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