the church | Wide Awake Family

We are Sleepy. We are Happy. Life is Good.

Posted on April 23, 2012 by kimnjed

In the morning Jed will write a post about our day today. I think you’ll enjoy it. 🙂 We are in Odessa and everything is great. We spent the day with Alyona and she is fabulous. What a wonderful woman with such a huge, obedient heart. It was great to finally meet her.

I must sleep. Again, Jed is already snoring. Are you seeing a trend here? 🙂

Please pray. Pray that hearts here would be softened and that God would have His way in every situation. Pray that our steps are ordered and that we wouldn’t miss any thing that He has for us to see or do here. We have absolutely no idea what this week holds, but if today is any indication it’s going to be pretty amazing.

Thank you all of our praying friends and family. Your prayer and support on this journey means the world to us.

Good night!

Romaniv

Posted on April 20, 2012 by kimnjed

Today was a day like no other. I’m not even quite sure what to say or how to say it. Today was wonderful, horrible, beautiful, ugly…and everything in between.

Today we visited Romaniv Orphanage with Mission to Ukraine staff. The staff of MTU along with some volunteers from local churches have been visiting Romaniv weekly for 4 years now. Romaniv is an orphanage for 78 boys ages 7-30. It was much like we expected it to be. What you can’t account for when you read about or hear stories about places like this is the real people that make up that story. I have been dreaming about, praying about, talking about, crying about places like Romaniv since we first discovered Reeces Rainbow back in the Fall of 2010. Today we got to see the faces, look into the eyes, hold the hands, hug the necks of the children we have dreamed about. It was unreal. It was also a very sad reality.

When we arrived we were met by the Director of Romaniv and one of his staff members. The staff member gave Jed and I a tour of the facilities. There is a building for laundry and bathing, a building where a nurse is available, a cafeteria/kitchen building, a recreational building that is under construction (no roof yet), and then there are 2 buildings where the boys sleep and spend their days. These are one-level buildings with one long hall and rooms off to the sides. In building #1 live the boys who are more high functioning, meaning they can go the the bathroom themselves, dress themselves, and feed themselves. We entered the building and there was first a bathroom, then some bedrooms lined with rows of beds. Then there was the room where the boys spend all their time. This room is a square room lined with benches. That’s it. No toys, no books, no nothing at all. Just boys on benches. When we walked in to the first room with boys in it (they are divided into 2 rooms, one for younger boys and one for older) one of the MTU volunteers was playing worship songs with his accordion. Some of the boys absolutely loved it! They grabbed our hands and tried to dance with us. They rubbed my long hair, they hugged us, they touched us, starving for attention. That was to be expected and it was precious. What I couldn’t look past and I hope I never forget is the boys on the fringes. Many little boys, too busy self-stimulating looked like they were on another planet, appearing to be completely unaware of the happenings in the room. They shrank away from our touch. They rocked, they fluttered their hands in front of their faces, they drooled, they rocked some more. These sweet, sweet little boys so isolated and without attention that they don’t even know how to receive touch when it’s offered. This is what killed me. Here they sit in this room day after day, year after year. While I go about my life, they remain.

This is their childhood.

This is their life.

We left that room and moved to the next group of boys. The accordion had moved along with us so the party continued. It was so beautiful to see the MTU staff interact with the boys. They called them by name, touching each one that would accept their touch. Teasing them, rubbing their heads, looking them in the eye. God was so present there. The boys’ eyes lit up. Beautiful.

The next building was for boys that are lower functioning, not as capable. Here we met Misha, who loved to sing his guts out. I’m not sure anyone could understand what he was singing, but boy oh boy he could belt it out! Slavik, a little boy smaller than my Ezra, wandered the hall alone with a vacant look in his eye. We met Vladik, a sweet boy with Apert Syndrome. I felt partial to him of course, since our first Ukrainian love has the same condition. 🙂 Vladik desperately needs his fingers separated, but that didn’t stop him from building a pretty sweet block tower. Jed and Eugene, a boy who looked about 10, crawled around on the carpet pretending to be animals and a vacuum. One little one sat in a wheelchair, his face red and scarred from his self-harming behaviors. So loved by God, so precious in His sight.

