I truly love living in Ukraine, and would not want to be anywhere else! Yet, even after almost 10 years, there are times when I am still "surprised" by the culture, as well as by those things that have not yet changed!
I arrived in Budapest last Sunday to renew my visa for Ukraine. It was a fast trip - Sunday to Wednesday - including a 6 hour train ride early Sunday morning, then a taxi to the airport from the center of Kiev, the flight to Budapest, and a van to the other side of Budapest to Eden House (our missy housing in Budapest) - taking around 14 hours start to finish!
After several years of trips to Budapest for medical check-ups, I'm able to get around on their great public transportation system pretty easily, so I checked on the internet for the address of the Ukrainian embassy and planned to take public transport from Eden House to the embassy. But, the embassy was located in an area of the city I'd not "navigated" yet, so, since I wanted to get there before 9:00 in the morning, I decided to trust a taxi to get me there. I know taking the taxi was the leadership of the Lord! When we drove up to the address I had gotten off the internet there was no Ukrainian flag...nothing to indicate this was the Ukrainian embassy. The taxi driver was kind enough to radio his dispatcher and find out the REAL address.....located several blocks away! Had I gone on the bus, I NEVER would have found it! (I checked again on the internet after this and have yet to find the real address!)
Getting the visa required going to a bank to pay the visa fee, then returning to the embassy with the receipt. Although I now had a pretty good idea where I was and how to get around, I didn't know where the bank was located, so I asked some of the folks that were getting paperwork done at the embassy how to get to the bank. Again the Lord intervened, and a really nice guy, who spoke excellent english, offered to take me to "Moskova Ter" - a public transport hub that I know well - and drop me off at a mall where the bank is located. I got everything done, including returning by bus to the embassy with the receipt, before 11:00, and was told I needed to come back the next morning to get the visa put in my passport. Then I had the day to travel to my favorite places in Budapest.
Tuesday was spent running to the embassy, then all over the city, with a dear friend now serving from Budapest - Sue Perryman. We enjoyed a "Mexican" lunch at Iguana's downtown Budapest (which took us FOREVER to find since I didn't have my map with all my written directions on it!), some "down-time" at Sue and Skipper's home, a movie (in English with Hungarian subtitles), ending the day with Bible study in the home of Alvin and Mary Doyle.I was ready on Wednesday morning to be picked up by the airport shuttle at 7, in anticipation of a 10:00 flight to Kiev, followed by travel to the train station and a train back to Kharkov, arriving at 11:30 pm. But, in my "wisdom", before I left Eden House, I decided to check one more time to see if there were any "cheap seats" on the evening flight from Kiev to Kharkov, deciding it was worth the extra cost out of my pocket to not have to travel into Kiev to the train station, and arrive home 5 hours earlier! When I found a ticket available, I was so excited.....
I arrived in Kiev and got through customs and passport check in 10 minutes....the fastest ever! Even though it was a little foggy, I thought nothing of it since we still had 4 hours before the flight to Kharkov. I spent the afternoon in joyful anticipation of getting home with enough time to unwind from the journey and get to bed at a "normal" time!
Alas....the "best-laid plans....." At the regular boarding time, we all got on the shuttle bus to go our to the plane, and remained there for about 15 minutes. Then one of the airline employees came and told us to return to the waiting room while they made a decision about whether or not to fly to Kharkov. We were told that a decision would be made within 10 minutes.
So, in 10 minutes, they came and again we boarded the shuttle bus, this time going all the way to the plane....a propeller job that held around 35-40 people. After we boarded and sat there for a few minutes, the flight attendant announced that they were still deciding whether or not to fly to Kharkov due to the weather there! At that point, some of the Ukrainian men began asking: "Are you going to serve us some wine or vodka while we wait?" As time went by, a couple of them began to ask for names of the pilot and airline representatives because they were "important people" and wanted to voice their complaint with officials. Then they started raising their voices and demanding that we all wanted to fly regardless of the weather in Kharkov! (My voice was silent on this....although I was praying REALLY HARD that the Lord would clear up the weather so we could fly!)
After 30 minutes on the aircraft, they decided to have the passengers disembark, pick up their luggage, and wait in the terminal until a decision was made! As soon as we got our luggage, we made a mass exodus to the Aerosvit window in the terminal to find out what was next! Now it was 6:15 pm, and our instructions now were to wait until 7:00 pm for a decision!
For the next 45 minutes, people who had to get to Kharkov before the next morning were frantically trying to find a way to get there! Some talked about hiring a taxi and splitting the cost - not something I would do on Ukrainian roads at night! Other options included a relatively nice bus that goes from the airport to Kharkov several times a day, joining others in renting a van (a 6-7 hour trip), or going into Kiev and trying to get tickets on the overnight train that would arrive in Kharkov at 6:30 the next morning!
While I was having a hard time understanding everything that was being said by the airline officials, it really didn't matter! They really weren't giving us any decision, except that they would try to fly out again at 5:30 AM the next morning! So, the flight was not "cancelled", but "delayed" for 12 hours! And there was no guarantee that it would actually fly out the next morning either, since the weather conditions had not changed at all!
So, the Lord provided a traveling "partner" - an "image consultant" from Riga, Latvia who spoke great English and HAD to get to Kharkov by morning for a lecture series. We headed out on a van from the airport to the train station hoping to find a coupe on the overnight train, with both of us totally exhausted from the travel, and from the confusion of the last few hours!
While there were no 2nd class cabins available, the Lord did provide a first-class cabin on a new overnight train. Zanya and I spent the 2 hours until departure grabbing a light meal and getting to know each other. Zanya has traveled all over the world doing fashion shoots for fashion magazines and lecturing at fashion schools. While not a photographer, she apparently sets up all the scenes. She shared all about travels to Cuba, Indonesia, Malaysia....and places I had never even heard of.
All this time, I continued to pray, and ask the Lord what the purpose of the delay and this alternative journey was! I was more weary that I could remember being for years, and all the excitement and anticipation I had had about getting home in my own bed earlier than planned disappeared as I contemplated trying to get some sleep on the train - something I don't do well! But even in my disappointment, the Lord gave me peace, which is not always a "normal" response for me!
As soon as we got on the train and got settled in our sleeping clothes, Zanya laid down to sleep and I tried to unwind from the day's travels. I was confused that there had been no time throughout our conversation to discuss anything spiritual, although I had told Zanya that I was a missionary and a little about my almost 10 years in Ukraine. But, I finally laid down myself for the night, leaving that in the Lord's hands as well!
We both arose about 30 minutes before our arrival in Kharkov, and for the first time we talked about "religion", as Zanya talked about the different types of churches in Riga. The Lord gave me the opportunity in the midst of our conversation to talk about the need for a personal relationship with Christ, and other beliefs and convictions that we as believers hold to be truth.
Was that 5 or 10 minute opportunity to share worth all the travel hassles of the previous 24 hours? I have to say "yes!" I don't know what the Lord will do with those few statements of faith shared in the last moments before getting home, but I am thankful and grateful I can leave the "results" in His hands!
As for the culture surprises? While Ukraine continues to slowly move from the 1950's to the new millennium, the roots of the old Soviet culture are still in place at times! Even now, 48 hours later, I still don't know if I will get a refund or credit for my airline ticket! Ahhhh, how I love living in Ukraine!
