5 August 2005

This letter was sent at the beginning of our third month in Ukraine.  The apartment we were staying in was originally rented by the Linds from our future landlord, Igor.  Back in June, Igor stopped in shortly after the Linds had gone.  He was not happy to find people living in his apartment that he did not know.  We were very blessed to have our friend Sveta there to translate.  My Russian skills were very poor at this point.  Igor had us sign a renter's agreement and registered it with the local housing authority (The Zhek).  He blamed Hilary for everything, but we were surprisingly calm and just grateful to have a translator present.  In Later years I learned that Igor was a former Soviet  Army officer, was married but his wife and daughter had moved to Israel.  He was definitely pro-Russia.  In his opinion Ukrainian wasn't even a real language.  Oh well it takes all sorts to make the world go round.  

Here is part of AnnMarie's letter written on 5 August 2005.

I received a package with the foot swabs and Equal for Alan, and 2 letters. I am so blessed. You don’t have to send more Equal because the supply you’ve sent will last Alan awhile. He only uses approx. one or two packets a day.

This past Sunday Alan officiated a wedding at the church we are attending. He looked so good in his suit. I think he is very handsome. He spoke and there was a guy who translated what Alan said. It was funny because as the bride and groom entered and walked down front everyone stood and applauded. They also applauded during the ceremony and we aren’t sure of the reason but it was a happy sound. I hope the couple was blessed by having a man from the States marrying them. That would seem quite memorable. The only bad thing was our camera’s batteries died and we didn’t get a picture. L

(Just for your information The Ukrainian pastor was out of town, and the couple's parents where not there as they were not happy about them being married in a protestant service.)

It has been quite a time here. The Lind’s arrived here on the 10^th without their new apartment being ready and so they stayed here until yesterday! Can I say that I experienced TOO MUCH COMPANY? I am so thankful that it is them with most of the stress of moving instead of us. It was awkward because this was their apartment yet it was also our new home. Michele did all the cooking and I did the dishes so I didn't have to worry out about what to fix. They have 2 kids and they were messy and fussed so that added to the stress. We fixed dinner one night and their daughter, Rachel complained she didn't like it. Their 3 year old, Nika cried every night or first thing in the morning and in the afternoon he screamed. So our home wasn't peaceful. The television was on playing a movie or Michele watched the news so it was never quiet.

Now that they are gone—it is peaceful. It was hard to gauge what is normal and what was just stress from our living conditions but I am happy to get things back to normal. Seven people in an apartment is a lot. I had wanted to sit down to write you a letter, or just read and enjoy myself but that wasn't happening. There was stuff everywhere! Oh my Gosh!

We haven't bought a television, VCR or stereo. Our computer is filling in that capacity. A washer is at the top of the list of things we want to get for our home. It has been fun going out shopping to get silverware, glasses, coffee cups and kitchen gadgets, brooms, dust pan and mop plus an iron and ironing board. We also had to buy sheets, blankets and pillows and a telephone. Good thing I had packed some towels and washcloths! I am glad we had sent the dishes you gave me and my quilt here for our bed. We still are waiting to receive a box we mailed that has our Brita water filter and Bissell carpet sweeper! We may need to buy some extra plates and bowls if we have more company. Right now it will be a package of disposable dishes in case of emergency. They are plastic instead of paper. I miss paper towels.

Could you send me a couple of pot holders? I haven’t found any and didn't think to pack them. I prefer the square ones over the mitt style. Thanks. I also would like ziplock bags. I thought you could include a few in each of your letters since letters get to me sooner than a box. All sizes since I haven’t found any here. And would you consider sending us a Reader’s Digest. It would be good reading material in the bathroom. J Smile. That would be most appreciated.

There is a lot less clutter and mess and I really like that. Has your house gotten a little more organized now that Marlene has left? I know that it will take awhile to get things where you want them. Working a bit at a time I know that there will be progress. Are you going to have a project room? Or will they just be two guest rooms?

I am so thankful that your eye surgery went so much better this time. I will be glad to hear how it goes the next time you go back for a check up and are able to get new glasses. The hardest part will be getting new frames and lenses. The frames now are smaller than before. Some optical shops offer a computer assistance that takes your picture and shows you what the new frames will look like on you. That is a plus for me since I can’t see well without my glasses. Supposedly getting glasses here is cheaper than in the States. But I don’t plan on getting new glasses for awhile.

I am looking forward to our phone call tomorrow.

