This is the last story from Ukraine. I've put off writing it because I wrote it once and lost it on the Internet. The whole experience was gut wrenching. Writing it the first time was painful and reliving it in detail is hard. This is long but I hope you will take the time to read it.
The bus ride was short and it was snowing again that day. We pulled up to an ancient looking sliding gate painted with aluminum paint. The gate (solid door) creaked open just enough for us to pass through one at a time. As we stepped through, the prison complex became visible. It was a mix of archaic and moderately archaic looking buildings in an arrangement that one could not completely see unless you were at bird's eye level. We marched in silence across to a huge metal garage door that lifted up for us to enter. It was a truck entrance and garage. As we entered the garage area, Pastor Misha's group was hastily unloading boxes of hygiene supplies and food for the prisoners. Global Aid Network had purchased these items for the inmates. The humanitarian aid opened the door for us to go in the prison. No Americans had EVER been allowed to visit the cell blocks or see prisoners. God was definitely at work here!
As soon as everything was unloaded and all team members were in the garage, the huge door lowered and we were asked to form two lines so they could count us. They did not check our pockets or pat us down but trusted we were not carrying any of the forbidden items such as weapons or any kind of bag or purse. At each of the prisons we visited, all of our passports had to be handed over to the administration as we entered, this time even our interpreters had to hand theirs over. I had the large Gospel bead bracelet in my coat pocket for the group presentation and my family pictures in my hand. The feelings of oppression, depression and hopelessness were starting to creep in. The huge metal door at the other end of the garage slowly opened after we were counted and we walked through in our two lines to the oldest part of the prison.
This prison was built in 1611, the same year the King James Bible was translated into English! The plumbing in the prison is 200 - 300 years old and is in need of constant repair. There are crumbling walls on the first floor that are full of mold and in such bad condition they took all but one "life sentence" prisoner out of those cell blocks. When it was first built, the building was a Cloister, then a Monastery for men until the Austrian-Hungarian forces turned it into a prison.
We were escorted to one of the oldest buildings and through many locked, grid and heavy metal doors that closed after we passed through. The floors, walls and stairs were badly in need of repair. Broken stairs made us watch every step we took as we climbed up and up to the top level of the building. On the top floor, we were taken to the cell block where they keep the teenage boys. There were heavy wood doors to be unlocked and then an iron barred door before we were allowed to see the boys. Much to our amazement, the boys were all wearing Operation Carelift sweatshirts! They had been given to Pastor Misha to give to the boys before we arrived. Five or six of these cells were opened for our groups to enter.
The cell had a high ceiling but little room to move around in because the beds took up most of the floor space. Each bed was neatly made with an incredibly thin, lumpy looking mattress, sheets and wool blankets. There were 8 - 10 boys in each cell, standing in a row with hands behind their backs as we entered in single file. The only place to stand was directly in front of the boys so we were eyeball to eyeball with them. There were two guards, one interpreter and five of our team members in each group.
We shook hands with the guys and later presented them with hygiene packs. We also gave them Gospel bracelets and shared the Gospel with them. Since the interpreter was three down from me, I could not get his attention but made an attempt to communicate with my feeble Russian skills. Everyone in this region of Ukraine speaks Ukrainian and if you speak Russian to them, they get upset. At this point I didn't care about all that but wanted to get to know these young men. They seemed surprised I could speak the language and quickly engaged in simple conversation with me. Some of them had been there only a few months, others much longer waiting for a trial. They shared their stories with us and each one of us who had a son was deeply touched. One boy said he was a believer and smiled a lot. He said he would be in prison six more years!
It is hard to describe the sadness we all felt as we were asked to leave only 15 minutes later. We each hugged the boys and said goodbye. Those of us who have had trouble with a teen were moved to tears. At the end of the hall was a class room behind the same kind of locked door where a TV station had set up a camera to interview our leader, Dave. The camera followed us every were we went recording our entire visit.
The next stop was a cell block of women. We went down several flights of broken concrete stairs and arrived at the women's part of the prison. Our little group of two women (including myself) Tawny, a twelve year old, and two men were ushered into a cell containing 8 women. This cell was much smaller than the previous one with barely enough room to stand at the ends of the bunk beds. The women were lined up in front of us and we could easily reach out to shake hands with them. The looks on their faces were what got to me. One of the women did most of the talking and my friend, Gary, began speaking to her. He relayed we were there to encourage them and share our faith with them. This tall woman could look Gary in the eye and she responded to everything he was saying. She told us that she had a Bible and that they read it every day and prayed in the morning and the evening before bed. As Gary was speaking words of encouragement to these ladies I watched their faces. Tears started to flow down the cheeks of the woman standing in front of me who was probably about my age but looked much older. I reached out and offered a hug which she immediately took. She clung to me and held my hand afterwords. There was a young woman standing next to her who was trying very hard to be strong but her quivering lips and chin gave away the tenderness in her heart.
We asked their names and told them our names. Then I pulled out a picture of my son during his time of rebellion and told them his story. I showed them the picture of him, now, with his lovely wife and talked about the transforming power of the Holy Spirit when a person turns their life over to Jesus Christ. Tears were streaming down my face and Tawny, our twelve year old was wiping them with her little fingers. Several of the women reached out and grabbed my arm and hand acknowledging the pain of the situation. They said they all had children and were very worried about what was happening to them while they were in prison.
Toby, the other woman in our group shared some words of encouragement to the ladies from her heart. The tears were flowing freely from every eye in the cell. Aaron, our dairy farmer and recent widower (age 32) offered a prayer for the women.
I will never forget their faces, the pain in their eyes and the encounter we had that day with those precious ladies. They seemed genuinely touched especially by our two men who spoke gently to them. I suspect they had not had a kind word from a man in many years. As we left the cell each of us hugged and kissed every lady on the cheek. More tears fell from our eyes as we filed out and the door closed behind us.
Then we were taken to a room without windows in another part of the prison to visit with some of the adult men. There was a small stage in front of the room which we were asked to stand on. The men came in, dressed in black and sat at tables with benches all facing the stage. Our hearts were full of emotion from the visits with the teens and the women but we knew we had to give our best to these men. We sang several songs to them and several people gave testimonies. Pastor Misha had brought two men who used to be in that prison who testified about how Jesus Christ changed their lives. Palmer gave his testimony and the Gospel presentation then Gary invited the men to pray.
It is hard to read faces of people who are hardened. I don't know what they were thinking but they were very attentive the whole time. As we left, food and hygiene items were handed to each man seated at the tables. They wanted us to leave before the men left the room so we stepped off the stage and down the center aisle to the back of the room. Normally I would not have tried to engage with the men but God prompted me to begin shaking hands and saying "dobrey den" to each of the men seated on one side of the room. I was not afraid but genuinely tried to look each person in the eye and be sincere in my greeting. Every handshake was firm and assuring. One of the older men at the back table had a terribly burned hand. I reached out my hand to shake his and he stood, not wanting to look in my eyes but took my hand and bend down in a bow. He place both of his hands around mine and hesitated. I did not resist but waited for him to release my hand. As he did, I smiled at him and received a small smile back. I could see the pain in his eyes and it broke my heart.
We were escorted back through the courtyard where there was a greenhouse in which thousands of onions were growing. Snow was falling reminding us of God's incredible grace and pure love he has for all of his created beings. Later, we were told that the simple act of shaking someones hand and saying "hello" to them was huge for these prisoners. They are often treated like animals and to have a kind word, respectful handshake and a gift means more to them than we can imagine.
Pastor Misha has quite a ministry here and he said Christian programming like sermons is played over the intercom for an hour, twice a day. They also play Christian music over the intercom. They wanted a CD player because the tape recorder they were using was about worn out.
Dr Jean and a couple of other medical people on our bus were allowed to tour the prison "hospital". They serve several thousand prisoners a year with very little equipment or methods of treatment. The doctors do what they can but things like their x-ray equipment was ancient. Our x-ray tech team member said she had never seen anything like it. Dr Jean said it was at least fifty years old, maybe older and the images were so bad the doctors had a difficult time diagnosing much of anything. There was also a "surgery" room that had a light which was archaic and no working anesthetic machine. Dr Jean said they use a kind of anesthetic used on kids for very simple things like keeping them still for suturing. It was not meant to be used for major surgery.
Jean is going to see if she can get some doctors in the States to help fund some working, more modern equipment for the prison hospital which takes care of prisoners from the whole region around L'viv.
Dr Jean and her little team were able to visit many of the hospital patients and share their faith with them. She shared that God's love could reach inside even the thickest prison walls.
We left through another garage door and silently walked to the bus. Our leader and a few others were invited to tea with the warden. There he expressed his gratitude for our visit and thankfulness for electricity in the prison because it made the place cheerful. He really cared about the prisoners and wanted to give them hope.
Please take a moment to pray for the prisoners we saw and the seeds of faith and hope that were planted in each of them. Pray that God will provide more openings for Pastor Misha to minister at other prisons in the area. We got to leave, get on a warm bus and go home to our families, everyone in the prison had to stay there and many will be there for quite some time.
Thank you for taking the time to read this account. The reports would not be complete with out it. I hope it touched your heart in some way or gave you perspective on your situation in life. I am so blessed and I feel compelled to share the blessing with "the least of these".
May the love of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit rest in your hearts today. Thank you for taking this journey with me and for all of your prayers and financial support. With out you, this mission would truly be impossible.
Until next time, dus vee danya (good bye)
Love,
Dasha
Sunday, February 25, 2007
February 7 - The power of touch in Ukraine
You may be weary of reading these emails but hang in there this story and the next one are the ones that touched my heart the most.
One of the things we pray every day on these trips is that we would be used as the hands and feet of Jesus. Wednesday, Feb 7Th will be etched in my heart forever as the day Jesus reached a child through my hands.
The Rozdil School for Boys is housed in an old Cloister where nuns lived for many, many years. There were a number of these kinds of buildings we visited where old palaces or monasteries had been converted to homes for children since they are large and have numerous bedrooms.
The Rozdil School was one of those "warehouse" schools for children who had severe handicaps. The first stop is always the restroom for our team since we usually ride for thirty or more minutes after a big breakfast. This was no exception. We were lined up at the bathroom door when a small boy with Downs syndrome appeared from around the corner. He was our unofficial greeter and without words, gave each of us a huge welcome with his big smile, handshakes and hugs. He could not speak but it didn't matter because we knew exactly what he was trying to say to us. "I'm so glad you came today, welcome!"
After the restroom stop, we were invited for a tour of the building. We climbed stairs up to the third floor where the bedrooms were. There were several long halls full of rooms with neatly made beds, each covered with a rug and huge fluffed up pillow. No personal belongings were any where in sight.
As we reached the end of a long hall, tucked way back in a corner was a room for "bed ridden" children. I was not prepared for what my eyes saw as I was one of the first to enter the room. It was a long narrow room with ten beds each containing a disabled or deformed child. From the front of the room I could see a child in the back whose head was three times the size of a normal adult. This boy had hydrocephalus and could not even lift his head from the pillow. His body was the size of a three year old. The child in the crib next to him was screaming and crying, with feet and arms flailing in every direction. He was about the height of a four year old but his limbs were the circumference of bones. His muscles could not even been seen. An attendant was standing next to him, trying to calm him down.
