“June Has Me Seeing Red! … Okay, Red Berries” (June 2013 Update)
The names of months in Ukraine continue to be very interesting to me! June is called Червень or “Red” because it is the month when all the red berries come out. It is a wonderful time for sweet, fresh fruits after the winter months. It’s also a beautiful time of year when the weather is warm and the flowers are in full bloom.
For me, it also means getting ready to return home for a summer break! And I’m ready! (Okay, not really… I still have a lot to do before we can leave). After teaching the entire month, having some commitment every weekend in May, we are very tired (maybe “red eyes”) and looking forward to some summer rest.
Teaching
In May, I co-taught Critical Thinking and Writing 1 with Natalie Tereschenko. We were extremely busy teaching every day and receiving nearly 40 papers every day also. But we were able to see great progress in the students (1st year students) and that makes all the time and energy worth it! In the class evaluations, students said this class was one of the most helpful classes they have ever taken. It helped them to think more accurately and to write better. Most said the class gave them new skills that they can use in other classes and in their ministries. That’s how we feel about the class too. It is a lot of work, but it really helps students!
Immediately following this class, I began teaching Critical Thinking and Writing 2. This is a smaller class of only 6 students (mostly 3rd & 4th year students) so the pace has been much more manageable. We can also see how much progress the students have made in thinking and writing since the 1st year. We still have this week to finish (and then grading post-class papers in late June) but we are enjoying seeing the students grow in their understanding every day!
Also thanks for praying for our church retreat, “Key to the Heart,” in May. We had a great group of married couples and singles, and the seminars were a real blessing to our church.
Summer Plans
We are trying to get things ready to return to Arkansas for the summer. For me, this is bitter-sweet. I am looking forward to time with my children (and grandchildren) and many friends, but we are also returning to sell everything in our home. Joy and the kids will be moving to upstate New York to reunite with Shain. So most of June, Katya and I will be working on the house with repairs, cleaning, packing and having garage sales to get the house ready to be rented. This has been an emotional time for me. I really love my home (I put a lot of work into it!) and I have always enjoyed being able to come back “home” (literally) every year. I will certainly missing having my own home to return to. We certainly won’t be homeless though…we have plenty of family and friends to stay with. It just feels like a part of me will be missing.
Also, we know that future trips home will be more hectic trying to see all the kids and our friends and supporters too. With Joy in New York & Joel and Alyssa planning to move to Colorado next year (to be near her parents) & Todd and Samantha in Jacksonville & Sean and Meredith in Fayetteville, it will be difficult to see everyone for any extended time when we return to the US. But we’ll eventually figure it out. On the plus side, it will be easier to visit friends in CT and NY now and we always love going out to Colorado! We just might not be able to see everyone every time we return.
After we get the house rented, we plan to spend a few weeks with family until Joy and the kids leave for New York near the end of July. Then we are planning to spend 2-3 weeks camping. We are not sure where yet, but Colorado is our hope!
Russian
I’ve really made a lot of progress in Russian this year, but I still have a long way to go. I now understand most of what I hear (about 75-80% of Russian and about 60-70% of Ukrainian). And I can respond pretty well but my grammar and structure are really a mess. I’m glad people are patient with me whenever I speak! I’ll be working on lessons throughout the summer too but I look forward to getting back to lessons in the fall here in Kiev.
Thank you again your support! We look forward to seeing many of you this summer. Keep us in your prayers as we travel, get the house ready to rent and spend some time resting too!!!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya
