Dominic and Joshua with their Ukrainian School Books
Dominic and Joshua started school this month and are the first foreigners to attend their school. The name of their school is School No. 16. It was surprisingly easy to get them enrolled. We were so worried about having all the necessary paper work, but they hardly seemed to care when we showed the boys’ papers to the school. The director seemed happy to enroll them, but just needed to make some calls to find out how. He asked us a question that seemed strange coming from someone in a state job. He wanted to know what church we went to and wanted to make sure that we were Christians. He seemed pleased with our answer and the boys both started school the next day. I was in the village helping harvest potatoes so I missed their first day of school, but Edna went with them and met their teachers. Dominic and Joshua both go to the second session of school so they leave home between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. The times vary each day of the week. They get home between 5:00 and 7:00 pm.
School No. 16
Dominic has to move from class to class just like in regular middle school and for the most part he likes his teachers. Since he is learning Ukrainian, his Russian teacher has refused to give him a book or let the other kids help him so he just sits quietly through that class. We decided that one foreign language at a time is enough. His English class is actually turning out to be more difficult than he expected. They teach British English and some of the grammar they teach is incorrect, so Dominic sometimes gets corrected on how he speaks. At least it helps him to understand why some of the kids speak English the way they do.
Joshua only has one teacher and she has been very understanding and patient with him as he learns Ukrainian. We have explained to the school that we are supplementing their education at home with home schooling. Joshua has made several friends in his class, but he is still a little intimidated by how different everything is. When it’s time for Physical Education, all the boys and girls just change in the classroom. The older kids have the privilege of using separate changing rooms, but Dominic said that while the boys’ changing room was being painted, he had to change for PE in the hallway with all the other kids walking by for a week. Privacy has little priority here. Joshua is intrigued by some of the things he has seen at school. He said that one day a younger kid was afraid of something and decided he wanted to go home so he just climbed the fence and ran home. He described it as though it was something like a prison break.
Edna helping Oksana with her English
Now that school has started, several of the kids come over to get help with their English homework. Edna usually helps Oksana from downstairs and I usually help Maxime. It’s so strange to hear Maxime speak English. When we first met him he didn’t know a single word. We taught him to say, “Hey guys” instead of “Hi people”. When I was first learning Ukrainian I would sometimes write out English words phonetically in Ukrainian. It was interesting, but I thought at the time that it was a pretty worthless talent. I never imagined how helpful it would be for teaching Ukrainian children how to properly pronounce English words. Edna’s knowledge of Spanish has also been a blessing as she continues to meet with 15 year old Masha and teach her Spanish. It has been a great opportunity for Edna to disciple and pray with Masha. Masha is shy and dresses conservatively compared to the other kids in school so she is often teased. Edna has been blessed to be able to encourage her and offer her friendship.
Maxime
We have been trying to get Maxime to come to church with us but the answer has always been the same, “My mom says no”. Joshua has continued to pray that Maxime would someday come to church with us, but we were still a little surprised when his mother finally gave him permission to go one Sunday. We ended up cutting church a little short because Joshua was suffering from an ear infection and needed to go to the children’s hospital. Maria, our good friend and language teacher, helped us jump through the hoops of getting Joshua treated. After seeing three different doctors and walking between two different buildings, we were told that Joshua needed to spend the next week in the hospital with an IV in him. We politely declined that treatment plan and settled on twice daily antibiotic injections at home. Maxime was with us the whole time so we took him out to get something to eat before we brought him back home.
Joshua, Dasha, Veronyka, and Masha playing Uno with Edna
The real blessing happened the following Sunday. Dominic and I were out of town up near Chernihiv where Calvary Chapel and like minded churches were meeting for a conference. We had a good father and son time and great fellowship while we were there. Edna and Joshua, who had fully recovered from his ear infection, had looked for Maxime before church, but couldn’t find him. They went to church a little disappointed that Maxime wasn’t with them. During church Edna told me that she heard the door open while they were praying and she looked up to see Maxime and another little girl, named Veronika, standing in the doorway. The two of them had walked to the bus stop and taken the bus all the way across town by themselves to go to church.
The church here had been praying for people to come that would be able to do children’s ministry before we came to Ukraine. There weren’t many children, but it was their hope that if the ministry were there, children would follow. It’s a blessing to see some of the first fruit from our efforts and prays.
(l. to r.) Zhenya, Olena, Vika, Joshua, Masha, Veronyka, and Dasha
Edna left for Visalia, California on the 26th to help my mom while she is dealing with ruptured disks in her back. She hopes to be a blessing there and to return back at the end of October. She is planning to travel over to San Luis Obispo on the weekend of the 20th and 21st of October.
Дім Милосердя (House of Mercy), our church here
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” –Matthew 19:14
“Our faithful God is an ever flowing well of delight, and our fellowship with the Son of God is a full river of joy. Knowing these glorious things, we cannot be discouraged.”
-Charles Spurgeon
Prayer Requests
- That God would continue to lead us according to His plan
- Learning the Ukrainian language and culture
- For the children in our neighborhood and in the church: Maxime, Veronika, Masha, Oksana, Anya, Angela, Yaroslav, Olena, the twins (Masha & Dasha), Vika, Marina, Katya, and Zhenya.
- For the boys as they adjust to Ukrainian public school
- Wisdom in sharing the Gospel
- Opportunities for discipleship and service
- Financial provisions
- Health and safety
- For Edna as she travels and for our household as she is absent from it
- Spiritual growth and discernment
- Pray for the country of Ukraine as tensions are high after the September 30th elections
Support can be sent to:
Calvary SLO
P.O. Box 1463
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
With an attached note: "For Greg and Edna Silva"
In Christ,
Greg, Edna, Dominic, and Joshua
Our blog: On Second Thought
Our photos: We Desire Him