As I gazed across the room a tiny, shaved head swinging back and forth caught my eye. A small boy was sitting up in his crib, shaking his head back and forth. God lead me to that crib and I gently laid my hand on his bony little back. Immediately, his head stopped shaking and he looked up at me. The touch of a hand had let him know he was not alone. I began to rub his back and he came alive. He looked into my eyes and gave a small smile showing a full set of teeth through his distorted mouth and jaw. As I continued to rub his back he reached out and grabbed my hand, hungry for the touch of another human being. I stood there smiling and softly talking to him while I rubbed his bent little frame.
His name was Vitaly and he was six years old although he was the size of a three year old. He could not walk or talk and didn't even make noise other than the grinding of his teeth. But he did understand there was someone who cared about him, touching him and showing him love. His tiny fingers of porcelain skin clutched tightly to mine and we shared what every human being needs the most, love. He leaned in to my side as much as possible through the bars of the prison he will spend his life in soaking up the touch of the hand of Christ. It was absolutely painful to have to let go of him and leave after a short while.
Dr Jean's group was assigned to that room for the remainder of the visit and each child was given lots of special attention and love from 5 of our team members. Jean later told us of an 18 year old boy who was in the last bed at the end of the room who had been perfectly normal until he was 8. He was in a train wreck where he sustained severe head injuries and burns. He had been taken to the States for surgeries and cared for by a man named Michael. Jean' husband, John, sat down on his bed and he said "Michael" ? He was able to give a hand shake and communicate a little in English. His mother had cared for him all these years but had recently died and so he was placed in this home to live out the rest of his life. Michael was his American sponsor who paid for his medical treatment in the States and comes to visit him once a year in Ukraine.
My small group was then taken to a class room of eleven boys, one of which was the little Downs syndrome boy who greeted us as we came in. Only three boys could talk in that room and one was completely blind. We sang lots of fun songs with them, played games and did a very simple Gospel presentation for them. They had been to a camp in the summer where they learned one of the songs we sang to them. It goes like this.
"Who is the King of the jungle?
Who is the King of the sea?
Who is the King of the universe?
And who is the King of me?
I tell you J-E-S-U-S, Jesus!
He is the King of me,
He is the King of the Universe,
The jungle and the sea!"
With each line there is an action and the boys knew all of them! We did that song several times over and each time the boys laughed with glee. Each boy got a back pack and carepack (school supplies) and of course a big teddy bear! Oh, you should have seen them love on those teddy bears, it was so cute. The three boys who could talk recited poetry and sang for us. It was evident the caregivers and teachers here treated these special children with love. There was no aggression or anger displayed by any of the children, only smiles and joy showed on their faces.
You may wonder why I share all of these details with you. The reason is because God wants you to see how blessed we are. We are so incredibly blessed just living in America, having whole bodies and sound minds. We have SO MUCH to offer those in need. My question to you is what are you doing with the time, talents and treasures God has given you? Are you using them for His glory? Are you blessing others with the abundance you have? You may think you are not cut out to be a missionary even on a short term trip but you do have the ability to help others in need right in your own back yard. If these emails do nothing more than to inspire you to reach out of your comfort zone to show the love of Jesus Christ to someone else, then they have served their purpose.
Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
There will be one more story tomorrow of our visit to an adult prison built in 1611. I pray that God speaks to your heart and encourages you to serve Him today!
With Love,
Dasha
One of the things we pray every day on these trips is that we would be used as the hands and feet of Jesus. Wednesday, Feb 7Th will be etched in my heart forever as the day Jesus reached a child through my hands.
The Rozdil School for Boys is housed in an old Cloister where nuns lived for many, many years. There were a number of these kinds of buildings we visited where old palaces or monasteries had been converted to homes for children since they are large and have numerous bedrooms.
The Rozdil School was one of those "warehouse" schools for children who had severe handicaps. The first stop is always the restroom for our team since we usually ride for thirty or more minutes after a big breakfast. This was no exception. We were lined up at the bathroom door when a small boy with Downs syndrome appeared from around the corner. He was our unofficial greeter and without words, gave each of us a huge welcome with his big smile, handshakes and hugs. He could not speak but it didn't matter because we knew exactly what he was trying to say to us. "I'm so glad you came today, welcome!"
After the restroom stop, we were invited for a tour of the building. We climbed stairs up to the third floor where the bedrooms were. There were several long halls full of rooms with neatly made beds, each covered with a rug and huge fluffed up pillow. No personal belongings were any where in sight.
As we reached the end of a long hall, tucked way back in a corner was a room for "bed ridden" children. I was not prepared for what my eyes saw as I was one of the first to enter the room. It was a long narrow room with ten beds each containing a disabled or deformed child. From the front of the room I could see a child in the back whose head was three times the size of a normal adult. This boy had hydrocephalus and could not even lift his head from the pillow. His body was the size of a three year old. The child in the crib next to him was screaming and crying, with feet and arms flailing in every direction. He was about the height of a four year old but his limbs were the circumference of bones. His muscles could not even been seen. An attendant was standing next to him, trying to calm him down.
As I gazed across the room a tiny, shaved head swinging back and forth caught my eye. A small boy was sitting up in his crib, shaking his head back and forth. God lead me to that crib and I gently laid my hand on his bony little back. Immediately, his head stopped shaking and he looked up at me. The touch of a hand had let him know he was not alone. I began to rub his back and he came alive. He looked into my eyes and gave a small smile showing a full set of teeth through his distorted mouth and jaw. As I continued to rub his back he reached out and grabbed my hand, hungry for the touch of another human being. I stood there smiling and softly talking to him while I rubbed his bent little frame.
His name was Vitaly and he was six years old although he was the size of a three year old. He could not walk or talk and didn't even make noise other than the grinding of his teeth. But he did understand there was someone who cared about him, touching him and showing him love. His tiny fingers of porcelain skin clutched tightly to mine and we shared what every human being needs the most, love. He leaned in to my side as much as possible through the bars of the prison he will spend his life in soaking up the touch of the hand of Christ. It was absolutely painful to have to let go of him and leave after a short while.
Dr Jean's group was assigned to that room for the remainder of the visit and each child was given lots of special attention and love from 5 of our team members. Jean later told us of an 18 year old boy who was in the last bed at the end of the room who had been perfectly normal until he was 8. He was in a train wreck where he sustained severe head injuries and burns. He had been taken to the States for surgeries and cared for by a man named Michael. Jean' husband, John, sat down on his bed and he said "Michael" ? He was able to give a hand shake and communicate a little in English. His mother had cared for him all these years but had recently died and so he was placed in this home to live out the rest of his life. Michael was his American sponsor who paid for his medical treatment in the States and comes to visit him once a year in Ukraine.
My small group was then taken to a class room of eleven boys, one of which was the little Downs syndrome boy who greeted us as we came in. Only three boys could talk in that room and one was completely blind. We sang lots of fun songs with them, played games and did a very simple Gospel presentation for them. They had been to a camp in the summer where they learned one of the songs we sang to them. It goes like this.
"Who is the King of the jungle?
Who is the King of the sea?
Who is the King of the universe?
And who is the King of me?
I tell you J-E-S-U-S, Jesus!
He is the King of me,
He is the King of the Universe,
The jungle and the sea!"
With each line there is an action and the boys knew all of them! We did that song several times over and each time the boys laughed with glee. Each boy got a back pack and carepack (school supplies) and of course a big teddy bear! Oh, you should have seen them love on those teddy bears, it was so cute. The three boys who could talk recited poetry and sang for us. It was evident the caregivers and teachers here treated these special children with love. There was no aggression or anger displayed by any of the children, only smiles and joy showed on their faces.
You may wonder why I share all of these details with you. The reason is because God wants you to see how blessed we are. We are so incredibly blessed just living in America, having whole bodies and sound minds. We have SO MUCH to offer those in need. My question to you is what are you doing with the time, talents and treasures God has given you? Are you using them for His glory? Are you blessing others with the abundance you have? You may think you are not cut out to be a missionary even on a short term trip but you do have the ability to help others in need right in your own back yard. If these emails do nothing more than to inspire you to reach out of your comfort zone to show the love of Jesus Christ to someone else, then they have served their purpose.
Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
There will be one more story tomorrow of our visit to an adult prison built in 1611. I pray that God speaks to your heart and encourages you to serve Him today!
With Love,
Dasha
February 6 - Zhurane Sanitorium visit
Thanks so much for taking the time to read these accounts of what God is doing in Ukraine. I hope you are encouraged in your own walk with God and inspired to use the incredible gifts and talents you have to serve Him and others more.
We approached the Zhurane Sanatorium School on a muddy road. It was warmer on Feb 6Th and the snow had melted leaving plenty of sticky, slippery mud to navigate. As the bus pulled up next to the building, little faces appeared from lace curtained windows with smiles and waves of excitement.
There were a number of buildings in the complex which housed 95 children recovering from lung diseases like TB, asthma, pneumonia, etc. Again, there were kids who had been here for years because there just aren't enough places to put all the miss placed children who have no families or functioning parents.
The director wanted us to see their new building under construction so we walked a muddy, icy path about 100 yards to see the new facility. It was two stories with nice ceramic tile floors, modern bathrooms and fixtures and brightly painted rooms. The building was about 95% finished but they ran out of funds for furnishings and finish details. Some of the finishings inside were recycled from old buildings like the banisters on the stairways. Our team took up an offering on the bus and raised enough to buy some much needed beds and mattresses for the new building. Just about every mattress you see in State run facilities looks 40 or 50 years old, urine stained and is about 2 inches thick.
All of the kids were assembled in an auditorium so we did a large group presentation to them with lots of singing, games and of course testimonies and a Gospel presentation. I am always amazed at how long a group of kids starting at age 6 - 17 can sit still and listen intently. After our presentation we handed out backpacks with Carepacks inside of them and teddy bears! I went around with my roll of smiley heart stickers to place one on each child. A smile and a smile sticker communicates volumes to a hurting child.
Over on the side of the room were the older teen girls. They were huddled together in groups watching every move we made. Their shy smiles invited the ladies over for conversations. I got the pictures of my family, grabbed my interpreter and went to talk to three girls at the end of the row. They were 14, 15 and 16 years old. The two younger ones had recently lost their mothers and the older one had lost her father. The 14 year old said her father is an alcoholic and is very mean. She is forced to live at the sanatorium because there is no place else to go. She began to cry as she was telling me her story so I reached out, put my arms around her and pulled her close to my chest. She sobbed and the other two girls were also in tears. I loved on each one of them and encouraged them to read their Bible for comfort from our wonderful Father in Heaven. I told them God knew their circumstances and had not forgotten them.
As this was going on, a 17 year old girl came over for a hug. She was an orphan and told me not to cry (yes I was in tears too) for them. It made me even sadder because her heart had become so cold. I told her my heart was sad for her and encouraged her to read her Bible for comfort from the Father. These kids often turn their emotions off just to survive. There are hundreds of thousands of these children all over the former Soviet Union. It makes one wonder what will happen to this generation if they are not nurtured and given an understanding of who they are in God's eyes. I pray that the seeds planed here will take root and grow in their hearts to mature them emotionally and spiritually.
