It has been a week since we had lunch with a couple of beautiful granddaughters and boarded a plane. It has been an interesting trip. The flight to Poland (Warsaw) was routine. We had a quick stop in the Netherlands. It was there that we connect with and met two of the three people we are spending our two weeks with. We enjoyed meeting them and are enjoying our time with them.
They have been part of this library gig before, and so are familiar with the connections, people, and places. It has been helpful to be with them as guides, especially in Warsaw. We had a day there to adjust to time change and see a bit of Warsaw. We managed to find food, a store to get some things for the train ride and see a corner of the city. Joe and Terry have been a blessing.
One of the highlights in Warsaw was the river front area. We were a couple of blocks from a river that has been developed. There are bike and running paths, areas to walk and a few dining facilities. We managed to do some walking and enjoying the afternoon.
A second highlight was a university library. It was very large and impressive. It had these huge panels with different languages on them. We walked around a small park attached and then into it. The library itself was off limits to visitor, but the architecture was very impressing.
Sunday morning saw us arising early, 5:00am to meet our ride to the train. The country we travelled was amazing. We passed farms, forests, and several communities. The trees were an evergreen of some sorts. They had a yellow pine feel and were very crooked as they grew. Farms were interesting as they farmed in strips. I enjoyed the 3-hour journey to the train station in Chelm. Once we arrived in Chelm we went to a small grocery to get some lunch as there is no food on the train. We boarded the train, we were in car 7(closest to the engine), in a cabin with the four of us and two bunks hanging on the wall. The bunk was comfortable as I used mine for a nap. The return trip is a night journey so sleeping in it will be part of the experience.
Once into Ukraine, things changed. There were more rolling hills. We passed farms, small villages, and a couple of stops at places to let people on and off. It was a nice ride, think a bit of sway, like of like mild turbulence on an airplane. After 11 hours on the train we arrived about 10:15pm in Kyiv. We were met by a nice gentleman who took us to the college. We have been there since. I have walked a couple of times not far but it was nice to get out.
The purpose of this trip is to catalog books into the college library. These books came from our the Illinois university (Lincoln Christian) from which we graduated. We are averaging processing 1,200 to 1,500 books a day. It is simple work, find the book in a data base, add the item to our list of books we have, assign a sticker, and check the Dewey number. Some locals are stamping each book and putting them on the shelves. Our day is mostly, get up, work, eat breakfast, work, go to a short prayer time, work, lunch, work, dinner, and then either back to work or blog or rest for the next day.
We are very thankful for your prayers. While nothing has happened war wise, it doesn’t mean it won’t. I have an app on my phone which lets us know if something is possible. It has gone off twice, but the danger was far away from where we are. It is a bit odd, being here. To look around where we are you wouldn’t think anything was happening. May God keep it so, and bring peace to this place.