Wednesday, June 24th: We flew into Donets'k (it is the southern part of the Ukraine) and hit a hotel. The next morning we met with Pastor Oleg and went to his transistion home. Pastor Oleg works with kids from the orphanage and has built a transistion house with the help of Orphans Promise. When we arrived at the house, Pastor Oleg showed us the property and all he has done to fix the inside up for the kids. The kids that stay in this house are kids that have grauated out of the orphange and now have no job or place to live that is suitable to keep them safe. In the Ukraine, and also in other countries, 65% of orphan girls are forced into prositution and 70% of orphan boys either end up in jail or on drugs. This transistion home is extremely important for these kids and it provides not only shelter but also gives them biblical life skills, computer skills and english skills. The other thing that it does is it gives these kids (that have been denied by the world of a sound family situation) the opportunity to accept Jesus and build a relationship that is real and meaningful.
We met the boys and the girls and they had the house in tip top shape. The building from the outside looked old, but the work inside that Orphans Promise funded, looked great! We took some photos of the computer room, the kids and then then talked to one of the girls that just arrived at the home. This girl was 17 years old. Pastor Oleg told us that she has HIV and that when she came to the home she was sick and very thin and weak. She has been taken care of by the staff that lives in the home and she also got to hear the word and the healing power of Jesus. She now looks great, she has gained her weight back and she is trying to get her life started back on the right track. We are praying for her complete healing.
Before we left the house we met a boy around 10 years old that comes to the transistion home. This boy is not orphaned, but his mother and father are constantly drunk and they do not watch him so he hangs out at the home. This little boy is a social orphan and there are many other kids like this boy throughout most of Eastern Europe. This boy had set up a stage in the yard and sang three songs, he was so excited to show us his talent.
After we left the transistion home, we ate lunch (Ukrainian food is awesome!), we then went to a small business (Curves) that Pastor Oleg opened as a ministry to help him provide money to support the transistion home. There are 42 Curves in the Ukraine and staying healthy has become a big deal in the Ukriane. We went into the Curves and met the staff and prayed with them. The women that worked at the business were great, especailly the main manager of the store. As we prayed and talked, she told us that this business has provided an opportuntiy for them to help women feel good about themselves. Curves was founded by Christains and Pastor Oleg is using his business not only as income for the orphans, but also as a tool to minister to the women that come and work out. We heard stories of salvations and openess to the gospel to many of the women that are members. We are praying for God to continue to bless this business and help Pastor Oleg provide a steady income for his ministry. Pastor Oleg has the rights to all the Curves in Donets'k (Donets'k has around 2 million people). This business will not only provide money, but also opportunties for some of the orphan girls a job and future.
No comments:
Post a Comment