Ukraine Update 4
26 February 2015 @ 21:40
Greetings from Ukraine! I'm not even sure where to start this update. Our day started with great breakfast at home followed by a visit to a cerebral palsy center here in Mohyliv Podilsky. There was music, magic and paper crafts with the children and staff.
We returned home for lunch and then traveled to a neighboring village to visit the orphanage there. As I looked into the eyes of these children and saw an unconditional love and the smiles on their faces, I knew that I was truly in the presence of God. When I think of the lives these children know I am heartbroken and find myself asking why humankind allows this to continue. Outdoor facilities, lack of supplies, no money for heat and you find joy in that place. What a testament to those who work there.
And, with that said," there are the teachers and support staff in the orphanage and you can't help but be humbled. Though their salaries are small and worth about half of what they were two months ago, they provide their own supplies for their classrooms and donate to a fund to help with renovations. They then work on weekends doing the renovations on their own time. One of the staff members thanked us for being there during this difficult time in Ukraine and wanted to make sure that Americans understood that Ukrainians don't want to fight. They simply want to live as Ukrainians. I told her that we understood that and you could see the tears in her eyes.
We still have two days in this beautiful country and I ask you to continue to pray for our team, our hosts, the Tkachuk's and their beautiful children, and Ukraine. May Ukraine come to know a lasting peace. Good night.
P. S. My back is doing great!
We returned home for lunch and then traveled to a neighboring village to visit the orphanage there. As I looked into the eyes of these children and saw an unconditional love and the smiles on their faces, I knew that I was truly in the presence of God. When I think of the lives these children know I am heartbroken and find myself asking why humankind allows this to continue. Outdoor facilities, lack of supplies, no money for heat and you find joy in that place. What a testament to those who work there.
And, with that said," there are the teachers and support staff in the orphanage and you can't help but be humbled. Though their salaries are small and worth about half of what they were two months ago, they provide their own supplies for their classrooms and donate to a fund to help with renovations. They then work on weekends doing the renovations on their own time. One of the staff members thanked us for being there during this difficult time in Ukraine and wanted to make sure that Americans understood that Ukrainians don't want to fight. They simply want to live as Ukrainians. I told her that we understood that and you could see the tears in her eyes.
We still have two days in this beautiful country and I ask you to continue to pray for our team, our hosts, the Tkachuk's and their beautiful children, and Ukraine. May Ukraine come to know a lasting peace. Good night.
P. S. My back is doing great!