I like keeping in touch with you. What I miss is giving you and getting a hug. I always hope to get mail whenever I check our post office box. I will write you again soon.

This letter is sealed with a kiss!

P.S.

To answer your question: The picture with all the balloons was taken at the church office in Oak Harbor. The balloons were for Alan’s birthday and Our 30^th Anniversary.

Final notes - We called back to the US using a prepaid "Allo" card.  It was about a dollar a minute, but it worked well on our home phone.  We had internet, but it was dial-up and slow.  We hadn't discovered Skype yet, but it wouldn't have worked on our internet anyway.  Our home phone was a party-line and someone else in the building was on our line.  We occasionally had clashes when we were on the line and they wanted to be on the line. - "Those darned Americans always hogging the line!"

I pray you were blessed in our sharing our life in Ukraine with you... 

In Him,

Alan

A day in the Life of AnnMarie July 06 2005

The following is an excerpt from a letter that AnnMarie sent her mom, telling about her day.  At the time I was on a mission trip with a group of Americans and Ukrainians somewhere between Kyiv and Odessa.  Our apartment was built in the soviet era and the furnishings were 1950's soviet style.  I am sure if any of you were adults in the 1950's some of our stuff might have seemed normal to you.  Part of the furniture's uniqueness was that all chairs and couches could fold out to make a bed.  So in theory we could bed down maybe 10 people.  At this time we were house-sitting for the Linds, so we had their TV and washing-machine available to us.  We had no vehicle of our own so shopping meant walking to the store or taking public transportation.  I think we all lost weight the first year we were there.  Here's the excerpt -

Today I did laundry. In takes 90 minutes for the front loading machine to do one load. But I am so thankful to have the machine. Then I have to hang the clothes on the clothes lines that are on the balcony.  A breeze blows to dry them. I miss how the towels feels coming out of the dryer. They are so soft and fluffy.  I don’t know how long it will take the clothes to dry when winter comes. I doubt that I will be hanging them outside. I have a couple lines over the tub in the bathroom and a folding rack for some as well.

I also defrosted the refrigerator. I think it is over 30 years old. Now that it defrosted I plan on going shopping tomorrow to buy lunch meat, bread and something for dinner. I am not sure what I will get. And I will go to the office to work when Paul calls. I wait for his calls because he is in and out of the office often and I am never sure what tasks are needed to be done until he calls. We haven’t yet established a routine and plan for things that need to be done. I think this will come to pass over time. He is used to doing the work by himself and it takes time to know what things can be released for someone else to do.

V I found a Christian channel in English and there are some programs that I find interesting to watch. Today we are studying Psalm 120-131. They are pilgrim songs that were sung as a reminder and teaching tool of what God has done for them. I didn’t go to church on Sunday because I knew there wouldn’t be someone there to interpret the sermon for me. I missed going.

Daily I get text messages on the cell phone updating me on what is happening on the outreach that Emily and Alan are on. Last night Emily sang Amazing Grace.  Alan said he was so proud of her and I think it blessed those in attendance as well. She does have a beautiful voice. Alan also had opportunity to preach.

Click here to see some pictures of our appartment

More history - How we came to Ukraine

A major life transition

In 1997 I retired from the US Navy, and in September I finished my Bachelors in Computer Science, began Seminary and we moved out of our home of 17 years into a 27' travel trailer parked behind the church we were serving at.  Little did we know that this was just the beginning of our journey to Ukraine.

Moving from two bedroom home to a travel trailer meant for some downsizing.  We tried selling our things via yard sales, but we didn't recoup much for our things.  I think I would rather give my things to a friend or person in need than let someone buy a bag full of my possessions for a quarter ($0.25).  I think God' honors those who willing bless others instead of working to fill their own pockets... but I digress.

There were things that we had trouble parting with, so those things found their way to a 10'x12' storage room.  This is the American way... we have so much trouble giving up our things.  I had my books in an office at the church and we brought our clothes and a few basics to live in the trailer.

I have to admit, that I actually loved living in our trailer.  It was small to us, but then that made it cozy.  It had A/C, a forced air furnace, a refrigerator (which ran on DC or gas), a small gas stove and range (similar in size to the one in our apartment in Kyiv (I prefer this spelling to Kiev, because it is the official international spelling for the city's name).  I liked that when we were in there together, we were rarely more than a dozen or so feet from each other.  I loved watching the quail and other wildlife that paraded by our trailer.

