Morley (Chattabox Club at Primary Schools )

All last night I couldn’t sleep well because my brain was focussed on leading the ‘Chattabox Club’ the next day, (Friday) at school by myself without any other adult; just me, and the children. To be honest, I was terrified because firstly, I am not good with the bible unlike my beautiful twin sister and secondly during my volunteering year in England I’ve definitely decided that some of the children in England are much more spoilt that the children in my own country, Ukraine.                                                                                                                                        On the morning of 21^st, I was sitting as usual eating my breakfast after my exercise and running. My mind was far away, day-dreaming, still thinking about how everything would go at Chattabox, then unexpectedly I saw a video-call come in from my sister. Whenever it happens, I am always surprised again that my sister seems to know my feelings and if something is bothering me, even from such a distance. This is something we both have in common which is really remarkable. She was ringing me from work at exactly the time the adults start their prayers for the children  and their needs, etc. The name of this work is Living Hope. It’s a Christian charity organisation  for children. There are three centers where the children come after school. So I was able to pray with them across the miles by video and in a familiar language. Also they prayed for me and my two last months in England that everything will go well with all that I am doing here and they prayed for blessings, protection and a cheerful mood…….                                                                                           What I can say is their prayer helped me as the children in school helped me to prepare for Chattabox and tidied up at the end. During the Chattabox club itself, all the children got involved in the games that I had prepared for them, with a quiz. They listened carefully to a bible parable from the New Testament about tenants in the vineyard. After the story they asked me questions about the parable which was great because this meant they had been listening.                                                                                                                                Also, during Chattabox, I felt more open and confident with the children. All my fears just disappeared because I knew that I wasn’t there by myself, I was there with God who helped me with all of this by being with me.

 PS I want to say thanks to the guys and to my beautiful beloved sister for your prayers and encouragement.

Dewsbury ( Church Sunday visit )

Sunday visit

      This Sunday a family from the Friday bible study group invited me to their church in Dewsbury.                                                                                                                                                         Approximately 60-70 people attend. Inside the building is nice, especially the chairs with black colour and white spots which looks like diamonds.                                                               The first service was about “God credits righteousness to those who believe in Jesus Christ” – Romans 3:27 – 4:25 (Explanation, Illustration and Application), when you meet God what will you say? The service was really interesting. After the service, the member of this family with whom I came to church went to the kitchen to help with hot drinks for the church community, but before they introduced me to some people from their church  and  to a guy from Kazakhstan and this meant that I could speak to him in my own language (Russian) which I was pleased about. Later when everybody started to leave the church, I went with this family to their house where usually on Fridays we have bible study, but this time we had lunch together along with  different discussions like the biggest sized countries; biggest population; from which country; football, church service etc. After lunch I saw a big cupboard filled with different movies on DVDs and a member of the family allowed me to borrow these movies. Since the movies were quite a lot, kind of like books in a library, I borrowed just some of them  which meant about one shelf  in the cupboard  of 4 or 5 lefts , but he said that when I have finished watching these movies I can borrow new ones, so yeh, now my days are definitely filled with English and that’s good for me.                        So, back to my day, I’d made a lot of noise trying to borrow the disc movies, so afterwards I tried in every way to avoid noise while the family looked at photos of their son and his wife and their travels around England on a train. When I finished picking my movies I joined them in the middle of their viewing of the photos. Lastly, a member of the family showed me different photos of creatures like animals, birds, horses etc. These were pictures he had taken himself. To be honest I’m not a big fan of all of this photo viewing , but the imaged did look real and amazing and without big words etc. I can say he has a really big talent for taking pictures, because in his images everything looks even more beautiful than in real life!                                                                                                                              Then we watched with this family tennis where a Spanish man played an Australian and the winner was the Spaniard, but I don’t think this was fair because the Australian was much younger than the Spanish player.  There were 8 or 9 years between them which meant the Australian man was less experienced than the Spanish man.                                            After that the family explained to me and showed me on a TV video-game how to play croquet, since for me this was very interesting because it is a very English game.                           Later we had pizza and sweet pudding with chocolate and fruits – it was yummy                            Afterwards we went to the second service where a missionary guy from Africa preached and shared with us his family life, experience and what they went through.  After the service we had hot drinks again and another gentleman from the church showed me everything inside the church building  and told me the story of how they bought it etc.  Then I helped the family a little in the kitchen with the clearing up and they drove me back to Morley (my volunteering placement).

