There are 31 Americans on the Ukraine summer team. We are divided into two bus groups, the Chocolate Bus and the Sonshine Bus. Dan and I are on the Sonshine Bus also known as the Yellow Bus. Tony Fritz is our captain and yours truly is the Co-Captain for this voyage. We have 16 American participants and 6 Ukrainian assistants helping us communicate our message where ever we go. Our dear friend and long time ministry partner, Anya Yezhova, is with us as a tour guide. Anya has been an interpreter and project coordinator many times in the past so she is very familiar with our procedures and is quite passionate about the ministry. We feel very blessed to have these dedicated young people who put themselves aside and serve us all day long in whatever capacity we need. They are wonderful servants with huge hearts. The commitment level of these young believers is an inspiration to all of us. They stay in our hearts for ever and have a lasting impact on our lives.
"Sad Gora" is the second site we went to on July 14Th. It is a hospital of sorts. Sad Gora is a place for children who have TB, are recovering from TB or at high risk to get TB come to live for a relatively short period of time. They receive treatment especially for their immune systems to help their bodies fight off infection. TB is at epidemic proportions in the former Soviet Union as is HIV and other STDs. TB is the number three cause of death in the world. The top two causes of death are Aids and malaria. So you can see why these kind of institutions are important to help keep the population healthy. A few years ago, the statistics indicated only 10% of all babies born in the FSU were considered healthy.
Our group was asked to bring sports equipment for this hospital so we took up a collection among the Yellow Bus participants and purchased soccer balls, bad-mitten sets, various kinds of balls, Frisbees and small bowling sets for the younger children. There are children here from age 3 - 18. Along with the sports equipment we brought other kinds of gifts like care packs (school supplies) beanie babies, hats for the little ones and of course Bibles and other Christian literature.
When we arrived the kids were outside and a number of the older boys came running to the bus to greet us and helped carry the gifts to the hospital. All of the children were outside waiting for us and they had prepared a program for us. Two young ladies dressed in traditional Ukrainian costumes sang several traditional Ukrainian songs and recited poetry. Their picture is above on the left. The kids were then divided into four groups and Dan was assigned to the smallest children. I joined his group because I love to talk to the little ones.
It always amazes me how obedient the Ukrainian children are. The kids were asked to sit on two benches all squeezed together and listen to us put on our little presentation. We started by asking them to tell us their names. I squatted in front of each child, asked their name and gave them a smiley face sticker when they answered. This small act makes each child feel important and recognized. We pulled out our big colorful world map and showed them where we came from and where Ukraine is located. Then we pulled out some hand puppets of farm animals to play a favorite game that goes something like this: In America, the dog says "woof woof" what do Ukrainian dogs say? The kids always laugh and say "guff guff". We then proceed to the cat, the pig, the chicken and finally the cow. In Ukrainian, all the animals except for the cow say something different than American animals. When we get to the cow and say moo, the kids are always surprised because the other animal sounds are so different. We usually agree that American cows must speak Ukrainian since they also say moo like the cows in Ukraine.
We then passed out the gospel bead bracelets and Dan did a fine job of explaining the Gospel to the children using a giant gospel bead bracelet. Each child also received a hat, as seen in the photo on the right, and a beanie baby as well as a children's Bible story book. The kids were so good and sat still to listen for a long time so we pulled out the parachute and started to play games with them. They all wanted to hold on whether there was a handle available or not and we put a beach ball in the center so they could toss it up in the air. Jennifer taught us some other parachute games and the kids had a few twists like throwing the beanie babies up in the air on the parachute while some of them ran underneath. We all had a wonderful time until the children were completely worn out and it was time for us to go.
The goal we have in coming to an institution like this is to bring joy to these children and to introduce them to Jesus Christ. The gifts we give will only last a short time but we believe the seeds of faith that are planted will be nurtured and eventually harvested in due time. We always pray for the children and the care givers when we get back on the bus trusting that God will continue working in each of their lives.
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