LUKE THEULE

2008-11-06T11:09:00.001+02:00

Lena and I just returned from our insanely intense 2-week recruiting trip across Ukraine. This is the first time we drove. What a difference! No crammed mini buses, no trains, to buses, no sleeping in trainstations, wonderful! Just a lengthy argument with the border guard (which was not helped by having just finished a liter of Mountain Dew) and another lengthy conversation with some traffic policemen a week later. Oh, and perhaps a couple of speeding tickets in Poland which is loaded with photoradar and cameras. Overall it was uneventful transportation though.
It was a farewell trip as well to many friends across the country. There were quite a few tears shed from us, from teachers, from directors, some students... overall, it was very emotional. Once again though, we appear to have excellent students applying for the university and we just accepted our first student. A young man from L'viv who is full of expression and was quite upset to discover that we were leaving at the end of the semester. Our tv interview with the vice mayor of Cherkassy region (central region of Ukraine). My job was easy, just sit there and try to look pretty while Lena spoke. I say I performed rather well and Lena was magnificent. Her composure and interaction was absolutely superb. She has quit a bit of charisma that keeps developing.
We are now back in Klaipeda. I am back teaching classes and Lena is back in the office preparing for another trip. She is about to go on a longer trip that neither one of us is excited about. She will be in Moscow for a few days, then a week in Odessa, followed by a week in Chisinau, Moldova where she will hook up with another coworker. 2 1/2 weeks away. We are not looking forward to this. Please pray for us, and especially for Lena as she will be on her own for 1 1/2 weeks. It will be difficult.

2008-09-07T18:15:00.002+03:00

I'm digging into my new teaching position and am absolutely loving it. I have 40 students total and am teaching several of them more than one class. 40 students from I believe 8 countries, over 60% of the students are international which makes for absolutely fascinating class dynamics. They are bright, hungry, and eyes are wide-eyed open soaking in the material, their new surroundings, and anticipating future prospects and fulfilling their potential.
Married life is simply wonderful. We do have plenty of cultural differences to overcome but we are doing it patiently, thoughtfully, and intentionally while we learn from one another. We help each other with our daily life and dream and plan with each other our future life. I have never been this disciplined and organized before, a change I've sorely needed and now not only does my wife assist me in accomplishing this, she unintentionally motivates me to improve several areas of my life. The changes I'm going through are healthy (if not necessarily easy) and love and appreciate her every day.

2008-08-09T09:17:00.002+03:00

A crazy month and a half seems to be winding down to a peaceful, sustained joy. After teaching at the Summer Language Institute, having my parents here for a month, then the rest of my family for a whole week, then getting married and going on a wonderful honeymoon, the pace of life has subsided and I am able to enjoy married life with my wife. It is an adjustment being here now without my family, oh, and also being married.
There are also some work changes happening. In light of how well admissions is going now, and my need there therefore subsiding, I will be working in a new program at LCC that is in need of help. I will be teaching in our new Intensive English Program. This program is designed for students who want to be at LCC and have great academics and most are strong Christians, but they do not have the English ability. I will be teaching them to prepare them for university studies. I, and my wife, recruited most of these students and so I am looking forward to the opportunity to ensuring they take another important step in getting ready for university. However, I will not be completely leaving the admissions office, I will still be able to take a 2-week recruiting trip in October to Ukraine and probably another short trip during the semester. I am eager to get to know students here a little more personally and spend time with the community here.
Lena and I are looking into the future after December and are wondering where God will take us. Please pray for us as we seek God's guidance. And please pray for our marriage as we begin a new venture.
I should also be updating this blog more often since I won't be traveling to all ends of europe anymore, so my dear friends back at CRWM will have a little more to read and report on in the Missionaries updates :).

