Christmas Celebration

Rob and I celebrated Christmas with our friends. On Friday night, we went to Christmas service in our church. After church we headed over to some friends' appartment to hang out and sing carols. It was a great group of people and included some of my co-workers. On Christmas day, Rob and I watched some Christmas movies and went over to cook dinner with our friends. We had a great time together and made a yummy dinner. One Christmas down, one more Christmas to go (Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on January 6-7).
I am also celebrating holidays at work with my co-workers. The pictures in the beginning our from our work party for St. Nicholas' day (December 18). He brings presents to kids and adults here instead of Santa. I am also going to have another celebratory party at work this coming Thursday for New Year's and Christmas.

Holiday Plans!

It is the holiday time! This year we get to have two Christmases. Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on January 6-7th, as it is Eastern Orthodox Church. So, Rob and I will celebrate western Christmas on the 24-25th with our American friends in Lviv. We will make some food together and hang out. As you can see from the video, Rob and I already bought a Christmas tree and decorated it (took us 5 min. to decorate it, see the video to see why). Then, on December 31st we will catch a morning train to Uzhgorod to visit my family for one week. We will spend New Year’s and Ukrainian Christmas with my family. While there, we will visit my extended family and some friends, as well as make several trips to the Russian banya (sauna) – see pictures from September posts of our trip there, it was fun.

We already had a Christmas party at our university last week, organized by our American friend (see some pics in the video). During the presentation, scripture was read in five languages, and then students did different presentation. Rob’s class sang “Jingle Bell Rock.” He taught them how to sing it! It was a fun time with some desserts afterwards. And today (December 19th) is St. Nicholas day in Ukraine. Over the night, St. Nicholas brought presents for kids, and adults also exchanged gifts.
Today, to continue with the holiday season, we went to see the Nutcracker ballet today at the Opera House in Lviv.

Thanksgiving at UCU

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We'll post pictures of our Thanksgiving later. For now, I think Ray Charles said it best:



Give thanks for all the blessings that are so abundant in America!

Nika's mom visits us!

Last weekend Nika's mom visited us for the weekend. It was so great to show her around Lviv and spend time together. Thankfully, the weather was the warmest we have had the entire fall, so it was great exploring the city. Enjoy several pics from her visit!

 
 
 
 

Nika is on the radio!

Several faculty in our deparment at Ukrainian Catholic University were asked to do presentations on the radio on different psychology topics that are relevant to the general public. At the end of these talks we also advertized the School of Psychological Consulting that we started this week (it is a 2-year cognitive-behavioral program). I gave a 14 min talk on how to cope with stress. For those of you interested in hearing me give this talk in Ukrainian, I am attaching the talk to this blog. The first minute or two is the host introducing the topic and me. Enjoy!

Enjoying fall colors

Rob and I went walking through a park near us this past weekend. The leaves were beautifully yellow and it was a sunny day, a rarity here in Lviv, so we had to enjoy it. We saw a little dog ready for his walk in the park :) People really like to dress up their little dogs here, as you can tell. We also saw a beautiful wooden church by the park.

Our visit to Nika's paternal grandmother and more!

This past weekend, Rob and I went back to visit my family in Uzhgorod, and we also made a special trip to visit my paternal grandmother in the village Korolevo. The village it about two hours away from Uzhgorod by train. I spent all my summers growing up (since early childhood) in this village, where both of my grandmothers lived then (my maternal grandmother lives with my aunt in Uzhgorod now). Korolevo has a special place in my heart, and it meant a lot to share so many memories I have of the village with Rob. It was so great to have Rob meet my other grandmother (Tonya) and my uncle and cousin, who live in a city near the village and joined us for dinner. While visiting Korolevo, we walked around the village, went to see castle ruins, the house where my other grandmother used to live in, and the cemetery where some of my relatives are burried.
As Rob and I were heading back to Lviv, we were lucky to share the train ride with one of my cousins who was heading to Kiev, where she attends college. It was a fun busy weekend. Sunday morning, we again went to a sauna (pictures from our first visit there were featured previously on the blog), and had a very relaxing time there. Please, enjoy the pictures of this trip.

