Ukraine update

[CarlaSun@aol.com]

Here is a report from Cliff Wright on the trip home from the Youth 
Conference.  This was the group heading back to Kyiv.  You can see how God 
answered prayer....


The trip back took us right at 48 hours!  Can you believe it?  Kashmar---but 
there is a lot to be thankful for as well.  It's not all disaster!

After we left Volgograd, we had to stop about 3 times in Russia with bus 
problems (one of the stops took about 2 1/2 hours on the side of the road as 
the drivers were up under the bus doing the repair work).

Fortunately (and thankfully to the Lord), we did not have any problems at the 
border.  The Russians remembered the money we paid last time and let us 
through after only 45 minutes.  The same Ukrainian guys were on duty that 
processed us through the border last Thursday and they were asking me how our 
trip went and what I did with the church, etc.  It was a great few minutes to 
share with them about our church and what we are doing to help the people 
here in Ukraine.  

Once in Ukraine, we had a few more bus problems.  The bus broke down right 
outside of Kharkhov (about 6:00 am).  The drivers worked on it for a while.  
One of the drivers then took off in a taxi to go and buy a part that the bus 
needed.  The bus left but only made it a few minutes down the road before we 
had to stop again.  The driver worked on it about 2 hours and then we were 
off again to try to get to a prearranged rendezvous point with the other 
driver.  We never made it.

About 25 minutes after we started out again, within the Kharkhov city limits, 
the bus broke down.  It was fatal.  It was now about 10:30 am or so (Tuesday 
morning).

Unfortunately, we had three people from Mariupol with us.  The drivers 
initially said that we could swing by Mariupol and drop off the girls.  
However, with the bus acting up, they changed their mind.  It was too late to 
put them on the train so they stayed with us on the bus.  It was too late in 
the night to let them off at Luganst or another town near there so they 
stayed with us on the bus.  So, since we were now in Kharkhov, we took a taxi 
to the train station and got them on the way home.  They still had an 11-hour 
train ride ahead of them.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, er, bus, we waited and waited.  Then we heard 
that the company in Kyiv was dispatching another bus for us.  It finally 
arrived at 1:00 am on Wednesday morning.  By 1:30 we were on our way and at 
9:00 am (10:00 am in Russia), we were back in Kyiv.

Some of the praises:
1)  We had great weather.  While stopped (broken down), we could all get out 
and run around.  We even had a makeshift game of baseball, with a stick as a 
bat and using our bare hands to catch.  Yes, we even had some baseballs!  It 
was great.
2)  When the bus finally broke down (fatally), we were in a large city.  Even 
on a big holiday, stores were open so we could buy food.  We could also hire 
taxis to get to the train station.  I was able to exchange money (finally) 
and get some grivny.  We could have broken down at anytime and been stuck in 
the middle of nowhere.  But we did not.  God was with us.
3)  Before I made it to the currency exchange place, we had to take a few 
taxis.  I only had 17 griven on me.  The first "taxi" took us at least 15 
kilometers and then told us it was free.  Praise the Lord for that.  We then 
had griven for the return trip back to the bus.
4)  This next one is a big miracle.  We had a bunch of young people, even one 
small child (Pasha Dziba).  Throughout all of the delays, even when we were 
hungry, there was NOT ONE SINGLE COMPLAINT!  NOT ONE!  There was no whining 
or bickering or groaning.  That was such a big help to me.  What great guys 
and gals!!!!!
5)  Then when we did get food, different ones volunteered to do things to 
help do the preparations.  Nobody was grabbing for the sandwiches or for the 
bottles of soda.  It was great watching them in action.  Great kids!

So, even in the midst of a really long trip, God was with us and it was 
evident in the way everyone conducted themselves.  Something is really 
happening in the lives of the young people.  It is great to see.

It is great to be home.

Love to all,

Cliff