Jono Miller

I SAID “WATCH THIS SPACE”

“This road is old” “I believe I can fly” “Can I tell you something Uncle Jono?” “I’ve got a plan” “I don’t wanna sleep here, it’s boring” – quotes from Benji.

Today I read The Hungry Caterpillar to a little boy I’d just met and he wanted me to read it again.

I remember taking a bike ride in the western part of Brisbane about 17 years ago. Although I wasn’t exactly sure of where I was going – I had a policy of don’t turn around. There is a way ahead. Don’t put your hand to this plough and look back. Did I get lost? Well I’m here now so I guess I didn’t. It’s a matter of perspective. Sometimes along the path things make as much sense as the ramblings of a child. But when I listen to a child – I can listen to the words, or I can listen to the heart. Dostoyevsky said “The soul is healed by being with children”.

WATCH THIS SPACE

This month has turned crazy. I feel too busy and too tired to write something inspirational, challenging, motivating or even funny. I can’t tell you all that is on my mind. I’m not sure I can even understand myself – but next month . . . .

UTSIM

There’s not a lot to talk about for UTSIM in the month of July. Basically the main activity is the documentation process required for some teachers who we are inviting to come and work with us in the coming school year. Please pray about this. Please also pray for some documentation issues I have regarding my University degree. It has been lost in transit while I was sending it away to get an Apostil required for authentication here in Ukraine. I will need an authenticated replacement before September or October.

LIFE OUTSIDE OF BUSINESS

CAMP 120

Everything is go go go for camp now. Praise God we have bought a motor (almost). Tomorrow will be the test run. A mechanic friend in Rzhyshchiv has helped us to get a Yamaha 25hp for a good price. Pray that a practical thing like a boat motor will be the means to bless many people.

Pray also for the following aspects of camp:

HOW CAN WE LIVE WITHOUT LIFE!!

One of the mobile phone companies in Ukraine is called “Life”. It is the company I use and most of my friends also use it as it has free calls between users. But last week Life was broken in Rzh for about 4-5 days. It was almost a minor catastrophe. We wondered how people ever managed to live and accomplish their daily lives before mobile phones. I couldn’t call my workers when I needed to. Social gatherings were hard to organise. It was eye-opening to see how much of our lives we have made dependent upon a piece of technology. It was also wonderful to realise that meaningful time spent with people, uninterrupted by telephones, is a lost art worth rediscovering

STOP TO SMELL THE FLOWERS

I’ve got nothing to write. No great quotes, no special illustrations from life. It’s late and I’ve been sitting in front of the computer wondering what is special that I can share. The only thing I can think of is spring. Spring is pretty special here in Ukraine. After a long harsh winter – the waking up and coming to life of so many trees and flowers is special. But I thought that was a bit boring to share with you. Then I realised – it is only boring because we have made it boring. We live fast-paced, modern technological lives. We update our Facebook statuses, we listen to our iPods or play doodle jump on our iPhones . We forget to look at the grass, the flowers, the trees, the bugs, the bees, the river, the clouds etc. Spring is beautiful. On Friday night the trees on my street were so laden with white blossoms that in the headlights of my van I almost thought it was winter and the snow had returned. I hope I don’t get so busy or so distracted that I forget to enjoy the miracle of spring that God has given to us.

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Easter is a very big deal in Ukraine. Especially in Rzhyshchiv. Most people go to church before sunrise, many of them from Saturday night til the next morning. This week in classes I talked with most of my students about Easter. Eggs are a very big tradition. Not the chocolate kind but hard boiled and painted (or stickers if you are bit too lazy to paint or dye them). We talked about the hope of new life of which an egg can remind us and which Jesus offers because He died and rose again.

Twenty-eight of us gathered on the cliff top of a new property that Dan has purchased just outside Rzhyshchiv. The view was stunning, and for once we watched the sunrise – usually it’s cloudy. It was a beautiful reminder of God’s love for us. Not a once a year thing to be remembered at Easter, but always, often, every day. Christ is risen!? Yes, yes, yes, He is risen indeed!

HOUSE WIFE FOR RENT

A while ago I watched the movie Julie and Julia. I’ve discovered how therapeutic cooking can be. On the odd occasion that I don’t eat up the road at Ruth and Jon’s, I’ve enjoyed trying to cook with a bit of creativity. Last week I decided to make bread. It came out perfectly. Nice fresh homemade bread – it rose so high it nearly hit the top of the oven. So today I tried again. Igor and I ate a slice of the rocks I produced. What went wrong? I don’t know. I used the same recipe, same ingredients. I tried to copy exactly the same methods as last time – but this time it all went pear shaped.

A REAL WINTER

My flat mate (house mate) Igor commented that he was very happy to have a real winter. That means lots of snow and lots of cold temperatures. When I asked him why, he said it felt right to have a cold winter, not a mild one. Weak answer!

Highlights of this ‘real winter’ include:

• Frozen pipes – mine and many of my friends
• Buying more thermal underwear – I now own a pair of ‘stockings for men without socks’
• My van hasn’t gone anywhere in well over a month
• Taking about 15 minutes to get ready to go
  
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THE THINGS THAT UNITE

Travelling around the world has allowed me to meet a large number of people from various countries and backgrounds. It is amazing the things which you can find in common with other people. I was on a train last night and quickly struck up conversations with two people who spoke English. Two days ago I met a guy who knew a lot about NZ and about the All Blacks and he has hardly left his small town in Ukraine. I get off the train early in the morning and am glad to see the familiar golden arches of Maccas (where I am writing this update). I meet another teacher and suddenly we are talking about educational matters and our students and funny moments in the classroom. I meet another Ukrainian businessman and we are quickly complaining about the laws governing (or should I say crippling) small businesses in Ukraine.

EXPECTATIONS

As a child I enjoyed reading the Chronicles of Narnia. Being from the southern hemisphere I never fully understood the terrible feeling the children felt knowing that the White Witch of Narnia made it always winter but never Christmas. We grow up with the expectation that certain things should always go hand in hand. Here people expect snow with winter. But we are yet to see snow this winter which is very unusual. We all have expectations for Christmas holidays. We have expectations for New Year. We have our own expectations in friendships, work situations, service in shops and restaurants. And we feel grieved when our expectations are not met. This is natural. Sometimes it is helpful. I have expectations of my workers and if they constantly fall short it is my job to draw their attention to their responsibilities. But often our expectations are unrealistic, selfish or both. We focus on what we expect from life and those around us rather than what we can give to others.

May I grow to give more and expect less. Ouch – that can be a hard lesson.

November Monthly Update 2009

A DIDGERIDOO IN MOLDOVA

Life is a funny thing. I went to Moldova to visit a friend for our midterm break. I went to an international motocross event, a christening, a 25^th wedding anniversary, spoke at a conference on citizenship and played an Australian didgeridoo. I really liked Moldova. Although there are some similarities to Ukraine – there are many distinct differences. I really enjoyed the people I met and the outlook on life which they have. They are a small country – a bit like NZ. They don’t seem to be too important to the ‘big wigs’ so they just get on with life where they are. I really liked the friendly optimistic attitude I encountered everywhere I went. Thanks to Tanya and her family for being wonderful hosts and