Nika's friend visits us

Nika's friend from Wisconsin+ Ukraine, Ira, visited this weekend. Ira lived with Nika's first host family after Nika. Ira is finishing her 2-year home requirement in Ukraine this fall. Ira had some work assignment in Lviv this weekend, so we were happy to have two evenings to spend with her after work. We toured the city, climbed the city tower once again, and visited a chocolate caffe, where they make chocolate and sell it. One of the pictures I posted has shoes made out of
chocolate behind Ira and I. We enjoyed a cupt of hot chocolate (literally melted chocolate) at that wonderful caffe. It is so great to have friends visit! Hint, hint for all our friends in US :)

Philanthropy in America

Rob gave his presentation today on "Philanthropy in America" as part of Lviv's Ecumenical Social Week 2010. He was part of a round table discussion that included the Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine, the Vatican's Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, and the rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University.
Below are the audio (the first couple minutes are missing) and the full text.

 

I have been asked to speak about Philanthropy in America. But before I begin, I think it would be best if I gave you some idea of who I am and what it is that might qualify me to speak on this topic. Prior to coming to Ukraine a month ago, I was an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for nine years. I served congregations in Ohio and New York. So any thoughts I have about philanthropy in America are going to be from that perspective: What I have experienced at the local level in my pastoral ministry.

Also, just as all of you are proud of your Ukrainian heritage, I am proud my country and all she has accomplished over the course of her history. I am proud that according to a recent study down by the John’s Hopkins institute, “Americans give more to charity per capita and as a percentage of GDP than any other nation on earth.” Forbes Magazine, 12/26/2008 I am proud of how generous and compassionate America and her citizens have been in responding to such world crises as the 2004 tsunami in Asia and the earthquakes in Pakistan and Haiti. I am also proud of the congregations I served which were full of generous and compassionate people, who I believe they accurately represent the spirit of most Americans.

Do I think America’s perfect or above reproach? Of course not, but I am proud of America’s generous spirit. So I am honored to speak to you about philanthropy in America from my perspective as a parish pastor. I hope it will be useful to you in your own philanthropic efforts.

The theme for this ecumenical week: Philanthropy. Trust. Responsibility.
Captures a bit of wisdom that it took me a while to learn as a pastor. And that wisdom is this: Philanthropy needs to be done responsibly. Because if it is not – if philanthropy is done irresponsibly – then it can encourage dysfunctional behavior and create a spirit of irresponsibility and entitlement. By contrast, however, philanthropy that is done responsibly, empowers people to take on more responsibility in their own lives.

Take for example the social taxi service here in Lviv that is for people with special needs. It is a wonderful example of responsible philanthropy, because it enables people with special needs to become more integrated into the society by creating jobs for them, and giving them a sense of control and responsibility.

Let me share with you two examples from my ministry of irresponsible and responsible philanthropy. The first example happened soon after I became a pastor. A man came to me and told me that his mom was sick, and that he needed gas money to go see her.

I was moved by his story. As a young pastor, I had recently moved several hours away from my own parents and family, and so I could sympathize with his wanting to be with his sick mom. So I gave him the money, and then I prayed with him, and then he went on his way. And I felt really good that I had helped this man.

A day or two later, I was talking to an old, retired pastor in my congregation and I was still full of this good feeling. But as I began telling him this story the old veteran pastor said, “Hold on, let me guess, his parents were sick and he needed gas money to go see them, right?”

Well, I was shocked! How did he know? Then I realized that the reason he knew was that he had heard the same story many times before. It turned out people often went from church to church telling that story, or one like it, in order to get money for drugs or alcohol.

Sure enough, a few months later, I was at the church again, and this same guy walked in. Only this time he gave a different name, and told a different story.
When I told him I remembered him, he got angry with me and started cursing at me. Finally he stormed out of my office.

What I realized then was that I had been irresponsible in my philanthropy. And because I had been irresponsible, I had enabled this man to continue to be irresponsible, too. So I began to change the way I helped people. I started taking more time with them and checking into their stories. If they claimed they needed help with rent, I would call their landlord to confirm the need. Then I would give the money directly to the landlord. If they said they needed gas money, and I could confirm their need, then I would go with them to the gas station and pump the gas for them. Sometimes once they had gotten the help they needed, I would never see them again. Often, however, we would develop a relationship, and they would stay around for awhile.

Which leads to the other example I want to give you of responsible philanthropy. It is about a young couple who came to me and said they needed $300 to buy a car. Well, after we had talked for awhile, I realized they had the money they needed; they just were not managing it responsibly. So I offered to sit down with them and help them make a budget so they could see where their money was going each month.

As we did that, I pointed out to them how much money they were spending on cigarettes each month. At the time, cigarettes cost about $4 or $5 a pack. Between them, they were spending about $300 a month on cigarettes. So I said out to them, “There is the money you need for your car!”