2008-07-03T15:45:00.002+03:00

Last week I said good-bye to a group of teenage Ukrainians that were here for about 2 weeks. They sat in on some classes here at the university and I gave them additional English lessons as well, in addition to showing them around town. They also gave many of us here the pleasure of a Ukrainian culture night with traditional dancing and singing in their traditional costumes. We were all duly impressed.
The summer is beginning to come out in full force now. The next couple of months are so brilliant that it makes up for the rest of the year weatherwise... almost. I just hope all this sunshine will be present on the big wedding day, just over three weeks away.

2008-05-27T18:38:00.002+03:00

The academic year is over, exams are finished, graduation has come and gone, and there is peace and quiet in the halls of LCC! Board meetings also have come, and gone. Graduation was beautiful and went off wonderfully. It was our first graduating class with a significant amount of international students and it showed from the applause of the parents in the audience from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and a family even made it up from Macedonia. It was wonderful for me to see these parents here as many of them have assisted and hosted me during my travels. These were brave parents who trusted LCC with their children to educate them and develop their character and faith.

As our recruiting is wrapping up for next year we are comparing notes with academics. We are still short professors for next year, which means we don't even have the professors to give insane schedules, like we normally do. I'm hoping it all gets worked out by the end of the summer, somehow.

And speaking of the summer, boy it is shaping out to be gorgeous! The sun waking me up way too early in the morning and keeping me awake late at night, wonderful. There is a renewed bubbling on the streets and beaches here in Klaipeda. And of course, the wedding is coming up. Plans are going ok so far but the paper work for marrying a Ukrainian to an American in Lithuania is a nightmare. But the reward is well worth it.

I'm off to what I hope is my last trip of the year. I'm heading down to Croatia for a few days for a conference at a seminary on Christianity's role in business. I'm going more or less to make contacts and meet a few students, but somehow I've been placed on a discussion panel for this topic. Needless to say I quickly gathered some reading material together to look over during my 6 hour layover in Frankfurt. Here goes.

2008-04-21T15:33:00.004+03:00

I recently went on a trip to northeast Estonia, to the city of Narva. It is on the Russian border and only 150 km away from St. Petersburg. The city itself was a step back into Soviet days (though the rest of Estonia has progressed extensively). The fascinating part is that the city itself is split into two: half in Estonia, and the other half in Russia seperated by a river. In the center of the city there are two large castles facing each other, one on either side of the river. One castle being Russian, and the castle in Estonia being Swedish (dating centuries back when Sweden controlled the land). It is the only place in the world where there are two opposing castles so close together. It was quite impressive. It was also interesting to visit the Baltic Sea on the north side of the Baltics, and so close to St. Petersburg. There was an entirely different feeling to the Sea. It was more remote with a sense of hidden history. The city itself was 96 % Russian, even though it is in Estonia (Estonia and Russia do not get along, but Estonia also has a large Russian minority which creates interesting dynamics). I traveled again with a colleague of mine, Viktorija. We visited a couple of schools in Narva (and a couple of students are coming to our Summer Language Institute this summer, they will be our first Estonian students). We also visited a Christian Youth Conference nearby. The church we spoke in has a strong outreach program in the area of the city we were at, where over 80% of the population is living on social welfare. I honestly thought we had accidently driven into a deserted city. It was wonderful to attend the youth conference as it is an encouragement to the youth, parents, and church.

Now I'm back in the office, trying not to go insane as the weather is becoming quite nice and the beaches and sea are glittering and the forest is buzzing with life. I just want to get outside!

