Cooking class and Sasha

As you can see the other Sasha (in blue) returned last month after he turned 18. He has been living at our house, instead of the boys house, but I think he finds it a little boring, so he may move into the new house in September. He plans to go work in Odessa for the summer, staying with friends, and returning in the fall. Most of the students will work on the farm for the summer. They get paid extra for doing hard work like haying. Some of the boys got paid extra for digging holes for a cistern and septic system at the new house, too.

Garry is trying to get the new house livable on the group home parents side anyway, before he leaves on June 23rd, because we have found a family to live there. They have two daughters, 16 and 6 years old and are from eastern Ukraine. At the present time the family is staying in one room in a church attic in the city.

Here are some photos from my last week of English classes, where I decided to combine English and cooking and we talked about recipes and some days they came into the kitchen and cooked. Tuesday we made meatloaf patties (or cutleta in Russian)  in the microwave and thumbprint cookies. Sasha, Karina and Valera did most of the making, while everyone else wrote out the recipes in Russian from the English version. Even Maria came for this class. Normally she has a break with Garry while I teach English, because no one tries to figure out what I am saying if there is a translator in the room.

Wednesday we tried out an oven baked chicken breast and american-style cole slaw. Tasting is their favorite part, and after Garry's class finished that day they had a sampler plate to eat. On Thursday we did my pizza (dough and sauce) recipe. After the boys finished moving corn to the upstairs bin that afternoon, Valera, Julia and Karina (they had been painting the fence) helped make the pizza for everyone (Nastya was visiting her father.) The group home families came and we ate outside, the kitchen was pretty warm from cooking. Garry and the students got in a couple games of UNO outside on the table, except Kolya who had to milk that evening. He came in and got some leftover slices of pizza for the milker ladies to try.

changes

Not that anything has really changed from before, but we have spun off "the trade school" from New Hope Center. They will continue to work with orphans in Zaporozhye, but the project in the village now has its own registered Ukrainian humanitarian organization with the name of Hope for Each in English.

Victor was trying to get it registered at an office in Dnepropetrovsk and tried several different names with the word hope in but all were used, so he asked what wasn't and they suggested Hope for Each... we have an official name in Ukrainian and Russian too, but I can't remember them. Our mission statement is about changing the lives of orphans who are in need of... I can't think of the translation, but something like  whose lives need renewal or restoration? through farm work and learning.
I was trying to design a logo, since Maria needs to get more posters printed for the advertising for students for next year. Garry suggested a life saver.

Almost done classes for the semester

Just two more weeks of classes for the students, most of them will stay for the summer and work on the farm and house remodeling project. This week Garry was teaching parts of the udder and foot, so they had a hoof trimming demonstration.

more fun building with Canadians

After more than two weeks of building with and without teams from Canada, we had a few days of class, and now the students are off for May holidays for the coming week. This means just regular milking shifts and work at home, and so most if them will be away from the village for a few days visiting family or friends.

The students really liked working with the teams and the power tools. Here are  few photos of them at work.


two Kolyas at work

Everyone was nailing, gluing and stapling on the trusses the first days with Jack's team from BC. The girls were getting better at hitting the nails instead of their fingers, although they were frustrated by nails that bent halfway through. Everyone was having some problems with that, the nails  of the best quality.

Julia had hit her thumbnail before the Alberta team came and was proudly showing where it had fallen off and the new one was growing.

Julia hammering away

Julia helped Crystal oil the workbench and cupboards for the shop

The students enjoyed coffee time and eating lunch with the teams at the worksite.

Sasha with Bear

Most of the boys went up to help put the roof on the shop... and no one fell off.

Wilbert with Nikolai

All work and no play... well these boys are never dull!

Valera trying the stilts

Kolya and Valera are hams

insulation masks for Eugene and Nastya



Julia with full protection, she'd dive right in!

 After the insulation, and the electrical and plumbing were in the walls, the drywall was screwed on.

