To Reopen Orphanages

Thank you for continuing to lift up and pray over our time in Ukraine. While we are now serving in the Middle East, I wanted to take the time to post some more on what went down in Ukraine. One of the biggest things we ran across is the presence of orphanages. While working in Ukraine, we found out that the majority of orphans living in these orphanages have parents that are still alive. For various reasons (most of which are hard situations)- these kids are not with their parents. There are a lot of orphanages in the country- many of which are located in remote villages that are way outside the larger cities of Ukraine.

Heritage Ukraine (the ministry that I was part of) worked with orphans and orphanages for a very long time. They even have a “graduation” program in place to provide crucial support for young adults who age out of the orphanage and transition into society. However, Covid hit, causing orphanages across the country to heavily restrict visitation. This became a “new normal” that the ministry adapted with- and Heritage increased its focus on family targeted orphan prevention as well. However, the kids who are in these orphanages were not forgotten.

We arrived in Ukraine- and the ministry invited us to visit a couple of the orphanages. This was a huge deal because these visits were (likely) the first time that outside groups were brought in since the onset of the pandemic. So basically helping “reopen” the orphanages and increasing access to orphans to pave the way to future ministry. With the crazy effects of the pandemic being felt across the world, this was especially awesome to get to take part in. The first group (that I was not with) drove 3 ish hours outside of Odesa to deliver items such as shoes, food, etc. to the orphanage. Although they were only there for a brief period of time, they seemed to have a great time getting to be with the kids and seeing relationships being built.

A second group (that I was with) went to an orphanage that was 4 hours away from where we were staying. It was a crazy trip into a village in rural Ukraine. As we got closer to the village, we were informed about the “program” that we were going to do with the orphans. And so- Joanne and Natalie dressed up as clowns- and I dressed up as Tigger. It was crazy being Tigger during the whole skit. Kids ran up to me every second- and I gave them high fives and had a good time. We played games, sang songs, and just got to know and love these people. These children are precious- and getting to be part of their world- even for a short period of time was special. The caretakers graciously hosted us for lunch, and we got to learn more about the orphanage. They have a heart for the orphans, loving and working with them despite limited government funding.

I also wanted to mention a special ministry that Heritage Ukraine does. And it’s Operation Christmas Child (OCC). OCC is run by Samaritans Purse- which is based out of my home area of Boone, NC. They deliver shoeboxes packed with gifts from families back in the States and other places to children all over the world. One of the ministry hosts at Heritage is the field coordinator for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She has travelled to Boone and may come back there again. While I am not in Ukraine anymore, it will be amazing to catch up if she does pay a visit to North Carolina in the future. The shoeboxes arrived just as we left the country, but they are going to be distributed to villages and likely orphanages soon. Please lift them up in prayer as this ministry takes place in the coming months!

Our time in Ukraine has been special, and we are so thankful to be there to serve. The people are very special- along with the ministry that we worked with. However, throughout our time there, tensions between Ukraine and Russia have continued to escalate. Continue to pray over this and that peace will reign between the two countries. The next blog will be about the present conflict- and the city of Odesa in the midst of what is happening. Stay tuned!