Well, to make a long story short, I did not give them the money. What I did do was offer to help them quit smoking, and I also volunteered to drive them around until they could afford their car. In other words, we began to develop a relationship. And for awhile they stayed around; they worshiped at our church, attended a weekly bible study, and the woman even asked to be baptized. The point of all this is, if I had just given them the $300 to begin with none of the rest would have happened. I would have enabled their dysfunction.

Philanthropy without responsibility encourages irresponsibility and a sense of entitlement. However, philanthropy that is done responsibly builds relationships, and empowers people, and encourages them to become more responsible, too.

I was not alone in these efforts to do responsible philanthropy. When I was in Ohio, I was surrounded by a community of responsible philanthropists. Many of the local churches, both Catholic and Protestant, joined with our local schools and businesses and other citizens to develop what we called the Center for Human Needs.

It was an organization designed to help connect people in crisis with the resources they needed, while at the same time promoting strong families and community partnerships. In other words, our goal was to help people by developing relationships with them, and giving them a sense of control and responsibility in their own lives. Or, to borrow a quote from this ecumenical week: We sought to employ “the Christian values of mutual aid, love of neighbor, kindness, and charity in order to improve the fate of the people living in our community.”

And that is where I think the success of American philanthropy lies at the local level; in the churches and communities and individual citizens. What the Catholic Church calls “the principle of subsidiarity.” Which the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines as: the belief that “a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order in such a way as to deprive it of its functions.” paragraph 1883

It is my assertion, based on my experience, that responsible philanthropy is a function of the lower orders; the church and the community and individual citizens. It is only at that level that we can develop the kind of relationships necessary for responsible philanthropy.

As a constitutional republic, America has historically had a limited form of government, which has resulted in the responsibility to care for its citizens and people in need remaining at the local level. I believe this is why Americans are so generous, because responsible philanthropy has remained a function of the lower order communities.

In support of that assertion, I would again cite the study by Johns Hopkins that I mentioned before. While it found that America is the most charitable nation, it also found that countries “with higher taxes and bigger social safety nets tended to have lower rates of giving.” In fact, “Nations with cradle-to-grave welfare systems ranked” at the bottom. Forbes Magazine 12/26/2008

A concern I have as an America, however, is that over the last 50 years or so many in my country have developed a mindset that the national government is better able to care for the citizens than the citizens themselves. Again, to quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church: when there is “excessive intervention by the state it can threaten personal freedom and initiative.” paragraph 1883

In other words, when the higher order takes over the functions of the lower order it reduces peoples’ sense of personal responsibility; both the people who need help, and the people who are in a position to offer help. Ultimately, the government can never do what the folks in my community were able to do at the local level; namely, build relationships, encourage personal responsibility, and transform lives.
I believe that the success of American philanthropy can be explained by the Catholic principle of subsidiarity. In order for philanthropy to be done well, it must be done responsibly, and so it is imperative that each and every citizen of a community take on the responsibility of living out the Christian values of “Mutual aid, love of neighbor, kindness, and charity in order to improve the fate of those living in their own community.” Program for Ecumenical Week 2010

Update from Nika

We have been slowly adjusting to the life here. We are not used to using crowded public transportation (mostly buses), so that is something to keep adjusting to. We went to a big mall/supermarket that looked similar to malls in US. Their food section still did not include some things that we have been looking for, so we will keep on looking.

We will be going to visit my family again in a week and a half for a long weekend. I am greatly looking forward to seeing my family again, and we will also visit my paternal grandmother in the village I spent all my summers. I have not had a chance to see her yet since we arrived here.

Professionally, in addition to teaching History of Psychology to third-year students of Social Pedagogy department, I am helping develop a two-year School of Psychological Consulting from Cognitive-Behavioral perspective. Here is a link to the website, which includes pictures of all staff, including me http://cbt.ucu.edu.ua/category/staff/ We will be recruiting students for the program this month, and the program will start next month.

I always enjoy hearing from all my friends and host families back in US! So, keep writing me :)

An Update from Rob on Ecumenical Week

Lviv Ecumenical Social Week to Be Launched Next Week

30-09-2010

On October 4-10, 2010, the Institute of Ecumenical Studies of the Ukrainian Catholic University together with the Lviv City Council, the Lviv Regional State Administration, the Regional Council, and the Lviv Polytechnic University will conduct the third Lviv Ecumenical Social Week "Trust, Responsibility, Philanthropy."

