Working on the weekend

Here are some of the tools 

Friday evening Jack and Victor were able to get the last suitcase out of the airport - the one that did not arrive with them with the transformer in- so the guys were able to use all the tools they had brought on Saturday. They look old in the photo, but are brand new, donated by a hardware store. Jack spray painted them a bit to make them go through airport customs faster. It was another big day of getting ready for and pouring cement. Here are some photos I took when we brought lunch over to the barn site.

Garry has a big hammer to pound in stakes

The freestalls will go here, the center needs to be cemented to hold them up

One of the Neals hard at work

Getting the floor of the parlor ready for cement

Bonnie jumped right in to help tie rebar

A couple guys grab some soup and buns ( no bread at the village store!)

 Mostly they grab something to eat fast and keep working, on Friday and Saturday because they have not been ready for the cement to arrive, so they are busy hammering forms in place and tying rebar together .

Hurry hurry

Had to move lunch over so they can get more wood

 One team is working on building the rafters for the addition to the barn, which will be the milkhouse, and have a classroom, change room and toilets for the students.

More than a photographer! 

Another truss is finished!

Jack takes a break with lunch

Removing the forms from Friday's cement pour

It's a little stuck....

 Garry said one of the cement truck drivers was asking him lots of questions about how much he was paying these guys who were working so hard, and could not understand why they would come from Canada to do this so he  got Victor to present the gospel to him. Garry did not think his limited Russian was up to the task.

Pouring the floor of the parlor

 The last cement truck arrived an hour and a half behind schedule, so they were there until long after dark. Dinner was around 7:30 and it was pizza night, They could not eat all 11 pizzas I made so there was some leftover for lunch on Sunday. Most guys fell into bed and had no trouble sleeping... except for the ones who went back over to trowel the cement to get a smooth finish on it, they got showered and into bed late.




Sunday morning they had decided to go to church in the village, so breakfast was at eight am, instead of six; so I made pancakes instead of oatmeal and cereal. After devotions we walked over to the church. Adam, who has been in Ukraine for about six years; translated the meaning of the sermons and speakers really well for us. Garry and are able to sing along in Russian, so one girl passed the visitors a couple of songbooks, but they could not join in, since they do not know the sounds of the Cyrillic letters.

One of the ladies suggested near the end of church that they could find one hymn that we could sing along in English, We sang Amazing Grace for them. They were sure it was in their book, but couldn't find it. Then they found a hymn we could join in and sing in English, How Great Thou Art. Neal the dairy farmer can really sing out (we have two Neals) and the congregation enjoyed it very much. After the service, one older gentleman had Adam translate for him so he could tell the Canadian guests that he always rooted for Canada against the USSR in hockey and thanking Canada for their support in the current crisis in Crimea. He also said that Garry does wonderful things for more villages than just Nikolipolia. I think he said he was from a different village.

After a lunch of leftover pizza and soup that had been simmering (made from leftovers also) the guys went over to the worksite to get ready for Monday's cement work. It was dark before they were home. Garry had to go breed a cow in the village, and one of the dairy farmers, AJ I think, went along and actually bred the cow. Then they had my attempt at Ukrainian cuisine, plof a rice dish, and a salad with carrots. beets, potatoes and mayo. We had Ukrainian soda pop and candies for dessert too.