Hope for Slavayansk

It has been a little over 10 years since I first stepped on to Ukrainian soil. May 11, 2004 was the date. I remember feeling so disoriented, traveling 5,660 miles BY MYSELF to a land where I didn't know the language, the culture or even what to expect.

This was in the days BEFORE Google (ahem, dating myself). What I knew of Ukraine was that it was a former member of the USSR. I had heard in school about bread lines in Russia, people only having one choice for toothpaste in the grocery stores instead of the variety we have in the USA, and to be careful about eye contact and speaking too loudly if I used public transportation. 

I arrived in Ukraine 13 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. In those years, Ukraine had exploded with development. While the soviet way of doing business and dealings was still very much alive (and is in some ways in the older generations), it was a nation being birthed, a preteen coming into its own mind and opinions. 

I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I had landed in a major metropolitan city. Kiev, the capital, was home to 3 million people with all the amenities of a major city like New York or London. It was heaven on earth to my 20 year old tastes and likes! It was nothing from what I had learned about in school. I thrived in that city, in my job and in my new home. The richness of the culture and the generosity and love of the Ukrainian people captured my heart.

Ukraine became my second home, my home away from home, yet that has even changed through the years. It is now my home in this physical earth (though Heaven is where my citizenship lies). My heart was left in Ukraine, and the USA is the waiting place before we return to this nation we call our own. I have asked God for the nation of Ukraine, and I believe He will give me Ukraine for His glory and His honor. 

So now, ten years later, I am still helping my homeland. In 2007, I spent some time in Slavaynsk Ukraine. This eastern city has become the major fighting zone for the fight between Ukraine's army and Russian terrorist groups trying to overtake the country. This city has been devastated by the fighting. For over a week, the citizens have had NO WATER. They are getting water out of local fountains. The city has sporadic electricity. People are starving, as the stores are all closed and no transport trucks are delivering food.

Residents of Slavayansk, Ukraine filling water jugs. The city has NO Water and sporadic electricity.

I am asking all of my friends and family to become the CHAMPIONS for this city. Would you please pray for the people of Slavayansk? They desperately need our prayers and our support! 

I am also asking that you considering making a Financial Gift to help buy food, medicine and evacuate refugees from Slavayansk. You can learn more and Donate through Ukraine Orphan Outreach. 100% OF YOUR DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

Would you give today? DONATE HERE.

Ignorance is Bliss, So They Say

ig·no·rance

ˈignərəns/

noun

noun: ignorance

1. lack of knowledge or information.

   "he acted in ignorance of basic procedures"

   synonyms:

   incomprehension of, unawareness of, unconsciousness of, unfamiliarity with, inexperience with, lack of knowledge about, lack of information about;

This is how I have been feeling lately with interacting with those who know little to nothing about Ukraine, other than what they read in the headlines of America and British news agencies. I guess I can't blame them, ignorance is bliss is what they tell me. It just makes me frustrated and angry when I correct them and they provide me with said news articles talking about how Ukraine is on the brink of civil war. I suppose I am just as ignorant in other nations affairs.

So in an effort to inform those of my friends and family reading this blog of ours, here you go:

Ukraine is NOT at civil war. They are NOT on the brink of civil war. They do NOT want to go to civil war.

Most of my Ukrainian friends would be very angry if they heard you talking about a civil war in Ukraine, and would give you a verbal lashing on the truth of the matter.

Ukraine is at war with Russia. Plain, simple. Black and white. It is at war with Russian financed terrorist that are bombing, shooting and using human shields in an attempt to usurp the sovereignty of Ukraine.

On Sunday, the town of Slavayansk in the eastern province of Donetsk was bombed and suffered heavy artillery fire from these terrorists. There is an orphanage in that town, "Sails of Hope" who with the wisdom of God evacuated the children living in that home the weekend prior. Take in these images. This is what the terrorist are doing to Ukraine. It is not Ukrainian against Ukrainian. It is NOT a civil war. Be informed, don't be ignorant.

Pray for Russia. Pray for Ukraine. This conflict is tearing families apart, taking sons, brothers and husbands away from their families in both countries to fight. No one wants war! Pray for a change of heart in the leadership, that God would protect the innocent and intervene.

 

Wartime Weariness

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about how families subsisted during wartime.

Maybe it's because I've been watching that show on PBS called, "Mr. Selfridge" which is currently depicting the life and struggles of those on the homefront in WWII England.

It's also because I get daily updates about our transition home in  Kramators'k, Ukraine. I hear the agony of having to carefully choose the time of day to go to the store to gather canned goods because fresh goods are becoming rare and hard to come by. I feel the difficulty that the house mom, Lena, experiences every night she tucks her babies into bed. Wondering what will happen over night or what they will face in the morning. I feel the pressure that the house dad, Maxim, feels as he tries to get the correct travel documents for each of the orphan boys and his own family; wondering how they will safely leave the area if it comes to that. Many have already left and faced treacherous roadways full of military vehicles and soldiers that can detain them at any moment.