Morley (Outreach to People)

Here comes the long awaited week for all of us in Morley. The “CapernWray-Bible School ”  team arrived in Morley for one week to  “Outreach to People “.                                                          The first day  of ” Outreach to people” one of the leaders divided us into pairs and then gave everybody instructions what we should do. Each half an hour the pairs should  change places with each other . We should give to people on the streets calendars with stamp ” Morley Community Church  and along with this share the Gospel to people . Then we should sent invitations to the lunch what was organised by “Morley Community Church” with calendars to each house , etc.                                                                                           So after that  we went to our places and began our evangelisation  to people . This day was windy and freezing and were very cold ….So not paying attention to this , we were continue our evangelisation to people on the street .An hour later one of the Christian man ( we hadn’t met him before) came to us with two plastic cups of hot “Latte”,  we were really surprised and thankfully of this .                                                                                      When we all  finished our “Outreach to people” , we went together  to one of the family houses for tea and to talk about our schedule for this one week. Then the Church leaders divided us into two teams “A” and “B”.                                                                                                   One of the days my team “A”  went to the school for ”  Bible Exhibition ”  . In this school we showed the children the different Bible Stories , where we were acting as a character.    My Bible Story  was about  Christian couple called Abraham and Sarah . So I had to act a character called Sarah as Abraham`s wife and tell to the children all our story from the Bible .The rest of the people in my  team “A” had to act exactly  the same way only everyone had different characters  from the Bible Stories , such as Miriam and Mozes, John Baptist , Mary and Joseph , etc. The children listened really carefully and with attention.                                                                                                                                                        On day off for team “A” , we went with one of the Church leaders to the ” National Coal Mining Museum”.We descended  40 m.  underground into the dark depths of Caphouse  Colliery  with flashlights . To be honest it was a bit scary since around was dark and many tunnels , but the story that guide tell us about this mine  was very interesting  and sad as people and ponies  what were working underground has never seen the daylight.                                                                                           Next day we came back to our  ” Outreach Schedule “. On Wednesday we went to the “Moms and Tots “, where we played with little children under 3 years . We showed them and their parents one of the Bible Stories  about Jesus with the disciples in the boat , then we sang children’s songs  with actions, etc.After ” Moms and Tots” we went along the streets sending again the calendars to every house , but on the different streets than  the first time.                                                                                                                                                     During the following days , we stopped our evangelism on the streets , because it poured a lot of snow for England and all schools were closed and there were a few people on the streets.                                                                                                                                 As for me I was pleased about the snow . Because ,on this day it was really looks like the winter on the streets. But sad that we didn`t  finish our schedule by ” Outreach to people ” …                                                                                                                                                             On the weekend I went with CapernWray students to Leeds .                                                                                           First we went to a restaurant for food   …..   Then we went to the Cinema since every where the bowling was already booked by people ….. So, in the Cinema we went to the film called ” Jumanji”.The film was interesting and funny . In the end everybody was pleased.                                                                                                                       After that we returned to my placement house , ate pizza and watched the films….

Morley ( I has met very good family )

In Morley I has met very good family and I’m appreciate to them what they already done for this short time in England to me. When I had different health problems such as allergies to the skin, colds, etc…They every time caring about me with medicines, make my house warm or if I need to take warm shower I can go to their house (because in our house we have problem with our shower) and etc. This family helping me with my English dictionary and vocabulary, also they helping me with my blog, to correcting me and to find my mistakes in my notes. I like spent time with them. Time to time they invite me to their home for dinner or just spend time with them to talking on the different topics, problems, etc. They are for me like a family, they are kind-hearted, cheerful, friendly and supporting in different things, and if I have some problems or if something happens I know that I can share with them and call to them or sand the message and they will help me to find out, it`s depends of the circumstances.          
Also this family thought me how cooked “Christmas Mince Pie “- that is one of the traditional dishes in England during the Christmas Holidays. As for me it`s easy to cooking and its really delicious food =_) Bellow you can see the method to baking” Mince Pie “:

