Happy New Year!

The last few days have honestly been a blur! I don't know how we have managed to pack so much in, but we are certainly feeling it- at least me and Ande. Where to begin...

Our friends, the Graces, have finally made it back to Kiev. We were thrilled to see familiar American faces. We met them for lunch on Sunday, and spent a couple of hours catching up. It was really amazing watching our families. We've been through this journey together the last couple of years, even spent Christmas together with our families. And then to watch our kids interacting with a new sibling each. It truly was precious. We spent a couple of hours together, and then it was time for us to head off to attend St. Paul's Christmas/New Year's service. This is the first time we have attended corporate worship since November 11th! We (at least Ande and I) were excited. Katia and Sonya met us to take us. This is a group headed up by Music Mission Kiev- a group we've been familiar with for a couple of years. They used to be very involved at Chris's orphanage until the director kicked them out. Roger and Diane have been in Kiev for 10 years, and many of the graduates from Orphanage 21 have worked for their ministry.

To say that this was a different experience for us would be a huge understatement. While we were waiting for the service to begin, Roger was finishing up practice with the choir/orchestra. They were doing sound checks. People were putting up decorations. Like most fellowships here, they rent this building along with many other groups. So you come in, do your service, and get out quickly so the next group can start. I couldn't help but think about Jim Watkins (our worship minister at Brook Hills). He would have been unnerved. In America, at least in our larger churches, the services are so polished. This was much more disorganized, but a little refreshing as well. And then there were the people. The little babushkas came in, took off their wigs, brushed their hair, and then reassembled. No one seemed to notice!- except me and my kids.

The service itself was very nice. It was done in English and Ukrainian. The music was beautiful. More formal than we're used to, but very nice. And then IT happened. I know that this memory will be forever etched in all of our memories. Roger had asked everyone to turn off their cell phones at the beginning of the service. They didn't, so cell phones rang intermittently throughout the service. This one babushka answered her phone and began talking quietly. Another babushka a row behind her rolled her up her order of service, hauled off and hit the one on the phone, and yelled "Shut up!" We were a few rows behind these ladies and had a perfect view. Anderson (and Ande) laughed so hard they cried. We finally settled down, and enjoyed the rest of the service.

A couple of observations.... this fellowship was about 200 people. 80 % of the people were over 60, and 90 % were women. We attend a very young church, so this was really different for us. I couldn't help but wonder, "Where are the young people and the men?" But this is very common in Ukraine. It is another reminder of how desperately this county needs the gospel.

On a lighter note, we had the opportunity to spend New Year's Eve with our Ukrainian friends, Oleg and Lena Vasilevsky. Oleg picked us up at the Metro around 7 p.m. and took us to their home. We love these dear friends and were looking forward to seeing a true Ukrainian New Year celebration. This country has been preparing for the holiday for the last few weeks, so we were ready to experience it. We ate salads around 9 p.m., visited for a few more hours, grilled chicken and rang in the new year. In between all the Ukrainian eats, Father Frost (Santa Claus) came and gave presents to the children. Fireworks were in the background noise until about 3:30. We all slept in until about 11:00. When we got up, we ate some more! We rolled out of there about 3:00 this afternoon, but not until Oleg tried to convince us to spend 8 days in Egypt. For $190 per person, we could spend the entire time at a 5-star hotel that includes food and airfare. Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Had we known about this, we could have been chasing down King Tut's treasure instead of groceries here in Kiev.

It is getting to be, what Ande calls, "stupid cold" here. As we write this, it is about 20 degrees here. It will be getting down into single digits by the end of the week. We hope all of you are able to gather around and enjoy plenty of good food and family.

Here's to 2008!
The Underwoods