From the land of my ancestry!

Well after 3 flights; an evening roaming around Kiev enjoying the sights and the wonderful food in the restaurant pictured above, and an overnight train ride the Nassau Street church group has landed in Kryviy Rih, Ukraine.  What a joy yesterday for Monica and I to witness our children riding a crowded subway in Kiev not understanding anything going on, eyes wide open at the scenes and sights on the streets as we roamed this city that is 1500 years old.  That alone was something for us to take in, considering we come from Winnipeg where history is something that took place 50 years ago.  Also, somewhat enjoyable to discover as we made our way here, that the village my grandparents lived in before coming to Canada years ago is only about 150 kilometers away from where we are enjoying this time of ministry.

And so our adventure has begun, meeting Juliy (pictured enjoying the perogies above with Nathan and Zach) who we will have the joy of ministering together with and learning from the next couple of weeks.



As I write this in the early morning here in Ukraine, I am still somewhat in awe that this land we saw via tv all of June as we enjoyed Euro Cup 2012, is now the land I am sitting in with my family and others from Nassau Street Church partnering together with a local ministry to share the gospel to a land that needs a picture of hope!!

Back to where it began!

Well the euphoria is growing in our house these days, as the excitement and anticipation grows as we prepare to head out with a group from our church and Morris, to Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine.  We'll be spending 2 weeks with this group, working in a camp through the ministry Shelter Plus, teaching English and helping to run activities - all a part of bringing hope through the gospel to a group of teens living in a country that often experiences deep hopelessness.

The excitement is so deep in our home that we even forgot who we were for one brief moment this week.  So much so that we even dropped the green and white to don the blue and gold for a brief moment to meet some of the Bombers as the Buck's BBQ chips were unveiled.

But as I sit here, only 3 days from departure there is a deep sene of gratitude to God for giving us this opportunity - gratitude in so many ways.  Though I've never been keenly aware of family roots and trees, it has donned on me how special it is to go back to the land where my Letkeman family started.  Back to the land described to my Dad by his parents as one of beauty, and richness and fertile soil - yet also a land that brought severe hardships and persecutions for them. 

Gratitude for giving Monica and I an opportunity to experience mission with our children in a foreign setting.  To be able to walk through the experiences of being a foreigner, the one who does not know what 's going on with them is one I richly look forward to.  And in that to be able to worship together, knowing that though we may not know all that is going on, and may not always be able to communicate perfectly with those we will be ministering with, it is the cross, the blood of Christ that makes us one.

To be able to witness our children using their gifts in this setting for the kingdom is something I know I will treasure, and will marvel at.  Then I look forward to watching their eyes and see them witness things and experiences for the first time - as we serve God and then take some time after to tour through His creation in a foreign country.

So I leave now to carry on the prep and packing and will hopefully (if internet connections allow) touch base soon from the country of Ukraine.

Thankful for the moments!!

Sometime ago I sat outside in the beauty of creation, reflecting upon Psalm 104 and the greatness of God.  A Psalm that is so rich in declaring who God is, how wonderful His creation is, and how greatly He is to be praised because of this.  As I meditated on this Psalm, I was challenged by reading the following words by Don Postema regarding this Psalm.  He writes: The psalmist's eyes and ears were really in love, discovering the world, penetrating beneath the surface and finding God.  He realized life as He lived it and was albe to celebrate it in thanksgiving and praise.  How much more breathtaking our lives could be if were deeply aware of the gifts of God that surround us and engage us.  If we were awake! 

Those words struck a chord with me as I longed to be awake, long to have a breathtaking life.  And I realized that perhaps I often miss this because I think it is found in something huge, something spectacular, something that is kind of out of my grasp.  So this month I have attempted to be awake, to simply see the gifts God has brought my way, and thus worship God more deeply.  To simply live in gratitude of being His child, and to worship Him in thankfulness.  So this month I found myself living in gratitude and thankfulness for the gift of my family, one of the gifts that tops my list when I think of the blessings in my life.

As Postema writes: A thankful life is a response to seeing life as a gift from God and realizing that our lives belong to God.  God is the Giver; we are the thanks-givers.  But to recognize the gifts and the Giver we need to be alert and awake; to have our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts open to what is going on around us.  We need to savor each moment as thought it were a bowl of homemade soup prepared by someone who loves us very much.  The Psalmist knew that he writes.

How sweet to spend the first few weeks of June, in the final prep for the Manitoba Marathon where Nathan and I ran the 10k together.  The days were so special as he would come home from school, and we'd set out for our run - running and talking about life and enjoying the warm spring air.  Though I probably enjoyed the early start of the run on Marathon Sunday more than he did, what a great way to start Father's Day.

Then, came the weeks towards the end of June when we celebrated Jenna's grad.  What a wonderful and reflective time that was.  To celebrate her accomplishments, to celebrate who she is and has become, to reflect on the fact that time is moving along as we now have a graduate that has her whole life ahead of her to explore the mysteries of God!  Standing next to her as a sinful, messed up man and yet so proud of her and excited for her gave me a small glimpse of God's love towards me.  If I as a sinful, human father can feel so proud of her, how does a perfect Heavenly Father lavish His affection on me.  What a thought hey!!

And then I followed that up with 3 days at Camp Arnes as a parent chaperone for Zach's year end class camp.  To go from the euphoria of grade 12's finishing high school to the pandomonium of soon to be junior high's celebrating their year end was a treat for me.  To be able to spend those days with Zach and his friends was special.
Oh and interspersed in all of this was golfing with my boys and my brother, sitting in the warmth of our garden with Monica just enjoying the days, visiting family in Saskatoon, and the joy of watching my boys persue their basketball interests.  And to top all of that, today I was out for breakfast with Monica as we celebrated 22 rich years of marriage!   Yes many moments to savor as a special bowl of homemade soup, given to me by God.  Yet I realize how so often all the anxiety of life and the things that can cause such worry in me, so richly choke out all of these moments, and I lose sight of the blessings and ultimately of God and the truth that today is the day He has made, so just sit back and be glad, and rejoice in it. 

So today I pray that I, that you, will be awake and alert to live this day in gratitude to God and the sweet moments He has given us to savor!!

So this past month, I have been savoring the moments like that bowl of soup.