First things first....

On June 20^th, our second grandchild, Sadie Joy Reeve, was born to Clare and Matt. As you can see she is beautiful. Get used to seeing photos of her and Joel featured a bit in successive posts. We’re grandparents…that’s our job!!

Sadie with mum and Aunties Beth and Megan

Joel meeting his new cousin

NOW… the blog!!!

It's been a long time since our last posting.

Where were we???? It would be an understatement to say that life has been hectic. There have been many comings and goings, several trips abroad and camps attended, mixed in with the everyday demands of Divisional life. Let’s reflect… We may do this in a few rapid fire ‘blogs’ over the next week or so.

May 7^th…. Viv’s birthday. What a present…an International trip!!!!

We set off in the car on a 9 day visit to Crimea in the south of Ukraine, our neighbouring country. Crimea borders the Black Sea. This time incorporated two or three days of public holidays and weekends.

On the promenade with Yalta in the background

Our first five days were spent in Yalta on the South coast, which is a beautiful resort town on the coast, surrounded by spectacular mountains. We stayed at a little B&B with magnificent views of the ocean. The cost for this view was climbing precarious exterior stairs (more like a glorified ladder!!) but once there, it was worth it.

We had been requested to do a three hour presentation at Yalta University with the given topic ‘Unknown Australia’. Those who attended were students who had been studying English. We gave a brief historical and political overview, and spoke about the economy, geography, culture, and of course sport!

It seems that everyone in this part of the world is interested in pictures of Australia's unique fauna. (When there is any confusion about whether we are Australian or Austrian, mentioning the word ‘kangaroo’ soon clarifies our roots!) Vegemite tasting was also part of the experience. Needless to say, it was either a 'love or hate' reaction.

Meeting the Director of the Yalta University(centre) Yuri, our translator is on the left and Olga, the Co-ordinator of International Studies is on the right

The next few days were spent exploring this area and its associated rich history, especially when it comes to wars, spanning many centuries. Our tour guide was Yuri Gulyanytsky, a Salvationist from Yalta who is an expert on the area. Places of interest included Livadia Palace, the scene where Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill talked about the future of Europe at the end of WW2.

In the grounds of Livadia Palace

Continuing on the 'war' theme... we visited the field where the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ took place, and also saw some former secret Soviet Naval bases, which are now popular tourist destinations. A unique feature of one such base, Balaklava, is the secret submarine maintenance docks. At the height of the Cold War, subs would enter the inlet of this village, and enter an excavated tunnel that was the entry point to the underground workshops. These former naval establishments are a shadow of their former selves.

Look carefully at this poster to see the 'secret' access to the Submarine workshop

In the township of Balaklava

The road along the coast is reminiscent of the Great Ocean road in Victoria with sea on one side and towering mountains on the other. There was the mandatory visit to a couple of spectacular Orthodox Churches which had been magnificently restored in post Soviet times.

Near to the town of Sevastopol are the ancient Greek ruins of the settlement of Hersones, dating back to the 6^th century B.C. A new sense of historical perspective comes when you walk amongst areas with such history, and try to imagine the everyday activities that happened 2500 years earlier. Yuri and Ian fossicked along the beach and found some fragments of old earthenware pottery.

Yuri and Ian searching for artifacts.

There are also pockets of Turkish influence in this area and we were introduced to the delights of Turkish cuisine.

It's a tough life for Turkish men!! This man was set for the day to be waited upon by his Turkish women.

In Yalta itself we enjoyed leisurely strolls along the lengthy promenade and were constantly fascinated by the variety of activities happening, ranging from chess games, string ensembles, palm reading, and mini bike hire.

An entertainer who kept singing old Soviet war songs.

Palm reading

The‘Swallows Nest’, a ‘castle’ is an iconic landmark of Yalta,built by a wealthy German for his gypsy lover. It now sits precariously on a cliff top overhanging the black sea. The story goes that the gypsy lover left after only one night. (C’est la vie!) Because of his nationality, the man left at the commencement of the Second WW. The Swallows Nest is now one of the main tourist attractions in the town.

The views from the 'Swallow's Nest' are breathtaking

Sunday morning we attended the Yalta Corps and participated in worship. We were again overwhelmed with a warm welcome, and had flowers ‘thrust’ at us several times during the service.

The Salvation Army meets on the third level of an old Soviet building now used by an association for the blind. As we climbed the stairs we saw this relic from Cold War days, giving instructions on what to do when ‘they attack us with nuclear bombs.’ (Fascinating!)

On Sunday afternoon we journeyed on to Kerch on the East Coast of Crimea. Here we spent three days teaching a module entitled ‘Contagious Christianity’ to delegates of a lay leadership course. This is an interdenominational college with representatives from many churches including the Army. The course aims to develop lay leadership in the Churches of Eastern Europe. Yuri was our translator, and has the wonderful gift of making us sound better than we really are. We were challenged by their eagerness to learn, their strong faith and their powerful prayers. We were also challenged by the camp food, but we are managing to eat everything that is put in front of us. The reality is you either eat or go hungry. The campsite itself was formerly a Pioneers camp (‘Pioneers’ was the equivalent of a youth movement – with a mixture of ‘scouting’ activities and political indoctrination) There are many of these camp sites scattered throughout the former Soviet union now abandoned. The campsite at Kerch has been transformed through the finances and support of Global Action, a Christian teaching and aid organisation, which also happens to sponsor many projects run by The Salvation Army in Moldova.

Ian teaching with the help of Yuri, our translator.

In the few hours we had free, we did a whirlwind tour of the city of Kerch, with Yuri once again proving a great tour guide, giving us a comprehensive history of the place.