2008-04-03T16:33:00.002+03:00

It certainly has been ages since I have written here. The first bit of news is that I'm engaged! I'll be getting married July 27 right here in Klaipeda, Lithuania. The wonderful bride-to-be is Olena Poplavska from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. The whole family is planning on making it on out for the big day so this is going to be a summer to remember. Olena and I are planning on staying in Klaipeda until December, 2008, after which we will venture on to a new venue.
The season of traveling has been over for a month and a half or so. However, I did spend a week in Hungary for a conference and a day in Prague on the return trip. What beautiful cities! The year is wrapping up and our admissions office is assessing the past year. Our assessment is that we are eagerly anticipating next year's class. What a great group of kids! Possibly the best class we've had in a while (on paper at least). After interviewing a few dozen of them face to face I'm also excited by the characters that will be coming as well. We will probably have a record number of students coming from Ukraine, and from more cities, in addition to the large amounts of students from Belarus and Moldova. This is our second year in a row where the incoming class seems to be exceptional academically, has a high level of English fluency, and containing such impressive personalities. So we are excited and are eagerly waiting to hear feedback from the professors once the school year begins since they will be the ones to really determine these things.
Klaipeda, and Lithuania, is entering its most beautiful time of year with the days becoming long, the beaches are warming up, the sea is shining brighter, and of course people are smiling more.

2008-01-17T16:58:00.000+02:00

After 3 wonderful, pleasure filled weeks at home in Portland and LA for Christmas, I returned to Lithuania for a few days before heading on out to Ukraine. I'm finally in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine. I was here once last year but the city schools were in quarantine due to the flu so I was unable to see students (though I talked with a lot of the teachers). I was also supposed to have come in October but the city canceled my trip at the last minute because it was too close to the elections. So, FINALLY I'm here recruiting students and it is extraordinarily successful thus far. This excites me for more than one reason. Yes, LCC will receive some excellent students but they are also from Eastern Ukraine. Currently we only have students from Western Ukraine. The country is extremely divided so I'm ecstatic to see so much interest from Eastern Ukraine. I love this country so I hope having students from Eastern and Western Ukraine at LCC can bring about some understanding. This young man's feeble attempt at trying to unite Ukraine :).
I am working on another angle to this dream of mine though. For the past few summers we have been hosting students from a school in L'viv (Western Ukraine). They come for a week and we give them some English classes and let them sit in on some of LCC's summer courses. My idea is to expand this program and bring together schools from Eastern and Western Ukraine to LCC, have students room with each other and have their teachers come as well. My boss just approved of the idea so tomorrow I will extend an invitation to a school here in Kharkiv. So this will just start off with two schools: one from each extreme in Ukraine. Traveling so often in this country I've come to the conclusion the main problem is just a lack of dialogue and understanding, and that both the East and the West feel the other has a strong distaste for the other (which is not true). The Ukrainian government may not try to bring their people to understand one another, but LCC will give it a try, at a small scale at least :). Hopefully this will work out well and turn out to be something that can grow in the future.
On a personal matter my older brother is in the hospital after falling off a roof during work, so family and friends are all praying for him. He is out of the trauma unit now and starting rehab. I receive daily updates from my dad.
I think I'm getting older. I'm spending more time contemplating on this trip. Getting older or maturing. Either way it is frightening. I guess life has been so fast paced this past year sooner or later I was bound to just slow my mind down and think about matters. Not to say I've come up with anything deep or remotely interesting. But still...

2007-12-03T11:30:00.000+02:00

I just recently returned from a week-long trip to Moldova. It was intense but rewarding. I keep speaking well about the students that I meet, but they are really that good (for the most part :)). I was very happy with the transportation to Moldova this time. Last year coming back I had to take a 30 hr train ride from Chisinau to Warsaw, slept in the train station, then took another 10 hr train to Vilnius. This time it was just a 2 1/2 hr flight. So much better!!
When I returned I had two guests from Christian Reformed World Missions, Russ and Joel. It was a real blessing having them visit and for them to see LCC and evaluate the needs of the institution. I didn't realize it until they came, but I needed to talk with someone from CRWM about the work here and also to hear about the other ministries CRWM is involved in. I felt more connected by the time they left and very affirmed.
This week I am leaving for Kaliningrad, Russia for 3 days and 2 nights. I've never been on such a short trip before! I am driving down there with Viktoria. This is such a luxury, to be driving and only be gone for a few days. I'm pretty excited. And then next week I will be visiting schools in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, and another city called Kaunas. Once again I'll be driving and not even leaving the country. Vilnius is very beautiful so I'm ecstatic that I will be there for a few days for work. And then I leave for the States on the 18th. This year has flown by. I will be in Portland, Oregon for a few days before road tripping down to LA for a couple of weeks. I am excited to see family and friends again. It feels like several years since I was in the States last so I am trying to prepare mentally to make the transition. And I am delighted to be speaking in church again in Portland and talk with good friends there, maybe play a little soccer as well.