1. Place the flour and butter in a bowl and rub together to a crumb consistency. Add the sugar and the egg, and mix together. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and fold until the pastry comes together, be careful not to over mix. Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for 10 mins.
2. Scoop the mincemeat into a bowl and add the satsumas, apple and zest.
3. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Roll out the pastry to 3mm thick. Using a round cutter (about 10cm), cut out 16 bases and place them into muffin trays. Put 11⁄2 tbsp mincemeat mixture into each. Brush the edge of each pie with a little beaten egg. Re-roll out the pastry to cut 7cm lids and press them on top to seal. Glaze with the rest of the egg, sprinkle with caster sugar, then make a small cut in the tops.
4. Bake mince pies for 15-20 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool before releasing them from the muffin trays and dusting with icing sugar.
5. In the end when the baking is ready you can Drink tea with milk like English person (as for I’m still considering that tea with milk its disgusting =_).) or without milk like me and eat “Mince Pie” among the family or friends on the Christmas Holidays =_)     

What else I can say about this family………Hmm…………Oh I remembered a funny moment about one member of this family. When were his birthday his friends gifted him on his Birthday the toy a “Big Duck”. As for me I’m not a big fan of the toys like this but this toy really was nice and funny Birthday present. And I realize that with every time I’m more and more surprising at the creativity of people in England and a sense of the positive humor among the friends=_) ….     

Except of a sense of humor in jokes, I’m still can’t understand this English Humor (*__*)….. =_)

And I remember the most of all what  was surprised and touched my heart in the beginning  is that fact  , that for this family to be honest I am nobody (stranger).But they just except me into their family  and caring…  And that is really so sweet and I’m really appreciate for everything to this family =_)

 

Morley (Armistice Day Parade)

“Armistice Day Parade”. I shall keep this day in my memory .Remembering all the fallen soldiers of the World Wars….

On Remembrance Sunday we collected our wreaths from the town hall in Morley. We went to take our place for the procession ready to march to the cenetaf. I laid a wreath for all the fallen Ukrainian soldiers and freedom fighters in the war, It was a very touching tribute to all the fallen soldiers of WW1 and WW2. I also learned a lot about the sacrifice of other countrys for our freedom.

“they shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old, age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn, but at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them”

After the service of remembrance we went back to the town hall where refreshments were served by the Scouts (a British organisation for boys from 5-18 the girls have an organisation called Girl Guides) we met war veterans who had attended the service as well as local dignitaries such as the Mayor of Morley and the local MP Andrea Jenkins (representative in parliament) In the afternoon we attended another memorial for a British Aircraft that had crashed and killed the crew nearby, this was attended by the RAF (Royal Air Force) .

 

Birmingham

February. On Wednesday I went away on the Conference from EVS in Birmingham. The trip was tiring and boring . Because on my way to Birmingham I was alone. And the train and bus to Birmingham weren’t on time . When I got to the Conference I was the first who arrived , except the leaders of this meeting of course =_) … After about 20-30 minutes, other people who should be attending the Conference , started arrive. I was amazed when I saw the guys from the lust TFG Conference in Wales. To be honest I was glad to see familiar faces =_) On the first day of the EVS Conference we played funny game. The rules are : different people draw your portrait. For example the first guy draws the shape of your face , the second guy draws your hair , the third guy draws your eyes etc. And as well they should ask you about your project , placement , working place etc. Bellow you can see an example of my portrait.

After this hilarious game , we discussed the different topics like << Advice / Tips to help overcome Culture Shock >> ; << If you planned stay in UK >> etc. For the first topic everybody gave different advice , for example: you should remember your motivation ; have familiar things around you ; eat some familiar foods ; join local people ; doing local things ” get out ” + ” get active ” , share your problems ( talk) etc. The << Culture Shock >> – is when you arrive in a different country. The culture is different where you came from. On this topic we discussed about symptoms : homesick , illnesses stress , stomach aches , sleep too much / too little. After the first day of the Conference we went to reception in the “Hotel Inn” . Then the leader gave us a choice to decide with who we wanted to share a Hotel room . Afterwards , the leader gave everybody keys and we finally settled in our Hotel room .