Dr Jean Thur, my dear friend, was allowed to go in to see the really sick kids and give them gifts. They were the ones who were peeking through the curtains when the bus pulled up along side the building. As usual, she had a wonderful time playing with all of them and bringing some joy to their dismal existence. Jean is a pediatrician.
As we prepared to drive away, the kids in the "sick" building lifted up the curtains to see us. They were holding their teddy bears, smiling, laughing and waving goodbye to us. It is always rewarding to bring a smile to a child's face.
Have you ever considered coming on one of our trips? Maybe you think you don't have any special talents or abilities. Do you know how to give a hug, smile, hold someones hand or be an encouragement to someone in pain? Then you qualify! Think about it and see if God might be calling you to make a difference in someone life, you will never be the same! You can email me back for more information or go to www.gainusa.org for a list of trips available in the future.
With smiles and hugs,
Dasha
We approached the Zhurane Sanatorium School on a muddy road. It was warmer on Feb 6Th and the snow had melted leaving plenty of sticky, slippery mud to navigate. As the bus pulled up next to the building, little faces appeared from lace curtained windows with smiles and waves of excitement.
There were a number of buildings in the complex which housed 95 children recovering from lung diseases like TB, asthma, pneumonia, etc. Again, there were kids who had been here for years because there just aren't enough places to put all the miss placed children who have no families or functioning parents.
The director wanted us to see their new building under construction so we walked a muddy, icy path about 100 yards to see the new facility. It was two stories with nice ceramic tile floors, modern bathrooms and fixtures and brightly painted rooms. The building was about 95% finished but they ran out of funds for furnishings and finish details. Some of the finishings inside were recycled from old buildings like the banisters on the stairways. Our team took up an offering on the bus and raised enough to buy some much needed beds and mattresses for the new building. Just about every mattress you see in State run facilities looks 40 or 50 years old, urine stained and is about 2 inches thick.
All of the kids were assembled in an auditorium so we did a large group presentation to them with lots of singing, games and of course testimonies and a Gospel presentation. I am always amazed at how long a group of kids starting at age 6 - 17 can sit still and listen intently. After our presentation we handed out backpacks with Carepacks inside of them and teddy bears! I went around with my roll of smiley heart stickers to place one on each child. A smile and a smile sticker communicates volumes to a hurting child.
Over on the side of the room were the older teen girls. They were huddled together in groups watching every move we made. Their shy smiles invited the ladies over for conversations. I got the pictures of my family, grabbed my interpreter and went to talk to three girls at the end of the row. They were 14, 15 and 16 years old. The two younger ones had recently lost their mothers and the older one had lost her father. The 14 year old said her father is an alcoholic and is very mean. She is forced to live at the sanatorium because there is no place else to go. She began to cry as she was telling me her story so I reached out, put my arms around her and pulled her close to my chest. She sobbed and the other two girls were also in tears. I loved on each one of them and encouraged them to read their Bible for comfort from our wonderful Father in Heaven. I told them God knew their circumstances and had not forgotten them.
As this was going on, a 17 year old girl came over for a hug. She was an orphan and told me not to cry (yes I was in tears too) for them. It made me even sadder because her heart had become so cold. I told her my heart was sad for her and encouraged her to read her Bible for comfort from the Father. These kids often turn their emotions off just to survive. There are hundreds of thousands of these children all over the former Soviet Union. It makes one wonder what will happen to this generation if they are not nurtured and given an understanding of who they are in God's eyes. I pray that the seeds planed here will take root and grow in their hearts to mature them emotionally and spiritually.
Dr Jean Thur, my dear friend, was allowed to go in to see the really sick kids and give them gifts. They were the ones who were peeking through the curtains when the bus pulled up along side the building. As usual, she had a wonderful time playing with all of them and bringing some joy to their dismal existence. Jean is a pediatrician.
As we prepared to drive away, the kids in the "sick" building lifted up the curtains to see us. They were holding their teddy bears, smiling, laughing and waving goodbye to us. It is always rewarding to bring a smile to a child's face.
Have you ever considered coming on one of our trips? Maybe you think you don't have any special talents or abilities. Do you know how to give a hug, smile, hold someones hand or be an encouragement to someone in pain? Then you qualify! Think about it and see if God might be calling you to make a difference in someone life, you will never be the same! You can email me back for more information or go to www.gainusa.org for a list of trips available in the future.
With smiles and hugs,
Dasha
February 5 - Dobromil School
Monday, Feb 5Th we visited a boarding school in the town of Dobromil, Ukraine. The drive was long but fabulous because the sun came out that day! It was the first glimpse of the sun we had since our arrival on Jan 28Th. We drove out in the country side past villages, farms and hundreds of houses under construction.
Let me take a minute to explain the houses we saw. Our bus guide, Dr Eugene Krupin (a medical doctor) told us that people from Kiev buy land out here and build houses. There is no such thing as a home mortgage loan in Ukraine, so people start building and pay as they go - what a plan, here's another lesson we could learn from a developing country! The houses are big, I'd estimate from 2000 to 3000+ square feet. They start with a foundation and use brick to build the basic house. Then as time and money permits, many houses have stucco on the outside. It can take years to build something this way but when they are finished, it's completely paid for.
Dr Krupin says a lot of people leave the country to find work, save money then come back and buy a lot to start building on. Business owners from Kiev also build houses in the country. Just thought you would be interested in these little tidbits we learned. Here's the sad part. When these houses are finished, most people live in the basement or one room because they cannot afford the heating bills or furnishings for the rest of the house. It's all about show - an unfortunate result of materialism.
Back to the trip; as we drove further, the outline of the Carpathians began to emerge. As we got closer to the snow covered mountains, the clouds cleared and the sun rays illuminated the beauty of the Ukrainian country side. Out in the country there are still many people who use horses and carts to haul things and work for them. We even saw people riding around in horse drawn sleds. Horses are used for plowing too. It is like taking a walk into the distant past. The architecture in this part of Ukraine as well as L'viv has a very European flavor and is beautiful.
We made two stops that day to distribute books in market places. People are hesitant to take books because they are afraid it is from some cult like Jehovah's Witnesses. That is when our interpreters come in and explain what the book is about and show them the Gospel of John which is on the flip side of the book. When people understand it is a pure message about Jesus and an atheist's search for truth, most gladly accept the free book. This country has a 95% literacy rate and when you hand someone a book, they often sit down and start reading it or read while they are walking.
After eating a big breakfast and drinking lots of water, there was a great need for the use of a toilet. Upon entering the school, the smell of the toilets came wafting up our noses but the urge was greater than the smell so we proceeded to the "place". This building was extremely old and had not been remodeled at all. The toilet area was nothing more than three squatty spots on a raised platform with no dividers. All I can say is using these with two other of your team mates makes for a real bonding experience!
The school was for mentally slow children. We entered the cafeteria area where the kids were finishing lunch and were surprised to see a beautiful, large creche still up in the front of the room along with a fresh cut and decorated Christmas tree. There were definitely some slow kids here but also a good number who seemed quite normal. Often kids are labeled and stuck into institutions when there is no other place to put them.
Several boys sang karaoke for us using a television and video. A few of the younger kids recited poetry for us. After their program we broke into small groups and my group was assigned to the oldest kids. Paige, another of our 12 year old team members did the gospel presentation and did a great job! The kids respond so well to our younger members and we are so blessed to have these American teens with us. Tom, the only guy in my small group, shared about his job as a postal worker and tied it into how a stamped letter is absolutely unique when it gets a postmark. Then he talked about how God makes each of us unique in some special way.
There was one older boy who was good at making eye contact and responded to everything we included them in. He told us his favorite thing was reading and exchanged addresses after our presentation. When we finished the kids wanted to sing us a song about their best friend, Jesus! They were of varying levels of capacity but all sang the words beautifully. Our hearts were warmed by their affection and love for God. It has been very comforting and affirming to go into the public schools and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are finding most boarding schools are Christian oriented and are teaching the children about God's love, teaching them to pray and reading the Bible to them. Over the past few years, I have noticed the children smile much more and seem to be more hope full in spite of their circumstances.
This site needed a refrigerator desperately. We collect enough money from our group to buy two refractors for them! Another group had come for a visit not long ago and promised to buy a frig but never came back. They only asked for one regular sized refrigerator but there are 121 kids ages 6-17 who live here so we bought them two! They were amazed and thankful.
I am constantly inspired by the people of Ukraine. They are a hardy people who never lose their desire to be hospitable to strangers in spite of meager means. I've learned so much about life from these incredible human beings! How I thank God for the privilege and opportunity to be part of this endeavor.
May His Spirit fill you with all hope and love!
Dasha
Let me take a minute to explain the houses we saw. Our bus guide, Dr Eugene Krupin (a medical doctor) told us that people from Kiev buy land out here and build houses. There is no such thing as a home mortgage loan in Ukraine, so people start building and pay as they go - what a plan, here's another lesson we could learn from a developing country! The houses are big, I'd estimate from 2000 to 3000+ square feet. They start with a foundation and use brick to build the basic house. Then as time and money permits, many houses have stucco on the outside. It can take years to build something this way but when they are finished, it's completely paid for.
Dr Krupin says a lot of people leave the country to find work, save money then come back and buy a lot to start building on. Business owners from Kiev also build houses in the country. Just thought you would be interested in these little tidbits we learned. Here's the sad part. When these houses are finished, most people live in the basement or one room because they cannot afford the heating bills or furnishings for the rest of the house. It's all about show - an unfortunate result of materialism.
Back to the trip; as we drove further, the outline of the Carpathians began to emerge. As we got closer to the snow covered mountains, the clouds cleared and the sun rays illuminated the beauty of the Ukrainian country side. Out in the country there are still many people who use horses and carts to haul things and work for them. We even saw people riding around in horse drawn sleds. Horses are used for plowing too. It is like taking a walk into the distant past. The architecture in this part of Ukraine as well as L'viv has a very European flavor and is beautiful.
We made two stops that day to distribute books in market places. People are hesitant to take books because they are afraid it is from some cult like Jehovah's Witnesses. That is when our interpreters come in and explain what the book is about and show them the Gospel of John which is on the flip side of the book. When people understand it is a pure message about Jesus and an atheist's search for truth, most gladly accept the free book. This country has a 95% literacy rate and when you hand someone a book, they often sit down and start reading it or read while they are walking.
After eating a big breakfast and drinking lots of water, there was a great need for the use of a toilet. Upon entering the school, the smell of the toilets came wafting up our noses but the urge was greater than the smell so we proceeded to the "place". This building was extremely old and had not been remodeled at all. The toilet area was nothing more than three squatty spots on a raised platform with no dividers. All I can say is using these with two other of your team mates makes for a real bonding experience!
The school was for mentally slow children. We entered the cafeteria area where the kids were finishing lunch and were surprised to see a beautiful, large creche still up in the front of the room along with a fresh cut and decorated Christmas tree. There were definitely some slow kids here but also a good number who seemed quite normal. Often kids are labeled and stuck into institutions when there is no other place to put them.
Several boys sang karaoke for us using a television and video. A few of the younger kids recited poetry for us. After their program we broke into small groups and my group was assigned to the oldest kids. Paige, another of our 12 year old team members did the gospel presentation and did a great job! The kids respond so well to our younger members and we are so blessed to have these American teens with us. Tom, the only guy in my small group, shared about his job as a postal worker and tied it into how a stamped letter is absolutely unique when it gets a postmark. Then he talked about how God makes each of us unique in some special way.