Sometimes, I just hold my breath. Other moments I want to cry. Other moments I want to scream and yell at God, asking where He is in all of this chaos. Yet, I know He is there. He has protected this family and the house from so much. He has given them a support system and help from our organization and countless supporters around the world. He is EVER faithful.

I wonder if it was better during WWII, where they didn't have information at a push of sending a Facebook message for an update? Was it easier not knowing what was happening, only having general updates from the paper? Is the not knowing better than knowing everything anytime you want to know? Is it easier to handle? I know when I get e-mails and messages from my Ukrainian friends whose hearts are broken over the war raging in their country, I feel hopeless.

I don't know how to help, only how to pray out my anguish to God. I know that I am weary. My spirit is heavy. My soul is heavy. Yet, God is ever faithful. So today I come to Him, the One who will not be mocked, the One whose Word does not return void, I come to Him and stand upon his promises of rest. What burdens are you carrying today? Shall we give them up to God together? Let's!

"Come to Me, all who are weary and I will give you rest."

War in Ukraine

While I am sure you have all heard or at least read the headlines about what is going on in Ukraine, the reality is that Eastern Ukraine is now at war with a group of Russian insurgents/terrorists attempting to destabilize the nation as it nears it's Presidential Elections set for May 25th.

This week, I should have been in Ukraine, in Kramators'k where heavy terrorist activity has turned this quaint town into a war zone.

In Kramators'k, is a small city by comparison to most of Ukraine's major cities with around 173k inhabitants. The transition home that Ukraine Orphan Outreach and Agape Ministries partners together to run and support is located on the outskirts of town.

 

Pro-Russian insurgents have occupied this area for the last month, stirring up trouble. Over the weekend, the Ukrainian special forces arrived and have attempted to overthrow the terrorist stronghold in the city. 

 

 

This week, I, along with several other ladies were to spend the week at the transition home visiting with the house parents and the boys living there. Today we saw what happened outside of the hotel where we were supposed to be staying. Terrorists had seized some busses and vehicles and set them on fire in hopes to stop the approaching troops.

 

 

We are currently asking for prayer for the family and boys living in our home. They want to evacuate but the situation is dire and very dangerous to leave their town which is surrounded on one side by terrorists and the other side by the Ukrainian army. Their desire is to move to Western Ukraine where it is safe from the violence. The house parents have two small children and a baby on the way. It is a very scary situation, but God is able!

 

Please pray for Maxim and Lena and their children, and the boys at House of Grace for safe passage out of the city to safety! 

Remembering...this is why we do what we do.

This is why we do what we do - for these children. Tonight I have had a chance to go down memory lane to this past November & December, when Ukraine Orphan Outreach hosted a group of Ukrainian orphans who toured Colorado, along with a group from Orphan's Promise - Kiev, to bring the story of the Old Russian Shoemaker to our area.

My heart is filled with such joy at their smiles. This picture was their final performance of the musical. The before picture, of them first arriving in Colorado, albeit they were exhausted after 18 hours of travel, they were not this joyful. These groups, bringing the nations to the USA, is so vital to what we do with sharing the plight of orphans with the masses.

This picture shows how much they changed in just one month, nurtured by love, laughter and lots of hugs and cuddle time. This is how children should be treated - should be valued. Many of these children come from difficult backgrounds. I adore them, they are resilient children, and they have bright futures thanks to the work our partners at Orphan's Promise are doing in the transition centers in the village near their orphanage. They, unlike many orphans, will have the ability to walk into a life where they can be mentored, challenged and most importantly, shown love.

So to my sweet friends, Yulia, Sveta, Vitaliy, Oleg, Vanya, Alosha and Vitya, thank you for sharing your life with me. I am honored to know you. You have forever captured a piece of my heart.

On Saturday, my young friends will receive notes from their host families in Colorado, hand delivered and translated into Ukrainian. It's these little bits of communication that will forever keep them bonded to the experience and hope they had while away from their institution.

Please pray for my friends, pray for their futures - that mentors and families would surround them, guide them, pray that they will come to know Jesus and love Him, that they would feel and know his great love for them.

*********************
UPDATE: On Saturday morning, I received a Facetime request from my dear friend, Karen Springs who works for Orphan's Promise in Kiev. She, along with the other cast and crew members, spent a day with the kids sharing letters and loving on them. These are pictures from Karen's blog and show how much the crew fell in love with these children. They are truly precious in HIS sight. 

Vitaly and Vanya

Sveta reading a letter from her host family.

Facetime with ME! Such a great surprise!

Facetime with my friends.

The cast and crew from the 2013 Old Russian Shoemaker Tour! (Minus Alex - the Shoemaker).