So for me it wasn’t a big problem to take a decision with whom I will share the Hotel room , as on this Conference was the girl with whom I already share the room at the TFG Conference in Wales . She e is a good and cheerful person. So we both were glad to share the room.

But before we went in our rooms we were decided together as a team , to go out for supper .

We had supper in a Pub called ” The Sun on The Hill “ which was close to our Hotel. The prices were inexpensive and our supper was paid for by the EVS program, which was good for our pocket =_). The next day EVS Conference , we had delicious breakfast in our Hotel and then the Conference in a meeting hall. In this time EVS gave us some advice , possibilities , opportunities to stay in England by yourself . Such as care ( for disabled people etc. ) , stay in the same field of work if it`s possible , study in one of Scotland’s colleges for free, Agency work ( networking ) chance to shine and many different things that you can find on the internet on different sites . When the EVS Conference ended , all said goodbye to each other and went their own ways.

When the EVS Conference in Birmingham ended I went to the Train Station to meet my friend with whom I met at the TFG Conference in Wales .After when I met her , we went together to the Restaurant for lunch at a place called ” Buffet Hut “ and located opposite the ” Britannia Hotel ” in Birmingham. A big plus of this restaurant is that you pay only 6 pounds and eat as much as you want , different types of food including sweets =_). For drinks you should pay separately. Afterwards when lunch had finished we went to the famous large library in Birmingham. But we didn’t go to this place for reading .We went to this place as on the 7th floor this library , outside has a huge terrace with a garden , and with fabulous view of all the city of Birmingham.

After this we went to find some nice plays when we can bought hot chocolate or latte , as outside became cold and rainy. Then we went to the Coach Station since the departure of the bus was in 20-30 minutes . After a long trip from Birmingham to Morley with several transfers of vehicle .Finally I arrived to my placement in Morley at 10:00 p.m. , very tired but in a happy mood after relaxing couple days in Birmingham.

Wales

I had been in a beautiful place called “Wales” on the “Big Conference”.The organization who arranged the meeting called ” Time For God”.The Conference is Christian and was attended by about 95 young people from different countries and they are serving as volunteers in different parts of England like me in Morley. At the Conference we discussed the different topics which are connected with volunteering in England .There were different workshops

 

seminars , worship, etc.And its my first time when I met rest of volunteers in England from different countries .

Dewsbury ( Bible Study )

Bible Study

Since I arrived in the UK, almost every Friday I joined a bible study group in Dewsbury. The family who organised and lead the bible study are very friendly and kind which has been helpful to me enabling me to become more open with them and feel comfortable. This has grown from when I first met them until this day. There are approximately 13-14 people who attend this group. Usually during the bible study we start with a prayer, then one of the leaders leads with a bible subject (it’s different every Friday) asking us to read a verse each from the bible. After that we have a discussion about the bible verses and the leader asks everyone their opinion or just poses questions from the bible passage. When the bible study itself is finished we have different sweets (chocolates, biscuits, cookies etc.) and crisps, but before our snack we pray and ask a blessing on the food. After that we play an English game. I don’t mean they are traditional English games or just for people from England. I am describing it like this because I have never played any of these games before, so that’s why I call them English games!

• What I can say is, believe me, Christian life is lighter and more interesting when you start to believe with all your heart that somebody (Jesus) died for you to give you a chance to change your heart before it’s too late. And if you accept Jesus and will believe in Him your eyes will be finally opened and you will never be lonely as you’ll have unconditional love and care from our father (God) and with it you’ll have a big Christian family of churches etc. and most of them will be glad to go through with you whatever happens during your life until the eternal life with joy and happiness. That’s why bible studies are good to help and encourage me, you and everybody to find out who we are and who is God and his son Jesus and why we need them.