2007-12-03T09:24:00.000+02:00

I certainly have neglected this blog for a while. My Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan trip with Viktoria finished. Almaty was the first city I've been to where we had to find a school with no address, and then find a road that was not on the map. Thank goodness Viktoria took it upon herself to solve those problems since she had the language ability. The public transportation was incredible, every can serve as a taxi. You stand on the side of the road and flag down any car. Someone will pullover, and if you are going near where they are heading they may take you along, for a small fee which is negotiable. Almaty was striking. A very nice financial district was being built but then most of the city was showing years of neglect. A few very wealthy people and then just a lot of other people. Traffic is really increasing and so is the smog. But the location is incredible, at the foot of strikingly gorgeous mountains.
Bishkek also was quite impressionable. We talked with quite a few FLEX students and visited a few other schools. One place of note was the American University of Central Asia. We were asked to recruit their students which I at first thought would be wrong of us. But after some convincing on their part Viktoria went and gave a presentation there. The University is not worried about losing students to the west because 70% of the population is youth so they always have enough students. And the more that get a quality education the better off the country is. Once again though, we met some students we would very much like to see here at the university. Intelligent students with a lot of character and a perspective that will enrich any institution they are a part of.
Bishkek, like Almaty, was located at the base of majestic mountains that just took your breath away. We also heard some other interesting stories. Apparently the former mayor of the city stole all of the city's garbage trucks and left town for good. The city went through a garbage crisis for a couple of weeks and no one heard from the mayor again. The US military was also introduced to the local culture. The US airforce was paying 2 $million to use the airport in Bishkek last year. But then the local government told the US air force they were raising the cost to 200$million. I'm not sure what final cost they settled on.
I would love to return to this part of the world, but definitely not for the cities. I would return for the geography. The rugged mountains are so tempting, and the rivers and lakes that go along. And the steppe and wild plains. Sometimes it felt as though this was a part of the world the rest of the world forgot about, especially Kyrgyzstan.

2007-11-04T16:12:00.000+02:00

A week gone in Kazkhstan and it has been a new experience. Viktorja and I visited quite a few schools during the week and will be visiting churches on monday. Thank goodness Viktorja is here, I would be lost without her. This is the first time I've been in a city and have had to find a school without an address, and also to get to a street that is not on the map. Some schools also seem to have extremely short memories as they sometimes forget we are coming. Well, Viktorja has been handling those problems with an excellent success rate. I merely follow her and speak in the schools. It was a very tiring week but we managed to get a little rest today as we went just outside of the city to the mountains and had delicious food on a mountain side restaurant.
We have been well received by students for the most part and have encountered a few exceptional students whom we hope will choose to join LCC next year. The Christian aspect of our university is not a drawing point, typically. So Viktorja and I were surprised when a student shook our hands after a presentation, said thanks and "God bless you". The students that seem to be the most interested are ones that have given me very good initial impressions. It is amazing how LCC can draw such quality students, both in academics and in character.

2007-10-25T21:49:00.000+03:00

Back from Belarus for a week and am getting ready to leave for Kazakhstan in a couple of days. My first time to central Asia and I am really excited. It is a shorter trip, only two weeks (including a week in Kyrgyzstan), which will be refreshing. I am also going with a colleague which will also make the trip less stressful and significantly easier, what a change from my previous trips. In Belarus I had former students keeping excellent care of me (I love looking in the past and seeing how the Lord looks at the future), and now a colleague, brilliant.
This last trip was extremely successful both in terms of the number of students who are interested in LCC and more important in the quality of the students. These students are dense in integrity and perspective. And with most being poor and living under adverse politics, they exhibit a lot of courage, ambition, persistence, and intelligence in reaching an academic level and English proficiency that many wealthier students acquire through special schools, tutors, and other resources. Interacting with these students is such a pleasure and honor. Our whole admissions staff is also extremely pleased to hear that the university's professors are absolutely amazed with this year's first year students. We knew they were amazing but it is warming to hear this perception is being reinforced in the classroom.

