Здравствуйте!

I was reminded this week about Ukraine and learning the language.  The title of this blog is "Strasvoche" the Russian word for hello.  If you know how to sound out the Slavic alphabet, you can sound out words but have no idea what you are saying.  While riding the busses, I would constantly be reading billboards just to sound out the letters, but I would have no idea what they were saying. (When I went to Venezuela, to learn Spanish I would sound out graffiti until our translator kindly told me to stop swearing, so that lesson had been learned before heading to Ukraine!)

We were driving through Grande Prairie, Alberta and saw this sign and thought of all of our times of trying to figure out what was being said and missing the humour.  So, I hope you are not offended but laugh for the humour that is the sign.



If you are not from Grande Prairie, Fourward is a bike, skate and board shop, so it fits the "surfer" type humour.  But what if you could not speak English and were riding the bus and saw this sign and were reading outloud.  I get this image of a guy in his 30s or so sounding out words and you usually can only sound out 2 words at most.  Next to this guy learning English is a pretty girl checking out her appearance in her mirror and the guy reads the sign outloud "Fat, Ugly"  It could be that I have made my fair share of cultural mistakes and I feel for those that make them as well, but the most learning I did, especially learning about culture, was making mistakes.  You remember things you got wrong and not things you did right.

For instance, when I was building houses, I remember building the house my brother-in-law now lives in and walking into the house, I remember all the mistakes I made on the house, but not the things I did right.  And everytime I walk into his house, I remember two things, "I really love his house and think it is the best designed house I ever built, and, I built a rake wall wrong and we had to adjust the trusses to fix my mistake."  None of the stuff I did wrong was structurally unsound and it all got covered up by drywall and shingles, but I know it is there.

When I think of heaven, a question comes to mind, will I remember my sins?  Will I constantly know what I have been saved from and this brings rejoicing because Jesus forgave my sins and I am counted as righteous because of it.  Or will my mind be wiped blank and be rejoicing because of who God is or maybe a little of both?  I know that there will not be pain when I remember life on earth.  Also, we talk alot of the Bible enduring for eternity and in the Bible speaks of all kind of sins and keeps record of David's sin, Solomon, and even mentions sins of those who are not spending eternity in heaven.  Many questions, few answers, but the answers I know is that God is perfect, so however I remember life on Earth, it will be in His perfect wisdom and not my own.

Speaking of life on this Earth, our hair is constantly growing.  And sometimes it needs to be cut off.

 

Thank you, my son the model, for showing everyone what must happen sometimes.  It is really hot up here and the shave is a welcome addition.

 

Also, If I was to start my own business, it would be in the deck building category.  I would say that decks are my specialty!  I love building decks and enjoy the finished product.

 

100 feet or so of deck, and I am finally finished.  The whole front of the house, the side and another 10 feet on the back!  14 rises, 7 different platforms, I am happy to be done.

 

I noticed that the Dauphin First Baptist Church has added me to their blogs list, so if you are in Dauphin and would like some advice on building a deck, I am your man.  We are leaving next Monday and hopefully arriving in Dauphin next Thursday or Friday!  The end is near, and it has only just begun!  God Bless!

This blog post is brought to you by the letter "P"

I remember growing up watching Sesame Street.  Every episode of was brought to you by a specific letter.  Well, this week it was the letter P in the Johnson household.

Potty, Pee, Poop, Panties and Treat (I know it isn't a P word, but it was a big word).

You have probably guessed, but Potty training has begun.  Not only Ellianna, but now Jolen is sitting on the green and orange froggy potty we got at Superstore.

The interesting thing about potty training is I was really surprized at how it relates to the Christian life.  As mentioned in previous posts, God has been teaching me alot about the process of life and our daily walk with Jesus.

When Ellianna started, the battle of the wills began and it was sitting on the toilet for 3 hour stretches waiting for something to come out.  As the days progressed, the three hours shortened to 15 minutes every 2 hours, to less than 30 seconds from entering the bathroom to exiting.  I really didn't notice the shortening of time in the process, until we would say, "Ellianna, it is time to go potty,"  and then before I got off of the sofa, she came streaking back, "I peed."

Again, another revelation happened yesterday when Ellianna came streaking (I emphasise streaking, because she was she really without clothes running around the house) into the room.  "Why does she have her clothes off?"  I wondered.  "I peed!"  without being told to go to the bathroom.  She had moved to sensing the need to empty her bladder.  (I know I am being quite descriptive, but I am one very proud father!)

As our time in Dauphin is coming soon (in two weeks we are leaving Sexsmith and heading East), I have really begun reflecting on connecting with and discipling teenagers.  I mentioned on the youth trip to Edmonton that I forget the way youth think, but more than that, I realize the need to tell youth what they should do.