Manchester

TFG Conference 

                                                                                                                    On the 12^th of June, early in the morning, I went by train from Morley (my placement for the year) to Manchester for my last conference from the Time for God organisation.                At this conference were young people who are also volunteering at different places in England, like I am in Morley. The conference started at 10:00 am and finished at 5:00 pm with several coffee breaks along with sweets, cookies, biscuits, pies and lunch.                           During the sessions we talked about what we had learned during this year; whether we had had to make sacrifices; what were the challenges in building relationships; what had challenged our faith; what are we most afraid of next year as we go back home to our own countries and how we can avoid this happening; what will be the hardest part of moving on and what the easiest; what are we most excited about; what least etc. Also, the people from Time for God shared with us kind of similar experiences and how they had come through. By the way, in the beginning each of us got a small booklet that we were supposed to fill out during the sessions and discuss in pairs.                                                                                              Before going to the long break for lunch, the lady told us that nearby was “Manchester Football Museum”and we were free to go and visit if any of us wanted to, but everybody should be back in time for the next session. So, after food, the Ukranian volunteers decided to go, of course! The museum was very very interesting.                  

I was so excited to see the FIFA collection, the biggest and most engaging collection of football stories in the world, boasting over 130,000 items. The museum sets out to explain how and why football has become “the people’s game”, a key part of England’s heritage and a way of life. Also inside the museum you can play Football Plus and games including the full size Penalty Shoot Out and many other interesting things and people connected with football.                                                                                                                                                                Then, when our break time was over we came back to the conference class. When all sessions were finishes we listened to music called “Good, Good Father” and some of us who knew the words were singing along. After that, a lady from TFG prayed and finished by reading bible verse.                                                                                                                                      At the end, we had a graduation ceremony where TFG congratulated us as we had almost finished our volunteering year.We were presented  with Certificates of Service and then took  a group photo.                                       I’m really appreciate and tankful to  the Time for God organisation  for  this a year in England and for  their support and  encouragement  by  making this year special. I’ll definitely be saving it not just in my memory but also in my heart.                                                                                                            When  the conference was finished, me and a  girl from the Ukraine  spent almost a whole day walking around Manchester and talking in our own language. To be honest I’m still thinking it was the most excited I’ve been, talking finally after a long time in our own language and sharing with each other our experiences of how there were sometimes difficulties with understanding, etc. Knowing she could definitely understand me as she has had the same experience being here in England and also finally, I was in Manchester City and the Football museum which I had heard about many times.

 

Leeds

Saturday 24 of March , one of the families at “Morley Community Church” invited me and a girl ( with whom I share the house in Morley) to go with them to the theater for the performance called ” The Mikado”.

The performance was very interesting and funny . The story was about in 1978 in the Pure Academy where the teaching staff are preparing for Japanese Day , with an imminent visit from the Local Authority inspectorate . The infamous Mik Ado is on his way to inspect the failing standards at the school . The drama teacher starts to daydream in the midst of all the panic and he imagines the impending visit of the inspector in a slightly different way .

Also one of the guy called Nanki-Poo is looking for Yum-Yum , the ward of Ko-Ko . It appears he had seen Yum-Yum a year ago and they had fallen in love , but Yum-Yum was engaged to Ko-Ko . On learning that Ko-Ko was condemned to death for flirting , Nanki-Poo has hurried back to cry to claim Yum-Yum . Alas it appears that far from being dead , Ko-Ko has in fact been let out on bail, and appointed Lord High Executioner. There is worse to come as Pooh-Bah, who bears a striking resemblance to the Headmaster, informs Nanki-Poo that Yum-Yum and Ko-Ko are to be married that very day . Yum-Yum appears with her fellow student teachers , Piti-Sing and Peep-Bo . When they are alone Nanki-Poo reveals that he is the son of the Mikado , and she admits she doesn’t love Ko-Ko . The two lovers realize that their cause is hopeless , and Yum-Yum leaves Nanki-Poo who then tries to kill himself ….kind of =_) In this performance has involved one of this family member and his acting in this performance was great .Also I really enjoyed the acting of one the ladies in this performance, she has acting as a school dinner lady . In general , the performance was wonderful . When the show ended we went together with this family and their a good friend to an Italian Restaurant . In the Restaurant we ate Italian food, talked on the different topics , laughed , discussed the performance and how everybody acted. Then one of the family members left the Restaurant earlier as he had to prepare for the next performance at 4:00 p.m. I just want to say a Big Thanks to this family for this wonderful day !!! =_)