Old Heads

We are trying to get our kids into our local preschool for a few days a week. It has been a real interesting experience to say the least. With all the documents, shots, eye doctors, dentist's, and every other kind of test you can think of it just feels like your sending your kid to a high-tech germ free medical research facility.

Today we finally finished everything and went to get them registered and everything.
The director was a little busy so we waited patiently in the hallway looking at all the classrooms and different pictures of the kids on the walls. As we looked at the pictures we seemed to feel that it was a great preschool. Afterall they had swimming, dancing, gymnastics, basketball, and even a small room with ping pong tables in them.

After about fifteen minutes the director comes to us and understands that we are Americans. She says "what are you gonna give us, we need a projector." She proceeds to tell us that "the preschool is full and if you don't give us what we need, your kids can't come". She understood we were Christians and told us that we need to give so that we can receive. Anya and I about lost it. We simply left the preschool and realized that we don't really need her preschool.

It's not about the fact that I have to invest into the preschool, it's the fact that it is these very kinds of issues that we are fighting against. You don't extort!!!
I know that maybe a little extreme but it happens everyday of our lives in some form or another. It's the disease that plagues this country. It's the current way of living, there is no other.

Maybe some day these "old heads" will learn that if you treat others with respect, they will do the same for you.

No Surprise

It was just a matter of time. We knew it would happen. We prepared our minds for when it would happen. We went over it time and time again. We thought over how we could prevent it from happening. We failed.

She said she wanted to look like momma.




I give you our new daughter Denae, a.k.a., Josephine Dirt :)

She looks like her grandpap now :)

The Throat Slicer

It's been real interesting in life lately. I've always thought of myself as everyone's friend you know. Lately though, there has been a few or more than a few people in my life that have been pretty aggressively against me for no reason whatsoever.

The other day I was standing at my window. We are on the first floor with around 9 meters of windows making up the back of our apartment. Well i was standing there talking to one of my little buddies from the orphanage when a man approached the window and starting yelling, lit up a cigarette and then proceeded to show my the "slice your throat" sign. I kind of laughed and kind of hoped that he would just walk away. He did. Either way here was a complete stranger wanting to fight me. Most of the people who want to fight me right now in life know me.

At least I should be happy he didn't moon me :)

Lettin Go

As this season progresses on it's high time for me to let go. I've realized something about myself that I've always known but have never really thought was an issue. It's justice. I want justice, I want things to be fair. When me or my family, friends, or even a stranger is being treated unfairly it drives me crazy. I want that person to get dealt with. I'm not saying like beaten or killed, but dealt with. I hate when people get away with things.

Anyway it's time for me to let God deal with these people that have destroyed and ployed and brought storm upon storm into my family's life. I will no longer stand by and let my thirst for justice ruin my life and those around me. I will let go and I will forgive and forget. And I know that as I make the steps to do so I will be tested. Those people will test me again. I will be strong , I will be the bigger man. I will be gracious and let God deal with them how He wishes.

By the way, this is Schindler's factory in Krakow, Poland.

Not When, Why

Been awhile since I wrote a post, I miss it!! It's been over a year now since we left America and came back to Ukraine. And as I look back I can't really say it's been an easy year, it's been kind of tough. Sure we've had our great times and good seasons but it's been an emotional year for us, filled with obstacles that we could have never imagined.

As we continue to go through this tough 1 1/2 season I'm kind of gettin pissed about being in it. I really wrestle with God, I yell, I get mad at him and want Him just to bring us out of it. Then the next day I say I'm sorry and thank him for the trial, like James says. I have to think God gets a kick out of me.

Now I'm coming to a place where I feel and we feel for that matter we need to stop worrying about when this crazy season is gonna end. We just need to seek God and simply ask Him Why? What are you trying to teach me and Why?

Bring me back that smile

It's been a tough week this week for our family. Our oldest daughter Bianca has been diagnosed with Bells Palsy. It's a disease that doctors know little about. After listening to the doctor and researching the disease i understand this, that it affects the facial nerve on either side of your face, in Bianca's case, the left side.

