July 2012 Update

Dear friends,

Here’s a report on the team’s summer activities.

June 2012 Camp in Simferopol: In early june this summer US team members, Haley Harrell, Jordyn Harry and I,  traveled from Nashville through NYC and Moscow to arrive in Simferopol, Crimea (Ukraine). We flew directly to Simferopol as opposed to flying to Kiev and then going by train to SImf. This made travel faster and easier. We recovered from jet lag much faster. This summer we worked in 2 facilities.

Last year we taught a series of lessons called Guardrails. Last summer we started teaching the concept of an intentionally placed barrier that will cause use to self-trigger as we approach sin. Last year’s Guardrails pertained to our friendships (e.g. how to choose the right friends). This year’s Guardrails related to our attitudes toward these topics:

• Knowing who we are (God’s creation and His children)
• Giving (what we have and not being possessive)
• Lifting others up (instead of tearing them down)
• Serving others (like crazy)
• Obeying God fully (and following Jesus)

One of the most positive outcomes of the camp trip was a meeting held on Tuesday at Gagarin School for Girls. Attending the meeting were several representatives of organizations, a local church and a foster home, as well as several other individuals including 2 former orphans. These people represent those who are serving the orphans in the school. It was particularly exciting to see the network begin to form through the efforts of Dmitry Malashko of Simferopol SOS Foundation. Dima has completed the “Ukraine Without Orphans” course training and desires to establish a “Crimea Without Orphans” network.

Eastern European Missions delivered several boxes of Bibles to be distributed to the two orphanages upon the team’s request.

Gagarin School for Girls - this former internacht houses 99 girls ranging in age from 5-18. Most residents are from poor income families or are social orphans meaning they have no parents and may live with relatives or guardians or are wards of the state due to abusive or neglectful circumstances. A 20-30% of the girls are true orphans meaning no family. Most of the kids were already departed for the summer. However we worked with about 12 kids remaining at the school.

Even though the number of children was low it was a critical time for our team. We used this time to pave the way for future camps. By getting to know this small handful of kids we will have gained the interests of the other kids.

There was a set of twins in the older group, Yulia and Alyona. Both were very curious and wanted to know more about the grace of Jesus, why we struggle in life, why God allows suffering. They had many questions and concerns. Yulia was the first to engage us. The next day she brought her twin sister Alyona, who was 6-months pregnant. On that day we prayed over Alyona and her unborn baby boy. It was a very emotional moment for us as a team. It’s this type of situation that perpetuates the orphan problem.

On another day we were teaching about “serving”. Attending our group was a teenager named Marina and her younger sister Katya. As we were working on crafts for that day, I looked to notice Marina quietly helping her sister. I said to the team, “Guys, look here.  We are witnessing a ‘serving attitude’ right here.”

Detskyi Dom of Simferopol -  We have had a presence in this small 50 bed facility fsince 2010. The June camp marked our 4th camp in 2 years. We ate 2 meals each day at this facility and spent every afternoon working with the kids here. There were 18-20 new kids at the home this summer. As many as eight had been adopted by Ukrainian or Italian families the rest had either graduated or returned to live at home with relatives.

Personally speaking, one of the most impactive moments occurred on Thursday. After teaching about serving others, I decided on the spur of the moment to demonstrate how Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet. I asked for a tub, some water, a towel, and a volunteer. A young girl, Polina, was chosen. She came forward and sat in the chair. As I began to talk about how Jesus washed the disciples feet and its significance, she began to squirm. It took quite a bit of convincing her (thanks to mentors Nastya and Masha) before she allowed me to proceed. The funny thing is that several girls jumped up and ran. I thought they were looking for an opportunity of escaping what they thought was a boring class. Later I was told they were seen racing into the bathroom to wash their own feet for fear I would make them participate. They didn’t want me to see that their feet were dirty.