There was one older boy who was good at making eye contact and responded to everything we included them in. He told us his favorite thing was reading and exchanged addresses after our presentation. When we finished the kids wanted to sing us a song about their best friend, Jesus! They were of varying levels of capacity but all sang the words beautifully. Our hearts were warmed by their affection and love for God. It has been very comforting and affirming to go into the public schools and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are finding most boarding schools are Christian oriented and are teaching the children about God's love, teaching them to pray and reading the Bible to them. Over the past few years, I have noticed the children smile much more and seem to be more hope full in spite of their circumstances.
This site needed a refrigerator desperately. We collect enough money from our group to buy two refractors for them! Another group had come for a visit not long ago and promised to buy a frig but never came back. They only asked for one regular sized refrigerator but there are 121 kids ages 6-17 who live here so we bought them two! They were amazed and thankful.
I am constantly inspired by the people of Ukraine. They are a hardy people who never lose their desire to be hospitable to strangers in spite of meager means. I've learned so much about life from these incredible human beings! How I thank God for the privilege and opportunity to be part of this endeavor.
May His Spirit fill you with all hope and love!
Dasha
February 4 - TV Tube Factory Church
We have been working with Pastor Misha from New Life Church. Pastor Misha has started and maintained a number of ministries to the down and out in L'viv. One of his ministries is to prisoners and many of the members of his church are former prisoners. He has services in the prisons four times a week and 500-600 prisoners come to the services.
Misha visits each new prisoner to find out what brought them there and if they have any family connections. 85% of the young people who go to prison have no one on the outside who cares about them or helps them in any way. New Life Church supports over 50 boys in prison who have no parents.
Once a prisoner is released, they are offered help from New Life Church. There are sewing classes, cooking classes and other opportunities to learn trades as well as ministry to street kids and folks who are still in prison. The church has even provided housing, food and clothing for many of the released prisoners.
Six years ago, New Life Church bought part of a TV tube factory and have slowly been changing it into a usable church. They began meeting in the building without heat and worshiped there for five years without heat!!! How many of us would continue to go to church in an unheated building? Misha said they didn't lose any members from the lack of heat! What dedication these saints have to the Lord. The majority of the work done on the church is being accomplished by former prisoners who volunteer their time and give their own money to buy the materials. These people have jobs but they are so grateful to have normal lives, they give 90% of their income to the church and live off 10%! Hmmmm I think we could learn a lot from them!
Sunday morning our team went to worship at New Life Church. The place was packed after our team of 30+ walked in the doors. Thankfully, the worship area is heated now and they even had an overhead projector with the words to the songs in Ukrainian and English! The Ukrainian alphabet is slightly different than the Russian alphabet so it was very difficult to read the words in Ukrainian. I sang in English with the rest of the team. During the worship time, I was deeply moved by the fact that we were all worshiping together, singing the same songs, just different words. It occurred to me God heard our voices as one Praise offered up to Him. Worshiping with brothers and sisters in Christ in a foreign culture is one of the sweetest experiences one can have. There is perfect unity, joy and fellowship around the Lord, no language needed! The Spirit of Christ was overflowing in that place.
A man named Volodia got up and told about his former life as a drug addict, alcoholic and criminal. He met Pastor Misha when he was in prison and turned his life over to Jesus Christ. He spent many years in prison but is now free from all addictions, is married and has four children. Volodia is also a Gideon!! Two members of our team gave testimonies about their lives and how they met Jesus then our team sang some songs in English for the congregation. The last song we sang was one they all knew so they joined us in singing the chorus (in Ukrainian of course). My wonderful friend and former room mate, Dr Jean Thur, gave the gospel presentation and her husband, John, prayed.
Then Aaron, a new member of our team gave a sermon. Aaron is 32 years old, a dairy farmer from Pennsylvania and father of six children! Six months ago, his wife died of breast cancer. Aaron is a soft spoken man with an incredible grasp of reality and who he is in Christ. I am amazed at his spiritual maturity, understanding of scripture and his outlook on life. He does not see himslef as a victim at all but is strong in his faith and is moving forward with his life in spite of the horrible tragedy of losing his precious wife.
At the end of the service a sweet young girl came up and played the Bandura and sang. The Bandura is a stringed instrument kind of like a harp but it sits on the lap. It has many strings but also has a wooden back like an auto harp without the fret boards. Like an 60 string guitar!! www.bandura.org/bandura.htm
After church we were assigned to a family to go to their home for lunch.
The family my group was assigned to just happened to be the family of the 13 year old girl who sang and played the Bandura. We took taxi's to their flat and were ushered into a wonderful smell and warm hospitality. The table was all set and we sat down to a fabulous feast of two kinds of salads, borsh, mounds of mashed potatoes (yum!) and chicken. There were other goodies on the table such as home made pickles, pickled peppers and sausage and cheese plate. We stuffed ourselves and then they brought out the strawberry ice cream!! The best part was the fellowship with Nadiya and Uri the parents of Katya who played the Bandura at church. We talked about everything under the sun and Uri did his best to speak as much English as possible. Actually he did quite well.
One of my favorite things to talk about is how people who grew up under Communism come to faith in Jesus Christ. Nadiya started going to church because their oldest son had been invited and was going several times a week. She went to church to see what her son was involved in and just kept going, that was 10 years ago! Uri said he hasn't "repented" yet because he didn't think he could give up his occasional smoking and drinking! We reassured him that God doesn't expect someone to "clean themselves up" before they come to Him. I relayed the story of the young man who came to live with us at age 19 who was suicidal and in a lot of trouble. I showed him the pictures of Dave before Jesus and after! He was very touched by the testimony.
The hours flew by and before we knew it the church van was there to pick us up and take us back to the hotel. It was a wonderful day!
That's all for this evening. I stayed in tonight although most everyone else went out for dinner. We went way out in the countryside again today and I must have eaten something that wasn't happy staying in my body for long! Enough said! We did get our daily manna today but only for a short time (snow that is).
Tomorrow we have two more visits to orphanages and then an adult prison on Thursday. Friday we must say goodbye to L'viv and the lovely people of Ukraine until next time.
Many blessings to you. Please continue to pray for good health for our team. Several are still struggling with illness and one has a strained back.
Do-po-bachen-ya (good bye in Ukrainian)
Love,
Dasha
Misha visits each new prisoner to find out what brought them there and if they have any family connections. 85% of the young people who go to prison have no one on the outside who cares about them or helps them in any way. New Life Church supports over 50 boys in prison who have no parents.
Once a prisoner is released, they are offered help from New Life Church. There are sewing classes, cooking classes and other opportunities to learn trades as well as ministry to street kids and folks who are still in prison. The church has even provided housing, food and clothing for many of the released prisoners.
Six years ago, New Life Church bought part of a TV tube factory and have slowly been changing it into a usable church. They began meeting in the building without heat and worshiped there for five years without heat!!! How many of us would continue to go to church in an unheated building? Misha said they didn't lose any members from the lack of heat! What dedication these saints have to the Lord. The majority of the work done on the church is being accomplished by former prisoners who volunteer their time and give their own money to buy the materials. These people have jobs but they are so grateful to have normal lives, they give 90% of their income to the church and live off 10%! Hmmmm I think we could learn a lot from them!
Sunday morning our team went to worship at New Life Church. The place was packed after our team of 30+ walked in the doors. Thankfully, the worship area is heated now and they even had an overhead projector with the words to the songs in Ukrainian and English! The Ukrainian alphabet is slightly different than the Russian alphabet so it was very difficult to read the words in Ukrainian. I sang in English with the rest of the team. During the worship time, I was deeply moved by the fact that we were all worshiping together, singing the same songs, just different words. It occurred to me God heard our voices as one Praise offered up to Him. Worshiping with brothers and sisters in Christ in a foreign culture is one of the sweetest experiences one can have. There is perfect unity, joy and fellowship around the Lord, no language needed! The Spirit of Christ was overflowing in that place.
A man named Volodia got up and told about his former life as a drug addict, alcoholic and criminal. He met Pastor Misha when he was in prison and turned his life over to Jesus Christ. He spent many years in prison but is now free from all addictions, is married and has four children. Volodia is also a Gideon!! Two members of our team gave testimonies about their lives and how they met Jesus then our team sang some songs in English for the congregation. The last song we sang was one they all knew so they joined us in singing the chorus (in Ukrainian of course). My wonderful friend and former room mate, Dr Jean Thur, gave the gospel presentation and her husband, John, prayed.
Then Aaron, a new member of our team gave a sermon. Aaron is 32 years old, a dairy farmer from Pennsylvania and father of six children! Six months ago, his wife died of breast cancer. Aaron is a soft spoken man with an incredible grasp of reality and who he is in Christ. I am amazed at his spiritual maturity, understanding of scripture and his outlook on life. He does not see himslef as a victim at all but is strong in his faith and is moving forward with his life in spite of the horrible tragedy of losing his precious wife.
At the end of the service a sweet young girl came up and played the Bandura and sang. The Bandura is a stringed instrument kind of like a harp but it sits on the lap. It has many strings but also has a wooden back like an auto harp without the fret boards. Like an 60 string guitar!! www.bandura.org/bandura.htm
After church we were assigned to a family to go to their home for lunch.
The family my group was assigned to just happened to be the family of the 13 year old girl who sang and played the Bandura. We took taxi's to their flat and were ushered into a wonderful smell and warm hospitality. The table was all set and we sat down to a fabulous feast of two kinds of salads, borsh, mounds of mashed potatoes (yum!) and chicken. There were other goodies on the table such as home made pickles, pickled peppers and sausage and cheese plate. We stuffed ourselves and then they brought out the strawberry ice cream!! The best part was the fellowship with Nadiya and Uri the parents of Katya who played the Bandura at church. We talked about everything under the sun and Uri did his best to speak as much English as possible. Actually he did quite well.
One of my favorite things to talk about is how people who grew up under Communism come to faith in Jesus Christ. Nadiya started going to church because their oldest son had been invited and was going several times a week. She went to church to see what her son was involved in and just kept going, that was 10 years ago! Uri said he hasn't "repented" yet because he didn't think he could give up his occasional smoking and drinking! We reassured him that God doesn't expect someone to "clean themselves up" before they come to Him. I relayed the story of the young man who came to live with us at age 19 who was suicidal and in a lot of trouble. I showed him the pictures of Dave before Jesus and after! He was very touched by the testimony.
The hours flew by and before we knew it the church van was there to pick us up and take us back to the hotel. It was a wonderful day!
That's all for this evening. I stayed in tonight although most everyone else went out for dinner. We went way out in the countryside again today and I must have eaten something that wasn't happy staying in my body for long! Enough said! We did get our daily manna today but only for a short time (snow that is).
Tomorrow we have two more visits to orphanages and then an adult prison on Thursday. Friday we must say goodbye to L'viv and the lovely people of Ukraine until next time.
Many blessings to you. Please continue to pray for good health for our team. Several are still struggling with illness and one has a strained back.