The students were sad to say goodbye



The boys get paid extra for this job, bucketing corn



Sunday a couple students went to Dnepro for church
and were surprised to spend the afternoon with the team

Nikolai target shooting

Julia working again

Sasha

 Friday May first we invited the group home families to see the new house and shop and eat shislik at one o'clock. Garry, the boys and Nastya worked at sanding drywall until then. Julia and Karina were already off on holidays.

cooking shislik

Thanks for the gifts!

The Alberta team left the students some brand new warm Canadian socks as gifts, and it was cold the day they got them so they were happy to get them. The students really enjoyed working with the team and were sad to see them go home. They can't wait to work with the new teams next week.

We had some other visitors the Friday the team was here, a Ukrainian lady we know who has lived in Canada for 15 years was in Dnepro with her daughters visiting family and wanted to give the orphans something, so they went shopping with Victor and brought kolbasa, macaroni, buckwheat, oatmeal,oil, tea and even toothbrushes and shampoo.

 I used them in my English lesson on the following Wednesday... and then told them that they were gifts for them from our visitors. The students were thrilled to receive bags of food.  The boys carried their two bags home, and Garry gave the girls a ride home. They discussed how they wouldn't have to pay for food that week as they were leaving school. Thank you from the students P!

working on the new house

what a difference a week makes

If you follow my moo-oosings blog, you know that we had a work team here to renovate the new group home. While they were here, the students were not in class, but were involved in the work. They also had lunch with the team from Alberta at our house since it was colder than we'd hoped.

 Here are some photos I took of the students working with the team last week.







 The team got so much done, even though the weather  turned cold and wet. The new roof is on, the floor heat is installed, the insulation is on the outside, ready to be stuccoing.
The Steinbach team arrives on the 15th to build the inside walls.


Valeria climbing up onto the roof to help with the steel



Sasha, the team said he never stopped talking in Russian.
Even if they couldn't understand what he said!

Valera, the team nicknamed him Elvis, because of the sunglasses
With the boy from down the street

Nicolai/ Kolya cleaning up on the last day

the ladies called Nastya Smiley

Sasha from Reni posing with Karina



Valeria, step using my camera to take photos !

 

going to church

For the last two months, Garry has invited the students to come to church with us in Dnepropetrovsk. The first week was when I was in the hospital (see the other blog if you missed my bout with mononucleosis ) and they stopped in to see me on the way. Last week when the team was here, it was raining and no one came. The students  walk the kilometer from their houses to our house on Sundays before we leave. As long as they don't have to work, and get here on time.

The first Sunday I was feeling better, only Nastya came, but most weeks there's three or even four crowded into the back seat, like in this photo. That is Nastya, Kolya, Sasha and Julia back there, our most likely passengers, although Valera and the other Sasha has come, too. Julia came for the first time three weeks ago, they rearranged the work schedule because she wanted to go. Most of the students go to the youth meetings on Sunday evening at the village church.  The two girls are excited about going to the Easter service next week. Here in Ukraine, we follow the Orthodox calendar, so it's not on the same week as at home.

Garry tries to get the students to New Hope Center Church in Zaporozhe for the monthly young life meeting on Saturday night, some of them end up sitting in the very back of the 5 seat van. Last week with Garry sick, a couple of the guys from the building team drove them, in the rain. (see more about the work on the house on the other blog). Good thing, with the cold rain, the police weren't stopping many cars, they mostly stay near the building, the Canadians had no problems with 8 or 9 people in the van. They did have to change a flat tire in the rain on the way home, after the music, message, and playing pingpong there and getting Big Macs at the drive thru. It is hard to see all the potholes on a dark and stormy night!

We hope to be able to get a full size van when we have more students next year, for getting the students to this and other outings. Most months we work around Victor's schedule and he drives us in his van.

This Saturday all the students took the bus from the village to Zaporozhe so we could go bowling. All the students were able to knock down more pins this time, and seemed to enjoy the outing, which included lunch at the mall. Most of them took advantage of some free time in the city before taking the bus back. Some of the boys spent their money on seeing the new Fast and the Furious movie. We try to do something as a group every month, and invite the group home parents.