In addition one of the older girls, Adile, asked lots of questions and always said “Thank you for the lesson.” A couple of the older boys and even one very quiet girl opened up to Nastya toward the end of the week. While that might not seem like much, it represents a gigantic and imperative leap forward in building the relationships needed to mentor a child. We have to develop trust first before we can hope to reap anything from the seeds we plant. Younger children are easier to build relationships with. Typically with teens we use the phrase “closed to our friendship”. Often they have been left relationally empty-handed, so distrust is a natural emotional self-defense mechanism. Patience and unconditional love provide the best tactics. It’s not we get out of the relationship but more importantly what THEY get...LOVE.

Want to make a difference in the life of a child? Go with me!: I’m just now beginning making plans to return, most likely, in early December of the year. We’ll be home before Christmas. Contact me if you’d like to go. Costs are usually in the $3500/person neighborhood. We can talk about where the finances come from and I’ll get you fully prepared, don’t worry. Please don’t let the notion of money or work stop you. You’ll raise what you need and many will be blessed. Don’t worry that you family can’t do without you. they can survive. You and your family will be blessed in the time-sacrifice you’ve made.

PRAYER:
- Gagarin: Please pray over this facility and the resident girls as well as the staff at Gagarin School. There are chronic behavioural issues as well as alcohol use and promiscuity among the older girls. You may recall that a 14-year old girl took her own life this past spring. Pray also for Alyona and her baby.
- Detskyi Dom: Pray that we will be able to reach these kids. They are heavily influenced by the world around them, pop-culture, and the desire to fit in. In general, the kids at this orphan home are more socially  adapted. However, the home is not without its behavioral issues. Pray that the Holy Spirit will soften the hearts of these children to receive the story of God’s grace and lives will be changed.
- Anya Goliakova: She is a teammate who is on permanent staff as asst. principal at the school. She has a very difficult job with long hours and little time for herself. Even when on vacation or after work hours her phone rings continually with calls from the school. She is making strides in showing the girls the love of Christ. One girl, Tanya, has quit smoking and drinking. I also noticed on a Russian-speaking social network that she is listening to contemporary Christian music.
- Vika Vdovichenko: Vika recently joined a local college campus ministry as the social outreach coordinator. Her new role will be to recruit college students into their program in order to teach them about Christ. Secondarily, she will train them as mentors in a future program focused on reaching out to orphan graduates attending trade schools and underprivileged college students as well as institutionalized orphans.

- Social Outreach Center: Team member A partnership is being formed to fund and establish a social outreach center to be used as a meeting place for orphanage graduates, trade school & college students and a supported house church. Please be in prayer that God will provide the funding needed to build this vital outreach center.
- Nastya Skovorodnykova: Nastya continues to mentor to the children living at the Detskyi Dom of Simferopol in addition to maintaining her full-time job at International Institute of Intercultural Communication and Crimean-American College. Nastya spends a portion of her free time (at her own expense) to visit the children and maintain our connections several times each month. Lately Nastya has been asking the Holy Spirit to show her more ways she can serve. This August, she will serve an orphan outreach ministry at Gvardeskii village orphanage for special needs children as an interpreter for Americans from Southeast Christian Church in Louisville.

Other Highlights:

- Arthur conducted the June birthday gift program at Detskyi Dom

- Reunited with my old friend Igor form Gvardeskii whom I met in 2008 when he was an orphan

- Team member Haley Harrell conducted an orphan art project

- Our friends at home raised enough funds for us to locally purchase much needed flip-flops for the 50 children at Detskyi Dom. We had enough to also purchase sports equipment for Gagarin School.

- Team mentor Violetta Alimova graduated from college and received her diploma.

- Delivered 2 donated digital cameras to 2 of our mentors to use during orphanage visits

- Team Mentor Sasha Lifintseva participated in a camp held in Eastern Ukraine in July
Thank you for your ongoing support and prayer. Without your help these kids would never know the love of Christ or of god’s grace. You ARE making a difference.

Peace and grace.
Joel