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