Nathan and Katelin Day

Note: I (Katelin) have decided to merge my Katelin’s Kronicles e-mail newsletter with Nathan’s blog.  Because of the 128 newsletter recipients and my recent difficulty in sending out my last newsletter via my Yahoo e-mail account, I will be posting Katelin’s Kronicles here.  I have made sure that everyone who was on my newsletter list has been added as a blog subscriber.  Again, if you do not wish to be notified of our blog updates, please unsubscribe.  (It won’t hurt our feelings at all.)

Carpathian Mountain Outreach (CMO) began at the beginning of June and has brought some change to our daily lifestyle.  (For more information about CMO, please click here: http://euroteamoutreach.org/)  Every day, Nathan has been busy helping to lead the team of young men (more about them below.)  On week days, he is out the door at 7:30 a.m. for team meeting and then literature distribution in the city and surrounding areas.   He must decide what areas to work in each day, what means of public transportation is required to get there, and have maps ready for each team member.  The literature is placed in apartment mail boxes (it is legal here) or on house gates in surrounding villages.  Each pamphlet invites Ukrainians to join our Bible correspondence course, for which they can sign up via the mail.  During the weekends, the team has been showing the film Fireproof in villages 2-3 hours outside of L’viv.  This requires meeting with the village leaders ahead of time, in order to schedule the showing and receive access to the cultural building.  Also, film invites must be passed out to each house during the weekend preceding the showing.  The team rides public transportation to the village, passes out film invitations for the next weekend’s showing, and tries to find a relatively flat and “rock-less” spot to camp overnight.  Armed with 35 lb. backpacks, these guys are hard to miss!  The next day, Sunday, the team sets up their equipment in the cultural building and waits to see who will come.  Thus far, some villages have been very receptive, with a high attendance, while other villages have canceled the showing for various reasons.  Correspondence Bible course literature is also made available at the film showing for those who are interested in studying the Word of God for themselves.  This also allows our team in L’viv to maintain contact with the villagers.  Monday is a “day off” for all team members, during which time Nathan attends to personal matters, knocks off a few items from his ever-lengthy to do list, and spends time with me!

So, what do I do every day while Nathan is gone?  My morning goal is to send Nathan out our door fed and happy!  I make breakfast for him before he leaves and pack him a sack lunch and a water bottle to enjoy during the day.  I also try to make sure that my goodbye kiss will last him until he arrives home in the evening!  :)  My daytime hours are filled with keeping our home clean and tidy, managing laundry, studying Ukrainian, writing e-mails, handling mail from our correspondence students, preparing supper, making sure that Nathan has some “cave time” when he gets home, and all the little things that tend to pop up in my day.  For example, on Tuesdays, I plan our menu, make a shopping list, go to the market for produce, shop at the grocery store, and meet with our Ukrainian friends for English Club.  On other days, I help with our correspondence course by collecting the mail from the post office, entering new students into the database, filling envelopes with the students’ next lesson, and mailing books.  Between home and team responsibilities, I stay pretty busy!

Because Nathan is away during the day, I have had to learn to be a little more aggressive in using my language in public.  If we need something and I have the language to communicate or the time to run the errand, I get the job!  It has been very good for me.  I am very comfortable walking to our farmer’s market and interacting with the vendors to buy our produce for the week.  Usually, I carry home 40 lbs. of fresh food!  I also get my workout!  Speaking of language, my teacher, Veronica, has gone to the Black Sea for a month, meaning that I have a long break from language lessons.  I have been thoroughly enjoying the break and the opportunity to pursue other interests.  While she is gone, it is my goal to review all of the material that I’ve learned thus far and fill in whatever gaps I find.  As of yet, I have hardly touched my books!  However, I know that I need to crack down and get busy with the two remaining weeks that I have until she returns.

Sometimes it’s difficult to try to explain exactly where I am in the language (because I’m still figuring out how big of a task it is.)  I feel like I have a very good foundation in grammar and understand the “whys” behind different endings.  Although my speaking (getting the correct sentence from my brain out my mouth) is slow in coming, I have what it takes, minus the speed!  ;)  I can now listen to an average conversation and understand about 50%.  That’s more than I could understand three months ago!  So, although language learning is one baby step at a time and it’s often difficult to see any change, I am encouraged to know that it IS happening!

This year, the 2010 CMO team is comprised of a unique group of fellows.  By the end of the summer, six men will have served in Ukraine.  Three of the guys (all in their 20s) have participated in CMO in the past.  The other three (all 17 years old) are the new guys on the block.  It’s always interesting to watch how the team dynamic changes with the arrival and departure of each team member.  It’s also fun to see how each guy grows and matures throughout the summer.