I know youth don't like to hear what they are supposed to do and want to figure things out on their own, but there also needs to be someone to show them the right way.  Kindof like my daughter on the potty.  She didn't know really what to do, but eventually she came to the point where she knew what to do.

We can't expect young and new Christians, and even those who are not as sensitive to Holy Spirit like someone who has been forgiven for 30 years.  We are all on a journey and some are farther than others, but we are called to help each other along the way.  So next time you stop and shake your head because of something someone has done, or said, come alongside them and think of where they are coming from.

Adresses and Emergency Rooms

As I mentioned last week, we got a duplex to rent in Dauphin.  This last week, I phoned to get the electricity and gas hooked up and was in for a pleasant surprize. We know what our mailing address will be.  The previous renters got their mail delivered to the duplex and with us moving in, our new mailing address is 3 Kirby Ave. East, Dauphin, Manitoba, R7N 0E8.  It feels kind of weird having an address for a mailing address.  Ever since we have been married, we have lived in small towns that only have post office boxes but now, an address!  Ok, so I guess we had an address while we lived in Ukraine, but in some ways that doesn't count as we still had a PO Box number in Canada and it took 1-2 months for mail to arrive.  We hope this will be an address will have for a while, but as has been the theme of our lives, God only knows and we are along for the ride wherever He leads.

So, back to last week's post, I mentioned a scary incident with Jolen.  This week, we went to the emergency room with him.  He usually is a very stable sitter and we have put him on many chairs and he doesn't fall off, well almost never.  This week he did and straight on his head.  He lost consciousness a couple of times and we were off to the hospital to have him checked out.  Definitely not a trip I want to take again.

Going to the hospital and waiting 4 hours or so is not my idea of how I want to spend my time, but how I want to spend my money.  We are very blessed in Alberta to have free healthcare.  This means I can go to the hospital, see a doctor, have immunizations for free, no dinero.  I was reminded of a conversation I had with a few American teachers in Ukraine.  We were talking about wait times in Canada and how it takes so long to see a doctor and they would say they would get in quickly and efficiently.  Then the conversation would switch to money and the deductible on their insurance would be $2000.  This means that every time they go to visit the doctor, it is money (and no little amount) out of their pocket.  I think me, growing up not paying for doctors visits would take the waiting to the lightening of the wallet.  Jolen, ended up being fine, we had to check on him every 2 hours but a small amount of time to make sure everything is ok.

Reflecting on this last week, one can't help but think of when we have a permanent eternal home with no tears, no pain and no hospital visits.  We are so blessed to be granted life on this earth, but we often forget that this is not were we are to stay forever.  We have an eternal hope in Jesus and we will truly be home when we embrace our Saviour!

A Terrifying Experience

We have made it to our last supporting church up here in Sexsmith, Alberta at Grace Bible Fellowship.  We have been fortunate to have "family" up here as the Lovrod family is not blood related, but don't tell our kids that.  They have a house that can hold the four of us in a single room, so we have been all together, and will be until the middle of July, when we pack everything and move to Manitoba.

On a side note, they are BlueBombers fans in Manitoba, and my 2nd cousin (Teague Sherman) plays safety for them, so I may (but probably wont) cheer a bit for the home team (Unless they play the Eskimos of course).

Well, back to the story, we are on a farm and me being a carpenter, there are always things to do around the yard like building a deck and a roof over the entranceway, but I can't complain as they are putting up with us for a month and not charging us room and board.

On the farm, there are many things to get into for a small child.  These items include a creek nearby and a dugout, both of which contain water that my son could drown in as when he sees the water, he runs full tilt.  We were loading up some of the scraps from the deck to take to the dump and Jolen was going to come with us men to do the manly work of smelling like garbage at the landfill.

All of a sudden, he was gone.  "Oh no!" I thought, so I bolted for the creek, screaming his name, hoping to hear some sort of sound from his little lungs, but nothing.  In a panic, I ran faster only to hear a "Wheeeeee!  Wheeeeeeee!  Wheeeee!"

I caught a glimpse of him.

 

Without a doubt, that boy is going to grow up to be a farmer.

 

It did make me think of the parables Jesus told of the lost coin and sheep.  The rejoicing that went on when they were found.  And how Jesus relates the celebration to that in Heaven when a person who is lost, finds his way to Jesus.  A time of terror, turns to one of pure joy!

 

Thank you again for all of your prayers as I will be making our final presentation on July 6.

 

We have a place to rent in Dauphin, a 3 bedroom duplex that is a wee bit (as in a lot) less expensive than the house I had shown earlier, we are so excited as we continue on this journey towards heaven that we call life on earth.

