Aside from a long weekend trip to the Carpathian Mountains with the Blessings during our first month here (and a quick pit stop in a small town near Lviv for a stamp on our residency permits), we didn’t visit any other Ukrainian cities during our first 6 months in Ukraine. We love seeing and exploring new places, so we were glad for a day trip to Трускавец (troo-skuh-vets) at the beginning of March with our friend Taras.
Taras, one of our friends who started attending Living Word Church a couple months ago, works in Lviv and attends seminary part-time. He has a heart for ministry and is a very talented musician. Taras recently wrote a worship song called "Неймовірний Ти", which translates “Incredible You”. The song talks about how amazing God is, the sacrifices Jesus made for us, and how He is our life. A couple months ago, he asked Maggie if she would work on a violin part for the song and record it; after thinking and praying about it, she agreed. After recording the main tracks (vocals, guitar, drums, etc.), Taras was ready for the violin track to be recorded, so the three of us made plans to take a day trip to Truskavets (where Taras was recording the song with his friend Volodya) together.
Truskavets, a town that is about 60 miles (a 2-3 hour train ride) from Lviv, is famous for its special mineral waters that supposedly have healing properties. The town boasts a few salt-water springs, each with different mineral make-up, and a spring of particularly famous water called “Naftusia”. Most of these types of water are ingested by people who want to take advantage of their healing properties, although one in particular is used for soaking/bathing.
We met Taras early in the morning and rode the train to Truskavets – our first train ride in Ukraine and Trey’s first train ride ever! (Taras had a hard time believing us about either of these.) We went to the church where the recording studio was, and Maggie, Taras, and Volodya spent a couple hours recording, selecting, and editing the violin track while Trey hung out and read. After we finished, we walked to the center of town for lunch and to see the city while Taras worked on some more recording he had to do.
We were blessed with beautiful weather that day, so we enjoyed strolling around the center of town. Naturally, we decided that we needed to visit the springs, since that’s what the town is famous for. We figured we might fill up our water bottles with some of the water from the town’s central building (free admission, free water) where the water is dispersed from about 50 faucets in the walls at various temperatures – hot, warm, or cold. We read the description/chemical formulas of each kind of water and realized that the mineral waters were basically salt water, each with varying salt concentrations. The one whose description particularly shocked us was Naftusia, which is described as “hydro-carbonated, magnesium-calcium, lightly mineralized water with a high content of organic matter from oil origin”. It contains hydrogen sulfide, so it smells like rotten eggs. And this one isn’t used for bathing – it’s used for drinking! We had a hard time believing that stuff could be healthy, but people travel for miles and miles just to come and drink it! We saw numerous Ukrainians standing in groups, talking and drinking Naftusia (and other mineral waters) out of special cups that looked like mugs, but had built-in straws. This was an interesting experience for us, as we’ve never been to a place like this before. We decided not to fill up our water bottles, but decided that we should buy one of the special mugs as a souvenir, since they are unique to Truskavets. Naturally, after we bought the mug, we decided that it was only reasonable that we go ahead and try the water, so with all the courage we could muster, we decided to give it a try. The salty mineral water wasn’t terrible; it was basically like drinking ocean water. But the Naftusia really got us.
To cleanse our palates, we went out for a delicious Ukrainian lunch together at a great restaurant near the town’s center. (Trip Advisor has yet to fail us! It’s our favorite resource for finding good places to eat.) By the time we finished lunch, it was time to meet up with Taras to catch our train home, so we headed back to the church.
The ride home was long, hot, and stuffy, as it was a 3-day holiday weekend for Ukrainians, and many had gone to Truskavets for the weekend. Every seat on the train was taken, and people were standing in the aisles. To make matters worse, because of a common superstition/belief here about drafts of air, people won’t open windows to let in cool air. One window would open for a few precious moments when the train was at a stop, but that’s all the fresh air we got! At the end of the day, we were glad to be home, but were thankful for a successful, wonderful day and for the chance to see a new city. We will definitely take Jesus, the Living Water, over the water in Truskavets though!
Here are the lyrics to Taras’ song, as well as the rough Google Translate English version. We have not included the recording, because we don’t want to distribute it widely without his permission. It’s a beautiful song; we’ll pass it along info about listening to/buying the song when we know more!
Відкрию своє серце для Дивовижнонго Царя, Якого зневажали,але Він прощав щодня, Неймовірний Бог людину терпів, І нас нікчемних прийняти,захотів, До кого нам іти,якщо не до Тебе? Ти Потужний помогти,не покладаємось ми на себе, Всі заслуги Твої, нагорода лиш Тобі, Ми краплинки океану Твоєї милості Неймовірний Ти, Кохаю Тебе, Дивовижний Бог Ти, В своїх планах на все(на все) Незбагненний Ти, розумію я О,цікавий Художник Ти, мого життя! Відкрию своє серце для Дивовижного Царя Якого дію не розумію і інколи плачу я, Але знаю,що Він завжди є Правий І хто я такий, що Він мене полюбив Побачити Тебе я бажаю, Обняти міцно,тому що кохаю, І лиш в Небі там в повноті я пізнаю Тебе у всій красі | Open your heart to Jesus the King Though despised, he forgave every day Incredible God in the form of man suffered. And though seen as useless and unwanted, To whom shall we go, if not to you? You are powerful help; we do not rely on ourselves. All achievements are only to Your glory. We are droplets in the ocean of Thy mercy. Incredible You, I Love You. Awesome God You are. In their plans at all (at all) You are unfathomable, I understand Oh, interesting artist - Thou my life! Open your hearts for the amazing King. What action do not understand and sometimes I cry, But I know that he is always Right And who am I that He loved me You see I want to tightly embrace because I love, And only in heaven where the fullness I will see You in all your glory. |