Source >RISU

So a funny thing happened to me the other day. I was asked to proofread the English language version of a program for the upcoming Ecumenical Social Week. As I was reading, I came across my name as one of the presenters! Who knew?



Yep, that's me ... right after the Canadian Ambassador and Archbishop of Ukraine! I've been asked to speak about Philanthropy in America. We'll update you with the video and/or the text on Thursday.







.....

On a sadder note, Nika and I want to send our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Steve Dodge, and all the folks at Prince of Peace. Rest eternal grant him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him. Amen.

Nika's brother and wife visit us!

Nika's brother and his wife (Vadik and Mariuka) visited us in Lviv this weekend! It was so wonderful for Nika to see her brother and reconnect with him, as well as meet his wife. It was Rob's first time meeting Nika's brother and his wife, and we all enjoyed our time together.


We had a great time exploring the city all weekend. Vadik and Mariuka have visited Lviv multiple times and showed us many things we have not seen yet. It was great to have them as tour guides! We are very thankful to them for that. There was a Coffee Festival in Lviv this weekend, and we looked through some booths that were set up and had coffee with ice-cream in it.

Nika's brother is visiting!!!

Here we are at another wonderful weekend in Lviv. Nika's brother (Vadik) and his wife (Mariuka) are visiting this weekend from Kiev. We are going to enjoy the city and Annual Coffee Festival (see www.coffeefest.lviv.ua). Pictures to come!

Weekend in Lviv

We had a great weekend, enjoying many things Lviv has to offer. On Saturday, we went to a Book Fair that is a 3-day event and included multiple publishers and thousands of visitors. It was quite an event! You can see a quick video of it below. Nika was able to buy New Testament in the Ukrainian language.

On Sunday, we greatly enjoyed the ballet, "Swan Lake", at Lviv's Opera House (enjoy the pictures below). The performance was breathtaking as was the Opera House itself. We will be going back for more. We are planning to see an opera there this Thursday. Lviv has a very active cultural life, and the Opera House offers multiple performances each month.

After the ballet, we enjoyed some delicious cake at a cafe called "Veronika." It was quite a treat! And in the late afternoon we attended an English-speaking church service held in a beautiful church (pictures to come later). It was a restful refreshing weekend.

Lviv's Opera House
 

 

 

 

 

Swan Lake
 

 

 

Veronika Cafe

 

 

 

Lviv Book Fair

A Day in the Life

Rob’s sister wrote with a number of questions the other day, and it made us think that perhaps it would be helpful to give a general outline of a “day in the life” for us here in Lviv.

Usually we’re up by 7am and ready to leave for work by 8. This varies depending on teaching and meeting schedules, but it’s usually the case.

Breakfast is rather basic. For Rob it consists of cereal with milk (although the cereals and milk available here in Ukraine are different and not as varied as those in the US) and a small cup of orange juice (again, not quite what he’s used to in the US.) For Nika breakfast is usually oatmeal with tea and honey. Then it’s a short 5-10 minute walk up to the university.

Once at the university, our schedules vary day-by-day. Rob teaches Monday (afternoon), Wednesday (morning and afternoon), and Friday (morning). The rest of his time is spent either preparing or in various meetings. Nika teaches on Tuesday (morning), and has regular planning meetings throughout the week for the new psychology program that will begin in November.

The university has a daily worship service (liturgy) at 11:30am. We have not gone to it as of yet. We did go to a special liturgy on Sept. 14 for the start of the new liturgical and academic year. The music and ceremony are beautiful, but because it’s all in chanted Ukrainian and follows the Eastern Rite (rather than the Western) it is difficult to follow. We heard recently that there will be an English liturgy on Thursdays, so we may try to attend that.

When it comes to lunch, we haven’t developed any consistency in terms of time or location. We’ve eaten a couple times at the stolova (cafeteria) – both at the old building and the new. The food at the stolova is good and relatively inexpensive (although it’s always cheaper to bring your own.) We also have brought cheese sandwiches and fruit from home to eat in our offices.

On Wednesday afternoons, Rob teaches down at the new campus, so he rides the university marshutka (van) down there. There is a giant outdoor market right across the street from the new campus, so we may take advantage of his Wednesday trip to stock up on fresh vegetables and other staples.