The Common Sense

I was super fortunate this weekend to travel with the Grace Bible Fellowship Youth group to West Edmonton Mall.  The difficulty I had was that I have not been involved in youth ministry since March, so one kind of forgets the way teenagers think.

For instance, we stopped off at Whitecout for McDonalds supper on our way.  McDonalds was across the street kiddy corner so, this meant we had to cross the street twice to reach our destination.  Simple, right?  Not with kids who have not developed the common-sense portion of their brain.  And me, being the mature responsible one of course, used common sense.  So, crossing the street started off quite routinely, we waited for the little white man to appear signaling we were to cross, and we did with no incident.  However, when we reached the other side, the group proceeded to begin crossing the street in the next direction walking directly into oncoming traffic that had a green light.  A couple of horns later, the group made it across safely, laughed and continued on their way walking on the street instead of the sidewalk.

It brought to mind an incident I remember when I was young.  We were waiting to go to an Eskimos game and the crosswalk signal switched from white to a red hand, the light turned yellow and then I decided that it would be a great time to run across the street in the middle of rush-hour Edmonton.  The engines revved, the horns honked, you youth leaders yelled and lets just say that I am still alive today despite my "need" to disregard what I knew was the smart choice to make.

Now that the trip is over and my memory is jogged, I am reminded the great desire God has placed in my heart to see youth grow in their faith.  I will be the first to admit that I am old and am not as crazy as I used to be, but there is a thankfulness that God still brings my days of yore back to mind.  Young Christians, do not have the same growth and maturity us who have grown in the faith, yet it is important we remember the time when our relationship with the Holy One was fresh and new.  We were much more "reckless" for Jesus and I think it would be a benefit if we could harness that passion with the maturity that comes with knowing Christ.

I guess the meat of what I am writing about is that we often write off teens and new Christians as naïve and lacking wisdom, but forget passion in our Christian walk.  We need each other, the old to lead the young and the inexperienced to remind the experienced that there is more than one way to skin a cat (why one would want to skin one is beyond me).  So, next time you are challenged, instead of taking offence, step back and wonder how this can teach you the lesson God has in store for you!

Are we still in Ukriane?

The culture in Ukraine is very community minded.  For example, we were riding on the subway and a man with about 3 teeth comes up to us and gives us a bag of apples and cookies without saying a word, and then gets off the train.  Colleen and I looked at each other and said, "If we were in Canada, these cookies and apples would go straight to the trash, but because we are in Ukraine, we will eat them."  People in Ukraine give stuff away for free, without anyone thinking suspicious thoughts.  As well, if you have leftover food and it is still good, you put it in a clean bag and place it beside a trash can, signaling it is still good food and whoever wants it can have it.  As we lived in Ukraine, we began to accept free things with gratitude.

Move months later to Canada.  In the past couple of weeks, I have been given things for free, whether it be a service or items.

Our van came with a signal switch that does not cancel, meaning that if I turn on my signal light and turn a corner, it would not turn off.  I bought a used one from the auto-wrecker and installed it.  When we took the van out for a drive to check it, it would not cancel when we turned left.  So, the next day I called the auto-wrecker to inform them that I needed a different switch and was told it was in working order when they sold it to me so there was no problem with the switch and there must be a problem with the driveshaft.  Discouraged, and not knowing a thing about driveshafts, I took the van to the mechanic to check out the problem.  He looked at the steering column and the switch and concluded the switch was at fault and wrote me a note to give to the auto-wrecker.  I asked how much I owe, because I took up his time, and he said it was free of charge.

Nervously, I made my way to the auto-wrecker, expecting a fight.  I went in, made my case and got the switch ordered with no difficulty; they didn't even want the note from the mechanic.  Myself and the partsman walked to the van because we needed a couple more small parts and he put them on order with the new switch I needed.  Wondering how much these other parts would cost, I got a phone call 2 days later that my parts were in and they were free.  No charge.

We were driving on a gravel road a couple of days ago and ran over some gravel that had been piled up by the grader.  Now funny noises were coming from my van.  Begrudgingly, I brought the van in again to the mechanic, wondering the cost of the fix this time.  He looked at it, said there were a couple of pebbles stuck in the serpentine belt, but it would weaken the belt to remove them so they left them in and the noises were normal and he could not see a problem.  Again, no charge.

Coming from a culture where people look out for each other and returning to Canada, I have been blessed to learn that people here still care.  I would challenge you to look for opportunities this week to bless someone else without expecting something in return.  For example, buy the coffee for the person behind you in the drive through, or buy a chocolate bar for the kid in line next to you.  Share God's love as He freely bestows it upon us.