2007-10-15T16:44:00.000+03:00

So I'm not a man for high society. I made it to the ballet last night and thoroughly enjoyed it, it was beautiful. However, I didn't understand a THING that was going on. I thought there were space men and KKK members sending some guy time traveling. My friends explained to me that it really was a historical piece set during the Spanish Inquisition and one man's struggles of humanity. I'm happy to say though that you don't need to understand what is going on to appreciate it. My first ballet, I think I may have even beaten my sisters to that.
Minsk is going well. I'm continuing to meet excellent people and am still finding the city overall relaxing. I just had to put a picture of the ballet on this blog so my sisters will believe me.

2007-10-14T10:18:00.000+03:00

I am finally in Belarus. One thing I can certainly say is to not judge a country's people by the reputation of its government. Although there are definitely complications with my job here because of the regulations, it is more than made up for by the wonderfully generous people I have been meeting. In Brest I was fortunate enough to meet up with a former summer student of mine who will be joining the university next year. She and four of her classmates basically babysat me around Brest. This is my first time in Belarus so they educated me in various aspects of Belorussian life. They didn't let me out of their sights until I was safely on the train to Minsk, with a lot of chocolates thrust into my hand!
In Minsk I have met up with two more former summer students of mine who are showing me how to get around Minsk. However, I showed up on a day when there were some student/young people protests going on in the center of town so we will save a tour of the center for another day. They might take me to my first ballet tonight! It is great to see all of these students again and catch up with them. And I am forever grateful for them, I am not exactly sure what I would be doing without them.

2007-10-07T16:37:00.000+03:00

I am now in L'viv, Ukraine. Kirovograd ended up being a pretty nice time, mainly because of some wonderful people that I met. Andrew, an English teacher that was showing me around, took me to his second grad class and also to a school concert. It was a great time spending so much time with kids and their boisterous voices. A few good kids took TOEFL and passed and now will be applying for LCC. They were pretty good characters and all of them either a FLEX student or a FLEX finalist.
But now L'viv, my favorite city in Ukraine and one of my favorite cities anywhere. It is an unglossed jewel. A lot of character (see picture of L'viv's opera house up top), wonderful architecture, and a friendly atmosphere. All the ingredients for a world-famous city, but currently without the pretentiousness a lot of money and wealth bring in, although there is more and more investment occurring. I feel at home in L'viv as I know quite a few people now and am so relaxed walking along streets that were laid out a few hundred years ago. I know where all of my favorite cafes are and side alleys to walk down. I begin visiting schools tomorrow and I am looking forward to it because a lot of kids here know me already and will want to show me around... again. One place I haven't been to is the cemetery and I hope to visit that this time.

2007-10-03T15:36:00.000+03:00

I received my first bribe offer today. That was interesting. I didn't realize these recruiting trips through poor countries could have such great potential for profit! A student really wanted to get into LCC but clearly did not have the English proficiency and he said his dad will pay whatever it takes and asked how much I wanted. He just couldn't understand why I wouldn't take a bribe and I was too shocked to form a fist (I would never have used it, honestly). It did make me a bit angry though and also sad. However, I was extremely pleased to see the looks of absolute disgust on the faces of his classmates standing next to him. I think those girls could express their minds a lot clearer than I! It was a good school though today and I feel LCC will be receiving its first students from this city this next school year (including one or two of those disgusted girls, I certainly hope so!!).

