John White - Developing Church Leadership in the Russian Speaking World c/o Eric Yodis, Postal Box 3644, Donetsk 83076, UKRAINE June 2001 jwhite@alumni.princeton.edu http://www.marucheck.net/jw
Well, I hope not too many of you are thinking, it's about time! Shto ya imayu vidu (one of my favorite phrases, "What I have in mind") is that lately I've been learning a lot more about Ukrainian and Russian culture. I still study Russian grammar, but it's been nice to have new opportunities to understand the world that I'm living in more.
My latest round of cultural education began on May 1 with the traditional May Day Parade. This was a lively time, including many people dressed in colorful native Ukrainian clothing, Communists proudly waving their red flags, a roller coaster erected next to Lenin's statue, and, of course, lots of ice cream (a favorite food in this part of the world). And since one parade is hardly enough, May 9 celebrated victory in Europe in World War II with another parade. This parade ended in the War Memorial Park with speeches from our mayor and other dignitaries. It was fascinating to see the mix of old and new-I saw features of the old Soviet parades with military bands and tanks (actually, only one tank) as well as a simple desire to throw a party and have a good time with amusement park rides and lots of food. Ukrainians really love holidays.
Soon after this, I was able to go with some Ukrainian friends to my first soccer game. In case you somehow missed the news, Donetsk "Shakhtyor" just won the prestigious "Ukrainian Cup." To give you an idea of how popular soccer is here, reportedly tens of thousands of people from Donetsk traveled up to Kiev for the big Ukrainian Cup match. Apparently the President of the soccer club completely paid many people's way (including Igor from my household). I didn't make that match, but I did see a game in Donetsk. I enjoyed the game, but the backdrop was at least as interesting. If you look at my picture, you can see huge mounds of earth that were dug up in order to build coal mining shafts, the industry upon which this city has grown. Now, the coal mines are being shut down because they are so unsafe that we often hear of accidents with numerous deaths. The name of the soccer team "Shakhtyor" means "coal miner," and it would seem that this city is turning its attention from the industry to the game.
There are many other interesting things that I have been learning about lately, especially as I've had the chance to take a couple of trips up to Kiev, the capital. There I've visited numerous beautiful Orthodox churches, walked through the underground "caves" monastery, and enjoyed the Russian Art Museum. I'd encourage you to look at pictures on my website (listed above) from the last few months to see more of what I've been learning. I'm certainly only beginning to learn about the culture here, but it seems to me that there is a very interesting mix between holding on to the past and trying to embrace a new future. I think it's vital to understand Ukrainian history as well as people's present struggles for work and joy in the midst of many hardships. Please pray that God would guide me to not just learn the language of the people, but also their heart and soul.
In His grace,
John