Thank God she is in no pain or anything. We are grateful for our health and count in fortunate that this disease can be fixed.

It's been such a test of faith for me. Everytime I see her smile it is just breaking my heart. She's my little model, princess, daughter. As I watch her and how she interacts with other kids and adults, she has such big faith. She tells people, "dont worry, God is gonna take care of me". Everytime she says it I thank God for my wonderful daughter. She challenges me so much with my faith in God.

Please continue to pray for my daughter Bianca. She is doing well, but is worried about our trip to the hospital on Monday, because she understands that there will be a shot to draw some blood for tests.

"Dear God I pray, please bring me back that smile".......

Princess Frosty

Everyday my children amaze me. New words, new phrases and lots of energy. Not long ago we aquired our first family pet here in Ukraine. A cat named Princess Frosty. She is a cat aquired by my little girl Bianca's immense faith.

Anya was putting the girls to bed when she asked Bianca to ask Jesus for one thing she would like to have. So Bianca decided to ask Jesus for a cat. Anya was in shock, she didn't think it through and wondered how in the world she would tell me, and how in the world I would ever agree to getting a family cat. So everyone went to sleep without me knowing what Bianca prayed for. The next morning I sat down and checked my email. The first email I opened was a list of things for sale from missionaries around Kiev. The first ad was for a group of kittens needing a good home. Something inside me said we should get a cat. When I told Anya my idea to get a cat, she nearly cried. She told me that Bianca had prayed the night before for a cat. Of course, upon hearing the story, I told my daughter Jesus had answered her prayer and we were going to get a cat the next day.

I was blown away by God. Bianca was so thrilled that Jesus had answered her prayer and I can only imagine how much her faith grew. It made me long for that kind of faith, that innocent faith of a child.

So we are happy with our miracle cat, Princess Frosty. Of course, Bianca named her.

The Golden Kitty

So I've always know we as Americans get a little crazy when it comes to our pets. You know, clothes, pedicure's, gourmet dog biscuits, beatiful haircuts and so on and so on. My family had a dog named Gracie. She got diabetes and we had to give her insulin everyday. The poor dog was blind and ran into everything. I loved the dog, but I thought maybe she should just go.
Why am i talking about pets and their royal treatment?

Get this, i have a very close source that works in Ukraine's biggest jewelry factory. According to the source, the mayor of Kyiv, just recently made an order for his cat "Yasha". What did he order you ask. A set of six golden plates, spoons, and cups with the words "Yasha" engraved in them. Yes for his cat. We estimated the cost at around $20,000. Come on Mayor are you really that dumb, dont you know people are going to find out and be enraged, epecially since Kiev is in it's worst financial crisis ever as a nation?

For the record, our dear Kyiv mayor was elected pretty much by the church, or several Kyiv churches. I remember when he was running and all these big churches were backing him and telling everyone to vote for him. My wife Anya was one of the ones that was bombarded with brochures and other information encouraging her to vote for him. She was pretty convinced that he was a good guy and voted for him, against my recommendation. I could see from his ideas and his platform where he was going to take the city. Take from the rich and give to the poor was one of his biggest reforms. Another was that he wanted to take away all government privelages, cars, homes, medical stuff, things that should be provided for by the state. Well anytime you take away privelages on that scale, your going to get a bunch of politicians seeking money from other sources, which in turn leads to largescale corruption.

So here we are how many years later and our taxes have gone up, public transportation has gone up 400%, our utilities are in the process of being jacked up 300%, you have to pay to go to the cemetary now and just as of yesterday we learned that the awesome mayor wants to tax those with air conditioners and satellite TV, because they appear wealthier. He sings, he dances, he tells the pensioners in the city he understands them and he listens to God. Then he turns around and spends $20,000 on a cat.

Two thumbs down for our great "cat loving" mayor.

News!!

February, February. In Ukrainian it's called "lutyi" which is like ugly, unbearable, nasty. Something like that anyway. But February has actually been kind of nice weather-wise for us here. No snow and quite warm temperatures for Kiev. The political and economical climate is more like the Ukrainian translation, not the weather climate.

