May 28, 2008

James 2:15-16
“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ But does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?”

James uses this passage to argue that faith and works go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. And just as faith without works is useless, Paul states in 1 Corinthians 13 that without love, faith and woks are useless. Faith and Love are both essential to those who walk with God. So how will this be reflected in our lives? The scripture from James addresses the physical needs. The children I am working with have been given food and clothes. These needs are met. And while it is important to be clothed and fed, it is only the beginning. Every day, my eyes are awakened to new needs. Each child is different. Their pasts are like chains that imprison them. All need to be loved but in different ways. For Vitalic, who is afraid to dream and to go after his dream, he must be challenge, he must be encouraged until he finds the courage to be himself. For little Nina it is to be watched. Colia, needs a strong hand to guide his infinite supply of energy. And for Lassia, it is to be held.

When I came to Ukraine, it was unclear to me exactly what I would be doing. Working with children, Yes. Loving them, Yes. Teaching English, Yes. Allowing God to open my heart to a new part of him, Yes. But how exactly, I didn’t know. But I did know God was calling me. After being here for two months and preparing to apply for my visa, I am still not exactly sure. There is not a clear plan or a map (although I would like one). I am teaching English, but informally. It is a task but not a goal. My goal is to love, to build individual relationships with each child, to meet their individual needs. At the same time, I will continue to develop The Kingdom Discovery to formally teach lessons. I use my bulletin board as a tool to not just teach but to help make each child feel special. This past week I added an long strip of paper to the door. On one side is inches, on the other side centimeters. In the middle is a line, a name, and a smiley face marking the height of each of the children.

The Individual Child

I live with seventeen children. Wow! That sounds like a lot, especially when we only have one bathroom. Between me and the children and the caretakers it is a full house.

On a side Note: My new roommate didn’t seem to mind when he moved in this week. He also didn’t care that he woke me up at 2:30am and didn’t let me fall back to sleep until sometime after 5:00am. Since his arrival Sunday I have not gotten much sleep. His name is Meesh. For those of you who don’t know Russian, Meesh is the word for Mouse. Please pray that he either leaves my room for a new home elsewhere or that he finds his way into the lovely jar (the homemade mouse trap), we have provided for him to stay.

Back to the kids- Considering the past that these children have survived it is a miracle to see what God has done in their lives and to watch them grow in a safe environment. But as I have already stated wounds from a youth are difficult to overcome and if action is not taken to heal them then they will stay with an effect a person for the rest of their life. Each child is different. My time here is not enough to help every child heal completely from everything. Healing is a lifelong process, that each individual must choose for themselves- orphan or not. But that doesn’t mean my time here is wasted either. It just means that it is valuable.

Vitalic

I have spoken of Vitalic often. He has a remarkable ability to speak English. He wants to be a translator. The first Sunday I was in church without another American to translate and he found out that he was to translate he trembled with fear as he put his head down and slumped his shoulders. When I questioned him about why he was afraid, he said it was a long story. When I asked what it was, that I would listen, he said – later, because church was about to begin. That was about three weeks ago, and I still have not heard the story. However, God has given me the opportunity to speak with him numerous times. He has begun to share. He admitted that he is afraid to translate. That his fear keeps him from translating. We have also discussed that his ability is a gift from God. Every day we are talking more. This gives him the opportunity to exercise his gift. He has started translating small things for me, like questions for the care takers and about the arrival of my new roommate. He is willing to proofread my Russian typing and writing. Vitalic is fifteen years old but in many ways he is younger and in many ways he is older. He is the oldest of three boys. Before they came to live here he was basically raising them, helping them to find food, and forcing them to eat when they had the chance. Before Vitalic came here, he was being taught to speak Dutch in school. While he was there, it was his dream to speak English. In Vapnyarka, the foreign language taught is English. Vitalic excels in English. God has given him a home, a safe place to live, a place to grow up without the full responsibility of taking care of his brothers and he has given him the opportunity to have his dream come true- to speak English. I believe that God has amazing things in store for him. Please pray for Vitalic. Pray that he could overcome, all that holds him back. Pray that he would not be afraid to dream, that he would not be afraid to accept the gift God has given him. I am excited to see what God does with his life.

