Gareth and Vita Worboys' October 2004 Newsletter

But first a word from our sponsors:
From May 2002 to April 2003 people in NZ gave us NZ$8190.
During this period we got married (which cost approx. $5000 and was paid for mostly by money I earned in NZ from Nov 2001 to April 2002) and Vita was also earning about NZ$65/mth teaching English at her school.
From May 2003 to April 2004 people in NZ and Australia gave us NZ$16025.
During this period Tim was born (for which the Ukrainian Govt gave us about $300 - a year's maternity leave), Vita graduated from university as a secondary school teacher with a double diploma, I set up the computer centre (at least $2100) and bought a guitar ($300), Vita got her 2-yr visa and Tim his NZ passport ($1075), and we bought tickets to NZ ($3515). We also spent at least $1100 on special care for Tim while still in Ukraine.
Over those two years we spent almost $7000/yr on living costs and about $1000/yr went directly into the church in Kaharlyk.

Travelling from Ukraine with a baby wasn't half the trouble we thought it would be. Turns out Tim loves turbulence - laughed every time. Vita had no idea what she was in for when we boarded the plane in Kyiv - I got a lot of pleasure out of watching both Tim's and Vita's faces as we roared down the runway and hit turbulence almost immediately after takeoff. Vita said it was like 'American hills' (which is what they call a roller coaster in Russian).

sleeping in Singapore We were surprised to find Russian-speaking people working in Frankfurt airport. A 19-yr old Ukrainian translator/guide met the flight from Kyiv and did her best to find us a 'family room' but the only option was 'through the gate' and Vita would have needed a visa to enter Germany so we wandered the airport for 5 hours. Later I overheard a waiter in a café explaining the menu in Russian to two girls so I ordered ice creams from him.

At the information counter in Singapore airport we were informed that the hotel we'd booked before leaving Kyiv was 'budget' and in the heart of the red light district - suddenly it became clear why it had been so cheap to book. But it turned out to be very nice, quite a walk from the nearest metro stop but we were enjoying the warm air so much it didn't really matter. We didn't brave the frog porridge but did try the café scene and local cuisine, and carrying Tim everywhere we even managed to go to a night zoo and a bird park.

self feeder After arriving in NZ, as we sat in Auckland airport, Vita caught herself looking around for a familiar face, and began to realize that she wouldn't see anyone she knew for at least 2 years. As we drove from Palmerston Nth airport to Dannevirke, she was looking around and trying to convince herself that she was really in NZ. At any moment she expected to drive around a corner and see Kaharlyk. Over the next week or two the strange-looking houses and gardens, the different way of dressing, the odd food - all convinced her that she was really a long, long way from home.

Tim on Vita's tummy As for me, I felt like I was on holiday - living in NZ is so relaxing!

The doctors here concur with the Ukrainians that Tim has cerebral palsy, and since then he's been classified as 'severe'. We would like to know what the future holds for him but that's not God's way. I often remind myself that God made His presence felt so strongly when Tim was born and gave us the name Timothy, meaning 'honouring God' so there must be a plan for Tim.

Marianne working with Tim Vita's recent pregnancy progressed very well and finally (Oct 18) we have a second wee boy to play with! At times it was quite scary though, memories of the last round flooding back and all but drowning Vita in fear but she came through it all.

For some odd reason I expected that when we arrived back in NZ I would 'take over' caring for myself and my family - almost as if I wouldn't need God any more. But we've been amazed to see how God has provided so much for us right here in NZ. First it was a house right across the road from my parents which came up for rent the week before we got back and most of the furniture was donated to us, a job was waiting for me, the local hospital decided that Vita's pregnancy care would be free of charge even though the government initially said 'foreigners pay', every trip we've made to Nelson for Tim's special physiotherapy has been paid for by various people (without us asking anyone for help), we were given a car and most recently a washing machine, non-Christian neighbours have given us stuff, and someone decided we should be on the local Catholic church's monthly food-parcel list.

our car at Akitio I've really struggled with materialism since we've been back although I seem to be coming right now. Seeing how many 'things' my friends have, I often found myself wishing and longing, or saying, "Well, God?" I would think about how much we would have if I'd spent the last 6 years earning good money and wonder why on earth I answered the call to missions. Or I would think, "Those Christians should have sold everything and given the money to the starving millions - look how they're spending everything on themselves!" and yet I wanted to be exactly like them. Just recently the Lord showed me that we have everything we need and I have to agree - we lack nothing. We've never lacked anything!

I remember with sadness a couple who counselled my best friend and I to never go on missions because they returned to NZ after 10 years overseas with 4 kids and absolutely nothing else and "look how we've suffered, trying to put the kids through uni, etc". They were saying, in effect, "God let us down, so you shouldn't risk trusting Him either." I watched over the little time that I knew them as their marriage, family, and relationships with God fell apart and often wondered how they could have come crashing down like that, or why they lost that simple childlike trust. Now I understand the pressure, the temptations … and am amazed at how God takes care of His children. In some ways I would always like to have a low income so that we always remain dependent on God … and on top of that, to give back to God before paying the bills.

Most people in NZ don't know what it means to lack something - in fact we usually have far too much, and the thing most in excess seems to be worry that we might not have enough. As I've watched God take care of our every need I've felt the fears slip away into the abyss - God is truly faithful.

Vita: "I feel much more at home now and have stopped looking for familiar faces from Kaharlyk. I noticed when I met a Russian-speaker recently that while chatting with him in Russian I kept saying 'yes' in English. I miss the open-air markets - its hard to feel at home in shops here, with no option for haggling over the price of strawberries in New World, and you just know the veges can never be as good as what grew in grandmother's garden. The neighbours aren't nosy which feels good - you don't see all the grandmothers of the street gathering every afternoon to discuss everyone. People here are so polite, which is good in one sense, but I feel like they're not being honest and I can't trust them because I don't know what they're really thinking. Even though circumstances are worse in Ukraine sometimes I feel like I just want to go back to where I grew up."