Mother Mission Trip to Poland and Ukraine Part 3

I'm finally back and writing, what I hope is, the last installment. However I cannot guarantee that. Anyway, let's get started. Oh yes, there is one thing I forgot to mention in my last installment. I love borscht! It's very good and everyone makes it a little different, sort of like beef stew. Everyone has their own little way of making it. Definitely try some borscht when you travel to Ukraine.

Near the end of my stay in Ukraine Rachael and her boyfriend and most of the little Lviv church I told you about traveled north (I believe) to a place that was a real tourist attraction (to the Ukrainians). I know Rachael could, but I cannot remember the name of the place. It was in the mountains and near a mineral water lake that everyone liked to bathe in because it was very good for what ailed you. It was a very hilly area and everyone walked up and down the hills to get where they wanted to go in the small mountainous village. Believe you me, I got my exercise that weekend! In fact, I really exercised the entire time I was in Ukraine. Everyone walks everywhere. It was good for me, but I was sweltering the whole time and my face was pulsating and beet red throughout my entire stay. (Not a good look for a single middle aged woman.)

On with my story....we all gathered in this pretty little village in northern Ukraine for a weekend missionary conference. Churches all over Europe and Eastern Europe and Asia that were affiliated with Greater Grace World Outreach were invited to attend this conference. It took place in a large building that could accommodate big crowds as you can see in the picture on your right. This building also had a cafeteria where we all ate. It reminded me of an old black and white movie of a mental institution cafeteria. It was grey and white and unattractive. The women who cooked and waited on us reminded me of matrons in a mental institution who made you tow the line or else. It was kind of creepy in a adventurous sort of way. Rachael and I stayed in sort of an Alpine inn, but Ukrainian style; meaning no frills and not that clean.

I met several people from all over the world. It was very cool. I remember in particular a young couple who had pretty much walked all the way from one of the "stan" countries. (You know, Pakistan, Kirghistan, Afghanistan, etc.....) They were married and very young and very sweet and very poor. The young man was sick with a sore throat. He had a scarf around his throat to keep it warm. Mind you it was probably 90 degrees outside. He told me he had never taken any medication! That in itself is mind blowing if you are an American citizen. I happened to have acetaminophen 500mg tablets on me. I gave him one tablet for his sore throat. He thought it was a miracle! His sore throat went away! I gave him all the acetaminophen I had left and told him to use it sparingly for aches and pains. The young man and his wife were so thrilled you would of thought I had given them a million dollars! I snapped a photo of them near the end of the weekend when he felt better. The missionary conference was a good time. I also met several Americans at the conference and I have since met up with some of them in the Greater Grace church in Baltimore, Maryland.

The time was nearing for me to go home to the U.S. and Rachael was still very much into her Ukrainian boyfriend. By the way, he had not been that nice to me during my time in the Ukraine. Rachael knew this but chose to ignore it. So, one morning in our "Alpine Resort" I broke down crying and told Rachael how I really felt about her situation. I explained to her that even if a man does not like his future mother in law he at least should try to fake it while he is courting her daughter. I went on to say that it is really bad when the future mother in law is a foreign country (his country!) and he is rude to her. I told Rachael that if he was so crass as to treat me this way for the short period of time he had to spend with me then he would never be good to her after the honeymoon was over. I told her I did not think he was right for her and that I truly felt she would be very unhappy if she married him and moved to the Ukraine for life. I reminded her that she was a wonderful girl, but a material American girl and the Ukraine did not have a lot to offer in the way of material things.

A few days before we left for this missionary conference I had called my sister, Molly, in Hope, Maine, USA. I was desperate to talk to her about my feelings on Rachael. The phone call cost Molly a couple of hundred dollars! I asked Rachael what she was going to do when she needed to call home. Was it only going to be a monthly call for 3 minutes? Rachael didn't give me a lot of hope. So, all I could do was leave it to God as I surely had no control. Later that day Rachael's boyfriend and another young man from the Lviv church gave me a ride back to Lviv where I caught a train that would take me to Warsaw, Poland. Rachael stayed at the conference. Let's just say it was a somber ride back to Lviv.

Once on the train I met a Polish lady who was traveling in my cabin. I forgot her name, but she was very nice. Thankfully, she could speak English. We talked and talked and got to know each other on the way to Warsaw, Poland. It was a very interesting trip. I love to ride on trains and it was so nice to see the countryside of Ukraine and Poland. I felt like I was in a fairy tale, except for one thing. Growing up in Maine I am a great believer in fresh air. I love to throw all the windows open and let the wind blow in to change the air. Well, the Ukrainians and the Polish people don't believe that way. No matter how sweltering it is they do not believe in opening windows. So, I was boiling hot all the way from Lviv to Warsaw! I think you can tell that by my picture as my face is beet red!

When I got back to Warsaw, Poland I was met at the train station by a lovely young Polish couple. They let me stay in their apartment in Warsaw overnight as my plane flew out for home the next day. Again, I cannot remember their names. They were very sweet and gracious. The young woman took me on a tour of down town Warsaw and showed me buildings that had been damaged in WWII. She showed me the building where the movie "The Pianist" was filmed. It had many bullet hole markings all over the front of the building. "The Pianist" had not yet come out in the states but you better believe I went to see it as soon as it came out. I thought it was a very interesting movie. I've seen it a couple of times.

