Mentoring Program For Ukrainian Orphans

INGO "One Hope" has started a mentoring program for Ukrainian orphans. The goal is to match a mentor with every orphan in the orphanage system. Mentors receive training on how to work with the child by Ukrainian social workers and psychologists trained in the area of child care. The hope is that this program will be a step in helping Ukrainians gain awareness of the orphans needs and promote adoption by Ukrainian citizens.

It's a great idea because let's face it, puppet shows, giving away toys and week long summer camps cannot possibly replace the needs these kids have in regards to long term relationships.

To learn more about this organization click HERE.

Kyiv Days

Every year Kyiv celebrates itself with a weekend called, "Kyiv Days." Its a great time to get out in the amazing weather and walk around and enjoy the city. Artists and crafts people from all over Ukraine congregate on the famous St. Andrew's street to sell their work.

Lots of paintings are displayed. Some amazing, some not so amazing.

If you look carefully, you might find a bargain.

Young Family Club Update

The piping problems at the Day Center have finally been resolved and we are back to meeting with our Moms and their babies at our Day Center.

Besides individual counseling and help on a daily basis, we also have a small group that meets once a week. We fellowship, have some tea and cookies and discuss a subject that has to do with life skills. We encourage the Moms and love on the babies. I help with other areas in our ministry, but this group of women have really become close to my heart. Working with street children and learning about all the complex ways that social problems work, I know that what we are pouring into these young women will help keep their families together and their kids off the streets in the future. I am seeing it happen right before my eyes and it is encouraging!

Seeds

I named this blog "Seeds" because after many years living here, I have realized that the most I can do in people's lives is push a seed in their ground and let God do the work of growing it. If there's a little green sprout in the garden bed, I can water it or work the weeds out from around it. I can nurture the plant until it grows up and has fruit of it's own to share with others. I can't force it to grow or create the energy it needs. Chemicals might speed things up but in the end, might not be the best thing for either the plant or the person who eventually eats the fruit they bear.

This is a biblical concept that is easy for a farmer to understand but sometimes it is hard for those of us who are, uh, city folk.

My grandfather (see photo) was born in Iowa and grew up working on a farm. He knew a thing or two about a lot of stuff that could be useful to the small time gardner working on their city sized plots of land.

He was an auto mechanic and in the yard next to where he worked, he grew tomatoes. I would visit him and often found him in the yard with a paint brush tending his tomatoes. The first time I found him with his paint brush in hand, I asked him, "What cha doing?"

"I'm pollinating my tomato plants," he said with a grin. He took the tiny paint brush and went from flower to flower (Okay, it's supposed to be called something else but I majorly FAILED botany. Like I said, I'm a city girl, big time.) gently brushing each plant.

He explained that this is the job of the birds and the bees but he wants to make extra sure that each plant is tended to and no future tomato bud misses it's chance to get pollinated in the whirlwind of nature.

I remember thinking that was kind of cool. He understood the concept of nurturing and not forcing something to grow. Something we all need to do as we minister to others if we want them to grow and bear the best kind of fruit, (or vegetable) that will bless and help others.

He sure was proud of his tomatoes. He would bring them home and proudly place them on the table for us to admire. Unfortunately, I had been told I was allergic to tomatoes so I never did taste any. I regret that. I'm sure they were heavenly.

"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."......Matthew 13:23

I Like To Take Photos

If you haven't noticed, I like to take photos. I've shot all the photos on this blog's sidebar. I like street style photography and end up taking a lot of photos as I go to and fro around Kyiv. I am still getting the hang of what I will post on this blog as it is new to me.....so, I decided to post some of my favorite photos from April. Let me know in the comment section if this is interesting to you or not or what subjects you might like to see in future photo posts.

Victory Day

Today is Victory Day in Ukraine. We are celebrating the end of World War II. Ukrainians suffered much during this war and everyone who is still alive from that time have dramatic stories of survival to tell.

I thought I would share three books that I've read during the last year all of which are true stories of people whose lives were dramatically altered because of World War II.

Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally

This is the book that the movie "Schindler's List" was based on. While the movie is excellent, this book surprised me with much more detail about Oskar and what life was like for civilian businessmen in Poland during the war. While it's a sad book in many respects, I find it inspiring in many ways too. Oskar Schindler was no saint. He was a businessman, adulterer and an alcholic. But as the world around him became more insane, he began to take steps to save people's lives. In a corrupted world, he could have easily made different choices which would have benefited him personally but he chose to do the right thing.

Jewish synagogue in Kracow, Poland's Jewish quarter.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Mextaxas

Another story of a man who was of the Christian faith and found himself in world that was becoming increasingly evil. He had to make hard choices on what he believed and how he was going to express his faith. While many Christian leaders in the German churches were aligning themselves with their government and deceptively leading their parishioners to worship Hitler, Erich Bonhoeffer choose God. This biography is long but don't let it intimidate you. It is also inspiring.

Latrines at Auschwitz/Birkenau concentration camp

The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister by Nonna Bannister

Yeah for free Kindle Ebooks! I have learned to keep an eye out because every now and then you find one that is really worth downloading and this book looked very interesting.

If you have ever wondered what it was like for an Ukrainian civilian in World War II then this is the book to read. Germany invaded and occupied all of Ukraine during the war and Ukrainians who did not retreat to Russia were suspect and considered traitors. Ukrainians suffered horribly. Most women were rounded up and taken to work camps or suffered the worse fate of a concentration camp.

This book is Nonna's childhood diary and she relates what it was like to live in the beginning of Soviet collectivization, (In case you've wondered what that was like) and tells of how she one by one lost her entire family during the occupation. She eventually ended up in Germany and emigrated to America where she hid her diaries and her war experiences from her family until her old age. It's a sad book, but again it highlights the strength of those who survived those times and what they went through should never be forgotten.

Why I Do What I Do

This photo is of a young man in his twenties named Dennis. I met Dennis in a park where he was sitting on a bench asking for money. I bought him four large buns, a liter of water and gave him 20 hrivnyas. I then sat down to talk to him. I could tell that I had overwhelmed him. I felt that he needed someone to treat him more like a human being and spend some time talking to him than to just keep going on my way. He was very personable, smart and even funny. I found out that Dennis has been living on the street for some time and wants to get off the streets. I asked him if he had been to one of the homeless shelters in Kyiv and he said that he had but he didn’t like them. He told me that the centers feed people but that’s about all they do. He didn’t like the atmosphere and he doesn’t want to be treated like a street person, he wants help and to be shown how to get off the streets. He said that he doesn’t need to be fed; he knows how to find food on the streets. I asked Dennis if he knew Jesus and he said yes. I asked him if he prayed and he said, “Everyday.” I told him about myself and promised to pray for him daily and that we would agree that God would show him a way to leave his life on the streets. He was very gracious and allowed me to take a photo of him. I told him that I would tell others about him and ask them to pray for him as well.

Sometimes people ask me why I want to do ministry in Ukraine instead of at home. The first answer is, “Because the Lord has led me here.” But I also feel strongly that helping people here is a privilege. It’s a privilege because in the states we have so many resources and there are already so many organizations/churches/ministries working and ministering to people in all different kinds of situations. Here in Ukraine, the odds of anyone getting extra help, spiritual, social or otherwise, is slim indeed. And like Dennis told me, there are groups helping, but in his situation, he needs to be shown the steps and given the support to live a changed life. He doesn’t need help that just sustains his current situation in life. That is a cultural problem here. In Ukraine, your lot in life is your lot in life and there’s an unspoken belief that that is where God has placed you and you just have to deal with it, accept it and don’t hope to change it.

But as Christians who understand a personal relationship with God, we know that Christ came to set us free. We know and understand redemption and because of his grace to us, we have a desire to share that and help others. That’s why I love what I am doing working with street/at risk children and families.

(This is an excerpt from my monthly newsletter. If you would like to receive copies of my newsletter, please send your name and email address to semkee@yahoo.com)