unexpected gifts

Who am I that You, O God of highest heaven, would be so near and so good to me?

Mariinsky Park, Kyiv, Ukraine ~ my beloved Maxim next to the fountain on a recent visit together

The abundant goodness of God is rushing out pouring over me!  I am amazed.  My heart trembles at such goodness.  My heart is like a bubbling brook wanting to proclaim the excellencies of God wherever I go.  Help me to get this out God, I cry!  Let this praise in my heart, first, bring pleasure to You, be a sweet song to You, and, second, turn the eyes of others to You to also praise You from deep within, to sing greatly to you . . . truly.

The past three months or so have been a whirlwind of all kinds of unexpected gifts ~ truly unexpected.  Many have been incredibly delightful and some others at first taste have been difficult to swallow and yet they have had a sweet aftertaste and a nourishing effect.  The Scriptures point to a Father in heaven as the giver of every good gift and every perfect gift, telling us that they are from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17), so I can’t help but thank this great and caring Father of mine for such precious gifts.

the offer of a new life . . . a partnership . . .

The greatest gift I’ve received in these past few months is a life partner:), which in reality is the start of a whole new life.  I’ve met a man that I believe God has led me to unite my life with, a man who sincerely loves and seeks God, who longs to honor God and, thus, genuinely seeks to do so, a man who delights in me and so readily and generously supports me, an authentic and tender-hearted man with a humble servant’s heart, a man who I share much in common with and yet with whom I share complementary gifts and abilities, a man who has captured my heart ~ Maxim Stakanov.

how it all begin . . .

I met Maxim back at the end of November during my dear friends’ Thanksgiving celebration, and we started to get to know each other at that time but nothing progressed further.  We didn’t meet again until Christmas day in Ukraine on January 7 when I started visiting my friends’ church called Spring of Hope where Maxim has been actively involved for over 10 years.  I continued to visit this church every Sunday and so I began to regularly see him.  By the end of January we started communicating by email . . . went on our first date on February 11 . . . got engaged on March 17 . . . and are planning to get married on August 11!  Whoo!  Talk about a whirlwind . . .  a changed life!

On one hand I know that this all sounds very fast and yet on the other hand, I know that thousands of prayers have led up to this moment and that the peace of God has covered this time.  Both Maxim and I have waited a long time for this spectacular moment, and the waiting has only made us more prepared and more grateful for this moment now that it has arrived.  There is nothing in our spirit holding us back but only joy and peace and hope in moving forward, though we continue to pray seeking God’s will.  It is impossible for me to communicate the entire story of these past three months, but let me share some highlights with you ~

Our personal communication started when Maxim invited me to join a Christian book study in English that he was a part of on Saturday mornings over Skype.  It was a very unique study in that it was a group of Ukrainians doing a Christian study in English over Skype with an American who lives in America actually leading it.  It has been a real blessing for us as it has given us the opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level as well as provided me with some needed Christian study in English.  Soon after this study started, Maxim pursued dating me.  Our first date was at an entertainment center called “Blockbuster” (said with a Ukrainian accent of course), which was amusing to me since this was such a well known American brand name.  There we went ice skating, shared a meal, and talked and talked.  Maxim knows English quite well but doesn’t speak it perfectly and my Russian is very limited so we were both somewhat concerned about our communication, but – praise God – we’ve been able to communicate quite well and even greatly enjoy each other’s accents as well as sometimes get some great laughs out of our “unique” ways of saying certain things:)

our first trip . . .

Another highlight was our first trip together in the 2nd week of March to visit Maxim’s home region and town.

Maxim with the flag of Ukraine

Maxim is from the city of Chervonograd in Lviv region, which is located in northwestern Ukraine very close to Poland.  We took about a 9 hour train ride from Kyiv to the city of Lviv, which is both beautiful and historic, where we spent two days sightseeing as well as visiting dear friends of Maxim’s who live there.  They are a Ukrainian family with 3 children who are missionaries with Campus Crusade. The father of this family is the one God used to lead Maxim to Christ when he was 17 years old, so it was especially great for me to meet him.  We greatly enjoyed this time, both the fellowship with this precious family as well as seeing some of the sights of Lviv together.

the precious friends we stayed with in Lviv

view of Lviv

Then we took a bus for about an hour and a half to Chervonograd to visit Maxim’s mom and sister.  This was also a great time of connecting with them as well as enjoying rest and the outdoors.  They were very welcoming to me, and I felt very cared for on the entire trip.  As you can imagine, this was a very significant time for Maxim and I to get to know each other with greater depth in sharing such a variety of experiences together as well as having so much time together.  Click here to gain a glimpse of our trip through pictures:)

the engagement . . .

Maxim asked me to marry him on March 17th ~ such a significant, amazing day!  When we were in Lviv, I shared of my longing to go bike riding after seeing someone doing so, which is also something Maxim really enjoys.  So he invited me for a very adventurous bike ride that day through a beautiful forest and park (thank God for friends who let us borrow them).  We traveled through the city, through snow, through little lakes of water, and through mud as we delighted in the beautiful places.  The day was sunny and the warmest of the year to that point.  Maxim packed a lunch for us and so after some time we stopped and enjoyed it together and talked for some time.  Then the moment came where he pulled out a beautiful hand written card and red heart shaped ring holder with a rose on it.  He had written his heart for me in a poetic way, which he shared with me with the all important question at the end of it.  Of course, I said yes! and he gave me a lovely ring that was perfectly matched to who I am.  Such a sweet, precious, thoughtful, deep man!  Here we are in that moment:

Moment of engagement!

Our wedding day is scheduled for August 11 in Kyiv, Ukraine!  Anyone want to come to Ukraine?!?

Something else to celebrate . . . 

On April 27th, I celebrated my 8 month anniversary in Ukraine as well as completion of my 8 month contract with the English school where I was teaching!  I am so thankful to God for bringing me through this very intense and yet meaningful time of teaching and adjusting to my new life in Ukraine.  Here is a picture of one of my favorite classes with students I had for the past 2 or 3 semesters:

This class gave me gifts at the end of each semester. This last semester they gave me the lovely, traditional headdress I am wearing. AND they sang me an AWESOME song all together on the last day to express their appreciation. It was so awesome, I was left speechless and even asked them to sing it to me twice:)

And another class of precious students I was able to teach for numerous semesters:

a final word . . .

This psalm says it best ~ “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You hold my lot.  The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.  I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.  I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.  Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure . . . You have made known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:5-9, 11)

Click here for other Praises and Prayer Requests

gloried in the abundance of lilacs in bloom in Kyiv’s Botanical Gardens last week ~ only one small glimpse of God’s creativity and abundance