Some of you may be wondering why Ukraine? I have to admit, when I thought about doing mission work, I had never considered Ukraine. In truth, I hadn’t even thought about Ukraine until the trip was introduced at church. The story of the orphans touched me and I couldn’t not do something to help. Ukraine, like most former Soviet countries, has an overwhelming number (100,000+) of orphans resulting from abandonment. Statistics have shown that merely 1 in 10 of these orphans become functional members of society after they are turned out of the government orphanages when they reach a certain age (usually 15 or 16); the rest are lost to crime, drugs, prostitution, or suicide soon after. In my past two summers, I have spoken with kids about these outcomes and they told me about many of their friends who have suffered these fates. The kids also admitted that it would be difficult to finish school and not fall into crime. Many of the kids at camp have already committed crimes. One adolescent in my group, Slavik, came to camp last summer after four years in a juvenile detention center for killing a man. He and a few of his friends who were homeless and living on the street to avoid their abusive home lives, beat up a stranger up to take his money and did not realize until later that the man had not survived his injuries. Some of the girls have already prostituted themselves to some extent. One girl in my group, Lena, has not yet but when I made a request that she not turn to prostitution and finish school, she honestly replied, “I will try.” It can be easy to be afraid of some of these kids but it’s important to remember that they are children. I have realized that we are literally fighting to save these kids’ lives. More than gifts, improved facilities, or even money, what these children most need is hope. They need to know the story about a God who loves them, who became flesh and died to adopt them into His family, and has made them heirs to His kingdom (Galatians 4:4-5). They need to learn that even though they may never become a part of an earthly family, they are an extremely important part of a greater, heavenly family. I am excited to return to Ukraine this summer to continue sharing this message with the kids.
