Three days ago, was the hottest day in Kyiv. On record. Ever. Record heat. Dreams of air conditioning. Thoughts of winter. But thankfully, we have been blessed with three days of record cool. Today’s high is going to be 73. Yes, 73. Here’s a look at our next ten days…
August has brought so many things. We have finally gotten our identification codes here in Ukraine. That is the next step to getting residency. We will be officially documented as the owners of the house we are buying next week. I found out this week that there is a percentage of the selling price that we will have to pay the government. Say WHAT? Well, we shall see. I don’t know what the percentage is and have no idea if God will provide money for that. But that’s His business I guess.
August has brought another family member. Well, kind of. His name is “Pippin.” Our interpretor for church found this little guy abandoned to die at her apartment complex. She
texted us and asked us if we would be willing to “adopt” it since she was not allowed to have pets in her flat. So…we told her we would take it. We have a momma cat who recently became an “empty nester” (but who is about to have kittens…again…but that’s an entirely different story — but Seth told me the other day that he’s not surprised because she was under the van for a long time with a boy cat — ha ha) so we hoped that she would take care of him. She took him immediately and made her her own. She lets him nurse, but of course she has no milk. So we feed it by hand. Yes…by hand. Because we had nothing else to do with our spare time.
But Seth was kind of bummed out when the last of the kittens was given away so he has taken Pippin on as his project. He is TINY and his eyes are still closed. But probably in the next week he’ll open them. We hope Phoebe has her kittens sooner, than later, so he can start nursing and getting milk from her. As soon as she finishes nursing her next litter, she is getting a little visit to the surgeon (unless she gets pregnant again while she’s nursing…which is entirely possible (and she can’t have the operation until she is finished nursing…SIGH).
August has brought us a new house guest as well. Sarah, who works as the librarian at Kyiv Christian Academy will be staying with us during this school year. It’s school where Hannah will be starting in just a week. They will travel to and from school together which is a blessing for everyone. She arrived on Thursday afternoon and I’m sure is finding life in the Malone house quite entertaining.
August also brought TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) to our house. Alla heard about our family and wanted to do a story and a “mini movie” about us. They came on Monday to do the filming for the story that will air in a couple of weeks here in Ukraine and in Russia. Basically just telling why we live here, about our kids, adoption, Down syndrome, etc. We covered a lot of territory. I even did my bit in Russian. I am a little nervous to hear how much like a HICK I sound speaking Russian…but oh well. She insisted and I couldn’t say no. I had to do 2 takes though – which she was fine with. She said we can do as many as we need. No problem. I was grateful it only took two. I was as nervous as a cat in a rocking chair store. Hopefully I didn’t mix up any words and say something bad (voice of experience… let’s just say that the word for “hungry” is close the word for “light blue” which also happens to have another meaning that is not so nice and certainly not something you would ask someone if they were). We’ll post a link to the video when we get it…so start learning Russian so you can understand it…it will all be translated. You might be able to understand us under the Russian though…
August will bring some guests from America too. Our “parents” Gus and Wartha are coming and a good friend, Sally. It will be a great time, I’m sure. We are looking forward to it greatly. We will have some fun, ministry, rest and just bask in the familiarness of friends. They arrive on the 31st of August and will stay with us until September 10.
September will bring a new team member to our mission. We will tell about it in our ministry newsletter a little later (probably next week), but we are VERY EXCITED. We have so many things we need to get off the ground and having an extra pair of hands will be so helpful!
Here’s some answers to questions that you’ve asked and some questions that you may be afraid to ask, but would like to (click to see the answer)…
[learn_more caption=”What are Bethany and Seth doing for school?”] We’ve decided that education is overrated and that they don’t really need to learn any more than they already have. Just kidding, of course. We are going to continue to homeschool them. We will be using Alpha Omega online school (it’s called “Monarch”). It’s a Christian based curriculum that is centered on the Bible and teaches English, Math, Science, Bible, History, Geography. I am also taking them through a Russian course. We are 5 lessons in. They will begin school August 22.[/learn_more]
[learn_more caption=”Are the littles okay?”] The littles are fine. They will continue homeschool, as well. We have lots of resources to use for their school, thanks to Mary’s sister, Robin. We will continue to work with them and help them develop.[/learn_more]
[learn_more caption=”I heard you are moving back to the States. Is that true?”] I’ve ignored this rumor because it’s silly, a rumor, the figment of someone’s wild imagination. First of all, the answer is NO. We have no plans to move back to the US. I will stop short of saying ever…but we are trying to build a life here in Ukraine. My business “may” provide enough support for us in addition to the many generous donors who give to our ministry monthly. We still need a very large amount to pay for our home, but we are still trusting the Lord for that.
I can’t tell you why the rumor got started, but I can tell you that it is just that. A rumor. And please, if you ever have a question, just ask. You can email us any time![/learn_more]
[learn_more caption=”How are we doing…really?”] Like anyone, anywhere, we have our good days and our bad days. Some days are VERY good. Some days are VERY bad. The good days are starting to outnumber the bad ones though…and we are so grateful for that. We’ve had a couple of bad days this week, but we are working through them and moving forward. Sometimes, we can allow satan to convince us of the craziest stuff.
Thankful that God is bigger. Stronger. And my Father.
All in all, we are feeling very at home here. Sometimes a bit lonely. Sometimes we get tired of trying so hard to exist here, to be understood, to understand. Usually the simplest of things requires so much more than it would in the USA or where we fully understand language. But people are nice here and want to help us understand usually. We are okay. Sometimes great. But always okay. And always content in the circumstances that our Father in heaven brings us in to. Being uncomfortable is a good thing, if a bit difficult, because it causes us to cling to Him all the more. That’s what He wants. That what we need. So it’s all good. Everything He does is not only right, it’s good. Everything. [/learn_more]
[learn_more caption=”How can you pray for us?”] 1. For our daily lives that God will continue to give us opportunity to share about Him and live our lives in an authentic way that draws others to Him.
2. For our financial support base to grow.
3. For the immediate need of $7,000 for a new roof for our home.
4. For the next immediate need of the last really big chunk of money for the purchase of our home.
[/learn_more]
[learn_more caption=”And the final question for today… When are we visiting the USA?”] It will be a while. For us to fly back and forth, will cost a little over $20,000. Yes…you read that, right and no that’s not first class. That’s cattle class.
But our plan all along has been to not visit the USA for at least two years after moving here because we really want to be firmly rooted here before we stick our toes in American life again. We’re kind of in the zone right now were if we were to visit the USA, it might be difficult to come back here. Not because we don’t like it here, but because life is so much easier there. (I know some of you reading this are saying that life isn’t so easy. But I promise you that regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in…facing them in the USA is easier than facing them here. Really.)[/learn_more]
We will try to post a little for often…we know you are interested in hearing from us. It’s just hard to squeeze it in sometimes.
We thank you ever so much for your prayers and your encouraging emails and messages.
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Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!