Lassia

Monday night I walked into the girls’ room and found myself in the middle of craziness. If you are a woman who can remember the slumber parties of your youth, or have your own daughter you know of the giggling, the fun, and the silliness that takes place when girls get together. Seven girls sharing a room is not much different. Girls were sitting on a bunk, giggling and acting goofy. Others were playing with a Chinese jump rope, one was playing with a doll, all were having fun. I was invited to join some girls sitting on a top bunk. A little Russian, a little Ukrainian, and a little English. We communicated. We laughed. It was a fun time. One of the girls laid down with her head in my lap while we were hanging out. She was warm from all the activity. She placed my cold hands on her pink cheeks to cool them.(My hands are almost always cold) I began to stroke her cheek with my hand. A simple gesture that would seem common to most but to this little girl it was just what she needed. It wasn’t long until the other girls went into the living room to watch TV. As I sat stroking her cheek, I wondered if anyone had done that before. What a sad thought that a child could go her whole life without just being held, cuddled, or treasured. Girls came in and out to get things, to play with the jump rope, but Lassia lay still, resting on my lap with my hand on her cheek. An hour later the girls came into get in bed. And I was faced with the challenge of sneaking out, replacing my lap with a pillow and trying to get enough of Lassia’s blanket out from under to tuck her in. After kissing her on the cheek I joined the other girls for their bedtime prayers. I went to bed thankful for the opportunity to be with these precious children. When I came out of my room in the morning, I was greeted by a huge hug from Lassia. Last night after dinner she came and found me, hours before bedtime. Tiffany please, my bed and you- she brushed her cheek with her hand to demonstrate what she wanted. Okay, I said. I put on my pajamas, brushed my teeth and joined her. We talked for a little bit, as I gently ran my fingers up and down her back, stroked her cheek and ran my fingers through her hair. It wasn’t long before she was asleep. It seems strange that a child would rather go to bed while the sun still shines, with her head on someone’s lap than to playing with the other children in the living room. Or is it really that strange, that a child seeks comfort she has never known?

Nina

Nina has a beautiful imagination. She loves to play with dolls and give concerts. The other night while I was in the girls’ room with Lassia asleep on my lap, Nina entered. She decided to play with the Chinese jump rope by herself, by ringing it around two stacks of stools. (If you are wondering what a Chinese jump rope is, it is an elastic rope that has been tied to make a circle, like a giant rubber band. Two children put it around their ankles and stretch it out while a third child must complete different challenges, like jumping over it this many times or jumping on one side of the stretched boundary and then jumping to the other landing with both feet on the rope. Once a child completes certain tasks the rope is then moved from the ankles to the knees and the child must complete the tasks again with the rope at a higher level. If a child fails to complete one of the tasks, then one of the children with the rope at his ankles exchanges places with the child and is given the opportunity to complete the tasks. They continue to take turns till someone completes all the tasks. The first one done is the winner.) Back to Nina. As Nina secured the rope around the stools she looked up at me and asked me, “Will you watch me?” yes, I said. She finished setting up the rope and was about to begin when she looked up at me again, “Will you watch me?” Yes I answered. I sat and watched Nina, as she attempted to complete all of the tasks. I was her audience. To be watched was her desire.

As I sat stroking the cheek of a sleeping child and watching another, my heart was moved. Wow! God loves these children. He knows their needs. I don’t always know why I am here but he does. He loves these kids so much that He brought me from America just to hold them, just to watch them. He loves us all that much, we just choose not to recognize it.

Please continue to pray for the children here. Pray for me, that I would make the best of every opportunity to help meet their needs. And pray that God would provide these opportunities. But also pray for your own children. Pray for the children you meet every day. Don’t be afraid to offer an encouraging word or pat them on the back. Ask them how they are doing. Really care, really listen, and really love them. I recently read this quote by Jill Briscoe, "Lots of people do never do anything because they can't figure out how to do everything." Please do something. We weren't created to do everything. We were created to work together, each using our gifts to serve God.