The Challenge of Change

For those of you who know me well, you know that for the past year and a half the two things I have been praying for has been humility and wisdom. Two summers ago, this is the desire that God placed in my heart. Of course there have been other things on my heart and my mind, but I patiently asked and waited for these two characteristics. This is an update of answered prayer regarding the two, and how my challenge with change goes hand-in-hand.

Today I was reflecting on the past 6 months (yes, officially six months as of yesterday) and I sat down to ask myself, “What have I accomplished in the past 6 months?” Honestly, I became really discouraged about the time I had spent in Eastern Europe. It seemed that the few projects I was in charge of were so minimal that someone else could have done them in half the time. I thought about the depression that settled during my stay in Ukraine, and thought if only I could have trust God more than maybe I could have made a difference. I thought about some of the decisions I had made and wondered if I had grown or regressed. It had seemed that the tasks I had set out to do at the beginning of the summer were unsuccessful. So here I am, returning to the States in less than a week without a story of how the Christian bank I worked at saved someone’s life, or how I had fallen in love with this part of the world, or how I had witnessed to someone who had never heard God’s truth before. Then it hit me…the point of my stay here was not to accomplish a task or a goal I had set for myself, but for God to accomplish HIS task. And I think that task was to change me.

I now know myself better than before, which actually complicates things. I know my weaknesses better than ever. I know what triggers my insecurity. I know where I often fall flat on my face. I know how I react to certain hardships in a negative way. I know that I question God on things that should be very elementary. I know that most of the time I would rather please people more than God. I know how fake I can be, even if no one else can tell. I know that the strengths I thought I possessed weren’t strengths at all when put to the test. I know how much God has humbled me while I have been here, and I know that he has just scratched the surface. So everything I now know about myself makes me wonder how I could have been so content with my life back in the States. Basically, I can see right through myself, and it’s not a good feeling.

Now what do I do with all of this? Do I go back home and suffocate the truth I have been shown? Do I forget about all I learned regarding Eastern Europe, Christian developement, and life outside of NWC? Do I act the same way I had when I thought I was an amazing person with all of the answers? Sure, I can. It would be quite easy. Why not? Why change myself if I liked the person I was 6 months ago? Well, maybe because God desires more for me than to be comfortable with my own personality. Maybe he wants me to love others deeper, to see things from his eyes, and to seek him with my whole life...the things I have been lacking.

Remember the last time everything wasn't going how you thought it should and your friend jokingly says, “It builds character.” That’s where I'm at right now: character building. I demand of myself to be more real with people. I demand of myself to love people purely. I demand of myself to change the areas I am falling short. I want to be filled with character that truly represents my Savior. Through these 6 months, God has given me the eyes to see my short comings, and now I have the opportunity to either go back to who I was or to actually let God control these areas of my life. I'm praying for the wisdom to face the challenges of change and for the humility that leaves me in desperate need for him.

With all that said, when I return please don’t expect me to tell you about all the things I accomplished and all the tasks I completed while I was gone. Instead, ask me about the Godly characteristics my Savior is impressing on my heart and about how he has challenged me. Also, realize that this change may have been accompanied by my successful experiences, some missed opportunities, and even my mistakes.

Please pray that God will grant me humility and wisdom as I return, and the desire to seek the change he has for my life.

I can't wait to see you!

Western Europe At Last!

The preceeding post is a list of all the sweet things my dad and I saw on your month long trip to Western Europe. Many people have asked me what I’ve seen, and so there is the semi-complete list. It might bore you to death unless you’ve actually been to these countries. Thus, don’t feel like you have to read the list of tourist sites we went to. It’s more just for my record keeping, and just in case there is someone very excited to visit Europe or has already been.

For those of you who could care less or just want the highlights here is my "brief" summary….I flew into Madrid, Spain where I was SO excited to see my dad. He seems to think that I would have been excited to see anyone at this point, but I reassure you that I was excited to see HIM. We spent a few days in Madrid with a local Couch Surfer (for those who are skeptics of Couch Surfing I want you to know it was a delightful experience every time). Dad and I spent HOURS in the Prado museum until our feet hurt so badly we could barely walk. Then to top off the day we went to another museum where we experienced Picasso's Guernica (one of dad’s favorite paintings of the trip). The next few days we did a bunch of stuff, but I really enjoyed just walking through the beautiful park and getting my first taste of Europe outside of the former Soviet.

We decided we needed a beach, so we headed up to Barcelona. This was a short-lived trip. When we got there they told us the train to Rome only left 3 days a week, which meant we would need to leave the following day. Don’t worry, we made the most of it. Sat on the beach and ended up at Hard Rock Café. I ended up taking dad out for a late birthday present. It was probably one of the best suppers of the trip!

