Last Monday, Mary and I were invited to attend the
graduation at our local orphanage. They
know how to put on a professional performance.
The young men and women entered in couples. The ladies were wearing long white formal
dresses and the men all were in black suits (they use the same outfits every
year to save costs). Very gracefully
they started dancing a most beautiful waltz.
No one noticed the drabness of the hall we were in. Our eyes were all focused on the
dancers. It was elegant and beautiful.
As the program progressed, we noticed some of the 23 grads
with tears in their eyes. One of the younger students singing a solo broke down
crying and had to stop. Even the
teachers at the orphanage often were crying.
It turns out many of the songs were about family. The students saw the orphanage as their
family and some songs sung in honour of their teachers referred to them as
their mother and father. They were all
saying goodbye. It was a goodbye without
a soft landing such as a real family could provide.
After a 2 hour graduation ceremony, everybody went outside
where the grads mingled with the few guests who were there. I would have expected some relatives to show
up to celebrate their graduation, but nobody came. Mary sought out the one girl she had
befriended at our earlier visit to the orphanage. She was happy to pose with Mary for a
picture. As she did this, all the other
graduating girls lined up to have their picture taken. For a minute, Mary became their mother and I
was the official photographer. It was a
role we were both happy to play. I could
see in Mary’s eyes that she would have loved to be a mother to all the girls.
The Mennonite Centre had been invited to their graduation
because we were making a small gift for their graduation celebrations. The following day, the entire graduating
class was going to Zaporozhye for a cruise on the Dnieper River. Our small gift of $122.80 would pay for the
cruise for the entire class. I had the
privilege during the program to congratulate the graduates and announce the
gift. It was a privilege to be there and
to make the announcement. These small
outings may not appear to be much to us but they are very special in
Ukraine. Most of the orphans may never
even have travelled the 100 km to Zaporozhye.
The previous week we were invited to another
graduation. This invitation came from
the Russian School in Molochansk. There
are 2 schools in our town, the Russian and the Ukrainian schools. They compete with each other to see who can
have the most dignitaries at their graduation celebration. The Russian school had the local mayor and a
representative from the Oblast (province).
We did not realize that when we accepted their invitation to come and be
officially thanked for assistance from the Mennonite Centre that we would be
treated as one of the dignitaries. The graduation ceremony was held
outside. When we arrived we were escorted to the front
and had to stand right behind the principal handing out all the awards and
graduation certificates. We would like
the Mennonite Centre to make a permanent contribution to the place and I can announce
that we achieved that at the graduation.
My face will appear in every graduate’s picture as I was standing right in
line with the photographer and the principal.
I even had to make a short speech and this really worried me as the principal
was going to be my interpreter and she spoke German, not English. I had an hour to stand there in front of the
students and figure out some appropriate way of telling them with my limited
vocabulary in German that I was proud of their achievements and that we (the
Mennonite Centre) had been glad to provide some assistance to the school to
make their educational experience a good one.
On occasion, the Mennonite Centre also becomes involved in
projects to preserve the Mennonite heritage in the area. One of the most beautiful Mennonite churches
in the Molotschna area was located in a village called Schoensee. It was built in 1909 and while unusual for
its time, had a frescoed ceiling painted by an Italian artist. This building
had stood abandoned for many years. Recently
members of the Mennonite Centre board in Canada became aware that work was
proceeding on restoring the building. We
were asked to investigate. We drove there
one day to find a team of young men hard at work. The building already had a new roof and
windows and was already in use. I was
puzzled by the crude wooden planks being used for pews as Orthodox churches
require one to stand for the entire service.
I soon found out that this was a Greek Catholic community rebuilding the
old Mennonite Church. Father Peter is
the driving force behind this project. He
is an extremely likeable man with a genuine smile. The church is being rebuilt by voluntary
labour and donations. He told me that he
has done his entire fund raising on his knees.
He asked the Mennonite Centre for assistance and the board was happy to
approve funding for cement for the floor and bricks to complete the
entranceway. He can speak a bit of
German and every meeting ends with him wishing me ``Gottes Segen`` (God`s
blessing)
I am amazed at the rapid progress I see in the various gardens. Plants don`t grow but rather they explode. The growth just seems that fast. Right now roses are in full bloom and they seem
to be everywhere.
Fruit trees are also producing in abundance. Sweet cherries and strawberries are available
everywhere. We are eating our fill because
we know the fruit season in Canada will be much later.
We have enjoyed watching locals bringing in the hay for
their cattle. People are working along
all roadsides with scythes and hauling the hay home on various conveyances
ranging from bicycles to cars. The following
picture shows the best way yet of bringing in the hay.
Early in April we distributed some seeds brought in from
Canada. I can confirm that they are
growing well and have been appreciated by a number of gardeners, including Olga Simeonovna, a former employee of the Mennonite Centre.
Mary and I regret that we have to say goodbye and sign-off
from our blog. We are doing this because
we are out of peanut butter and I need a haircut. We are also approaching the limit on our 90
day visa in Ukraine. We look forward to
connecting with everyone again should we be so fortunate to be able to return
to Ukraine. Mary and I are now off on
our next adventure.
