Valik

“What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the print I have read in my life.” 

- Walt Whitman

Meet Valik - a 22-year old Romaniv boy with Down syndrome.  He doesn't speak, nor does he join the other boys in activities.  During MTU's lessons, he can typically be found sitting on the benches, lost in his own mysterious world. 


Abandoned at birth by his parents and relatives, he has spent the 22 years of his life under the care of the Ukrainian government.  He was first sent to one of the many children's facilities where they send all unwanted infants and children with disabilities.  After 8 years of living in the children's home, he was sent to the Romaniv Orphanage where he remains to this day.  Four years ago, when he turned 18, he was questioned, evaluated, and ultimately declared to be untrainable, untreatable, and unteachable by the courts of Ukraine.  In addition to forever prohibiting him from being adopted, this status has permanently doomed him to a life in the Ukrainian government system.  Though difficult to imagine, his years at Romaniv will by far be the best of his life.  And, unfortunately, those years are coming to an end.  Soon, Romaniv will be forced by Ukrainian law to release him to a different facility - the very same facility where they send convicted criminals and the clinically insane.  There he will live out the remainder of his years - which, undoubtedly, will not be many.

I often wonder what it would take to change such a broken system. The thought of changing the overall disability structure in Ukraine seems overwhelming and, quite frankly, impossible.  But perhaps it's not always about changing the societal and governmental system.  It's about boys like Valik and the potential impact that I can have in their lives while I still have the chance.  

In times like these, where I am overwhelmed by the unjustified neglect and pain in the boys' haunting eyes, I sometimes catch a reflection of Christ Jesus.  For He, too, knew sorrow and pain in this world, only to die for the sins of the world.  I am reminded that the identity of Romaniv is hidden in Christ's heart - and I am renewed with hope in His redeeming love.


Isaiah 53:2-6


...He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.


Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed. 

Romaniv Goes to the Zoo

Last Thursday we took ten of our Romaniv boys to the Zoo in Kiev. Here are some highlights!

It was amazing to see our boys out in the community. Our Lord blessed us with a beautiful day and a spectacular experience!

Return to Romaniv

There is a saying that states "Nothing that's worth having comes easy". I have been ruminating on these words for the past several weeks during my days in Ukraine - but never have they resonated within my heart more than last week when I returned to Romaniv. Friday, as I walked up to the Romaniv orphanage for the first time in months, I felt the tangible weight of these words. Nothing that's worth having comes easy.

It was a simple day at Romaniv. Just the same as when I left it several months ago. The same long drive through the Ukrainian countryside. The same neglected buildings longing for repair. The same smells. The same crooked smiles. But as I greeted the boys for the first time I noticed something different inside of myself. The more I greeted, the more I could not ignore the growing feeling of purpose and intention in my heart.

After greeting the older boys I helped lead a small group for the boys in the isolation house, where the more severely disabled boys stay. It has been my goal to help MTU integrate more functional skills into the lessons that they give to the boys - keeping things as basic as possible. As we maneuvered through the lesson, however, I began to notice that our message was not connecting. It was as if we were trying to plant seeds of knowledge into the sea - where they were quickly swept away by the waves of neglect and deterioration. It was clear that we were planting the seeds in the wrong place. After the lesson, we took a bucket of water and soap and began washing the hands of the boys to prepare them for lunch. It was evident that it had been days since they had washed their hands, an activity that they rarely get the chance to do. As they washed and lathered, the boys began to come alive. Suddenly there was a shift in the room. Finally there was a connection.

Since that day I have been in the process of redesigning my thoughts on Romaniv. How can we recreate that connection? How can we capture that unmistakable glimmer of clarity and use it to teach the boys in a functional way? Is it possible? And if so, how can we make it possible in such a broken environment? How can we take these seeds and plant them in a way that produces fruit? This is my task and my mission. It won't be easy and progress may be slow. But in the end, nothing worth much comes easy - and the price of making a difference in the lives of the boys of Romaniv is certainly worth having.

Back in the Motherland

Having spent my summer on a feverish pace of program building, business development, learning Russian, and training for a half-marathon, the day for me to return to the Motherland has finally come.  I'm finally back in Ukraine!

I left for Ukraine on Monday, September 19th with purpose and fearless determination in my heart. My trip, however, was not without its troubles and frustrations.  Due to both weather and electrical problems, my flights to Detroit and Amsterdam were late, making me nearly late for my flight to Kiev.  After a sprint through the airport terminal and with only a few minutes to spare, I made it to my final flight.  My luggage, however, was a different story.  Thankfully, my friend Yuliya from Mission to Ukraine who was there to pick me up helped me fill out the necessary paperwork.  Finally, after two days of waiting, my bags arrived on the doorstep of MTU.

