Challenges and Hope Manifest...

  Apparently I have a nickname among the Ukrainian build team members. I heard a few of them use the phrase when talking about me. I asked the corporate host what it was. 

  He chuckled and said, "They call you Krykhitna Ptytsya... the Tiny Bird." I was a little offended at first. The host said it was not because of my size, but due to my curious nature. "You don't sit still. You float around looking at everything. The builders like that trait."

  We had a bad first day today. During the morning session, it felt like I was in a room full of two year olds. Everyone was pointing fingers instead of trying to see WHY the problem developed. It was so loud and heated, I couldn't get a word in. The shouting match ended at dinner and it was decided we should call it a day.

  The corporate host saw how down I was and offered to drive Betey and I back to the hotel. Mr Host offered to show me anything I wanted to see. I jokingly asked him, "Show me hope. I really need to see what hope looks like after that meeting!"

 I had no idea what I was about to be shown... NOTHING prepared me for the Kachalka outdoor gym. It was built mostly of scrap metal way back in the Cold War on Dnieper Island. I almost laughed when I saw the "equipment." I quickly realized it is not to laugh at. These people are there sculpting their bodies year round even in the rain and snow. That is commitment. Betey even admired the dedication.

 Anyone who looks at me would know I am NOT a gym rat. In the past, I was often teased about having the body of a child. I think I make the best of what I have. Most of my training is cardio either on a treadmill or recumbent bike. I will never be a big and bumpy guy like Zahir.

 The host told me, "THIS is Ukrainian hope. This gym has seen the worst of humanity, and yet it stands to build a strong resilient Ukraine. Fools in power come and go, the strong and the wise people remain. Long after walls and borders crumble the people remain."

 Today I saw hope. Old men, young men, women, and boys sculpting a nation of strength. Hope made manifest in the form of reclaimed Ukrainian steel welded into benches and training equipment. Old tank chains being used as weights. Tires turned into punching bags. Others would say it was a pile of trash. I saw trash turned into a hope that builds a nation.

 I am ready to face tomorrow! Time for this "tiny bird" to look at everything. The design is good, the concrete in the footings check out, and Ukrainians know steel. Something else is wrong and I intend to know what that something is.

Chase