Switching Gears: An Orphan Crisis Brewing in Ukraine

As I am sure many have heard on nightly news reports and seen the occasional article in the paper, there's a big hoo-haw going on in Ukraine at the moment. I've been so busy working on projects for Ukraine, crisis plans and reading Ukrainian news sources that I've not had a moment to spare on catching up with what's been going on here.

So in a short few paragraphs, let me explain what is happening in Ukraine:

Ukraine has a southern autonomous territory called Crimea that it acquired as a legal land transfer from the USSR to Ukraine in the 1950s as part of a bridge building project. Basically the USSR only wanted one country managing the project, so they gave it to Ukraine which shares its border with Crimea. It is an autonomous territory, similar to Puerto Rico is to the USA - they don't really have much to do with the mainland, have their own territorial government and regulations, elections, etc. They go about their business, there's no travel restrictions to/from, and if anything "bad" happens, Ukraine supports them.

In November, Ukraine's then government decided not to sign an association agreement with the European Union after spending the last year telling everyone they were going to sign it. Dumped in the day before. People went to the streets in protest. The protests were, for the most part, peaceful. Then all hell broke loose when the Ukrainian government decided to use force to remove the protesters - people were murdered, and eventually Yanukovych fled Ukraine to hid out in Russia. Parliament voted to oust him when he fled the country, and new presidential elections will be held in late May. There's a lot details here that I'm not adding, just giving you the 35,000 foot view.


Then in February, Russia, which rents warm water naval bases in Crimea while offering cheaper gas prices to Ukraine, overtook Crimea. Within 24 hours on February 27-28, Russian troops seized the airport in Sevastopol, military bases and complexes, tv stations, and telecommunication companies in the region. All of this was to "protect Russian speaking Russians" per President Putin's comments about the Russian Federation occupation of Crimea. This sparked an immediate panic of all out war in the region.

For several days, we watched as Ukrainian's new government scrambled to cope with what Russia had just done. It is now March 21st, three weeks of Russian Occupation. On March 16th, Russia held a referendum vote in Crimea to transfer the territory to Russia; against all Ukrainian laws. So to put this into context for the US folks: It's like Venezuela taking it's navy and about 18,000 troops to Puerto Rico and taking complete control to protect the "Spanish Speaking Venezuela Population in Puerto Rico", then holding a vote two weeks after the occupation to say that Venezuela was now absorbing the territory into their control. So what did Crimea vote for? Well 120% of the population voted in Crimea for becoming part of Russia...yes, you read that correctly, 120% of the voting population. Did you know that Russian politics are rigged? No, okay, well there you go, you first lesson. Russia now claims they own Crimea.

Ukraine has basically abandoned Crimea at this point. They are entrenching along the border with Russia and Crimea to protect themselves if Russia decides to attempt an even bigger land grab into mainland Ukraine. Russia's actions have left a humanitarian crisis for those of us in the orphan community, but I'll get to that in a moment.

So now you probably know more than 99.9% of all newscasters and journalists in the US, along with most of the American population. Pat yourself on the back.

Where are we now?
After reading the above, where does that leave Ukraine and our work in Ukraine?
At the moment, there's a lot of "what if's". A lot of plans are in the works and partnerships are being formed to help those in the conflict regions. War could break out at any moment, and everyone is treading on egg shells praying it does not.

We are shifting gears with our orphan advocacy group and personally to provide the necessary assistance for those in crisis situations. What does this look like? It's really three fold:

• Encouraging orphan advocacy groups/NGOs in Russia to help the orphanages in Crimea. Since Crimea has now been absorbed by Russia, so have the orphanages. The news coming from our partners on ground in Crimea is not good and it is not a safe situation for these children. They are now Russian citizens without any documents.
• Ukrainian foster families in Crimea and along the border need urgent help. They are legal guardians of the children, and Ukrainian citizens now living in a Russian territory. Russia has very different laws on foster families. The families have few options, but some are looking to evacuate.
• Orphanages in conflict regions near the border of Russia and Crimea are in a difficult situation should things escalate with Russia. Partnerships are being formed to assist them should they need to evacuate.

All of the above takes a lot of TIME! It also takes amazing partners and financial help. If you would be interested in helping, please e-mail me (see contact page for my email). We are looking for partners who can offer help on ground in Ukraine with facilities, food donations, and those around the world that can offer prayer support, food donations, financial donations, medical and clothing supplies - all in the event that provision can happen in less than a 24 hour notice.

It's a lot, I know!

On the other side of things, my trip in May has been cancelled thanks to the airlines cancelling because of "unrest in the region". At this time, I will not be in Ukraine till, hopefully, sometime in the fall of this year.

Thank you for your prayers for us for wisdom and knowledge moving forward, and for the right partnerships to be formed.



 

Beauty from Ashes: Certainty in the midst of an uncertain time

My dear friend, Karen Springs  who works for CBN's Orphan's Promise office based in Kiev, Ukraine wrote a great article on her blog.

Check it out here - she's live from Kiev.