Dasha... One of 6 HIV positive kids adopted by one family from Church of Good Changes in Mariupol.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Home?
Amazing how quickly 2 weeks in ones favorite place can go after preparing and waiting for months and months for it to arrive....
48 hrs traveling by air; 3 overnight train trips; numerous bus trips; countless miles walked and hiked and one giant Goverla Mountain ascended ( well, nearly ascended for a few of us!)
And the BEST part - most of this time spent alongside 80 former street kids, orphans, former drug addicts and the most amazing church staff and volunteer team.
If home is where the heart is, then I have yet to arrive...
48 hrs traveling by air; 3 overnight train trips; numerous bus trips; countless miles walked and hiked and one giant Goverla Mountain ascended ( well, nearly ascended for a few of us!)
And the BEST part - most of this time spent alongside 80 former street kids, orphans, former drug addicts and the most amazing church staff and volunteer team.
If home is where the heart is, then I have yet to arrive...
Sasha
What we know about Sasha... aka "Sashinka, the sweet little red-haired girl from Mariupol"...
1. She now lives with a loving family in a home and has someone to call "mom" and "dad"
2. She's about 10 years old now
3. She loves to joke, play "ochen seriosna" and is very funny
4. She lived on the city streets for 2 years among a pack of dogs
5. She survived having been fed alcohol as a young child by her alcoholic mom
1. She now lives with a loving family in a home and has someone to call "mom" and "dad"
2. She's about 10 years old now
3. She loves to joke, play "ochen seriosna" and is very funny
4. She lived on the city streets for 2 years among a pack of dogs
5. She survived having been fed alcohol as a young child by her alcoholic mom
Friday, July 17, 2009
Back home sweet Ukraine!
We have finally arrived to Mariupol following 30 + hours flying, an overnight train trip and we are all doing great - all luggage arrived and we had a great first day!
We visited several rehab homes in villages and tomorow we begin preparing for the camp.
There are MANY more YOUNG kids here than last years - many age 6, however the size of a 4 - 5 yr old. Why would a parent abandon these little guys? These kids have been rescued from the streets...
This "Church of Good Changes " and "Pilgrim" organization do amazing, effefctive work with these kids. We are privileged to work alongside our friends here.
We visited several rehab homes in villages and tomorow we begin preparing for the camp.
There are MANY more YOUNG kids here than last years - many age 6, however the size of a 4 - 5 yr old. Why would a parent abandon these little guys? These kids have been rescued from the streets...
This "Church of Good Changes " and "Pilgrim" organization do amazing, effefctive work with these kids. We are privileged to work alongside our friends here.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
100 street children from Mariupol...Carpathian Mountains... AWESOME!
In just a few days we'll be headed back to Ukraine to serve alongside Pastor Gennady's "Church of Good Changes" at awesome, extreme, ultimate summer camp in the Carpathian Mountains!
What makes this "Awesome" is that we have the privilege to work with, serve and love 100 former street children; "Extreme" as we head off to hike the highest peak in Ukraine - no doubt lagging far behind the 12 year olds who race along the trail; "Ultimate" as we have the opportunity to share the Gospel with not only these children, but with many people we encounter along the way.
Can you imagine these children who once lived under bridges, underground beneath man-hole covers in search of warmth, barely surviving a hell-ish existence under the haze of IV drugs, starvation, abuse and victimization now reaching literal mountaintops?!
Thanks to the unrelenting dedication and hearts of the Pastors and staff at Church of Good Changes these children have been saved from the streets and now know that in the The Lord they are truly saved.
What makes this "Awesome" is that we have the privilege to work with, serve and love 100 former street children; "Extreme" as we head off to hike the highest peak in Ukraine - no doubt lagging far behind the 12 year olds who race along the trail; "Ultimate" as we have the opportunity to share the Gospel with not only these children, but with many people we encounter along the way.
Can you imagine these children who once lived under bridges, underground beneath man-hole covers in search of warmth, barely surviving a hell-ish existence under the haze of IV drugs, starvation, abuse and victimization now reaching literal mountaintops?!
Thanks to the unrelenting dedication and hearts of the Pastors and staff at Church of Good Changes these children have been saved from the streets and now know that in the The Lord they are truly saved.
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