Its funny how you adapt to things.  In the evening when we were relaxing, I would lay on couch that was barely long enough for me, AnnMarie would sit across from me at the kitchenette and we would watch some TV.  It was a 9" TV that just fit into one of the kitchen cabinets above AnnMarie's head.  I would watch from the couch, reclined and she would watch the TV via a mirror on the kitchen table.  For us that became our normal.

Unfortunately, we had no proper sewer hook up, so I let the grey water go on the ground and then about once every six weeks we would have to take 10 gallon containers of sewage (black water) in the trunk of our car to the trailer park at the city park.  As disgusting as that may sound, God's grace made it almost fun.  Even our young friend Emily who joined us one time remarked at what a fun day she had doing that with us.

The Ukrainian Connection

While all this was going on, another couple at our church, Michelle and Hilary Lind, had begun to find an interest in Ukraine.  Eventually they became full time YWAM (Youth With A Mission) missionaries to Ukraine.  Michelle would often try to encourage us with entreaties to come to Ukraine because "we would love it."  But I was on the path I had set in my heart and I wasn't the least bit interested (or so I thought).  On one of the Linds' visits to the US they brought another couple with them; an American married to a Ukrainian.  For some reason I thought it would be cool to greet them in Russian on Sunday morning.  So I looked up how to say "Good Morning" in Russian on the internet.  It made quite a hit with them, and it sparked an interest in me to learn some more Russian.  So I started checking out tape courses from the library and listened to them in my car on my way to my Seminary Hebrew class - talk about headaches, Oi!

Our first trip to Ukraine

 But I still didn't really have any desire to go to Ukraine.  I was studying to become a pastor/preacher and my plans were to one day have my own church in the USA, not Ukraine.  But one day one of my spiritual heroes (a man who served in The Congo for twenty years as a missionary) said that we needed to make a mission trip to Ukraine.  I prayed about it halfheartedly and was answered by the Holy Spirit with a resounding "Yes!"  Being this is the short version of my story, I'll just say that after much preparation a planning we landed in Ukraine the first week of May 2004. 

I cannot say that was impressed at first, but the following day when AnnMarie and I woke up in our hotel room at the Slovutich and we looked across the Dniper river, suddenly our hearts broke for Ukraine and we were weeping and praying for the people of Ukraine.

Our mission trip was like a spiritual honeymoon.  It seemed like everywhere we went we were received warmly and people responded to the Gospel message amazingly.  For example.  My hero, Pastor Dick was supposed to preach, but like many of us he was hit with some sort of bug that was making us want to be near a toilet.  He came to me and said that he couldn't speak and asked me to bring the message.  I cannot say that I felt very spiritual or very well at all, but I agreed to take his place.  I shared what was on my heart and made an invitation for them to come up and receive Christ.  There was silence and nobody moved.  I quietly prayed under my breath, "God this is yours, I cannot compel these young people to come up and receive you."  Then a little boy, maybe 5 years old, boldly came up and took my hand... the dam burst.  Suddenly the stage was filled with 30 or more children ready to accept Jesus's as their savior.  I stood there with tears streaming down my face.  I would never be the same again after that.

While there we also did puppet shows, told stories and showed pictures of our families and life in America.  It is very interesting to operate puppets when you don't understand what is being said on the sound track.  But the thing that got me the most was that after every performance they would sing a song, that I now know to be "Pray for Ukraine".  I didn't know a single word of it, it was sung in Ukrainian, but every time I listened to it I was brought to tears.  Even now 10 years later, it can profoundly move me.

Finally when it was all done and we were heading back to America, I found that I was angry that I was being forced to leave the place where my heart had come to know as its new home.  Just a little over year later, AnnMarie, our young friend Emily and I were heading to Ukraine for full time mission's work as independent missionaries; not knowing what we would be doing or where we would be living, trusting God to sort that all out as we obeyed our hearts' call to return to Ukraine.

For additional reading consider my other blogs:
Preacher Al's Blog
Walking in the way

July 25, 2005

Hello Mom

How are you today?

Alan and Emily left yesterday for an outreach to Odessa.

They have a cell phone and so do I so we are able to keep in touch with a phone call or text messaging. Which turns out to be a good thing because when I got back to the apartment the home phone doesn’t get a dial tone so I am unable to call out or get on the internet. This has happened before but it has been a whole day! I hope the problem gets fixed soon.

Since Alan is staying in a different home than Emily it would be nice to have a third cell phone because Paul Logan called me last night and wanted to speak with him and couldn’t because Emily had the other cell phone. Oh well! I hope it wasn’t an urgent thing.