Do-po-bachen-ya (good bye in Ukrainian)
Love,
Dasha
February 2 - Boarding school in Krakovets, Ukraine
We drove two hours to the border of Poland to a boarding school in a small village called Krakovets. The sleepy little village had many abandoned buildings which were falling in on themselves. As the bus headed down the narrow roads of melting snow and mud we became the spectacle of the day in our red and silver tour bus. The road became too narrow to continue to the school, so the driver stopped at an intersection and let our bus captain out to go visit the director. As we waited on the bus, we did the usual things like singing and praying for the meeting and the children who live at the school.
A small group of curious people were gathering outside the bus so some of us decided to go out and talk to them. They were elderly men and women with big, gold tooth grins and worn clothing. We gave them gospel bracelets, books (More Than A Carpenter) some hygiene care-packs and items from our sack lunches. They were very grateful for the gifts and gave hugs, kisses and blessings as they went about their business for the day. One of our guys, Palmer, was handing out More Than A Carpenter Books on the street when a small red car rolled by and came to a stop. The driver rolled his window down and stuck his hand out for a book! The people here are hungry for Truth!
Since this was Friday, most of the kids at the boarding school had gone home for the weekend, all that was left was a small group of orphans. It was a little disappointing after such a long trip but we knew God sent us there so we went in and ministered to the orphans.
The building was literally falling apart on the outside and the inside. Some renovations had been done like new windows in a few rooms but there was much more that needed attention. Removal of ice from sidewalks an driveways is not something that is considered necessary in Ukraine. Sometimes, the walk to the building can be quite an adventure in itself carrying backpacks and bags of presentation materials and gifts. We held on to each other and inched our way over the icy surfaces, doing the "old geezer shuffle" as one of our team members so tactfully put it.
The smell of the bathrooms greeted us as we entered the building which is a common thing in these types of schools. That on top of cabbage cooking was enough to send some of our group back outside for a breath of fresh air. Bathrooms and plumbing are major issues for most institutions of this kind. After a short tour, we were taken to a large room to meet with the kids. They were totally engrossed in a cartoon blaring on the small television in the corner of the room. There were as many of us as there were orphans so we had a good ratio for interaction.
We did a group presentation with testimony and Dave (bus captain) asked me to do the Gospel presentation. I'm fine in a small group setting but doing this in front of my team mates is always intimidating. But God is very good and I felt His spirit giving me just the right words for these children to hear. When you give the gospel message there is always one or two in the crowd that catch your eye. This time it was two teenage boys who seemed riveted to the message. Every time I would look in their direction, they smiled and nodded affirmation. My friend, John Thur lead the prayer afterwords and then we gave out Carepacks with backpacks. The kids were delighted as we mingled among them, giving smile stickers, making balloon animals and distributing other small gifts from our group members.
The two teenage boys wanted to visit with me so I got the interpreter to help. They were 15 and 16 years old and wanted to have their picture taken with me. They said they enjoyed the message very much and were so glad we had come to visit them.
One of the girls sitting in the back of the room was sullen and did not smile at all during our formal presentation, in fact she kept hiding her head! As we mingled with the kids, one of our ladies went back to talk with her. As they shared together, the girl warmed up and began to smile. By the time we left the girl was laughing, engaging in conversation and even hugged some of the ladies she was talking with. The change in her countenance was amazing! It is always a miracle to me to see how personal contact will bring down walls with a person.
There was also a sweet little downs syndrome child who could not speak sitting quietly in his chair. Tawny, one of our twelve year old team mates, sat down next to him and played with him the entire time we had after the formal presentation. She patiently sat there with him, holding his hand and talking to him. It was very touching and he responded well with smiles and affection.
We made our way back out of the building, over the ice covered path and back to the waiting bus. A collection was taken on the bus and we raised money to help buy new beds and new windows for the school. Pastor Misha will oversee the purchase of these items for the school.
Please pray for the seeds of faith that were planted in these children's hearts and for restoration of their broken lives. Their stories are enough to make even the strongest person cry.
Blessings to each of you from our wonderful Lord, Jesus Christ.
Dasha
A small group of curious people were gathering outside the bus so some of us decided to go out and talk to them. They were elderly men and women with big, gold tooth grins and worn clothing. We gave them gospel bracelets, books (More Than A Carpenter) some hygiene care-packs and items from our sack lunches. They were very grateful for the gifts and gave hugs, kisses and blessings as they went about their business for the day. One of our guys, Palmer, was handing out More Than A Carpenter Books on the street when a small red car rolled by and came to a stop. The driver rolled his window down and stuck his hand out for a book! The people here are hungry for Truth!
Since this was Friday, most of the kids at the boarding school had gone home for the weekend, all that was left was a small group of orphans. It was a little disappointing after such a long trip but we knew God sent us there so we went in and ministered to the orphans.
The building was literally falling apart on the outside and the inside. Some renovations had been done like new windows in a few rooms but there was much more that needed attention. Removal of ice from sidewalks an driveways is not something that is considered necessary in Ukraine. Sometimes, the walk to the building can be quite an adventure in itself carrying backpacks and bags of presentation materials and gifts. We held on to each other and inched our way over the icy surfaces, doing the "old geezer shuffle" as one of our team members so tactfully put it.
The smell of the bathrooms greeted us as we entered the building which is a common thing in these types of schools. That on top of cabbage cooking was enough to send some of our group back outside for a breath of fresh air. Bathrooms and plumbing are major issues for most institutions of this kind. After a short tour, we were taken to a large room to meet with the kids. They were totally engrossed in a cartoon blaring on the small television in the corner of the room. There were as many of us as there were orphans so we had a good ratio for interaction.
We did a group presentation with testimony and Dave (bus captain) asked me to do the Gospel presentation. I'm fine in a small group setting but doing this in front of my team mates is always intimidating. But God is very good and I felt His spirit giving me just the right words for these children to hear. When you give the gospel message there is always one or two in the crowd that catch your eye. This time it was two teenage boys who seemed riveted to the message. Every time I would look in their direction, they smiled and nodded affirmation. My friend, John Thur lead the prayer afterwords and then we gave out Carepacks with backpacks. The kids were delighted as we mingled among them, giving smile stickers, making balloon animals and distributing other small gifts from our group members.
The two teenage boys wanted to visit with me so I got the interpreter to help. They were 15 and 16 years old and wanted to have their picture taken with me. They said they enjoyed the message very much and were so glad we had come to visit them.
One of the girls sitting in the back of the room was sullen and did not smile at all during our formal presentation, in fact she kept hiding her head! As we mingled with the kids, one of our ladies went back to talk with her. As they shared together, the girl warmed up and began to smile. By the time we left the girl was laughing, engaging in conversation and even hugged some of the ladies she was talking with. The change in her countenance was amazing! It is always a miracle to me to see how personal contact will bring down walls with a person.
There was also a sweet little downs syndrome child who could not speak sitting quietly in his chair. Tawny, one of our twelve year old team mates, sat down next to him and played with him the entire time we had after the formal presentation. She patiently sat there with him, holding his hand and talking to him. It was very touching and he responded well with smiles and affection.
We made our way back out of the building, over the ice covered path and back to the waiting bus. A collection was taken on the bus and we raised money to help buy new beds and new windows for the school. Pastor Misha will oversee the purchase of these items for the school.
Please pray for the seeds of faith that were planted in these children's hearts and for restoration of their broken lives. Their stories are enough to make even the strongest person cry.
Blessings to each of you from our wonderful Lord, Jesus Christ.
Dasha
February 2 - Home for mentally disabled women
It seems the days and nights just keep rolling by and I have so little time to sit down and write about all the wonderful things God is doing here with our team! I am picking the best stories out to share with you so understand there is MUCH more happening here than what is written about.
We visited a home for mentally handicapped women ages 17 - 92. There were about 100 women living there as well as a few men residents. We drove way out in the country side to a small village on the ice and snow covered highways. You can imagine if the highways are covered with ice and snow, how the roads in the village are. We found the location and the bus driver (mind you, this is a huge tour bus) tried to get on the small road that lead back to the facility. The bus got stuck and started to slide sideways off the road. It was the big event of the village for the day, I'm sure because the men all came running to see if they could help.
This was a farming community so they had plenty of ideas of how to get the monstrous bus back on track. One man even offered to get his tractor and pull us out! We saw the tractor he was offering and were thankful he didn't attempt to pull us because I think it would have been a disaster. The tractor looked at least 50 years old, maybe older! But their hearts were in the right place and finally they got straw and put it under the back wheels. We all moved to the back of the bus, over the wheels and the driver started to rock the bus forward and back as we swayed forward and back in the bus! Finally, it moved and we got out of the ditch!!
That was an adventure in itself but what happened inside was even better! The women's home had been established 300 years ago and for that length of time, had housed many people the public just did not want to deal with or see. There were parts of the building that looked 300 years old like the stairs, the floors and some of the walls! Much of the furnishings were extremely old and many were falling apart. There were layers and layers of linoleum on the floors and a few holes (in the floor itself) which made you wonder if it would even hold you up!
They took us on a tour of the top floor where the ladies lived. It had a regular height ceiling but the doors to the rooms reminded me of Hobbit hole doors they were so low! The beds in the rooms were neatly made with a rug over each one as is the custom in these kinds of institutions. There were a few personal belongings on the walls and in the rooms but for the most part pretty sparse. Some of the rooms held 4 or 5 beds while others had 8 or 10.
After the tour, we were taken to a very steep flight of stairs to climb up to their meeting hall. The precious ladies were seated and waiting for us to come in. As we entered, we went over to shake their hands and love on them a bit. The toothy smiles we got and hugs were priceless. They were overjoyed to have some outside visitors and lapped up the attention. There many levels of mental capacity in that room and some of the ladies appeared to be quite normal.
This site reminded me so much of a place we went to in Kirishi, Russia where hundreds of mentally and physically handicapped men and women lived. They had NEVER had any visitors and the people were so full of joy.
Our team sang some songs and Tawny, our 12 year old gave a testimony about herself. Someone did the Gospel presentation and then we prayed with them. When we finished our part of the presentation, they had a presentation for us! Several of the younger women got up and sang. One girl sang a solo that was absolutely beautiful, we were all in tears. Then to our great surprise, they all stood up (about 100 women) and said the Lord's Prayer, in Ukrainian of course. It blew us away.
We handed out carepacks which contain pens, pencils notebooks toothbrush etc, teddy bears and beautiful hot pink fuzzy slippers! I wish you could have seen the incredible reaction to the teddy bears. They were delighted as they hugged and kissed them. Then we started to mingle with the ladies and give them other little gifts and take pictures. Several people brought Polaroid cameras and began taking pictures. WOW, everybody wanted a picture of themselves with one of us! We had enough cameras and film to get pictures of all the sweet ladies there that wanted a picture.
I had big smiley stickers and was going around putting them on each person. Faces lit up and I got more hugs and kisses than you can imagine. As I made my way down one side of the auditorium, a very sweet little lady in navy blue and red plaid dress came up to me and started to pet my arm. I had a wool cable knit sweater on and she must have liked the texture or something. I turned around and extended my arm to hug her. She smiled which revealed only a few teeth in her mouth and then melted into my arms, rubbing her head on my shoulder like a small child. Her tiny, thin body was glued to mine and she wasn't going to let go. I just loved on her for a long time and she finally stepped back still smiling. She came up to me several more times for additional hugs. I was so touched by her. She could not speak at all but she sure knew about love!
