Tour: Rivne, Ukraine

My team is now in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, but I wanted to share more of what our last few weeks in Rivne literally looked like. As I look back on my photos, I realize that the majority of the photos I took are of the homes we stayed in, but when you get to stay with three different hosts over three weeks, it is necessary to photograph the home. After all, that's what made Rivne feel like home. 

For our first week and a half in Rivne, Ruth and I were blessed to stay with a newlywed couple. They got married in May, and opened their apartment to us in September. So kind. 

They live in a former Soviet Union block apartment building. The outside looks like this:

And the elevator is very interesting. We were a little nervous the first few times we rode in it, but it's been working for years and is super solid. (Forgive my awkward facial expressions in the photo; it was taken during my nervous stage.)

The buttons on the other hand are not holding out as well...

Here is the view of their flat after the elevator ride or the stair climb:

Once we enter the apartment, we see this! It's fun that Ukraine can take old buildings and make masterpieces out of the inside. I continue to find joy in the beauty of it. It reminds me about how God transforms us. Good stuff.

Directly on the left of the entrance is the kitchen. We were blessed with filtered water, tea, instant coffee, and breakfast. Our hosts were so good to us!

Breakfast here was always exciting! We were given lots of good food that we wouldn't think to eat for breakfast in America. Our first day, we were given a salad, spaghetti noodles with meat, poppyseed bread, and cake. I am still amazed. It was really tasty. But I'm going to stick to granola bars, cereal, and other things for breakfast.

As we continue down the hallway, the next door on the left is the living room which became our room during our time there. They were so generous to us. 

Ruth and I slept on the couch-bed together. It was a bonding experience for sure. 

At the end of the hallway, our host couple's bedroom was on the right, and the toilet was straight ahead. The toilet's room has pretty tiling.

Directly to the left is the rest of the bathroom; it has the shower, sink, and washing machine. We were so grateful to live in a place with a washing machine. Clean clothes are wonderful.

 

During that first week, we figured out which buses we needed to take to get to the guys' apartment and which to get home. In case you ever make that journey, 49 is the winner. When we returned home, this was where we got off:

And our bus rides looked like this:

When we went to the guys' apartment, this is our main intersection for getting on or off the bus:

Ruth loves to walk!

We spent a lot of time in coffee shops. We used their free wi-fi for the administrative parts of our job and for chatting with lovely people back home. Sometimes, our orders didn't go across the way we wanted them too. One day, Tyler and I tried to order vanilla lattes; we both received a latte and a vanilla milkshake (without ice cream). The joys and surprises of language barriers!

We spent time on campus too. Here is the entrance to the largest university in Rivne -- the National University of Water Management and Nature Resources Use:

We were able to go onto this campus for prayer walks and to share the gospel. Here are some discoveries from a prayer walk. 

The buildings at the main campus area are attached together. It's a fun maze. This is the courtyard area between some buildings:

Near the courtyard, is a huge chalk passage from 1 Corinthians 13 (the "love chapter"). Some students wrote it, and we hope that it makes more students interested in hearing about God and his love. We don't know who did this, but my teammates and I were definitely encouraged by it!

The campus is on a hill, so when we get to the far end of the building, there is a wonderful staircase.

When you go exploring, you sometimes end up in interesting areas that aren't meant for visitors...

We also got to know the city center area decently well. We based the majority of our directions off of the cinema.

Here's another view of it (since it was so important to our understanding of the city):

The city center also houses a small mall. We knew it primarily because it has a McDonald's (making Rivne a true city...) and a large grocery store.

Just outside of the mall is a lovely church building. It's a work of art really.

The city center is busy and beautiful.

After a week and a half with our first host family, Ruth and I had to move as they traveled. We were able to stay in a home on the edge of the city. It was marvelous.

Here we were able to stay with a couple and their two daughters who were 8 and a half and 20 months. I love children. Here is the youngest daughter named Solomia. She is so cute and fun!

In the bottom level of the house is the kitchen:

The bathroom (with a washing machine! Praise the LORD!):

The living room:

My favorite part about staying here (other than the amazing family) is the piano. God is way too good to me. It was so nice to be able to play it on a calm Sunday afternoon.

Upstairs is Sofia's room (she's the older daughter). Ruth and I got to stay in her room for the weekend.

Ruth and I were both excited about all the space. Yay for individual beds!

Outside of our room, we saw this beautiful scene. Bearskin rugs, kid tents, and Christmas trees for the win!

The house was wonderful, but the view outside was even better. We just had to walk past these angry monsters first. 

Seriously, those dogs were huge, and I may have walked quickly past them every time I heard them bark at me. If I ever get over my fear of monster dogs, I'll let you know.

The "backyard" looked pretty neat.

They also have an apple tree! And they shared their apples with us! Yum!

Beyond their fence was a view similar to the majority of my drive between my college town and my hometown. I miss South Dakota, and it's nice to have little glimpses of home here in Ukraine.

Small hills, tall grass, power lines, and fall breezes. Thinking about it gives me joy.

After a restful weekend in that splendid haven, we moved to a new flat to stay with a university student. She didn't speak English, so her friend joined us. It was fun to be with Ukrainian girls our age. And the girl's flat was lovely.

Here's the apartment complex:

And our entrance:

Living room:

She was so selfless and let Ruth and I sleep in her bedroom. We have been blessed by Ukrainian hospitality, my friends.

We ended up being 3 for 3 with washing machines! I love clean laundry. So stinkin' blessed.

The kitchen was a place for tea and fun conversations. The two girls were so wonderful and even cooked us food. Seriously, the hospitality this month was overwhelmingly glorious. And she has a hamster. Ruth was excited.

When we left the apartment to take a bus or walk toward the city center, we walked past this beautiful scene. I love fall. I love fall in Ukraine.

And in case you are wondering what more of the city looks like instead of my housing, here are a few more snapshots of Rivne:

This was an epic moment that needed to be captured. We seriously thought that dog on the building was going to jump. He seemed to be considering it. No one else seemed to care though. Interesting things happen when stray dogs own a city!

One our last night in the city, we hosted a dinner for the friends who have blessed us this month and will be continuing the ministry. I only took one picture, but it was a great night!

That table was full of people, Ukrainian food, laughter, love, and celebration. 

I have come to love Rivne, and I hope you now understand more of why I love it. We have been so blessed this past month by the churches providing us with housing, students helping us learn the city, people interested in continuing ministry to university students, and fellowship with sweet friends.

Come back for a tour of a new city next month!