A sea view from Kerch. Just 5 kms across the sea behind us is mainland Russia

Like many before us, we are taking the salute under one of the many statues of Lenin that remain intact throughout the former Soviet Union

The 850 kms back to Chisinau took us 15 hours in the car. It was a long way on fairly ordinary roads. We have come to the conclusion that Ukrainian drivers are amongst the worst in the world. It is common for cars and trucks to overtake other vehicles whilst going up a hill or while taking a bend, regardless of what might be coming in the other direction. At times it was quite scary. Since then we have been told that the Ukrainian road toll over the Easter weekend exceeded the road toll for Sweden for all of 2007.

We are still here to tell the story….

Sometimes we still have to pinch ourselves to remind us that all this is really happening to us, it still seems so unreal. We feel privileged to be serving in this part of the world. In the midst of all the above mentioned experiences are the many challenges that are part and parcel of everyday as we lead the Army in this Division. But God is at work, and continues to provide grace and strength for the task.

Until next time… Lots of love.

Ian and Viv xoxo

Life has been frantically busy with many happenings and much travelling, hence this long overdue blog!

On the last weekend in April we celebrated Orthodox Easter and although there was no public holiday on Good Friday, DHQ did not open. Corps hold Good Friday services in the evening so that folk can attend after work, school etc. We attended a small gathering at Botanica corps. Even though it was all in Russian, the powerful reminder of the story came to us in new ways, and with new perspective, through drama, monologues and prayers. It is always moving to be in the midst of these sincere worshippers. The service then concluded with a light meal, as people had been fasting throughout the day.

A few days previous we had travelled to the regional town of Beltsi where there is a vibrant Army corps. We accompanied Captains Lev and Alla Freidkin, DHQ officers who are of Jewish background. They took us through the Passover meal and we were powerfully reminded of the story of the Exodus as we shared in this symbolic meal. There are of course for us the undeniable links with the Easter story and our deliverance from the bondage of sin into fellowship with God.

At midnight on the Saturday evening of Easter we took the opportunity to walk to the little wooden Orthodox church near our apartment to share in the orthodox Easter morning celebrations. We were warned that this would be about a 5 hour service. It commenced with the lighting of candles, then proceeding outside to walk 3 times around the church in procession, then we made our way inside. This procession carrying the candles and accompanied by chanting we are told symbolizes the growing light of the Easter morning. Once inside the service was fairly repetitive liturgy and chanting from a choir of women situated upstairs in a loft. The tiny churched was packed and we stood all the time. I felt sorry for the many old ladies who were there. Many had brought baskets of Easter food to be blessed by the priest at the conclusion of the service. They were going to stand for about 5 hours. It was also quite stuffy as there was also lots of incense. It was fairly repetitive, with priestly chanting, and continuous singing from a small women's choir upstairs. It was conducted in Romanian, but every 15 minutes or so the priest came in front of the congregation and said three times, 'Hristos in viata' (Christ is alive) and the congregation, responded accordingly each time. This began almost with a whisper at the beginning of the service and got louder as time went on. I must admit we didn’t see the distance to the conclusion and left at about 2.30am but while we didn't understand a lot, it was meaningful to be involved in this very ancient ritual.
Next year, we might go to bed early, wake up at 2am and then go to see how the service ends!!

The following weekend we were hosts to Commissioners Max and Lenora Feener (Territorial Commanders of USA Southern Territory of The Salvation Army). They were accompanied by Commissioners Wim and Netty van der Harst, who are Territorial Commanders of our Eastern Europe Territory. USA Southern Territory generously sponsors many projects that happen in Moldova. It was good to show them many of our programs in operation and advise them of ongoing challenges into the future.

Visits during their time here included the Mobile Medical Clinic in a very poor village called Selemet, about 100 kms from Chisinau. Over 220 patients were seen that day in the community building that was provided for our use. The mayor of the village gave a special welcome to us. Once again, wheelchairs were provided, medications dispensed, baby formula give out. Once the clinic got underway we were invited to afternoon tea in the mayors office who again expressed her deep appreciation for the Army’s visit saying that for many in the village our 3 visits each year provided for most in the village the only access to medical care that they had.

Two TC's and a donkey. (The donkey is in the front!!)

The 'feed' in the Mayors Office afterwards

The closest Ian will ever get to being a Mayor!

The next day we travelled to Dubossari where everyday the corps provides food and assistance with schoolwork to the most disadvantaged children in the area. About 30-40 children gather in the tiny hall which we have told you about in previous posts. Dubossari offers an excellent example of incarnational ministry. In recent days we have arranged for improved heating so that there is now hot running water for the kitchen staff and the ability to make the place warmer in the depths of winter.

A friendly soccer match involving the youth of the Corps on the local 'oval'!

Nothing gets past these guys!!!

We also dropped in on other corps so that the visitors could see the property needs that exist for so many of our corps.
On Sunday there was a time of combined celebration for corps in Chisinau. It seems that no matter how hard one tries to keep the meeting a reasonable length, participants usually just do what they want to do. So the requested one song turns into a bracket of 3 or 4. Not so bad if it happens once, but everyone does the same thing. Anyway, no one seems to mind. They just love getting together and celebrating in worship.

The quintet from Checani in the service - they are brilliant!

Commissioner Lenora Feener

A very powerful drama presented by the Central Corps Youth.

Commissioner Max Feener and Oxana from DHQ, who translated.

We were encouraged by their visit and the promise of ongoing and additional support for The Salvation Army in Moldova.

Until next time....

Love from Ian and Viv xoxo