Since landing in Kiev I have been swept up into a whirlwind of work, meetings, and reunions with friends.  At MTU, we have spent the past three days in meetings, furiously working through the details of what is to come.  We have completely restructured the disability services, which has created copious room for questions and confusion.  We are also battling to achieve a balance between 1. expanding MTU's programming capacity in order to serve more children with disabilities and 2. maintain the quality of services that we offer.  It is a difficult balance to maintain.  These are the moments that will be the most difficult; however, the staff at MTU are the most agreeable, receptive, and amenable workers that I have ever seen.  The Lord has knit together a perfect tapestry of people for the task of serving Ukraine's children with disabilities.  I am confident that the barriers and trials ahead will be removed and The Lord will be triumphant!

Next week we will be evaluating the parents and the children with disabilities.  For the parents, we are using a questionnaire put together by the World Health Organization that will measure their quality of life.  We will also be implementing a clinical evaluation for an estimated 160 children.  We have a lot to accomplish!

Prayer Requests for Next Week:

1.  The parents (mostly mothers) of children with disabilities are often very skeptical and resistant to changes in MTU's program.  They are also very suspicious of evaluations.  Pray that these mothers will be accepting of all evaluative and programming changes that will be implemented in the coming weeks.

2.  It will be a daunting task to evaluate 160 children and place them in the appropriate service so quickly.  Pray that the process of evaluations will go smoothly and that we will have the strength to complete the task.

3.  Pray that the staff of MTU's disability program will be open and willing to make changes in their services.  Also, pray that I will have the wisdom and discernment to make the most appropriate and fruitful choices for MTU.

до свидания, мои друзья!

Goodbye, my friends!

Treasures

In the midst of working hard on curriculum planning for the kids in Ukraine, marketing my services to other organizations, and failing miserably at learning how to speak Russian, I am constantly finding myself overwhelmed with the fast-paced, greed-driven, complicated world that I live in. Even though our great country was founded in the name of Liberty and is rooted in the principle of Freedom, most Americans spend their days as slaves to one master: Success. As I step back and reflect on our society's never-ending scramble for more money, more possessions, and more power, I can't help but think about those 80 boys living in rural Ukraine whose prize possessions are the shirts on their backs.

As I spent more time with the boys at Romaniv, something started to stand out. I noticed that many of the boys were carrying around trinkets everywhere they went. No matter what the boys were doing, they didn't leave the room without their "treasure". To anyone else, these objects were trash: an old dirty sock stuffed with dirt and grass, a button ripped from a sweater, or a broken shoelace. When I inquired about the trinkets I was told that some of boys brought these objects with them from their homes - and were their only reminders of life before Romaniv. After one of our lessons, I stopped one of the boys who was carrying his trinket, safely tucked beneath his deformed arm. I held out my hand and gestured toward it, asking if I could see it. He held it up for me to see - the old sock stuffed with dirt. Dirty, rank, and unsavory to say the least, it was clear the sock had seen better days. But as I smiled at him, he beamed back at me with pride -- It was his.

In many ways, these boys are just like their trinkets. To the world they are Dirty. Broken. Undesirable. Garbage. Unworthy of the world's time and resources. But to me, they are treasures.

As I think about my life here in America, I find myself holding on to these treasures and carrying them with me throughout the day. It's not always easy to escape from the dizzying pace of our society. But in the end, it's about finding the simple things - the little things in life that get you through the day. The support of someone close to you. Or letting your guard down, if only for a moment. Or going out of your way to do something meaningful for another. Whatever your treasure may be - hold on to it and remind yourself to enjoy the simple things.

Prayer for Mission to Ukraine

Exciting things are happening in Ukraine this summer. Several different summer camps are being offered for Zhitomir's youth with disabilities and their families. A week-long day camp for the boys of Romaniv is also being offered in July. In anticipation of these exciting events, Mission to Ukraine has sent out a prayer list for each event. I hope you will join me in praying for them throughout the summer.

SUMMER CAMPS FOR ZHITOMIR YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES:

Praise God for this summers' overnight camp for youth with disabilities. Thank God for the Ukrainian team and the US volunteers.

Pray that the Lord will orchestrate all the administrative and spiritual work of all teams and bless all workers and volunteers with good health and high energy.

Pray for the families receiving service to see Jesus behind the good works and material blessings.

Pray for the seeds of faith sown at camps to grow and thrive in the hearts of our children and youth and their parents. May all camp participants return home with hope in Christ.

SUMMER DAY CAMPS FOR BOYS WITH DISABILITIES AT ROMANIV ORPHANAGE:

Praise God for the Romaniv Orphanage day camp. Pray for every volunteer to be filled with the love and power of God.

Pray for Angela, Romaniv Orphanage physical therapy nurse, to receive Jesus into her heart and to have wisdom and success in accomplishing her program of development for the boys.

Pray for the Lord to open the hearts and minds of both the boys and the staff to understand and accept the spiritual truths taught at the lessons.

Pray for favorable weather and wise organization of the program and space as the day camp takes place amid construction on the orphanage grounds.

Pray for the Romaniv Orphanage staff. They work hard and grow weary and harden their hearts. Pray for the Lord to renew them and melt their hearts with His love and hope.

Pray for our God to bless the Romaniv Orphanage administration with the necessary funds for their construction work.