After work, we stop by a small produkty (grocery store) that is on our walk home to buy our daily 5 liter bottle of water (we use it for cooking and drinking). We then run home quick to change and drop off our briefcases, and then we head down to the small bazaar (outdoor market) that’s about 10 minutes from our apartment to buy our daily supply of fresh produce (usually tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, and bananas). On our way back from the bazaar we stop by some other small produkty and apteka (pharmacies) for whatever else we need (bread, milk, cereal, grains, etc.) We have to bring our own shopping bags with us, and whatever we buy, we have to carry back up the hill home. We’re trying to get better about only needing to make this trip every other day, but right now (while we’re still getting settled) we keep thinking of other things we need.

After the market run, we head home to cook supper and wash dishes. Dinner usually consists of some sort of grain (rice, buckwheat, etc.) or eggs with vegetables, a tomato/cucumber salad, and bread. Once done with all that, usually around 7-7:30pm, we settle in for the night to either do work, Skype with family and friends, or just relax.

On those days when we’re able to get away from work early, we have been able to do some exploring around the city: we discovered the beautiful park near us, and we also went to find a market/mall (about a ½ hour walk each way) to buy some supplies for our house.

Some of the other questions Rob’s sister asked were: Are you settling in? Is the language barrier tough?

As to settling in, yes we are. Now that we’re almost through our second full week in Ukraine, we feel like we are figuring things out (which stores have the freshest bread/produce, where can we get the best deals, etc.) Because Rob doesn’t speak the language well, Nika is the one who handles all the business transactions (especially at the market!) Rob keeps his mouth shut so that the merchants won’t know he’s a foreigner (they would charge us more).

Getting internet access was not only helpful in making us feel more settled, it also was a major boost to our confidence that we can get things done here in Ukraine. It took many phone calls and a lot of running around to make it happen, but we were able to figure it all out (thanks to Nika!)

The language barrier is tough for both of us, but obviously more so for Rob. In the region where Nika grew up, they spoke a mixed dialect of Ukrainian and Russian. In Lviv, however, they speak pure Ukrainian, so it’s a bit challenging, but Nika is doing a great job! Rob is finding the barrier a bit of a handicap, but he is practicing words and, once we have all our shopping routine figured out, he will be able to run those errands on his own.

Hopefully this summary gives you a good idea of what day-to-day life is like for us here in Lviv. If you have other questions, let us know.

And as always, thanks for your comments, emails, and especially your prayers.

- Rob & Nika

Some Odds & Ends

Street Musicians in Lviv


Gypsy Children in Uzhgorod


We found this outside our apartment: O-H-I-O! Go Buckeyes!!!

Our Trip To Uzhgorod

The Ukrainian Catholic University & Seminary

This Week ...

We had our first week of classes this week. They went well, and we're starting to find our stride at the University.
We discovered an absolutely fantastic park just a short walk from us! It's called Stryjski Park, and it was built in 1895. It was truly a magical experience -- we felt transported back in time.
This weekend we're going to be heading to Uzhhorod (Nika's hometown). It will be the first time Rob has met her dad, aunt & uncle, and grandma! It will also be his first experience at a true Ukrainian sauna! Pictures to follow ....

Exploring L'viv

We spent Saturday exploring L'viv. Here's some of what we saw ...

Saturday

We had our orientation meetings yesterday afternoon. Rob met with the faculty of the Center for Foreign Languages (e.g. the English Dept); he will be teaching two general English courses (1st and 3rd year students), an advanced course for university faculty and staff, and perhaps one more elective class in the theology department. After that, we both met with the vice-rector and got a brief tour of the university. Finally, Nika met with the head of her psychology department, while Rob met with the head of the ecumenical department. Nika will be teaching a course on the history of psychology this term. Rob may give a brief presentation during Ecumenical Week in October, and teach a class on ecumenical theology in the future.

We're getting settled into life here in Lviv. Our apartment is much more than we hoped for -- walking distance to the university, shopping, nearby parks, as well as downtown.

Today we are going to do some work here at the university in the morning, and then go downtown to see the sites this afternoon.

We're hoping to have internet at home sometime next week, so we'll be better able to update the blog and respond to email then.


In the meantime, we appreciate everyone who's written us offering their prayers. It means so much!

Arrived in Lviv

Last Nights in America

In the midst of all our packing, organizing, and running around, we've had the opportunity to take in two beautiful sunsets down by Lake Erie with friends and family. Monday it was Mitchel's ice-cream with Mike and Nicole. Tuesday a visit with Rob's parents and (by pure happenstance) his kindergarten teacher.

Tomorrow we'll have lunch with Rob's sister, Laura, before heading to the airport.