"Vso Budet Horosho"

That's Ukraine's version of the surfer tag line of "it's all good". :) Literally it translates as "Everything will be good". It is a common phrase in Ukraine, sometimes so much so that it drives me crazy. You have a real, honest-to-goodness problem and someone tells you "no, vso budet horosho". "But, everything will be good". Aaaaagggghhh! Sometimes you just want someone to comiserate with you and say..."Man that stinks!" But then optimism is a very under-rated quality, and I am learning that - you know what - sooner or later, in this life or the next, "Vso budet horosho!" :)

BLOGGING BACK LOG
I haven't blogged in a long time, and lots of things have happened, and I will try to go back and catch you up on all of those in time. Unfortunately, recently I left my purse in a taxi in Kyiv and in it my wonderful camera that made blogging so fun (along with my Bible and other things that I will miss), so these posts may be a little lacking in photos for awhile. :(

I was bummed that this happened, but glad that after all the thousands (millions?!?) of busses, trams, trains, mini-vans, subways and taxis that I have ridden in the past 9 years, that this is the FIRST time I have forgotten a wallet or purse or anything. Not bad, really. I had one mobile phone stolen years ago, one wallet pick-pocketed on the street almost as long ago, too, and one mobile phone fell from my purse also on the street...not bad for 10 years of constant public transport. You who live in the states and have your car or that of a friend's to usually ride in just don't realize how many opporutunities there are to lose or have things stolen when you are on public transport, to where that you are actually glad it doesn't happen more often!

THE NIGHT I SPENT A WEEK IN THE BUDAPEST AIRPORT
Anyway, in light of that kind of cynical optimism, I have to tell you where I am right now. :) I am sitting in the Budapest airport at the Sbarro pizza place that, thankfully, is open around the clock. I say that because my flight from Kyiv (I was there for a long awaited wedding as I returned from the US) was delayed due to a snow storm, so much so that I missed the last train from Budapest to Vajta (where I was headed) and have to wait until the next morning to catch the next train at 7 am.

Now, there are options....I could go into Budapest and get a room at a hostel, or hotel. But I am a little short on cash right now because in my purse that was lost was also my ATM card. Fun, huh? :) Thanks to some friends in Kyiv, I was able to borrow some cash and have my dad send a check to their account in the states. Not too bad a deal, huh? So I don't want to waste money on a hotel when - hey - Sbarro is open all night, there is a table in the corner with an outlet, and most importantly - they have free wifi! :)

So I can catch up on blogging, emails, etc., not spend extra money, and have good reason to rest and relax once I get to the Bible School in Vajta. Life is interesting, huh?

TRAINS, PLANES, and LOST LUGGAGE
Well, the next interesting point is that my bags didn't make it on the flight. :) Even though we waited on the tarmack nearly 2 hours (I stopped noticing after awhile) before we could take off, they decided there was too much snow to get to the plane with the second load of luggage so only half made it to Budapest with us. (Ya think that in the two hours we sat there they could have cleared the road to the plane for the luggage truck...whatever.) :}

BUT...this is a good thing! :) Now when I leave the airport in the city bus, get on the metro, go to the train stations, change trains before I get to Vajta (I'm guessing, that's how it usually is) I don't have to carry my big heavy bag! I only have my carry on luggage! They will deliver my bag to the Bible school. Sweet, huh? :) And the girl at the lost baggage counter knew about the school because her brother had gone there. Small world, huh? :)

OH! And I almost forgot! Evidently they had overbooked the flight out of Kyiv, but since I had pre-bought my ticket, but was near the last to check in and get my seat assignment (what a surprise!) they put me in first class! Ha! So I never realized that in first class you get a linen table cloth, china, crystal (well, stemware) and flatware (not plasticware) and warm rolls...nice. I guess that's why they keep the curtain closed so the riff-raff in economy don't see how you are stylin' and get jealous. heheh. :)

Anyway...that was fun...so...my plane was full, late, and lost my luggage and the result is I flew first class, have hours of free uniterupted internet time, and don't have to hassle with my big bag on the train but rather it will be delivered to the door at the Bible School...not bad. :) Makes me remember one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite pastors, George Markey..."If you want to take care of yourself, God will let you. But if you want to let God take care of you, He stands waiting and ready to do so". And another great quote from another great saint, my grandma Irene Denney... "God watches out for fools and little children". :) Thank God! :)

Prauge Visitors...

I have been really blessed that a lot of friends have already come to visit me since I moved to Prague. I haven't gotten around to getting pictures of all of my guests posted here , but here are the latest. Danny and Annaliese Foote from Kagarlyk, Ukraine came to visit and it was great!

[The Footes, Ruthann (my roomie) and Jason (pastor of CC Prague) having coffee in Prague.]
Danny is part of an elite group (in my opinion, ha!). When he was about 13 I was his Jr. High Sunday School teacher! It has been a blessing to see him grow up into a wise young man of God (Liese is no slouch, either!). :)

Danny, Jake Knotts, Paul Sisemore IV and Josh Tremeer were all in that class and for a time all served in Ukraine as missionaries during the time when I was there. (Jake is still there, check out his blog at jakeknotts.blogspot.com)

One time one of the boys' moms said to me that it wasn't fair that they (the kids' parents) had done all the hard work and now I got to enjoy all the fruit of that work instead of them since I saw the kids on more of a regular basis while living near them in Ukraine! had to agree, the parents had carried the real load, and I got to just sit back and enjoy the results! But I was glad that since I don't have my own kids I was able to enjoy these - just part of all the "kids" God has given me over the years.

Once in a missions conference I heard author and veteran missioanry Elizabeth Elliot say that "all women are called to bear children". And I have to say that my initial response was not positive! I was sitting there single and wondering "Great! Where does that leave me?!" But then she went on to say that if "you aren't bearing children physically, you can still be bearing children spiritually". She went on to say that God had designed women to reproduce, to nurture and to care for young...and that just because that wasn't happening in your life physically was no reason not to experience that joy or avoid that responsibility of "motherhood"...that there were plenty of people that at one time or another in their life need spiritually "birthing" (initially coming to faith) or "mothering" (encouraging to grow, to learn, to get up even when they fall and keep walking).

I have cooked a lot of meals, washed a lot of sheets, and made a lot of beds for these guys (and many others!) and although I know its nowhere near the work of being a "real" parent, I'm so blessed to have had the chance to do even the little I could. I don't know when they grew out of being my students to being the ones that so often I turn to for counsel, etc., but it has been great to see them grow up. To their biological parents, if you didn't know this already - they all are great "kids". You should be proud. Thanks for "loaning" them to me. :)

"And Now for Something Completely Different"...

I have tried a million times (ok, slight exaggeration there!) to download this here and it is just too big, so to check out the video on YouTube - click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIbyWRDMDI8

This was just before I moved to Prague. My dear friend Anya came to visit me from Zaporizha (an overnight train from Kyiv) and we went downtown to have coffee.

At the Teatralno Metro Station this was what we saw...as I have seen many times before. But this time I caught in on film and just had to share it with you.

I don't know why this scene makes me so happy...just that they are having fun...without a lot of money, or hype, or (as my mother would say) "fal-de-ral". (Is that a real word?)

Hope it gives you a smile. If it was in black and white you might think it was 50 years ago, (except for the girl with the mobile phone that cuts in front of the camera near the end of the clip!), but it was just last March.