Rome. How do I explain Rome? Well I’ll start with the Vatican…LOTS OF PEOPLE. Although I didn’t get to hang out with the Pope, I did get to see some pretty stellar things. My favorite would have to be the Sistine Chapel. After seeing so many pictures of the thing, it’s really much bigger and better in person. The rest of our time in Rome was spent looking at columns and statues and talking about Roman history. Dad just kept telling me things that I had no idea had happened. I obviously need to get on that Western Civ class at NWC. The colosseum was my favorite here.

Florence was short lived, but gorgeous. We only spent a short time here, and actually getting lost most of it. At one point we ended up on a street that we thought would get us to a park, but in fact was probably just the longest driveways we’d ever seen before. We turned around about an hour into the walk, but like I said it was gorgeous.

Paris was just like the movies. I fell in love with the city almost instantaneously. It weather was cooler and the rain seemed to start when we showed up, but it was still wonderful. Before going I thought the Eiffel Tower would be a little cheesy, but end up being a definite highlight. Dad and I got to watch a beautiful sunset at the top, walked down from the 2nd floor, and got to see the light show once we arrived at the bottom. I could have definitely done it again. Norte Dame was probably my favorite church we visited. I honestly couldn’t stop looking at the stain glass windows to save my life. Versailles was something out of this world. Who makes a palace like that anyway?!!?!?!? I thought Americans had big houses…nope. The gardens were beautiful, and I felt like a princess taking a stroll down the elaborate estate. Oh, and I can’t leave out the Louvre. When Dad and I arrived in the Louvre we were in a really crazy mood. Next thing I know I’m skipping down the halls, and Dad is posing for a picture that looks like he’s kissing Mona Lisa, and I was laughing much too loud for all the serious artistic people. AKA, it was really great.

We stopped by Barcelona one more time on our way back to Madrid to fly out. At this stop we did the same thing as last time…laid on the beach. It was very similar except for the minor detail of someone stealing my purse. Bah! Don’t worry; my passport wasn't taken. Dad would probably like to point out here that he thought this was a good “learning lesson” for me to not be so trusting with my stuff. I also would like to point out that this was one of the moments of the trip where his Dad-ness made me want to punch him in the face. (Just kidding, Daddy! Love you.) We then flew back to Kiev, Ukraine were Dad started his first Eastern European experience. I definitely showed him Mother Russia the first day we were there.

Besides all the great things we saw at all these cities, I really enjoyed the people we met and getting to experience everything with my dad. I think this trip will be one of those things we talk about for the rest of our lives….mainly because I didn’t even know two people could get lost so much or that dad could hold a map for so long or that we could consume ice cream about 3 times a day – everyday.

So there is our trip in a few paragraphs….which turned out to be a few more than I intended. Sorry about that. Dad and I are now here in the Ukraine. I started up work again. Dad will be here for about 2 more weeks. I leave to go back to Moldova in less than a month, and I will then arrive back in the States Dec 1st. With that said, I’ll try to get in a few more blog posts before I return. Know that I miss you all, and I will see you soon!

PICTURES OF THE WHOLE TRIP: http://bobbielydick.shutterfly.com/

"What'd you do the past month?"

"What'd you do the past month?" Is the question I got in the office about an hour ago. Hmmm...how do I tell someone the 100s of awesome things I saw??? Well just in case you want the play-by-play, here's a list of the sites that my dad and I visisted!

Spain:
Madrid
Prado Museum – Paintings of Velazquez, Goya, Rubens, Rembrandt, El Greco
Royal Palace – 3rd largest palace in Europe
Plaza Mayor – Madrid’s main square after Plaza de Sol
Templo de Debod - An authentic 2nd Century BC Egyptian temple
Madrid Cathedral – Madrid’s largest church, built once they moved the capital from Toledo
Plaza de Espana – Sweet sculpture of Cervantes from Don Quixote
Reina Sofia Museum – Picasso's Guernica
Puerto de Alcalá – somewhere pretty to take your picture by
Retiro Park – Madrid’s main park
The Crystal Palace – awesome glass palace, AKA a lot of windows
The Boating Lake
Rosaleda (Rose Garden)
Figueres - small town where Salvador Dali was born
Dali Museum – a museum designed by Dali for the viewer to experience the artists’ world

Barcelona
Sagrade Familia- architect Gaudi started building this church
Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona – I took my dad out for a late birthday present
Beach – Basically the only think we did was lay on the beach