By the time we left we had made 100 new friends and there were many hugs, kisses, smiles and even a few tears as we said our goodbyes and headed out the door. I kept thinking to myself, what if my family took me to a place like that and dropped me off never to return. That was too much for me to consider. We felt sure the director cared about these precious ladies. One of the younger girls even mentioned to an interpreter that the director made sure they had nice clothes.
I really don't know how some of the older ones got up and down those steps but they did. There are some amazingly strong people in Ukraine.
That's it for now, I'm going to bed early tonight to get some much needed rest. Today we drove 2 hours out of L'viv to a small village at the base of the Carpathian mountains. We saw the sun for the first time since we've been here! This is also the first day it did not snow! We started calling the daily snowfall, our manna from heaven!
Blessings to all of you dear friends. Please continue to pray for our team. We have sickness spreading through the team and this is the point in the trip where everyone needs an energy boost to make it to the end!
Love and sunshine smiles from Ukraine,
Dasha
We visited a home for mentally handicapped women ages 17 - 92. There were about 100 women living there as well as a few men residents. We drove way out in the country side to a small village on the ice and snow covered highways. You can imagine if the highways are covered with ice and snow, how the roads in the village are. We found the location and the bus driver (mind you, this is a huge tour bus) tried to get on the small road that lead back to the facility. The bus got stuck and started to slide sideways off the road. It was the big event of the village for the day, I'm sure because the men all came running to see if they could help.
This was a farming community so they had plenty of ideas of how to get the monstrous bus back on track. One man even offered to get his tractor and pull us out! We saw the tractor he was offering and were thankful he didn't attempt to pull us because I think it would have been a disaster. The tractor looked at least 50 years old, maybe older! But their hearts were in the right place and finally they got straw and put it under the back wheels. We all moved to the back of the bus, over the wheels and the driver started to rock the bus forward and back as we swayed forward and back in the bus! Finally, it moved and we got out of the ditch!!
That was an adventure in itself but what happened inside was even better! The women's home had been established 300 years ago and for that length of time, had housed many people the public just did not want to deal with or see. There were parts of the building that looked 300 years old like the stairs, the floors and some of the walls! Much of the furnishings were extremely old and many were falling apart. There were layers and layers of linoleum on the floors and a few holes (in the floor itself) which made you wonder if it would even hold you up!
They took us on a tour of the top floor where the ladies lived. It had a regular height ceiling but the doors to the rooms reminded me of Hobbit hole doors they were so low! The beds in the rooms were neatly made with a rug over each one as is the custom in these kinds of institutions. There were a few personal belongings on the walls and in the rooms but for the most part pretty sparse. Some of the rooms held 4 or 5 beds while others had 8 or 10.
After the tour, we were taken to a very steep flight of stairs to climb up to their meeting hall. The precious ladies were seated and waiting for us to come in. As we entered, we went over to shake their hands and love on them a bit. The toothy smiles we got and hugs were priceless. They were overjoyed to have some outside visitors and lapped up the attention. There many levels of mental capacity in that room and some of the ladies appeared to be quite normal.
This site reminded me so much of a place we went to in Kirishi, Russia where hundreds of mentally and physically handicapped men and women lived. They had NEVER had any visitors and the people were so full of joy.
Our team sang some songs and Tawny, our 12 year old gave a testimony about herself. Someone did the Gospel presentation and then we prayed with them. When we finished our part of the presentation, they had a presentation for us! Several of the younger women got up and sang. One girl sang a solo that was absolutely beautiful, we were all in tears. Then to our great surprise, they all stood up (about 100 women) and said the Lord's Prayer, in Ukrainian of course. It blew us away.
We handed out carepacks which contain pens, pencils notebooks toothbrush etc, teddy bears and beautiful hot pink fuzzy slippers! I wish you could have seen the incredible reaction to the teddy bears. They were delighted as they hugged and kissed them. Then we started to mingle with the ladies and give them other little gifts and take pictures. Several people brought Polaroid cameras and began taking pictures. WOW, everybody wanted a picture of themselves with one of us! We had enough cameras and film to get pictures of all the sweet ladies there that wanted a picture.
I had big smiley stickers and was going around putting them on each person. Faces lit up and I got more hugs and kisses than you can imagine. As I made my way down one side of the auditorium, a very sweet little lady in navy blue and red plaid dress came up to me and started to pet my arm. I had a wool cable knit sweater on and she must have liked the texture or something. I turned around and extended my arm to hug her. She smiled which revealed only a few teeth in her mouth and then melted into my arms, rubbing her head on my shoulder like a small child. Her tiny, thin body was glued to mine and she wasn't going to let go. I just loved on her for a long time and she finally stepped back still smiling. She came up to me several more times for additional hugs. I was so touched by her. She could not speak at all but she sure knew about love!
By the time we left we had made 100 new friends and there were many hugs, kisses, smiles and even a few tears as we said our goodbyes and headed out the door. I kept thinking to myself, what if my family took me to a place like that and dropped me off never to return. That was too much for me to consider. We felt sure the director cared about these precious ladies. One of the younger girls even mentioned to an interpreter that the director made sure they had nice clothes.
I really don't know how some of the older ones got up and down those steps but they did. There are some amazingly strong people in Ukraine.
That's it for now, I'm going to bed early tonight to get some much needed rest. Today we drove 2 hours out of L'viv to a small village at the base of the Carpathian mountains. We saw the sun for the first time since we've been here! This is also the first day it did not snow! We started calling the daily snowfall, our manna from heaven!
Blessings to all of you dear friends. Please continue to pray for our team. We have sickness spreading through the team and this is the point in the trip where everyone needs an energy boost to make it to the end!
Love and sunshine smiles from Ukraine,
Dasha
February 1 - Visit to a boy's prison
February 1st marked second visit to a boy's prison since I've been coming on these trips. The contrast between this prison in Ukraine and the prison in Russia was incredible. The boys prison in Russia was like going to a prison camp, complete with exposed, leaking pipes, dark, dank rooms and little sunlight. It was the most depressing place I've ever been in. Our whole team cried, (including the men) when we left that boy's prison in Russia. The hopelessness of the children in that place was overwhelming.
Fast forward six years to Ukraine. Our group was ushered into a set of four locked grid type doors as we made our way into the prison complex in groups of Seven. After the final door, we stepped into a courtyard that was beautiful. It hardly looked like a prison with brightly painted murals on the walls of the prison and buildings that were in good repair.
We entered the main building and went up stairs to the living quarters where the boys who are going to be released in six months are housed. The walls were painted white and above each doorway were hand painted flowers just like what you would see in a country house. There were nice curtains on the windows and the rooms were bright and cheerful. Each bedroom had rows of neatly made beds with teddy bears or other stuffed animals on them! It was so refreshing. These boys were kept separate from the other boys who were still serving time. The commander of the prison told us they try to prepare the boys for life outside the prison sixmonths before they are released.
This was an Austrian prison built over one hundred years ago. The commander of the prison told us the boys go to school, learn a trade and work while they are there. There is a metal factory where the older boys work during the day. We saw the classrooms and the computer lab which were both well equipped. The boys in this prison range from fourteen to twenty years old.
In the other part of the prison were the rooms where the boys slept, the school rooms and computer lab. We climbed up to the third floor and noticed metal grids covering the space between each floor and the stairway so no one could jump down and commit suicide. That was kind of creepy but good to know they were protecting the lives of the boys.
The rooms where the boys slept in this part of the prison were small, only four to a room (no stuffed animals on the beds). Even this side of the prison was well kept and had nice curtains on the windows. In the hallway were huge boards with information on them. One was full of Bible stories, one with poetry and one with patriotic information about Ukraine. There was nothing depressing about this prison. It was obvious someone cared a lot about treating these kids as human beings.
We gathered in the auditorium which was beautifully painted and stenciled. The boys sat in the back of the auditorium with guards in the rows in front of them. They wore green uniforms, not the traditional black which is very shameful for them. Each one was clean and well groomed. Quite a contrast to what we saw in Russia.
Our team stood on the stage and the commander of the prison announced we would be bringing the "Word of God"to them! We were very surprised to hear such words coming from his mouth. There was a musical group with us who do ministry at this prison regularly. They sang some songs and then we sang a few in English. Suzanne gave her testimony and Dave (our leader) asked me to do the Gospel message. I agreed to do it but then he came back a few minutes later and said they needed a guy to do it. So my friend, Gary gave the Gospel message and did a fabulous job relating his own story in with the Gospel.
I watched the faces of the young men as Gary spoke about God's love and how he changes lives for the better. There were three reactions. Some listened intently and nodded their heads, some got bored after only a couple of minutes and one was sound asleep! After Gary spoke a young man named Uri gave his testimony. Uri had been in prison there for a number of years and then in an adult prison for a total of eight years. He decided that was not the direction he wanted his life to go in so he invited Jesus into his life and made and about face turn. He has been out of prison for three years now and offered to help any one in that prison after they got out. He is active in a church, has a job and has made all new friends.
After the program was finished, the regional director of all prisons in Ukraine came on the stage and thanked us for coming and bringing aid to the prisoners. We brought food, carepacks and Bibles to the boys. He acknowledged that the prisons which had strong Christian influences in them were much more successful than those that didn't. He said fewer people return to prison if they have been in a prison that had a strong Christian ministry.
Wow, those were refreshing words to hear and so unexpected. The USA could learn a lot from these people! At the end, they gave us some gifts which had been hand made by the boys. Some were embroidered pictures, some painted and some carved.
It was a rewarding and positive experience. The boys in the auditorium participated in all of the songs and seemed to have a great time. We were not allowed to mingle with them or talk to them but they could see our faces and I'm sure the could feel the love we each carried in our hearts for them.
Please pray that the seeds which were planted there will be nurtured and the ones who committed their lives to Christ will grow in their faith.
That's it for now, I'm pretty tired. We had a full day and went out for our cultural event tonight.
Still snowing in L'viv,
Dasha
Fast forward six years to Ukraine. Our group was ushered into a set of four locked grid type doors as we made our way into the prison complex in groups of Seven. After the final door, we stepped into a courtyard that was beautiful. It hardly looked like a prison with brightly painted murals on the walls of the prison and buildings that were in good repair.
We entered the main building and went up stairs to the living quarters where the boys who are going to be released in six months are housed. The walls were painted white and above each doorway were hand painted flowers just like what you would see in a country house. There were nice curtains on the windows and the rooms were bright and cheerful. Each bedroom had rows of neatly made beds with teddy bears or other stuffed animals on them! It was so refreshing. These boys were kept separate from the other boys who were still serving time. The commander of the prison told us they try to prepare the boys for life outside the prison sixmonths before they are released.
This was an Austrian prison built over one hundred years ago. The commander of the prison told us the boys go to school, learn a trade and work while they are there. There is a metal factory where the older boys work during the day. We saw the classrooms and the computer lab which were both well equipped. The boys in this prison range from fourteen to twenty years old.
In the other part of the prison were the rooms where the boys slept, the school rooms and computer lab. We climbed up to the third floor and noticed metal grids covering the space between each floor and the stairway so no one could jump down and commit suicide. That was kind of creepy but good to know they were protecting the lives of the boys.