On a separate note, I laugh because the majority of pictures I take of Jolen are of him eating.  Hope you enjoy our cute kids and how they are enjoying being spoiled by everyone here in Canada!

Ellianna is her father's daughter

Felt good to catch some good old Canadian Jackfish

Skinny Diapers and Soup Kitchens - Memories of Kiev Christian Academy

As Thursday was KCA's Graduation, (Congratulations to all of the graduates) I thought I would share a couple of memories from each class I taught.

 Grade 12 - Seniors

I only taught this class the first semester but had a wonderful time teaching Spiritual Formation.

Part of the curriculum is to teach Spiritual Disciplines by Richard Foster.  The time came to teach Service and I thought to myself, why not act out Service instead of just teaching.  So for the class, we went outside and raked the leaves.  Now, you have to understand Ukraine, or maybe just Maple trees in general.  They don't have small leaves that are easy to rake, but huge leaves that take alot of effort.  Me, being from Canada (The Maple Leaf Country) I have never witnessed a Maple tree as we don't' have them very much in Alberta.  Afterwards, I went out to the local coffee shop and bought them coffees and really enjoyed teaching through action and not just standing in front of the class.

Another memory was how I tried to set JooSeok (Pronounced Jew-Sack) up with every girl in the class.  I wasn't successful but I sure had alot of fun trying and someday JooSeok, you will find the girl of your dreams!

Grade 11 - Sophomores
(Funny thing, me being Canadian wrote Softmores and had to get it spellchecked)

I taught a class on Ideas and how to achieve great ideas.  If you have ever studied the process of idea-ology, or if you have ever brainstormed, you will know there are three stages of idea creating. 1st - the obvious - the safe answers are thrown out first.  2nd - the crazy ridiculous - Usually this is where the idea creating stops as the more conservative people out there think this is pointless and shut down the frivolousness.   3rd - the Awesome - from the silly and crazy comes a great idea so Please don't stop your brainstorming when things get silly, this just means you are poised for greatness!!!  I asked the class if they had any crazy ideas that had potential to be awesome - THEN - Krash stood up and yelled out "Skinny Diapers" - Diapers that don't look like diapers so you don't have to run to the bathroom all the time between classes - said the man who drinks 2 litres of water each and every class and wonders why he is always late because he has to go to the bathroom!

Another memory was when our class was doing presentations on heroes of the Faith.  One student asked if it had to be someone famous or anyone.  I said anyone, so they told a story in class of a father in Kazakhstan who took his two daughters to school one morning and returned home to find robbers in his house.  His wife was killed but through this the seed of the Gospel spread and the church grew.  And then the student ended the presentation with "And ... I really miss my Mom."  You can read about this stuff in a book or on a blog, but it really hit home that people are out there dying for Jesus every single day.

Grade 9 - Freshmen

I have a couple of projects to show you of book charts they were to do (if you went to PRBI 10 years ago, these should look all too familiar)

 

 

 

We were raising money for a Soup Kitchen ministry that the school supported and I told my grade 9 class that if they raised the most money, I would treat them to Pizza at our apartment one day.  Well, every class I passed around the jar for money and one student confessed to me that she packed a lunch that day but told her mom she needed money to buy food from the school canteen.  Then proceeded to put all of that money into the Soup Kitchen Jar.  (Not an action I condone by the way)  The students gave from their allowances and babysitting money and raised over $100.  Every day they would complain about giving money and what if they didn't win the pizza party.  My answer remained the same "Who is the real winner?"  and they learned to respond in a monotone reply "The Soup Kitchen"  At the end of the campaign, my class won and had a wonderful time eating pizza and watching Veggietales at our apartment.

 

Grade 8

 

I remember trying to explain how God loves us no matter what and that His love is equal for us and it is not dependant on what we do.  So, I married off a couple of students who had 3 kids, also students, who married other students.  At the end of the lesson, one student robbed the bank of his brother-in-laws who confessed to the other brother in law who was a pastor.  I don't know how it got there, but, the question came to the parent "Which child do you love more?  The one who married a pastor?  The one who married a Banker?  Or the one in Jail?"  And the answer came back "All of them equally."  So maybe that was a lesson that hit home.  And the rest of the year we would joke about how Andrew married Ye-Jin and how Fisher robbed Lukas' bank.  Great memories, maybe you just had to be there, but if you have ever met me, this story may make some sense.

 

Study Hall

 

I was the X and O Champion and I challenge anyone to a game - if you dare!

 

French

 

I laugh at this one because, I am Canadian, therefore, I must know French.  Sorry, I speak Spanish and Russian better.

 

 

Overall, Thank you KCA for a great year and a million memories of only a couple I could share with you today because of space!  I Love you all and Miss you tons.