Italy:
Rome
Vatican:
Museum – Belvedere Torso, School of Athens by Raphael, and a lot of Mary
Sistine Chapel – Famous ceiling and Last Judgment
St. Peter’s Basilica – Michelangelo’s Pieta, St. Peter’s tomb, where St. Peter was crucified, crypt with tombs of the Popes
Dome – I road the elevator to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica for a great view
Pantheon – Built by Hadrian with a domed room that inspired many other famous churches, Raphael and Italy’s first 2 kings are buried here
Roman Forum – downtown ancient Rome, filled with Roman ruins
Palatine Hill – the remains of Ancient Rome’s palaces
Colosseum – 2,000 years old and AWESOME
Trajan’s Column – column telling Trajan’s victories
Arch of Constantine – marks the victory for Constantine that made Christianity mainstream
Spanish Steps – A place to sit with other tourists
St. Peter-in-Chains Church – holds Michelangelo’s Moses, has the chains that held St. Peter
Trevi Fountain – built to celebrate the reopening of the ancient aqueduct that powers it
Capitol Hill Square – Designed by Michelangelo, beautiful government buildings
Castel Sant-Angelo – a church/castle connected to the Vatican underground

Florence
Accademia (Museum) – Michelangelo’s David
Duomo – Gothic cathedral that has the 3rd longest nave in Christendom


France:
Paris
Versailles: Largest palace in Europe
The Chateau - main palace
Estate of Marie-Antoinette
Gardens – huge and awesome
Walked down Champs-Elysees – city’s largest square and famous boulevard
Arc de Triumph – Napoleon made it to commemorate a victorious battle
Eiffel Tower at sunset, walked down the last 2 flights,
Louvre – Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, other Raphael, De Vinci, etc.
Notre-Dame – 700 years old famous Church
Latin Quarter – Sorbonne University
Pont Neuf – Paris’ oldest bridge
Deportation Memorial – memorial to the 200,000 French victims of the Nazi concentration camps

In Spain

Well I don't have much time to write, but I wanted to let you guys know that I'm officially in Spain. I wanted to also let you know that I put up some pictures from my 2nd trip to Kiev. Go ahead and check it out. http://bobbielydick.shutterfly.com/

I'll try to keep my pictures updated, but I don't know how often that will actually happen.
~Bobbie

Larysa - Big Heart, Small Business

Here is another client story I wrote for my internship. This client is one of the few Christian clients we work with. I encourage you to read her story and see how HOPE is not only helpng cleints and their families, but also helping the family of God!

Name: Larysa
Family: Adult son and teenage daughter
Type of Business: Shoe retail
Loans from HOPE: 1 small business loan
Loan Amount: 8000 UAH = about $980

Larysa has owned a small business in the market place for 15 years now. During this time she has sold sports wear and women’s clothes, but within the past 7 years she has been in shoe retail. With the occasional help of her daughter, Larysa is able to maintain her business herself. In return, her business helps to maintain her family’s financial obligations including looking after her adult son and teenage daughter. As we spoke with Larysa, her daughter kindheartedly introduced herself and to us in English and told us she would soon be going to a university in order to study linguistics.

Being one of the few evangelical clients of HOPE Ukraine, Larysa starts her morning praying for God’s blessing on her business. She said when she received Christ her life and priorities changed for the better. As a new client of HOPE, she explained that “when I got a loan it was God providing.” Not only is God providing for her, but he is using her business to help provide for others. Larysa was grateful for taking out a loan with HOPE because some of the proceeds also go to Christian English camps called “Tomorrow Clubs”. Partnering with HOPE to improve the kingdom of God is just few of the ways she gives back to her community.

Involvement in weekly church services and leading small groups lead Larysa to volunteer her time at a local addiction center. She spends her free time here working with mothers of drug and alcohol addicts. When sales allow and the Hoy Spirit guides, some of her profit goes to pay for people to stay at this center. Her generosity is also seen first hand in the market. If she knows that someone is lacking funds and yet needs shoes, she will sell the pair of shoes without any profit markup. God continues to bless this generosity and she is often able to attend Christian conferences and meetings for encouragement and fellowship.

Larysa is merely using her small loan to increase inventory and sales. In return, God’s fingerprints are left on a Tomorrow Club, small group, family needs, addiction center, and shoes for the underprivileged.

Olena's Story

Here is a client story I wrote for my internship. I hope this give you a better insight into some of our clients lives and how HOPE loans help them! Enjoy.