July has been a hot month for the CMO team.  With average temperatures in the 80s, being outside most of the day, and non-air-conditioned housing or transportation, let’s just say that these guys have “sweated out their eyeballs” on more than one occasion!  Being from Houston, I thought that nothing could top Houston’s summer heat and humidity.  But now, I’m beginning to think that L’viv can compete with Texas!  For several weeks, I wondered how the 80s in L’viv could feel hotter than the 90s in Houston, but I think it all boils down to the humidity here and the lack of air conditioning.  In our apartment, we have two floor fans that are our best friends!  They move around the house with us.  There are some benefits to the heat, one being that my laundry dries on the line in no time at all!  Between our fans, showers, and smoothies we are able to make it!  Although I know we’re all dreaming about winter!  ;)

Speaking of winter, that’s when we’re looking forward to meeting our little one!  I am 18 weeks along and feeling much better than I was at 6 weeks!  (Gratefully, my morning sickness only lasted for six weeks.)  It’s taken me a little time to get my full energy back, but I’ve had a lot more “umph” lately.  However, I still like my afternoon nap! ;)  I’m just showing a little bit and have only gained six pounds since the pregnancy began.  Right now most of my regular clothes still fit, but I’m thankful for and looking forward to the arrival of a box of maternity clothes that my Mom and other “personal shoppers” have sent over!

As far as prenatal care and a delivery doctor goes, let me explain my understanding of the birthing situation in Ukraine.  Midwifery is illegal here and therefore a home birth is not an option for us.  :(  Also, we have yet to hear of a “private clinic” in L’viv.  All of the prenatal care and delivery facilities are state-run.  Unlike in America, Ukrainian women go to two facilities and have two doctors over the course of their pregnancy.  The first part is their prenatal care (blood/urine analysis, ultrasounds, etc.) done at whatever hospital they choose with a doctor who works at that hospital.  About 8 months along, the expectant Mom will begin looking for her delivery hospital and doctor (usually this is done by word of mouth from trustworthy acquaintances.)  She must submit paperwork from her prenatal doctor, which states to the delivery doctor that she has been cared for accordingly and is in good health, ready to deliver.

Because Nathan and I are most concerned about the delivery doctor/facility, we have gone about everything backwards!  We started asking friends to recommend a trustworthy delivery doctor.  At thirteen weeks, we met with one doctor with whom we are planning to deliver with, at this point.  Nathan asked the doctor our “priority” questions, we saw the hospital, and had an ultrasound.  The doctor wanted to see me around 20 weeks for a full check-up and then he will recommend a good prenatal doctor/clinic.  Between our initial meeting and our next visit, he wanted me to be weighing myself and having my blood pressure taken each week.  (Thanks to an American nurse friend here, I haven’t had to go to a local clinic just to have my blood pressure taken!)  After the next meeting with our delivery doctor, we will have all of our prenatal care done with the gynecologist he recommends (or with whomever else we choose) and then return to him for oversight and care toward the end of the pregnancy.  So, it has been an adventure!  We’ve learned what can be expected in a country of socialized medicine and what questions must be asked.  Of course, Nathan has been doing all of the research, setting up of the meetings, translation, etc.  He’s definitely an involved father-to-be!  :)

The last main point of interest in our family was a ten-day separation for Nathan and me. No worries…we’re not having marital troubles!  Quite the opposite-we’re more in love and appreciative for each other after our time apart.  Nathan and the team of guys traveled 18 hours, by train, to a city in eastern Ukraine called Dnipropetrovsk.  They were invited by an American missionary, who works in the Dnipropetrovsk area, to distribute literature for our correspondence course.  It was an interesting experience, since they have never done anything quite so far away or for so long.  While Nathan was gone, being a faithful soldier and sweating his pores out, I tried to keep busy so I wouldn’t be too lonely.  I was able to accomplish many of my “someday” projects, organize and clean areas of our home, spend time with the local missionaries, and enjoy a few Skype calls to America.  Nathan and I missed each other A LOT!!  I think we were more excited to be reunited at the L’viv train station than we were meeting at the Houston airport before our wedding!  ;)  It was a challenging “marathon” to run, but through it all, I was made more grateful for my husband, our joyful life together, and the strength and security he is for me!  Oh, and I’m glad the trip is over!!  :)

Well, that’s all the news I have for now.  If you have made it to the bottom of this Kronicle, I congratulate you!

~Katelin :)

This entry was posted on Monday, July 19th, 2010 at 11:53 am and is filed under Katelin's Kronicles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.