I will go to the office to help Paul as needed in preparation for another team coming for outreach in September. The team that is here now is from New York and they have been here before and are visiting villages that they have been to before. I anticipate Alan and Emily’s return to be on the 6th of August. It will be a busy two weeks for them and I plan on enjoying the time I have as well. I won’t always be the one to stay home when there is opportunity to go on outreaches.

I am sorry that I forgot to mention it was Emily’s 19th birthday. She was most surprised when I told her you were disappointed that I hadn’t told you so you could have sent a card. Her comment was that you don’t even know her. I told her that you care because I do and that was enough! We had friends over for pizza to celebrate because that was what she wanted. That was a good thing so I didn’t have to cook. I ate a cup-o-noodle soup for supper last night. “No fuss, no muss” is my motto. Today I went to the vendors on the street to buy potatoes and carrots for dinner but now I wish I had purchased veggies for a salad as well. I don’t plan on going out now to get some because it looks like it might rain again. Emily’s girlfriend, Jill is coming over tonight for dinner and to hang out. She arrived to Kyiv the same day as we did but is planning on returning home to Oklahoma on Sunday. She came to work in an orphanage while she was on summer break from college. She has enjoyed her stay here and wants to return to Kyiv someday. We have her email addy and cell phone number so the plan is to stay in touch.

The cable was acting weird last night because I could see the picture but not hear anything. The only English speaking shows are CNN News, BBC news, a ESPN station and the GOD channel. I saw the Tour de France briefly and saw Lance Armstrong was #1 before the sound disappeared. I kept it on for a while to see if the sound came back. It didn’t so I went and laid on the bed and read. Jill & I will probably watch a movie after we eat. We will have popcorn and leftover ice cream for dessert.

› Tomorrow I plan on mailing this letter and stopping by the YWAM base to see if I have any mail. I am so thankful that you write so often because eventually I will get the letters and cards that you write. I also very glad that the newsletter I had sent to the church was mailed out and received. I was glad that I had Kathy’s address so one could be sent to her as well.

I got out a Ukrainian map to see where Alan & Em are at. I have a schedule of where and what they will be doing each day they are gone. They will be in Zshashkiv for 2 days, Bashtanka 3 days, Odessa and Chanbaka 4 days, Lubashowvka 2 days and then back home to Kyiv. I know that I will enjoy my time while they are gone since sometimes it feels like we have too much company and “I vant to be alone.”

For the eight years that we lived in the trailer I was unable to move furniture because it was bolted down. It will be a challenge not to move furniture while Alan & Emily are away. The plan is to wait and rearrange our furniture once the Lind’s return and take all their stuff and this truly becomes our home. I can envision some of the ways to rearrange the furniture for our use. But until you actually move the pieces you really don’t know if it will work out. In the bedroom I know that I want to move the bed so I can get in on my side instead of scotching across because the bed is against the wall. And I think that I want to move the desk into the living room (if it stays) so that I can move our laptop computer off the dining table. I also want to move the couch nearer to a outlet for better lighting. There aren’t many outlets and there are extension cords to make up the lack but you really don’t want them to run across doorways. That would be a trip hazard. I have taken out a tape measure to measure the furniture and the wall space to see if the arrangements I have in mind are even feasible. Nightly the above neighbors move their furniture. They probably have futons and have to make adjustment from their living space to accommodate the sleeping arrangements. Very soon I will be moving furniture too!

I love you very much.

It blesses me that you treasure these letters so much that you keep them in sheet protectors. I never would have thought that except for you telling me.

Have a blessed day and we will talk on Saturday.

Your loving daughter,

Getting Things Off the Ground

Recently, a childhood friend of mine suggested that I write a book about our life in Ukraine.  It sounded like a good idea so I sat down made an outline of things I would like to share about our life in Ukraine.  Then I asked AnnMarie, my wife, if should had some ideas and she pointed to four binders on the bookshelf and said there are 7 years worth of thoughts.  You see my mother-in-law had saved every letter my wife sent her.  And she had sent her a letter every week for almost 7 years.

So I thought, while I try to come up with some ideas for "Our life together in Ukraine" I thought I would post some the letters that she had sent her mom.  The book will be quite and undertaking for me as I think the longest paper I have ever written was what I was in seminary and it was only 20 pages.  So I thought I could spoon feed you some of our life there through my wife's letters.

So what should follow will be those letter, a few each week until I am through them all.

Enjoy,
In His Grace
Alan J. Beckett