Actually, planes weren’t involved in my travels last month, but they will be next month. I’m sorry I haven’t posted in such a long time but between the travel and preparing for our trip to America, I’ve had very little time to type an update. In July my girlfriend Erica came to visit and help out with the various ministries. We both have a heart for missions and it was great to be able to work alongside her in ministry. We spent very little time in Kyiv, maybe a week if you added all the days together. The majority of the month was spent first in Uzhgorod where we were staff for our orphan camp, then in Zhytomyr where we were also staff for a disabled children’s camp and finally a couple days on the sunny beaches of Odessa… where I didn’t get a tan.
Kyiv Most of my time in Kyiv was just packing, unpacking, cleaning, working, eating and sleeping. I did see a bit more of the city, the Kiev Pecherska Lavra, to be specific. I also helped at the big annual youth festival in Kyiv. Attendance wasn’t as high as they anticipated so my duties were pretty minimal… helping set up some sound-systems, doing some ushering. Watching the halls. Not a very interesting job. The nice thing though was that I did get a free ticket to see Delirious? in concert during the festival!
The best picture I could get of the concert.
Delirious? was awesome.
Uzhgorod Chances are you’ve already read about my visits to an orphanage in Uzhgorod. This time we had a week-long camp for the kids. It was certainly not easy. There were 90 kids, most of whom are gypsies, who have learning disabilities and are unloved and abused. I’m used to kids, I have 9 little brothers and sisters for cryin’ out loud! But after an hour or so with these kids I was drained! 
They have so little and need so much. All week we did our best to let God use us and show them His love through us. It was not easy. None bathe more then once a week, nor do they wear deodorant. Most rarely wash their hands, let alone brush their teeth! These physical things are hard to cope with but combine them with the mental and spiritual issues these poor kids have and it’s very difficult to work with them. Only by the Grace of God were we able to help them…I know that I could not have done it on my own.
We split the camp into four groups and had four stations that we rotated through. The stations were:
- Drama/Music
- We made mini “movies” of Bible stories. They really enjoyed the acting and did a great job. When we watched the movies on the last day they literally screamed with happiness. (Most have never seen a photo of themselves much less a video.)
- Crafts
- The usual camp craft type things. We were all surprised at how much time they could spend focused on crafts. If there was such a thing as A.D.D. in Ukraine then they’d all be S.D.E.H.A.A.D.D. (Super-duper-extremly-hyper-active-attention-deficit-disorder) but they could literally spend hours braiding string, tying knots, making bracelets, etc.
- Explorer
I assisted “Doctor Bogdon” at this station where we tried to teach the kids how to take care of their bodies and spent a lot of time cleaning and bandaging their cuts and wounds. (Many, many of the kids had big infected sores, even the young ones.) Since they aren’t taught to take care of themselves and only get showers once a week Bogdon taught a lot about basic hygiene (and gave them soap) teeth-brushing (and gave toothbrushes and paste) what do do when you get cut, not eating spoiled food, etc.
- Sports
- Valera, an orphan from another orphanage who is being taken care of by YWAM, led sports. He did a great job and got the kids involved like none of the rest of us could. They all had a great time playing with him and he was a wonderful Christ-like example to them.
After the rotations we had the “Olympic events” in which each team competed. The events ranged from the infamous tug-of-war (you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to translate that) to volleyball with a water balloon and bed-sheet. Lastly, we finished each day with a camp-wide program that included, skits, puppets, singing, magic tricks, stories and the Gospel.
I think that the camp went very well and I know the kids benefited physically, emotionally and spiritually from the camp. I’ve learned that camps like this are often difficult not only in the ways I’ve mentioned but also because you don’t usually see immediate results. I was speaking with Andrew, a missionary who’s worked with these kids for 5 years, and he told me that when he first went to the orphanage it was like walking into an mental asylum. Some of the kids sat staring at the wall, others hit themselves and some acted like animals. Praise God, they’ve come a long way since then but still have so far to go. I’d like to ask you to join me in praying for these kids specifically and also the many thousands more orphans throughout Ukraine.
Zhytomyr is a small city to the west of Kyiv. This is where Dad took the dental van on the dental/medical outreach. During that outreach we met with the director of Mission to Ukraine and she told us about some of the camps they have in the summer. Among them is one for disabled children. This is a special camp because for many of the campers it is the only significant amount of time they get to spend out of their apartment. You see, in Ukraine if you cannot walk normally, speak normally or if it is determined that you can’t learn to read then you are not allowed to attend school. A local board can decide if it is “worth it” to send a teacher to teach the child in the home but most of these children are taught by their mothers or grandmothers. Because nothing in this country is wheelchair accessible it is very difficult for the mothers and grandmothers to take the children anywhere. To make matters worse many fathers just leave. Then the child and mother have no income except what the government provides.
Some of the kids in wheelchairs playing a game together at camp.
This camp wasn’t just for the kids but their parents, too. While the kids were in small groups, doing crafts or another activity the parents had classes and Bible studies of their own.
I really enjoyed this camp a whole lot and not just because there was a ton of [mostly] good food. ;c) There was a great spirit at this camp, all the kids were thankfull to be there, all the staff was glad to see them and the Moms were glad for a break. It was amazing to see how happy, optimistic and good all of the kids were. Most of them were really interested in the Bible stories and joined in discussions about the stories. There was one little girl in particular (Nadya, pictured) who had a really sweet personality and would talk, hug and hold hands with some of the severly disabled kids. She has muscular dstrophy in her arms and legs and would often ask me to hold her hands and run with her, because even though she can walk on her own she can’t run without help. It was really heartbreaking for me to see kids with such sweet spirits in broken bodies.
Odessa The last bit of travel in July took me to the seaside city of Odessa. We had 3 days to rest and recuperate before getting back into the swing of things. I had a wonderful time. I havn’t been on a beach in a long time and the last year has been pretty, well, hectic and stressful at times. Being able to rest in the sun, with a cool breeze blowing on me, my feet in sand… oh, it was wonderful. It wasn’t Florida, but it was nice. And hey, I can say I’ve swum in the Black Sea now! (For the record: It was cold.)
Steven and I at the Black Sea
So, that was July! I’m going to upload photos from all these events to share and I’ll post here when they’re up.