The rooms where the boys slept in this part of the prison were small, only four to a room (no stuffed animals on the beds). Even this side of the prison was well kept and had nice curtains on the windows. In the hallway were huge boards with information on them. One was full of Bible stories, one with poetry and one with patriotic information about Ukraine. There was nothing depressing about this prison. It was obvious someone cared a lot about treating these kids as human beings.
We gathered in the auditorium which was beautifully painted and stenciled. The boys sat in the back of the auditorium with guards in the rows in front of them. They wore green uniforms, not the traditional black which is very shameful for them. Each one was clean and well groomed. Quite a contrast to what we saw in Russia.
Our team stood on the stage and the commander of the prison announced we would be bringing the "Word of God"to them! We were very surprised to hear such words coming from his mouth. There was a musical group with us who do ministry at this prison regularly. They sang some songs and then we sang a few in English. Suzanne gave her testimony and Dave (our leader) asked me to do the Gospel message. I agreed to do it but then he came back a few minutes later and said they needed a guy to do it. So my friend, Gary gave the Gospel message and did a fabulous job relating his own story in with the Gospel.
I watched the faces of the young men as Gary spoke about God's love and how he changes lives for the better. There were three reactions. Some listened intently and nodded their heads, some got bored after only a couple of minutes and one was sound asleep! After Gary spoke a young man named Uri gave his testimony. Uri had been in prison there for a number of years and then in an adult prison for a total of eight years. He decided that was not the direction he wanted his life to go in so he invited Jesus into his life and made and about face turn. He has been out of prison for three years now and offered to help any one in that prison after they got out. He is active in a church, has a job and has made all new friends.
After the program was finished, the regional director of all prisons in Ukraine came on the stage and thanked us for coming and bringing aid to the prisoners. We brought food, carepacks and Bibles to the boys. He acknowledged that the prisons which had strong Christian influences in them were much more successful than those that didn't. He said fewer people return to prison if they have been in a prison that had a strong Christian ministry.
Wow, those were refreshing words to hear and so unexpected. The USA could learn a lot from these people! At the end, they gave us some gifts which had been hand made by the boys. Some were embroidered pictures, some painted and some carved.
It was a rewarding and positive experience. The boys in the auditorium participated in all of the songs and seemed to have a great time. We were not allowed to mingle with them or talk to them but they could see our faces and I'm sure the could feel the love we each carried in our hearts for them.
Please pray that the seeds which were planted there will be nurtured and the ones who committed their lives to Christ will grow in their faith.
That's it for now, I'm pretty tired. We had a full day and went out for our cultural event tonight.
Still snowing in L'viv,
Dasha
February 1 - Birthday in Ukraine
Please excuse the long delay for sending messages to you! We have been extremely busy and there has been little time to sit down and write!
First, thanks to everyone who sent Birthday greetings! My birthday was a lot of fun and we celebrated in many ways. Wednesday night, John, Jean, Gary and I went out for dinner with Tatiana, a woman we met on the plane. Tatiana took us to a Ukrainian restaurant called the Seven Piglets. It was decorated in folk Ukrainian style, very rustic and incredibly quaint. When we walked in the door there were musicians dressed in traditional Ukrainian costumes playing folk music. It was a lively atmosphere and very cozy. We sat in a room that was down a short flight of stairs where there were only four tables. The walls were white stucco with painted floral designs over the timbers and the ceiling was timber and brick. It was a lovely evening getting to know Tatiana and fellow-shipping over candlelight and delicious Ukrainian borsh and other traditional foods. At one point the musicians came down to our room and played several songs just for us!
Tatiana is an American citizen with parents who are full Ukrainian. She grew up speaking Ukrainian at home and went to Saturday school to learn to read and write Ukrainian. She now lives here and works at the Greek Catholic Church regional office doing translation work. Tatiana explained that the Greek Catholic Church has just emerged back from being underground during Soviet times. They were heavily persecuted and met in homes just as many of the protestant churches did. Greek Catholics have the traditions and rituals of the Orthodox Church but are considered Catholic by Rome. It was quite an education talking to Tatiana about her faith and life in Ukraine.
Her parents bought a flat here about ten years ago which she is now living in. She has relatives here who she sees regularly and helps them with their garden. They still carry water by bucket to water the garden and dig potatoes with a shovel. It is back breaking work and Tatiana is trying to figure out a way to get some irrigation into the garden for her family. Evidently the garden is quite large. She thinks it is about the length of a football field and a third of a football field wide.
Tatiana is a very gentle person with a huge heart. We shared our faith with her and told her what we do here. She was eager to get some gospel bracelets to share with others and really liked the central message of the gospel that we share with people.
On Thursday was my birthday and when I got on the bus there were two Happy Birthday banner signs up! My interpreter, Alla, brought me a box of chocolates and a darling little angel ornament. How could she possibly have known I collect angels?? It was a God thing! Everyone sang Happy Birthday to me on the bus and later that evening they surprised me at dinner with a bunch of big sunflowers and two cakes! The cakes were a chocolate torte with yummy cream between each layer and a white torte with fruit all over the top and between the layers.
All in all it was a grand Birthday Celebration!
Well, it is time for prayer so I'll be back to tell you more about our visits to see children and prisoners later.
Thanks so much for all of your prayers. We have several more people who have gotten sick. Please pray for healing and for protection for the rest of the team. I have a slight sore throat but feel OK. I may stay in tomorrow, Sunday and rest.
Love from snow covered Ukraine,
Dasha
First, thanks to everyone who sent Birthday greetings! My birthday was a lot of fun and we celebrated in many ways. Wednesday night, John, Jean, Gary and I went out for dinner with Tatiana, a woman we met on the plane. Tatiana took us to a Ukrainian restaurant called the Seven Piglets. It was decorated in folk Ukrainian style, very rustic and incredibly quaint. When we walked in the door there were musicians dressed in traditional Ukrainian costumes playing folk music. It was a lively atmosphere and very cozy. We sat in a room that was down a short flight of stairs where there were only four tables. The walls were white stucco with painted floral designs over the timbers and the ceiling was timber and brick. It was a lovely evening getting to know Tatiana and fellow-shipping over candlelight and delicious Ukrainian borsh and other traditional foods. At one point the musicians came down to our room and played several songs just for us!
Tatiana is an American citizen with parents who are full Ukrainian. She grew up speaking Ukrainian at home and went to Saturday school to learn to read and write Ukrainian. She now lives here and works at the Greek Catholic Church regional office doing translation work. Tatiana explained that the Greek Catholic Church has just emerged back from being underground during Soviet times. They were heavily persecuted and met in homes just as many of the protestant churches did. Greek Catholics have the traditions and rituals of the Orthodox Church but are considered Catholic by Rome. It was quite an education talking to Tatiana about her faith and life in Ukraine.
Her parents bought a flat here about ten years ago which she is now living in. She has relatives here who she sees regularly and helps them with their garden. They still carry water by bucket to water the garden and dig potatoes with a shovel. It is back breaking work and Tatiana is trying to figure out a way to get some irrigation into the garden for her family. Evidently the garden is quite large. She thinks it is about the length of a football field and a third of a football field wide.
Tatiana is a very gentle person with a huge heart. We shared our faith with her and told her what we do here. She was eager to get some gospel bracelets to share with others and really liked the central message of the gospel that we share with people.
On Thursday was my birthday and when I got on the bus there were two Happy Birthday banner signs up! My interpreter, Alla, brought me a box of chocolates and a darling little angel ornament. How could she possibly have known I collect angels?? It was a God thing! Everyone sang Happy Birthday to me on the bus and later that evening they surprised me at dinner with a bunch of big sunflowers and two cakes! The cakes were a chocolate torte with yummy cream between each layer and a white torte with fruit all over the top and between the layers.
All in all it was a grand Birthday Celebration!
Well, it is time for prayer so I'll be back to tell you more about our visits to see children and prisoners later.
Thanks so much for all of your prayers. We have several more people who have gotten sick. Please pray for healing and for protection for the rest of the team. I have a slight sore throat but feel OK. I may stay in tomorrow, Sunday and rest.
Love from snow covered Ukraine,
Dasha
January 30th - Visit to a baby house
Tuesday morning our team headed out on the big tour bus to our first two sites. The initial stop was a baby house where there are infants from newborn to age 4. When Oksana, our in country staff person, called to verify the appointment, the director told her only 10 people could come in to see the babies. In faith we all loaded into the bus hoping the director would change her mind once we got there. This is a frequent occurrence.
Dave and Talu (our bus captains) went in with Oksana and the media people to visit with the director. The rest of the team stayed on the bus singing worship songs and praying. Sure enough, they came back and said we could all come in to see the children! Yea God! We took humanitarian aid in the form of clothing, blankets and other essential items. The director spoke of a need they had for cribs that could be used outside so they could take the babies out to play when the weather is nice. We took up an offering on the bus and raised enough money to buy a good number of cribs for them!!
My group was taken up some very rickety old stairs that curved around in a dark hall to the second floor. There were three rooms in this unit with different age children. The first room was small with about 6 cribs. There was one young woman taking care of the babies who basically lie in bed all day long. They were dressed in warm clothes and tucked into their beds, tightly, with blankets. There was a set of twins, both girls and a couple of other tiny not very healthy looking babies in that room. We were told not to touch them but we stood by their cribs and talked to them trying to get a response. They really didn't respond like a normal child would which was hard to deal with.
The next room had 5 older babies around 8-9 months. There was another set of twins, a boy and a girl, who were sitting in bouncy seats on the floor. The little boy wanted out really bad and started to cry. Instinctively I walked over to the one that was crying to try to soothe him. He reached out and I just had to pick him up! No one said anything so the others on the team spread out and picked up the other babies. They were so cute but we didn't get to stay long in that room. All too soon they herded us into the third room where there were children from 1-3 years old.
The third room was a much bigger room and there were quite a few children in there.
There were four workers in that room looking after the babies. One woman was holding a little boy that had no arms. He was a live wire and full of life. Having no arms did not stop him from doing anything he wanted! He had short legs with relatively normal feet but only had 4 toes on each foot. They sat him on the floor and took his socks off then place an electronic keyboard toy that had a lot of buttons on it in front of him. He immediately began to "play" the keyboard with his toes and push the other sound buttons with his chin! He laughed and had a wonderful time playing. His attitude was incredible and we all remarked that his disability would probably not stop him from doing many things in life.
There was a small child sitting on the floor just watching everyone and rocking back and forth with two small toys in her hands. She was not smiling so I sat down on the floor next to her and started talking to her. Then I started rubbing her back and soon she held out her arms and wanted to be picked up. I scooped her up in my lap and cuddled her, then turned her around so she could see my face. She was strong and could stand on my legs and bounce a little. I asked the caregivers what her name was. It was Marianna. Marianna and I spent the next 30 minutes together laughing and playing. It wasn't long before she was smiling and cooing, while showing me her little front and bottom teeth. She had soft brown hair and beautiful brownish green eyes. Her little face lit up when she smiled and she seemed so at home in my arms. Another team member wanted to hold her and have me take a picture of them together. I gently handed Marianna over to her and took the camera. The minute she was out of my arms she stopped smiling and started looking very worried. We could not get her to smile at all for a picture. I took her back and spent the rest of the time snuggling with her. All too soon it was time to go. This was one of the hardest things I've done in a long time. It felt like I was leaving one of my own kids behind when we left. I cried like a baby on the way to the bus.