The lovely young couple only had a one bedroom apartment. They let me sleep in their bedroom and they slept on the couch in the living room. I gave them my jar of peanut butter as they had never tasted peanut butter. I may be terrible at names but I will never forget their kindness to me. They are pictured above on their living room couch.

The next day I flew out of Warsaw and was very happy to arrive back in the states. Rachael stayed in Ukraine for a couple more weeks. Shortly after she got back home, she informed me that she had broken up with the Ukrainian. I thanked God for answered prayer! Not long after Rachael met her future husband, David and not long after that they were married. Now they have a beautiful son named Henry. Rachael's Ukrainian boyfriend was not happy that she broke up with him but he finally moved on with life and got married and had children of his own. So, all's well that ends well and that's where I am going to end the Mother Mission story.

Mother Mission to Poland and Ukraine part 2

I think we left off last time at the Poland/Ukraine border.  If you read the first installment of this story you know that we had to pay a bribe to get over the border.  There was a little fear and intrigue going on in my mind, but we lived and, after all, it was quite an adventure!  So, from there we went on our way to Lviv. 

Have you ever read the book "Everything Is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer?  It was also made into a movie not so long ago.  Let's just say I have the book and I watched the movie and I can relate a lot to what Jonathan said about driving through Ukraine.  You should read it or rent the DVD.  It's a wonderful story. 

Anyway, back to my story......We finally arrived to our destination, Lviv.  I have to say it is a beautiful old city.  But, it is very poor.  I feel that most Americans could benefit from visiting a very poor country.  You do not come home the same.  And you become very thankful for how God has blessed our country. Most of us have no idea how things really are in other parts of the world.  On the right I have posted a photo of one of the beautiful streets in Lviv.

There are many things that I liked and didn't like about Lviv.  As I said, it is a beautiful old city; amazingly beautiful.  But, the people on the street are not that friendly.  They avoid eye contact and do not say hello to you on the street.  I'm sure that stems from living under strict communist rule for so long.  However, once you are introduced and they get to know you a little they start to open up.  The people in the church were very sweet.  I liked them all. The one thing I liked the least was that there were very few, what I would call, toilets in Lviv.  Their public toilets consisted of literal holes in the floor/ground.  As a woman you do the best you can to "hit" the hole without falling over or peeing on yourself.  And, a word to the wise: BRING YOUR OWN TOILET PAPER!!

Another thing I really like about Lviv is that everyone had a beautiful fence around their yard and they had every inch of that yard planted with fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, etc.  To me it was breathtaking.  I got a lot of ideas about gardening from the people in Lviv.  They sure know how to garden!  One fresh herb everyone grows and loves is dill.  I like dill.  But, the Ukrainians take it to a whole other level.  They eat fresh dill on everything and I mean everything!  I saw someone in a quaint little restaurant eating what looked like pancakes sprinkled with fresh dill.  I don't know about you, but in my book, that's taking the whole dill thing a little too far.

Rachael and I stayed in a big old house on a side street in Lviv.  For a very meager amount of money we rented a room from an older lady who attended the church in Lviv.  Her name was Ponnie Ella.  Ponnie (I know I am not spelling this right) means Mrs. in Ukrainian.  She was nice, but very quiet and we rarely saw her.  We slept on, what I would call, sleeping couches.  They were fairly comfortable.  The bathroom did have a toilet which was a big plus to me.  There was also a tub for bathing, which I prefer.  But, (and this is a big BUT) in order to warm up the water you had to turn on a gas heater above the tub.  The heater looked to be as old as when they first invented them.  Let's just say it took a lot of guts for Rachael and I to strike the first match to ignite the antiquated heater in order to have a warm bath.  After all, we were there for a week and needed to bathe once in a while!  Again, we lived through it, we did not burn the house down and we chalked it up to yet another adventure. 

I feel I must mention one more thing that I did not like about Ukraine.  (I hope that if any of you are planning to visit Ukraine or just about any Eastern European country you should be writing all these little tips down.  You will not regret it.)  The Ukrainians love mineral water.  That is what they drink, mineral water.  I could barely choke it down.  This did not sit well with Rachael's boyfriend.  But, I could not help it.  I hate mineral water.  I have been to Cuba, too, and they all drink mineral water.  Believe me, it's an acquired taste.  Rachael and I visited Ukraine in August and it was hot.  We also did a lot of walking which was good for me, but it made me very thirsty.  We finally stopped by a little cafe in the city.  I asked what they had to drink.  Thankfully they had 7Up!  Usually I am not a big fan of 7Up but when your choices are very slim you take what you can get.  I drank FIVE 10 ounce bottles of 7Up before we left that cafe!