It's been a pretty busy first part of the year for us, the Schlegel family. One of the first big things is that we are now heading up the organization of the U of N seminar, which will take place on Youth With A Mission's (YWAM's) campus this September. Anya and I were approached and asked to take the lead in organizing it, we prayed and felt like it was a great opportunity for us and our ministry, as we will be exposed to a wide range of leaders and people. The seminar figures to be about 400-500 people, so we have our hands full. I have to admit, i feel a bit like the an Apprentice contestant, you know at the end where they go head to head organizing a big concert or other event. So anyway we are excited and looking forward to this event.

Anya has been working her tail off editing and working on Fundamentos. We never thought it would take so long. But technicalities and translation, editing, finding heroes for a nation that is less than 20 years old has been a challenge. The good news is we are done with the editing of the text. Woo hoo and Praise God!!!! The bad news is we are not completely finished. We have two more heroes to find to fill in the last two principles. Then with some design work and some other little details we should be well on our way to getting this thing into our first school. We are disappointed it has taken so long, but realize we have worked hard on it and this is what God wants, it will happen when he wants it to happen. We just keep moving and getting our job done.



Anya as well took her first prayer trip. It was an awesome time, her and a team of just women, travelled to Ternopil in Western Ukraine and prayed for a whole weekend. The team just loved it and was amazed with what God was opening up to them about their country. Ukraine is in a very dark time right now and every team member felt the deception the nation is going through, the history and where all the deception started from. I am sad i wasn't there, but anya feels this is a women's movement and that's why Tanya and Melanie are coming in March. They as women of God, are going to March for Ukraine in March. Praise God for this nation and what he is doing.

I as well took another trip to one of the orphanages with the Dental Ministry. It was great to see the kids again and serve them. This time was so cool in that they remembered me, and that we just got to hang out with the teachers and the children and just minister to them by spending time with them. I really feel a relationship has been built there.



Our family is doing well, we just got off of a 21 day cleanse in which Kyle lost 20 plus pounds. Yeah, I'm the man, you can say it. The girls and Anya are doing just great. Please pray for Denae as she did something to her ankle and/or foot. She cant walk on it. We took her to the hospital for X-rays and they came back negative for a break or crack of any kind, so that is good. We are keeping her off of it for three days and then we will see.

Adios......

Virus

Ah yes, viruses. So much fun aren't they. This was a virtual virus. It shutdown our PC for a couple of days, and thankfully enough we are up and running again. Thank goodness that I had enough brain to save our documents and projects to a flashdrive before the whole thing went kaput. Thank God that our Fundamentals project was on that flashdrive. What did I learn throughout this whole scary moment?
Mac is better than PC :)

Russia has Gas

Happy New Year everyone!!!
Hope you are having a great day with your families.
So here is the situation. Russia cut Ukraine's gas again.
This is not the first time nor will it be the last. Dont let the media
tell you it's because of the $2 billion debt, it is, partly. Let's not forget
that Ukraine already payed $1.5 billion of it already. Now the
Russians want another $600 million in late fees, plus the $2 billion.
Ridiculous!!! Russia is being a bully again, and i only hope Ukraine's
sloppy government will stand up to them. Ukraine has enough gas reserves to last it through April. That seems fine to me. Ukraine needs to not let the Russians run over them. They want this debt back plus they want to up the cost of it, signifigantly none the less. The thing is Ukraine could really just say hey, "we are not transporting your gas to Europe". That would be it. In my opinion Ukraine has the upper hand in this battle, it's just the corrruption of the crazy government here that will make Ukraine lose this battle. Too many agendas are on the line with the gas, and too
many $'s would be lost to top officials if they don't play ball with Russia. Either way this is a ridiculous situation that Ukraine has gotten itself into. If things were done honest and right like God wants it done, everything would be great, but it's not. Your seeing the fruit of corruption as we open the New Year. That's why we are here, to help rid it out with God's fruit. So, we will see what happens, for now we are warm, but for how long nobody knows.