Well it's 10:30 here on Wednesday and I've only told you about one of the four sites we've been to in the past two days! We went out to dinner tonight to a wonderful Ukrainian restaurant called the Seven Piglets. But that's another story!
Thank you for all your prayers and emails of encouragement. We've had two sick team members but they have recovered and we're hoping no one else gets it.
Please pray for good health, openness to the Gospel message and safe travels. The roads are covered with ice and snow and we travel by bus sometimes as much as an hour to get to a site.
Blessings to all of you. I'm having a wonderful time as usual!! By the way, the summer trip here will be to the Carpathian Mountains which are breath taking. Any body interested???
Love and hugs from Ukraine,
Dasha
Dave and Talu (our bus captains) went in with Oksana and the media people to visit with the director. The rest of the team stayed on the bus singing worship songs and praying. Sure enough, they came back and said we could all come in to see the children! Yea God! We took humanitarian aid in the form of clothing, blankets and other essential items. The director spoke of a need they had for cribs that could be used outside so they could take the babies out to play when the weather is nice. We took up an offering on the bus and raised enough money to buy a good number of cribs for them!!
My group was taken up some very rickety old stairs that curved around in a dark hall to the second floor. There were three rooms in this unit with different age children. The first room was small with about 6 cribs. There was one young woman taking care of the babies who basically lie in bed all day long. They were dressed in warm clothes and tucked into their beds, tightly, with blankets. There was a set of twins, both girls and a couple of other tiny not very healthy looking babies in that room. We were told not to touch them but we stood by their cribs and talked to them trying to get a response. They really didn't respond like a normal child would which was hard to deal with.
The next room had 5 older babies around 8-9 months. There was another set of twins, a boy and a girl, who were sitting in bouncy seats on the floor. The little boy wanted out really bad and started to cry. Instinctively I walked over to the one that was crying to try to soothe him. He reached out and I just had to pick him up! No one said anything so the others on the team spread out and picked up the other babies. They were so cute but we didn't get to stay long in that room. All too soon they herded us into the third room where there were children from 1-3 years old.
The third room was a much bigger room and there were quite a few children in there.
There were four workers in that room looking after the babies. One woman was holding a little boy that had no arms. He was a live wire and full of life. Having no arms did not stop him from doing anything he wanted! He had short legs with relatively normal feet but only had 4 toes on each foot. They sat him on the floor and took his socks off then place an electronic keyboard toy that had a lot of buttons on it in front of him. He immediately began to "play" the keyboard with his toes and push the other sound buttons with his chin! He laughed and had a wonderful time playing. His attitude was incredible and we all remarked that his disability would probably not stop him from doing many things in life.
There was a small child sitting on the floor just watching everyone and rocking back and forth with two small toys in her hands. She was not smiling so I sat down on the floor next to her and started talking to her. Then I started rubbing her back and soon she held out her arms and wanted to be picked up. I scooped her up in my lap and cuddled her, then turned her around so she could see my face. She was strong and could stand on my legs and bounce a little. I asked the caregivers what her name was. It was Marianna. Marianna and I spent the next 30 minutes together laughing and playing. It wasn't long before she was smiling and cooing, while showing me her little front and bottom teeth. She had soft brown hair and beautiful brownish green eyes. Her little face lit up when she smiled and she seemed so at home in my arms. Another team member wanted to hold her and have me take a picture of them together. I gently handed Marianna over to her and took the camera. The minute she was out of my arms she stopped smiling and started looking very worried. We could not get her to smile at all for a picture. I took her back and spent the rest of the time snuggling with her. All too soon it was time to go. This was one of the hardest things I've done in a long time. It felt like I was leaving one of my own kids behind when we left. I cried like a baby on the way to the bus.
Well it's 10:30 here on Wednesday and I've only told you about one of the four sites we've been to in the past two days! We went out to dinner tonight to a wonderful Ukrainian restaurant called the Seven Piglets. But that's another story!
Thank you for all your prayers and emails of encouragement. We've had two sick team members but they have recovered and we're hoping no one else gets it.
Please pray for good health, openness to the Gospel message and safe travels. The roads are covered with ice and snow and we travel by bus sometimes as much as an hour to get to a site.
Blessings to all of you. I'm having a wonderful time as usual!! By the way, the summer trip here will be to the Carpathian Mountains which are breath taking. Any body interested???
Love and hugs from Ukraine,
Dasha
January 29th - Orientation
Snyeg ("snow" in Russian) has been falling all night and most of the day.
Fortunately, we had a day of inside activity getting to know each other as team mates and meeting our interpreters. Most of the day was spent practicing our presentations and some briefing on what to expect for the next few days of ministry. We got to meet our interpreters today which is always a joy. My group was assigned the only female interpreter, her name is Alla. Alla is a single mother with an eight year old son (Roman) who became a believer just a few years ago. She is an English teacher (how did I rate to get this one?) and has an excellent command of the language along with a very enthusiastic spirit. I know this will be an excellent week with Alla. Our mission would be totally impossible without our dear interpreters.
The food at this hotel is excellent, in fact they feed us way too much! The dining rooms are super elegant with beautiful long table cloths, fancy fabric drapes on the chairs and candles on each table. They had a fabulous breakfast buffet this morning with just about anything you could imagine.
A few of our team members ventured out this afternoon when the training was over. They did quite a bit of walking and found a chocolate shop among other interesting places to buy things. I stayed in and rested so my old body will be ready for ministry tomorrow.
We are going to two sites tomorrow, one is a baby house where there are children from newborn to 4 years old and the other one is a home for mentally handicapped children.
That's it for tonight, I'm off to play Phase 10 for a while before bed.
Slept pretty well last night and hope to do better tonight! My roomie snores but not too terribly loud! grin :-)
Blessings to each of you and thank you for your prayers. Please pray for a safe journey tomorrow and for open hearts to God's message of love. We have one person who has contracted a cold so prayers for good health are welcome!
From beautiful snow covered L'viv,
Dasha
Fortunately, we had a day of inside activity getting to know each other as team mates and meeting our interpreters. Most of the day was spent practicing our presentations and some briefing on what to expect for the next few days of ministry. We got to meet our interpreters today which is always a joy. My group was assigned the only female interpreter, her name is Alla. Alla is a single mother with an eight year old son (Roman) who became a believer just a few years ago. She is an English teacher (how did I rate to get this one?) and has an excellent command of the language along with a very enthusiastic spirit. I know this will be an excellent week with Alla. Our mission would be totally impossible without our dear interpreters.
The food at this hotel is excellent, in fact they feed us way too much! The dining rooms are super elegant with beautiful long table cloths, fancy fabric drapes on the chairs and candles on each table. They had a fabulous breakfast buffet this morning with just about anything you could imagine.
A few of our team members ventured out this afternoon when the training was over. They did quite a bit of walking and found a chocolate shop among other interesting places to buy things. I stayed in and rested so my old body will be ready for ministry tomorrow.
We are going to two sites tomorrow, one is a baby house where there are children from newborn to 4 years old and the other one is a home for mentally handicapped children.
That's it for tonight, I'm off to play Phase 10 for a while before bed.
Slept pretty well last night and hope to do better tonight! My roomie snores but not too terribly loud! grin :-)
Blessings to each of you and thank you for your prayers. Please pray for a safe journey tomorrow and for open hearts to God's message of love. We have one person who has contracted a cold so prayers for good health are welcome!
From beautiful snow covered L'viv,
Dasha
January 28th - Arrival in Ukraine
We arrived in L'viv, Ukraine this afternoon after several delays from Chicago to Warsaw! However, all the luggage managed to make it except one piece which is a miracle. We have 30 team members and only one lost suitcase! The eye glasses got through customs with no problem and no one even asked about the large sum of cash I was carrying. God is very good. For the first time, I was able to really sleep on the plane last night and have had enough energy to get through the day with a smile!
The airport in L'viv is small and the luggage system is, well, pretty archaic! It was snowing like crazy and there was one little man unloading the bags onto an open truck bed, driving them in loads over to the building and handing through a small door to those inside. They have no conveyor belt. Our men helped sort the luggage after it was handed to them through the little door in the wall.
We got to the hotel and had an hour or so to rest then went to dinner. It is a nice hotel, warm, remodeled and has warm water! YEA! Dinner consisted of beet salad, bread, rice and a fried meat patty with mushrooms and cheese on top. Then there was a fancy little dessert for each person.
Well, I'm exhausted and it's time for bed. Tomorrow we have orientation and meet our interpreters. They are predicting snow every day we are here!
Thanks so much for your prayers, especially for the eyeglasses and money getting through customs! My health and strength is good, so please pray that I am able to do my job and not get tired!
Dus Vee Danya from L'viv
Dasha
The airport in L'viv is small and the luggage system is, well, pretty archaic! It was snowing like crazy and there was one little man unloading the bags onto an open truck bed, driving them in loads over to the building and handing through a small door to those inside. They have no conveyor belt. Our men helped sort the luggage after it was handed to them through the little door in the wall.
We got to the hotel and had an hour or so to rest then went to dinner. It is a nice hotel, warm, remodeled and has warm water! YEA! Dinner consisted of beet salad, bread, rice and a fried meat patty with mushrooms and cheese on top. Then there was a fancy little dessert for each person.
Well, I'm exhausted and it's time for bed. Tomorrow we have orientation and meet our interpreters. They are predicting snow every day we are here!
Thanks so much for your prayers, especially for the eyeglasses and money getting through customs! My health and strength is good, so please pray that I am able to do my job and not get tired!
Dus Vee Danya from L'viv
Dasha
Friday January 26th 2007 - Leaving for Ukraine
Finally! The day has arrived for our team to leave for Ukraine. We will fly from Chicago on Saturday Jan 27Th to Warsaw, Poland. After a brief stop then it's on to our destination, L'viv, Ukraine for another adventure with God. (This is my 9Th year!!)
There are some concerns about customs so please be praying that I can get the 100 pair of reading glasses through without a problem. Our advance team also had a challenge at the airport while here in the States regarding the cash they were taking with them. There are a number of us carrying large sums of cash to pay for hotels, transportation, meals etc for the team. There is no bank system like we have here and as strange as it may seem, they operate strictly on a cash basis! So we have to take cash with us to pay for everything. The ministry spreads out the funds to trusted team members to carry over. As soon as we check into the hotel, the money is turned over to the team leaders! Whew!
Thanks so very much to everyone for your support, prayers, financial contributions and love. Everyone has been exceptionally supportive! The next time you hear from me, God willing, I will be in Ukraine!
See you on the other side!
Love and hugs,
Dasha
There are some concerns about customs so please be praying that I can get the 100 pair of reading glasses through without a problem. Our advance team also had a challenge at the airport while here in the States regarding the cash they were taking with them. There are a number of us carrying large sums of cash to pay for hotels, transportation, meals etc for the team. There is no bank system like we have here and as strange as it may seem, they operate strictly on a cash basis! So we have to take cash with us to pay for everything. The ministry spreads out the funds to trusted team members to carry over. As soon as we check into the hotel, the money is turned over to the team leaders! Whew!
Thanks so very much to everyone for your support, prayers, financial contributions and love. Everyone has been exceptionally supportive! The next time you hear from me, God willing, I will be in Ukraine!
See you on the other side!
Love and hugs,
Dasha
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