2007-10-01T12:14:00.000+03:00

I have reached Kirovograd and things are different. In Zhytomyr I had been in contact (through LCC) with a guy who had many connections in the city. When I arrived he told me, "if you have any problems with anything, getting ripped off or any sort of troubles, call me and in 10 minutes it will be ok". That gave me a certain level of confidence going around the city. However, here in Kirovograd I was told by my contact when he dropped me off at my lodging, "just don't talk when you are outside, I don't know how people will react". That wasn't exactly encouraging. The schools seem quite disorganized but am able to get into at least one school, and that is how things start. In Zhytomyr last year I had recruited a few students, when I returned those schools all had received good word about LCC and so recruiting was an absolute breeze this time. Hopefully it can start this way in Kirovograd as well. I also spent a couple of services at a local Baptist Church and spoke in church. They had asked me if I wanted to preach... I declined the offer. The last thing the church needs is to have me at the pulpit babbling away with an excited imagination. So I gave a brief testimony and then presented LCC as an option for Christian higher education, which was quite well received. I am not sure at all how this week is going to shape up but I'll just have to go with the flow... like usual.

2007-09-28T12:24:00.000+03:00

On the road less than a week and changes already. I was supposed to be visiting the city of Kharkiv next week but their education department just changed their minds. As much as they do want me to visit, they feel visiting the week after elections is not an appropriate time for me to visit. So, the office back at LCC made some quick changes and I'll be visiting another city, Kirovigrad, instead next week, and then I'll be back on schedule (hopefully) and visiting L'viv. It looks as though I'll have to make the long trip to eastern Ukraine next semester. I will be going through Kiev tomorrow and the city is already getting quite colorful because of the elections. I'm praying the elections go well: are peaceful, honest, and make an impact in uniting this wonderful country of Ukraine. I've made changes to my photo album if people want to see me working in the schools here. The trip is going extremely well so far (apart from not going Kharkiv) and teachers and students remember me from this past winter. It makes things so much easier! Until next time I find internet access....ciao!!

On The Road

2007-09-23T17:35:00.000+03:00

I'm beginning this four-week journey in Riga, Latvia. I just took a bus up and am getting ready to fly to Ukraine tomorrow. I find myself quickly changing to a new mind frame: on my own and needing God every step of the way. I suppose it is a mindframe I should always have, but it is highlighted on these trips and I am acutely aware of His presence.
My bus left at 9 this morning, but I didn't receive my passport back from the Kazakhstan embassy (needing a visa for a future trip) until 19.00 last night. Close call. I am praying the Lord will continue to watch me this closely throughout this trip.
I am eager to return to Ukraine and to see familiar faces there. I know my way around the cities quite a bit and am returning to many of the same schools. It just makes the whole process easier, and less stressful. We had so many wonderful students arriving at LCC this year I am eager to find some more class acts.
Visiting Belarus will be a first for me, but I already know some people in Brest and Minsk whom are willing to show me around. These two countries are so close and yet there is such a huge difference. Such as internet availability. I will try to update this blog as I go along but it just isn't always feasible. We'll see how things go.

Actually in the office

2007-09-05T15:03:00.001+03:00

New Year

2007-09-05T14:58:00.000+03:00

The new academic year has begun and students are not so quietly filling up the hallways. It is wonderful seeing familiar faces from around the region. There are such a great number of quality students and many of them have fascinating tales of how they finally managed to arrive here. One student, who has been trying for a year and a half to make it here finally showed up with her suitcases yesterday. Her Ukrainian compatriots immediately showed her around and she is now mingling with the rest of our international student body. It is quite remarkable that almost 50% of our incoming class is coming from non-EU countries. Seeing these students makes me eager to get started on traveling and recruiting this year.

2007-08-18T18:45:00.001+03:00

The summer is over and the year is just about to begin. I am working on finalizing my travel schedule, at least the first half or so. The countries I am expecting to visit this semester are: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. I will be in Ukraine during parliamentary elections. Elections could provide a very interesting, and hopefully safe, trip. I have started this blog to chronicle my travels, display photos, and to inform supporters of this mission of the work the Lord is doing in this region of the world.