provide firewood for next winter.

Whilst we were working Peter was busy building a fire and barbecuing sausages and kebabs. We then gathered round to enjoy lunch together.

 After lunch there was time for football and a visit to the beach before we left tired out but happy after a good day together.

Friday 14th March

Its hard to believe we have reached the end of our second week. Work on installing the doors has continued at a steady pace, we were hoping to have all the doors installed by the end of today but we had a minor setback with one of them so we still have two left of the original 8 to fit on Monday.

On Wednesday evening we met up with an American couple, Rhonda and Luben, who are doing mission work out here in Odessa. They are part of an organisation that help set up plant churches. After having some chilli and coffee we were invited to a meet with some fellow Christian Ukrainians at a place called the Ascent Church.

Thursday afternoon John and I were able to have some time out sitting in the sunshine. Peter and Bogdan did some cutting of walls which creates a lot if dust and so we were ordered to go and have some rest while they did this.

Peter and Lydia continue to look after us well, for those who have been out to transition house they will know what that means, lots of food!

Apologies for no pictures this time, but we feel once you have seen one door, you have seen them all!

We ask that you keep the people of Ukraine in your thoughts and prayers during this unsettling time.

Rob

Today we've been mainly doing doors!

In fact yesterday and early today we have been concentrating on completing the fitting of locks, handles and hinges on the rest of the doors. All 8 are now completed so we have moved on to fitting the frames and doors into the apertures in the walls.

We managed to fit 2 complete frames and doors today which also included filling in the gap above the frame with metalwork and polystyrene foam to conserve heat.

It's a relatively slow process to fit the frames and doors, as Rob posted the other day, we are being very careful so that we don't make any mistakes or damage the doors or frames.

 Today has been lovely here in Odessa, with brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies, it has been quite windy but out of the wind it was really warm, we took advantage of the sun at lunchtime to sit out and have a cup of tea.

Later there was a brilliant sunset

We have really been made welcome here and feel that we are part of the Church family at Grace Baptist and particularly part of the families of Peter and Lydia and Alex and Marina who are looking after us during our stay.

Sunday Worship at Grace Baptist Church Odessa

We've had full day today, arriving at the church just after 9am this morning, the service started at 10am and we had an american, Alfie, translating for us. There were 3 sermons and plenty of singing.

 

We left church just after 12.00 and went to have lunch with the children in the shelter, which is situated next to the church building. After lunch we spent time playing catch and basketball with some of the boys. We managed over an hour playing before it was time for a rest while the children watched a video.

After tea, again with the children, we went to the evening service, this time without a translator so it was interesting trying to keep up with what was happening and being said.

Back to work tomorrow as we start our second week here, time is going very quickly, it doesn't feel as though we've been here a week already.

A day out in Ukraine

Today was a day off, we were originally going to spend some time at the children's shelter but that was not possible so we went out with Alex and his family and two of the lads from Transition House.

We went for a long drive (stopping off on the way for a walk on a beach) to the Akkerman Medieval Fortress which is situated about 50 miles from Odessa at the town of  Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. It is the biggest fortress in the country, and a unique monument to the defensive architecture of the 13th -15th centuries. Despite its age and the historical events to which it was a first hand witness, the fortress managed to preserve its original structure, and today it is considered to be the best preserved medieval fortification facility in Ukraine.

The Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi fortress was founded on the ruins of the ancient town Tyr. The reason for the fortress’s construction was the need to protect the town from the constant invasions of its enemies. It is awe-inspiring with its power and size: the total length of its walls is over two kilometers.

For two centuries, the outpost served as good defence for its owners. In the late 15th century, however, after a prolonged siege, the fortress surrendered to the Ottomans. The Turks renamed it ‘Akkerman’ (which means 'White Fortress'), and ruled the territory for over 300 years. In the early 19th century, the Russian Empire claimed the fortress as a spoil of victory after a Russo-Turkish war. Over time, the fortress lost its defensive importance. For over a century, this impressive historical and architectural monument has been protected by the state.(see http://discover-ukraine.info/places/southern-ukraine/odesa/177)

On our return journey to Odessa we crossed the border and came back through Moldova.

Tomorrow we will go to Grace Baptist Church and hope to spend the day at the shelter with the children.

Friday 7th March

Well we have reached the end of our first week and we are continuing to make steady progress with installing 8 doors. Today, we were shown how to fit a  complete door by Sasha the builder (see picture below) and then we continued to fit handles, locks and hinges to 4 more doors. As this work is going to be 'on show' John and I are taking our time, making sure we don't make any mistakes.

The first of 8 doors installed

Here we are with 'The Doors'

Tomorrow, its planned for us to spend some time with the children from the shelter, then on Sunday we shall be going to church to be reunited with our friends in Odessa.

Rob

Thursday 6th March

Well the weather cleared a bit today, it's been cloudy with some sunshine, but still cold. Rob and I have been busy again today.

We have been working on the new doors that arrived yesterday morning, fitting locks, handles and hinges and also preparing a frame ready to fit tomorrow. We both commented, that even though we have fitted doors before at home, it's different when you are drilling and chiselling someone else's nice new doors and not your own. However we managed okay without any mishaps.

Our first door

                              

Now the frame

We are now looking forward to fitting the frame and hanging our first door in Transition House tommorow, which is a bit of a milestone really after all the work we have done plasterboarding ceilings, it's great to see the rooms getting near completion.

Wednesday 5th March

Hello from a very foggy Odessa, the fog hasn't lifted at all today, but that hasn't worried Rob and myself as we have been hard at work on the second floor.

We have been fabricating steel channel into the top of some of the doorways ready to plasterboard over to infill the gap above where the new doors will be fitted. Peter managed to order some doors today and they arrived mid morning and were swiftly moved up to the second floor to await fitting later. By the time we finished work at 6pm we had completed 5 doorways.

We have quickly settled into life at Transition House and into our apartment on the first floor. Yesterday when we were out we bought a kettle so that we could make our own tea & coffee whenever we like without worrying Peter and his wife. Our area is very nice and comfortable, which is a testament to the good work already carried out on the house.

Entrance into kitchen/dining area

Kitchen/dining area with cooker and washing machine,

there is a sink around the corner

My bedroom

Rob's room

We are looking forward to soon seeing similar rooms completed on the second floor. We will upload some more photos tomorrow to show how the work is progressing.

Time now for a cup of tea and a sit down!