Christmas Event

On Saturday the 13th of December I had the privilege of serving a great group of girls. The Irpen Bible Church invited youth girls to "The Meaning of Christmas Party." There was singing, games, stories and lots of fun. We ended the evening with a craft which they will have as a lovely remembrance of the evening. It is my joy to do these kinds of events because I see how much fun they have in the creative process. Laura Kanaykina is the short one in the first standing row who organized the event. Thank you Laura, for allowing me to be a part of this holiday.

Craft Fun

Lots of fun for the girls and for me in being a part of what they do.

Full Tables

Girls at work on their "Hearts." Leah (in the black cap) is my daughter who helped with this event. She likes working with youth.

Showing her "Heart"

These girls were so cute. They love to get their pictures taken and to show off their pretty work. You can certainly see how I find such satisfaction in doing this work with them.

Heart Frame

A close up of one girl's work. Notice the Bible verse on the left that will go as a message to many who read it. The really loved the glitter and used a lot of it.

Remembrance of Summer

Here is one of Jeff's photographs from my garden last spring. Some of you get to plant these in the spring and fall. In our climate (on a parallel with southern Canada) we only have spring pansies and they are among my favorites. So I'm sharing this little lovely as a reminder of things to come while much of the northern hemispheres are in cold. It does my heart good to look forward to the beauties to come.

How This All Came About

I caught Jeff in a casual moment reading not long ago when we were in Poland on "car docs" business. We have been married for soon to be 25 years. He took a short-term mission trip to Ukraine in '92, then another and said he wanted to move. I thought, "are you crazy?" I said, "I don't even want to move across the street, much less across the world." A long story short and God softening my heart, we are now in our 15th year in Ukraine. My college-aged dreams of traveling Europe have been fulfilled, I just never dreamed (in my wildest of dreams), that it would be fulfilled in this way. So it has been a wild adventure. Not always easy, sometimes extremely challenging, but I wouldn't change a thing. Jeff is my hero, my mentor, my best friend and he's the one, holding hands with Our Creator, that has brought this all about. How long we will be here is anybodies guess, but it is not a guess to the One who sent us, so we shall see.

Blah! Blah! Blah! Why Write Another Blog?

This is a question that I know will come up since I have already been writing "The Franks In Ukraine & CIS" for almost a year. That site I feel has been an expression of what our mission is here in Ukraine. I will continue that writing as it is our joy and our life work for as long as God keeps us here. Another Aspect: Life has many twists and turns and there is more to each soul than just the work they do. Therefore, I have decided that "Tea on the Terrace" will be an expression of the more personal side of our lives, as I see it. I hope this might be a place where some might come and sit, as if we were having tea together and maybe even find refreshment. What this will become a year hence, we shall see.

Winter In Ukraine

As I sit in the warmth of home, I can look out and see the cold, yet be rather untouched by it. Since I tend to be rather a cold-natured person, that's how I like it, although it doesn't mean I don't venture out. These are days of winter when I prepare for different events and look for inspiration to create in my upstairs studio. I have been so blessed to have this space. It was a big empty attic when we purchased this home in Ukraine 11 years ago. Now it is like a knotty pine cabin with all its wood. I look out and see pine trees that far exceed the top of our high-pitched roof. Still, civilization is encroaching with more and more homes being built around us. Ok, so enough perambulations around my house. Time to get to work. Hope you like the picture.