Farm shows, English groups, and Spring

It's not quite spring yet in Ukraine,  but we are getting ready.  This week we had temperatures above freezing during the day but below freezing at night. Max has been missing out on sleeping at night.  One night he started plowing the piece of land we were able to rent that was not plowed in the fall. Garry tells me that it is one third to half done. However they switched up and Max spread fertilizer on the wheat fields before we have no more freezing nights, as the forecast is calling for warmer weather,  which means mud, and they'd have to wait for it to dry out to get the fertilizer on the winter wheat.

This week the guys unloaded a delivery of irrigation pipes, about a kilometer I'm told. We got more fertilizer,  too. Garry and Max are helping out some of the small farmers by buying some fertilizer for them, if they have money to buy it, while getting our fertilizer.

On Tuesday morning Garry and I were at the classroom early because the Crawfords wanted to take photos of all the students to print and frame them to give them for Valentine's day on Thursday.  Afterwards Garry and I went to Zaporosia for opening day of the small farm show there.

Garry and Andrey

We think they sell herbicides 

Max and Garry 

We met Max Rudei and his brother Andrey there. Andrey used to live at our house a few years ago, but he's been working on ships as a welder recently.  His last trip they had a storm with big waves and the whole crew was scared they'd sink. When they got back to port they didn't get paid,  so he's not sure he wants to go back!

The announcer lady

We checked out some booths and I took photos to make an exercise for the students (the six regular,  not grad students) to do a scavenger type hunt on Wednesday when they visited the show,  and Garry and Max met with a representative from a feed company about buying calf feed.

Garry and I went out for lunch afterwards, an early Valentine's dinner, we even ordered steak at Melrose,  an "American style" restaurant chain. They have one in Zaporosia,  and several restaurants in Dnepro.

Close up of a tire

Wednesday morning Garry, Nellie and Scott and Shannon went to the farm show with the six students and they really enjoyed the activity of figuring out what the close up photos were of. They all had the answers at the end and Garry bought them all lunch at the vendor outside the exposition as promised for completing it.  Meanwhile,  I enjoyed a relaxing morning at home and made the three girls at home soup for lunch.  The new girl,  Inna, was on the field trip.

Wednesday evening Garry and I were off to Kamyanske (former Dniprapajisk) for our first meeting there in 2019. There are people who take the train for an hour from that city to Dnepro for Summer English institute. We will to be going there once a month now, the teachers there get a big group out and we all enjoy tea, cookies and candies while we talk.

Thursday morning I was getting ready for cooking class and Garry was off to another village to breed a cow. The Crawfords came over to set up to give the students their Valentine's day gift photos, along with heart shaped cookies Shannon made. The students were really excited to receive the photos.

We were in the middle of making two kinds of cupcakes,  chocolate with pink frosting,  and walnut honey ones when Garry came in with a dozen long stemmed red roses (like four feet tall) for me. Everyone admired them.

We had a staff meeting with two possible translators, with both Nellie and Victor able to make it there (last week we had to cancel when neither was able to attend.) There were leftover cupcakes, Shannon brought cookies,  and Victor brought cherry and apricot buns, so there was plenty  to eat with our tea. Scott did the devotional, everyone was updated on problems,  and we prayed together.
Thursday evening Scott drove us to Zaporosia for our small group meeting, which was encouraging for all of us.

Friday night we were back in Dnepro for our 40 days of Purpose English "book club", a smaller group than we've had some weeks but we had a lively discussion about ways of worshipping.  We will read chapter 14 next week.