Ukraine: Days 1-3

We arrived home last night, one day later than originally planned as we missed our flight out on Friday. That story is a blog post of it's own!  This is the first installment of several that I'll write about our time in Ukraine.

My intentions of keeping everyone updated as we traveled were somewhat naive....when I had  time I had no internet, when I had internet I had no time.  And on the rare occasion when I had time and internet I had no mental stamina! So over the next few weeks I hope to post thoughts and reflections on our time in a country that despite all of it's incongruencies and extreme inconsistencies, continues to wrap itself around my heart and relentlessly draw my thoughts and prayers to it's orphaned children.

We spent our first day in Kiev wandering the downtown area in a light rain, which made our wandering all the more surreal and nostalgic... at least for the first few hours!  Some great Ukrainian food, and hours of  cathedral-visiting, people-watching, and internet-seeking later, we boarded the overnight train to Kharkov.  The train compartments are comfortable to sleep in, and the  toilets were much improved from what I remembered 16 years ago.   Apparently I had spoken of them with such description of horror that Natalie thought if she needed 'to go' she would be entering the bowels of hell!

Natalie: "I could eat this food everyday for the rest of my life!"

We arrived in Kharkov at 6:45 a.m and were met by a Lifesong orphan graduate named Dima, and taken to the transition home where he and his wife work as houseparents for a group of orphan graduates.  We enjoyed the first of many amazing meals prepared for us by selfless, humble Christian women....you know.....much like me :-).   The hospitality we receive here is a good reminder of how to truly honor guests in a home.  I could spend a lifetime taking lessons from these beautiful women and still not be halfway there.

A delicious meal prepared at Lifesong Transition Home I

We were able to visit to two transition homes for orphan grads and met some amazing young people who are trying to make a better life for themselves with the help of Christian house parents and mentors.  They are hard working and live "by the rules" which are pretty strict for young people even by American standards, but especially for young people who have had little to no supervision for the majority of their lives.

Transition Home I

Because of the timing of our visit here, we had the opportunity to see the " Last Bell" or graduate ceremonies of two orphanages.  These ceremonies remind me of everything I think I know about the Soviet mindset.  On the outside, the girls are dressed up, in some cases even in long evening wear dresses,  they are all carrying bouquets of peonies, and wearing sashes with their graduation year on them. There is singing and dancing performances, recitations and awards for high academic scores.  There are speeches with words of praise for the students and teachers and admonitions to look for a bright future, work hard, and make a way for themselves in this world.  All of this is much like the graduation ceremonies for our high school students here in America.....with the difference that these students and their teachers know that their chance for 'making a better life' is very much against the odds. And instead of parents and friends sitting in the audience, it is the younger classes of orphaned children who will someday take their place on stage, participate in a Last Bell ceremony and then be walked to the orphanage gates with the clothes on their back.

Last Bell for orphaned 9th grade graduates and their teachers

The facade of the celebratory ceremony cannot hide the truth that is written on the faces of the graduates which  gives away their understanding of the reality of the futures ahead of them. It reminded me of what I've read about the celebrations of Canaanite child sacrifice or Japanese Kamikaze warriors.  Or perhaps the Hunger Games, where pomp and circumstance surrounds the selection of children to participate in deadly battles. I know this comparison seems extreme, but so are the statistics that describe orphaned graduates.  I've stated them before, but they are worth repeating.  70% of these kids will end up in crime or prostitution, dropping out of school because their living conditions in the trade school dorms are intolerable (more on this in my next post). 10% of these kids will end up committing suicide before their 18th birthdays.  Recently, Denis Poshelok, Lifesong Ukraine's director, told us that 50% of the jail population in Ukraine is made up of orphaned graduates.

While these statistics are grim, the difference that many ministries are making in the lives of these kids is very encouraging.  In the next few posts I'll tell more about what we learned as we spent time with Lifesong Ukraine's staff and orphaned graduates who have 'made it' and are now pouring into the lives of those coming out of this broken system.  I am reminded not to despair for these kids, but to hope for them, to pray for them and to encourage those who work with them sharing the love of our heavenly Father.

 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born.4 Even to your old age and gray hairs  I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.  Isaiah 46:3-4