Name: Olena
Type of Business: Shoe retail
Loans from HOPE: 1 small business loan
Loan Amount: 8,000 UHA = approx. $980

“It’s a long story as to why I decided to start the shoe business” Olena replies referring to the store she began in 1995. The story started when Olena lived in Eastern Germany with her husband who was serving in the military. During her time in Germany, she was employed as a performance musician playing the piano for her audiences. Although the money was slim, she cherished performing and referred to those days as “the best days of her life”.
In 1992 they moved to Eastern Ukraine after her husband retired from the army. After they moved back to the Ukraine, Olena put her piano skills to work as a kindergarten music teacher at the local military base. Although she enjoyed the job, the income was minimal. Thinking of starting her own business, her husband lent her the start up capital so she could begin selling shoes. This start up capital was used to purchase shoes from Turkey, Poland, and Russia in order to resell them in Ukraine.

After being asked about any struggles she had to overcome, she quickly broke out into laughter. Through the audible smiles, she told us that the largest setback was last year when she had a box of shoes worth about $1000 stolen from her. When the police came to write up an incident report they asked her, “Why are you still smiling?” She replied, “Well, what am I gonna do?” The officer was shocked that she would respond to this situation in this way, but at this moment her joyful spirit was evident. She asked a few acquaintances to loan her some money to cover this loss and she persevered successfully through this hard time.

Besides the small loans from friends, she has only taken out three loans with banks since starting her business 14 years ago. Appreciation for HOPE was apparent when she compared these loans to the loans she took out with other banks. The two previous loans had a very hard repayment system with high interest rates. She decided to take a loan with HOPE because “it was very quick and easy system of receiving loans.” Although she only took out this loan a little over 2 months ago, the loan was given just in time for customers who would be shopping for back-to-school clothes. She has already seen the impact of the loan from having a larger inventory while sales are increasing.

Although sales look good this month, the economic crisis has undoubtedly hit the Ukraine. Most business owners have been forced to buy their inventory in US dollars because it is more stable than the local currency. Depreciation is a huge concern for business owners like Olena. In the midst of a global economic crisis that has even hit Ukraine, Olena’s future plans have changed to purchasing lower quality shoes so that locals can still afford to buy from her. These profits go to support her and her husband. Her retired military husband currently works as a bus driver in the capital city of Kiev about 45 minutes away from Olena. She travel travels back and forth and spends half her time in Kiev with her husband, and the rest of her time selling shoes in Bila Cerkov

Although Olena doesn’t get to see her husband every day, she continues maintain relationships with her customers. Having a much interconnected community, she has the privilege of calling her customers her friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Working in the market for an extended time she says “It’s like a continual conversation with my clients. After so many years in the markets, there have been so many conversations.” It is conversations like these that not only help sales, but help Olena and HOPE Ukraine build up a community where people are valued and supported.

Change

Oh how I love NWC. Even when I'm not on campus they still have me debriefing on paper. I sent in a Summer of Service Evaluation yesterday. Since I spent so much time writing it, I thought I should probably share some of my thoughts with the rest of you. So as I sat to write about things that had happened in my life, I realized that there were some things that had really changed me. As I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that it would be a huge waste of 3 months not to change. With that said, here are a few of the random ways I’ve see my experience play out in my life.


· Being independent is necessary only to the point of realizing the need for God.
· I’ve started to seriously take hold of the power of God’s timing and live in union with it instead of in conflict against it.
· I’ve learned that non-Christians can change a Christian for the better.
· Doing something that will truly show the love of Christ to the “least of these” is a sacred calling not meant to take lightly. It involves deep love, long work hours, humility, passion, confrontation, encouragement that leads to empowerment, and many years of hardships. It’s a life decision…not a $100 bill.
· I observe better; I listen longer; and I think deeper.
· As I learned more about the demographics of a people group, my outlook on history and how it affects a culture changed. This also changed how I viewed characteristics of my own culture as an American and as a Christian.
· My attitude about how the Church interacts with non-Christians sadly became more realistic.
· After one interaction with a missionary couple in the Ukraine, I understood that it is impossible to live a joyful life without vision.
· Somewhere among having to budget for each month, going to work every day, cooking each night, and still trying to stay connected to the people I love back home, I’m scared that I actually grew up a bit.
· In order to become more Christ like we must change despite what the people around us want.
· I should not ever take for granted the power of Christ’s presence through a single hug or the deep, penetrating connection to fellow believers.
· Without a loving Christ, Christianity is worthless and without allowing someone else to love and change you, you cannot love or change them.
· The best part of a meal was after dinner when we all sat down for 30 minutes conversing with a cup of tea in hand. Tea is the symbol of a habitual commitment of time given in order to love the person sitting across from you.
· My perspective on foreign aid changed drastically. It is now hard for me not to ask the question, “Is this a temporary fix, or is this something that will truly show God’s eternal love?”
· The things I miss have revealed to me where my priorities lye…both the good and the bad.
· After recognizing that for most of my summer God was the only one that knew what was going on in my life, I took one step closer to truly loving my Savior.