FROM MAINE TO UKRAINE

Well the big vacation to Maine is finally over. It was nice to get away for a while but it was a challenging trip. Many of you have read just how rough conditions are in Ukraine...well let me just tell you that Maine and Ukraine have some interesting things in common besides the rhyming name.

1) Maine and Ukraine both have HORRIBLE roads. I'm not sure if people just don't pay there taxes in Maine or if their state government is as bad as handling money as the Ukrainians are...nonetheless, off of the main roads, the conditions are very very bumpy to say the least. Sarah tells me that like the snows of Ukraine, the snows of Maine are very very hard on the asphalt there so it's almost impossible to keep the in tip-top shape.

2) Roads takes me naturally into our second point which is transportation. In Ukraine we have only Bruce and Sergei to haul us from one spot to the other. We are at their mercy to get us there and back safely...and to avoid those nasty pot-holes in their roads. There is no air conditioner in the cars and you just squeeze in with everyone else to get to where you're going. IN MAINE it was much the same story. Sarah's sister Sage was our taxi for the week in a nice sized SUV, with no a/c. Travis had his vehicle there as well. 3 car seats and 8 adults had to go and come at various points in the week. It was a challenge to say the least. My experience as a missions pastor wasn't much help in this coordination of efforts. It was way too complicated to factor in car seats, what had to go where, and getting us all to the wedding at 3 different times of the day...in a town 40 minutes away. I'm happy to have my own vehicle to drive again.

3) The weather. Forgive me for thinking that my trip to New England would be filled with cool, blue-sky days and crisp fall-like nights...NOPE! The weather was very sunny and very hot and oh yeah it was humid too. I thought I was in the deep south. Like most of Maine, our house did have any a/c since it rarely gets hot enough to justify the cost. As a result we spent 8 sleep-deprived nights lying on top of the covers with a single fan and a small window to provide any natural a/c. Many of the items in our lake house were wet from having the windows open and the humidity being so high. So yes just like Ukraine, I didn't sleep very well and I sweated more than I slept.

4) The water. Interestingly enough the water at our lake house was drawn directly from the lake. There was no way you could drink the water from the sink (just like Ukraine). We had to rely on bottled water. No since the stores were so far away and since it was so challenging to go anywhere it seemed like we just couldn't get enough or keep enough water. I can say that I've had my fill of Diet Dr. Pepper for now...oh and another neat parallel...no one serves Dr. Pepper in Maine either just like in Ukraine. I did find my stash at a grocery store thankfully.

5) The religion. Maine is, just like everywhere else in the USA or Ukraine, full of cults and chaos. There is a prominent "camp" in one town that I will not name here that advertises MEDIUM DAY with the Reverend Sally Whoever...in the newspaper..big ad proudly encouraging all to come out to this spiritual event. It goes to show that in the absence of truth, the enemy fills the void with his lies and deceit. This again is true all over the place but you definitely could tell you weren't in the good ol' Bible Belt of SW Virginia anymore. I saw way more Obama stickers than I cared to see and way way way too many "COEXIST" stickers that have advertise for the Unitarian Church that seems to have a presence there (that's where people of all beliefs come together for one, non-offensive, full package service from the Jew to the Muslim to whoever.

6) The food. Just like in Ukraine I probably gained 5 or 10 pounds from eating all of the goodies and junk that I could take in..hey I'm in a new culture...it's important to try new things right!

7) The beauty. Just like Ukraine, Maine is full of beauty. I am in awe of God's creative hands in nature. Just a few days before hurricane Bill slammed Maine's shoreline with incredible waves we visited the very area where the little 7-year old girl drowned. The shoreline was covered with huge boulders with the back drop of amazing pines and seascapes...and just like in Ukraine there were white birch trees everywhere as they are indigenous to this area as well.

8) The language...everyone there speaks some form of Yankee English that I can hardly understand....and they can hardly understand me...no joke. I found myself barely even speaking to people at the check out stands or wherever because they would probably ask me to repeat myself or ask me if I was from the south. Just like in Ukraine, where no one understands me and I don't understand them I was just as uncomfortable with the language barrier.

8) Finally it's home. For Sarah Maine isn't just a mission trip or a place to visit it's her home. Sarah spent almost all of her child and teen years in Maine until the Lord directed her here so that we would fall in love with other on our trip to Ukraine. Ukraine is also like our home as we leave pieces of heart there each and every time we visit.

I'm happy to be back. It was great to meet new family members and see the places Sarah grew up in or businesses she worked at but there's nothing like coming home and enjoying the place that you're in and living where God has placed you.