Come over to Moldova: July 2008

After returning from our trip to Ukraine, Ian conducted his first Moldovan wedding of Anastasia and Dmitri (Nastia and Dima). We were to discover that at Moldovan weddings, guests don’t spectate but rather participate. Australian weddings are boring by comparison. All weddings in Moldova are conducted by a civil celebrant in a registry office. If a church blessing is desired, this follows on afterwards. The wedding started at 2.00pm and we didn’t get home until nearly 12 hours later….. and we were by no means the last to leave!!

The Civil Ceremony

Of interest – during the service the couple find each other’s rings which are hidden in a bowl of wheat. Tradition has it that the first to find a ring is the ‘head of the house’. On this occasion, Nastia found it first! (We knew she would!)

At the reception we were encouraged to join in the dancing, the eating and the offering of well-wishes, gifts and money. At one point later in the evening, a few of the older ladies took Nastia aside, removed her veil to signify that she was no longer a bride, and dressed her in an apron and head scarf to signify that she was now a wife. Her first task as wife was then to cut and serve the wedding cake. Not sure how that tradition would go down in Australia, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue here!!

Another fun tradition was the bride being stolen at one point during the evening, and the groom had to oblige by performing a number of fun songs, dancing, answering a few questions etc.. in order to get her back (see above). Well, she eventually came back, and they travelled off into the sunset..or should I say, the sunrise…. except that traditionally Moldovan weddings last for 3 days! The expectation is that they then celebrate at the groom’s family all the next day and the bride’s family the day after. It was fun, and a real privilege to be part of the special day!

We still needed to be at Rainbow of Hope corps the next morning where we enrolled 6 new soldiers.

What a great weekend!

We had just enough time to get the washing done then pack our bags and return to the Ukraine on May 21^st where we were contributing to the Divisional Women’s Camp. We came to the conclusion that in many ways Home Leaguers are the same all over the world, but these women love to sing and dance. They are fervent in their worship, love to read the Bible and pray together. Ukrainian culture came to the fore in the evening sessions. ..with singing, traditional Ukrainian dancing, belly dancing(!!??) poetry recital, drama and LOTS of talking! In the midst of difficult life circumstances, these people have a love for life and each other. We also came to appreciate the flexibility and ingenuity of these people. When the power failed for half a day, everything was just relocated outside and the power run off a car battery…all very matter of fact. In fact it was a great setting – even better than being inside.

These ladies were supposed to be grains of salt.
After a while we thought that the head pieces were about 30cms too high!!

An old Russian tale.. The Big Turnip

'Wheel of Fortune', Ukraine Womens Camp style.

Ukraine's answer to Adrianne Xenides !

Driving home on Sun afternoon we stopped for a while at the town of Uman to view the magnificent landscaped gardens at Sofia Park, which were just breathtaking. This is certainly a land of contrasts. There is so much of the country that is tired and neglected, but then you come across these breathtaking gardens of which the locals are understandably very proud.

35 candidates gathered the following weekend for the Divisional Candidates Seminar. These are quality young people (and some not so young) who are responding to a conviction that they serve as officers in future days. It was such an inspiration to be in their midst and sense their passion. Currently we are working with several of them who have indicated that they wish to be a part of the next session. Intakes of new Cadets only occur every two years with a limit of 15 due to budget restraints.

Then on the Saturday, a Music Seminar - again mostly young people who just love being together. There are many excellent musicians in the division and worship bands that could ‘hold their own’ anywhere. (Music is a strong part of Moldovan culture). A fun part of the day was the parading of ‘Salvation Army uniforms of the future’ which the young folk had designed. Once again, there was singing, dancing, poetry, drama.

We’re still trying to catch you up on all our travels. Next installment will bring news of our trip to Moscow.

Our experiences are varied. As you read our ‘blog’ you may be forgiven for thinking that life is a holiday, but the challenges and frustrations are many and varied as we work with very limited resources and burdensome government bureaucracy. And of course there are those times when we feel deeply the separation of the miles and the absence of security, familiarity and efficiency, and of course family and friends.

Joel turned 1 last week, and the photos we have seen helped us sense something of the occasion, but not quite the same as being there. Hopefully we will be there for his 2^nd, Sadie’s 1^st, and Ian’s mum’s 95^th this time next year.

In all of these new and varied experiences, we prove daily that God never changes. He is constant in every way and we have proved him in new ways in our lives. As we continue to make personal adjustments in this new context, we discover again that… ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever’. Hebrews 13:8 NLT

Once again, as we close…. here are some more random photos, and a couple that are blatantly and unashamedly indulgent!