There were many things that I found very interesting.  In fact, they are too numerous to mention in this blog.  But, one very interesting thing sticks in my mind.  You are going to think I'm weird.  It was the cemeteries. Yes, the grave yards! I now know how Bram Stoker came up with the idea for Dracula.  He must of visited a cemetery similar to the one I saw.  It was so creepy and beautiful that I couldn't stay away from it. We toured the entire place! It was huge and woodsy and kind of scary, but I loved it!  The picture I have posted here gives some of the feeling, but it's a place that you simply have to be there to get the real feel of it.  By the way, Rachael really liked the grave yard, too.  It must run in the family.

Okay, by now you're thinking, "when are you going to tell us if Rachael ended up with the Ukrainian?"  I guess it's not going to be in this blog because I still have a lot more to tell about this trip.  Please hold on until the next installment.  You won't regret it.  See you next time....... :)

The Mother Mission Trip to Poland and the Urkraine

A little over ten years ago my daughter, Rachael (of http://www.meanderingmaine.com/) and I took a trip to Poland and the Ukraine. Rachael had been there before on a missionary trip with her church in Baltimore, Maryland. (http://www.greatergraceworldoutreach.org/) She was in Bible College at Greater Grace and her studies required her to do some kind of "hands on" outreach. Rachael loves mission work so decided to go to Eastern Europe and visit a couple of the affiliated churches over there and assist where ever needed. Also, Rachael's maiden name is Galkowski and the Galkowski's are from Lublin, Poland. She really wanted to see the little town where her father's family was from. I thought it was pretty cool idea, too.

The reason I wanted to go on this trip was, of course, to see part of Eastern Europe and to meet all the lovely people from the affiliated churches, and to see the town where the Galkowski's came from. But, the biggest reason I wanted to go was because Rachael was in love with a Ukrainian man. Rachael was in her early twenties and had fallen in love with this Ukrainian man who was an assistant pastor at his home town church in Lviv. He was a nice enough man (I guess) but she wanted to marry him and live in the Ukraine FOREVER! This did not sit well with me for a multitude of reasons. I decided I needed to go on a Mother Mission and find out just what the deal was. So in early August of that year we set off for the very long flight to Eastern Europe.

The flight from Portland to London was 5 or 6 hours long. Once we landed at the Heathrow Airport we caught another flight to Warsaw, Poland. Perhaps that was a couple of hours long. We were met at the airport by several young adults who were part of the affiliated church in Warsaw. They were going to let us stay with them overnight. The next day we were going to meet up with Rachael's boyfriend and his friend. The plan was that they would drive us to Lviv, Ukraine.

We were quite jet lagged by the time we arrived as the time change was at least 6 hours ahead of us and we had not slept. It was early in the day when we got there and we were dying to sight see so we ignored our tiredness and forged ahead. It was well worth it as the group of young people who were our hosts were very kind and sweet and really wanted to show us their city. Warsaw is an amazing city full of history. It is a very old city and so very different from our American cities. We toured grand gardens of a past king that the city had converted into a park. The gardens were spectacular as you can see in the top photo posted. Rachael and our new friends are sitting on the bench. We also went to the oldest part of the city to see the Jewish Ghetto that had been erected during World War II. It was very sobering to see such a thing. The picture above is a photo of what was left of the wall that surrounded the Jewish Ghetto.

After a good night's sleep we got up the next morning, met up with Rachael's boyfriend and his friend and set out for Lviv, Ukraine. On the way, we did stop for a quick visit to Lublin, Poland. I felt like I was stepping back in time as the town was all cobblestones and very old buildings. The name of the Catholic Church there was the Vincent Paul, my oldest son's name. We thought that was pretty cool. The picture on the right is of some of the buildings in Lublin. Beautiful.

The road trip from Warsaw, Poland to Lviv, Ukraine was quite long, but very interesting. One thing that seems to stick in my mind is that I saw white storks everywhere and I also noted that many people had built some sort of tower beside their home. The storks built nests on top of these towers. I think it was sort of a good luck thing. When I saw that sight I suddenly remembered that when I was a little girl my mother read me a story that involved storks and the book had illustrations of these towers with the stork nests on top of them. To this day I can't remember the name of the book. I've asked many people including my mother and no one can seem to remember. Can you? I would love to know the name of that book. Please email me if you know what I'm talking about. I would love to solve that mystery.

I greatly enjoyed our little journey through the Polish countryside. It was an adventure that I will never forget. Then we came to the border of the Ukraine. Talk about interesting and a little scary! There was a long line of vehicles to cross the border. And the border control workers had all the power and loved and abused it (I think). You did have to show them your passports and all that, but what actually got you over the border into Ukraine was money. That's right, bribes! Whoever paid the most money got out of there the quickest. We had to wait an hour or so, but finally were allowed to cross. And, yes, we paid a bribe. No one gets out of there without paying a bribe, especially a car with Americans in it. I felt like I was in a movie.

I thought I could get the whole trip into one blog but I can see now that I've got to write a part two, maybe a part three to this story. So, I hope you will check in to this blog in a few days so you can know "the rest of the story" to quote Paul Harvey. Does Rachael marry the Ukrainian and live in Lviv FOREVER or does a mother's love win out?