![\"DSC01093\"](\"https:\/\/findinggodeverywhere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/DSC010932.jpg\")
<\/a>The castle walls are crumbling.<\/p><\/div>\n
Something so big and grand, was left to crumble and deteriorate back into the land in which it began.<\/p>\n
The 3 story walls of this castle must have been grand almost 500 years ago.<\/p><\/div>\n
How many peasants lost their lives for the sake of building this grande structure for the Lord of this castle?<\/p>\n
At one time, this area of the Ukraine was a “pearl”–farming, mining, and trade routes provided a high value in the eyes of the Austrian kingdom. \u00a0Yet, its strength became its undoing when the center of Austrian power moved westward while the strength of this town needed<\/em> to \u00a0recede.<\/p>\n Entire sides of the caste crumbled and fell away.<\/p><\/div>\n Berezhany castle surrounded an area large enough for a village to safely operate without threat of invaders.<\/p><\/div>\n Back side of Berezhany Castle<\/p><\/div>\n Model of Castle Berezhany when it was originally constructed in 1540.<\/p><\/div>\n Restoration efforts and scaffolding to hold up the walls of the castle.<\/p><\/div>\n As we prepared to leave this modest town of Western Ukraine I felt sad knowing it is unlikely I will ever return. \u00a0It is not that I don’t want to return, it is just a very difficult and expensive journey. \u00a0 Few townspeople speak anything other than Ukrainian; I’m just “another person trying to discover ancestors”; and most importantly, there are no records, no gravestones or markers, and no current residents with any one of three familial names I’m hoping to find.<\/p>\n When hope<\/em> is difficult to find we tend to look to God for answers and help in our time of need. \u00a0The people in this part of the Ukraine (Ternopil region) are not an exception to this “rule”. \u00a0Churches appear above most of the other buildings. \u00a0They are central to each town and small village. \u00a0Though I look up each time I see one of the tall church domes or hear a bell chime, does this act become routine?<\/p>\n Life seems simpler here…not easier, just less complicated. \u00a0Does it just appear simpler because it is not my routine? \u00a0Am I lucky because I have so much or are they lucky because life is less cluttered? \u00a0Would either of us trade places?<\/p>\n In the restaurant, everyone seemed to know everyone else. \u00a0They also knew I was a stranger looking for answers to questions about my ancestors. \u00a0Looking around and spending time here, I have more questions now than I did before I arrived. \u00a0Why did they leave? \u00a0Was anyone left behind? \u00a0What did they do when they lived here? \u00a0Were they a part of any military actions? \u00a0Did starvation and hardship play a part in their decision to leave, or was it simply “opportunity calling<\/em>?” \u00a0I also wonder now if the family names I’m searching for are authentic and accurate or are these used to shield themselves and family members left behind from being persecuted?<\/p>\n God is the only<\/em> answer to so many of my questions. \u00a0His perspective, His ways, His mind are not ours. \u00a0Trusting in Him is all I need to do. \u00a0He is everywhere I look. \u00a0He is all that I need.<\/p>\n Walking away from the town center, I turned back to see the domes one last time.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a>