Bits and pieces

A few things to tie up loose ends... The alfalfa fields that were planted last year are looking good, really good. We never got any hay off them last year, so that is good news. The alfalfa they planted three weeks ago is coming up now.

Josh left, Max right

Last week as the Albert team was leaving a young man named Josh came and stayed with us for a few days. He was in Ukraine looking for his Mennonite roots on his grade 12 March break, and he sat in on classes with our students one day,  and went to one of our English classes and Bible study in Zaporosia last week before flying back toward home Monday morning. I got a photo of him helping Max feed the cows one afternoon. He bonded with Sasha and Max Boradin, who live with us, and said being here made him realize how many more opportunities he has as a Canadian than they do as Ukrainians.

Katya, who has bought milk to resell from us for several years, has drove an old wreck of a Kombi ... I don't have a recent photo, there may be one somewhere on the blog...that broke down a lot recently. But now she has a newer used vehicle to drive, she's paying for it on the employee installment plan. The first time she drove it here some wire burnt off in the motor and the guys had to fix it on a muddy wet morning.


Yesterday was Maxim Boradin's 20th birthday. I baked him a cake and gave him a shoebox full of candy that he was sharing with everyone yesterday in the the Ukrainian birthday way.

candy and a coffee mug for Max

 He is the orphan from the first year of the trade school who still lives with and works for us here. He now feeds the cows, works with all the milk buyers who come, washes the milk tank, and runs from one thing to the next to get them all done. He is up at 4:30 or 5 am every morning so he has time to read his Bible in Russian, and goes to the weekly English Bible study with us.
 He has been going to Zaporosia for English classes this year and is now taking drivers training to get his driving licence. He also has been accepted into Providence College in Manitoba for the fall, we are getting his study visa ready to send off now. He wants to study to become a pastor, but will start with English.

For those of you who know our first Max, who still works for us, here is a photo of his wife Yulia and daughter Vika talking with Victor, we met them as they were going for a walk last week. Poor Vika was a little feverish, maybe her teeth or she caught the cold her dad had.