Some of the higher functioning boys got to go the cafeteria where some of the MTU staff taught them a Bible story and did a craft with them. How proud they were of their craft! The Romaniv staff says the boys start asking on Monday “Is it Friday yet?” MTU’s visits give them something to look forward to. That feeling of having something to look forward to is such a human emotion. It has changed these boys’ lives. Jesus is changing this place by His power alone. Praise God. One of the caregivers told us that years ago the death rate at Romaniv was 5-10 children every year. Since MTU started coming 4 years ago there has not been one single death. God is having His way. He WILL win the day.

As Jed and I have started to try to process today we were struck by how many things would have to be done at governmental levels for the big changes to take place that are needed in places like Romaniv. How many different “Romanivs” are there? How many children are hidden away without people like MTU bringing the hope of Christ to them? How many tucked away institutions? How many overwhelmed, underfunded directors? How many exhausted, underpaid, unappreciated caregivers?

As we pray and consider how we are to help it can be overwhelming. We can so easily move to that place of guilt. Why them and not us? How can our lives be so completely opposite? How can I move on with my life knowing little ones sit rocking and drooling, merely existing, not truly living. What can we do that can possibly make a difference? The need is absolutely enormous.

In those moments I just hear God saying “Do the next thing. Listen, obey, and do the next thing.” We were so humbled by the obedience and faithfulness of MTU. They have not let evil overcome them. They have listened, obeyed, and God is overcoming evil with good. It is making all the difference in the world to the boys in Romaniv. It is literally saving their lives.

God, speak to your people. Show us how we should respond. Help us live lives that say, “Yes Father. When you call, we will answer and say yes.”

Give us courage, Father, to say yes.

Symbol of joyful hope at the gates of Romaniv

We didn’t take any pictures inside Romaniv, so if you want to see the faces of the boys we are talking about please visit MTU’s website HERE. Or check them out on facebook! They have tons of pictures of the boys. MTU is no joke. They rock.

4 Thoughts and a Coffee Date

Posted on April 19, 2012 by kimnjed

1. I’m not sure if this is widely known, but Ukraine is being overrun by hot pockets. Let me explain. There is at least 1, usually 2 notary offices on each block. Why so many notaries? The word notary in Cyrillic looks like “Hotapiyc”. This of course makes us think of “Hot Topic” and skulls and crossbones on backpacks. Well, of course then we think of “Hot Pockets”, which makes us think of Jim Gaffigan. Now every time we see a notary we have to sing about hot pockets. Our Ukrainian friends have been made aware of this problem.

2. Confession. We’re typing from the 3rd wifi hot spot we’ve frequented in the last 2 hours. We are official wifi hoppers. We go to a restaurant, order something so we can use the wifi, leave, and go somewhere else. We don’t want to wear our our welcome in any one place.

3. Confession. We are at a chocolate shop. No big deal, you’re thinking. This is the second time we’ve been at this shop today. We just may be wearing out our welcome. At least now they know to bring us the English menu. 🙂

4. Ukrainian high-heel-wearing skills are RIDICULOUS. How do they do it? I am in awe. 4-inch heels, rain, cobblestone streets; enough said.

We had a great coffee date (chocolate shop trip #1) this morning with a really cool couple. Oleg and Tanya are fellow Vineyard peeps. They are super cool. They are also in a time of transition and we are excited about the plans God is working out for them. Like us, they found Vineyard at a time when they were hurt and really needed a place of healing and the Father’s love. It was cool to talk and see how the Body of Christ is so much the same all over the world. People are people, and God is God. His love crosses all cultures and He knows just what His people need. We will get to see Oleg and Tanya again at the conference at the end of our trip. Please pray for this precious couple that God would continue to lead them and guide them. Thanks!

Zhitomir

Posted on April 19, 2012 by kimnjed

What a great day! Sorry we are late getting this update out, but we don’t have wifi in our hotel now that we are in Zhitomir. We went to a café tonight to skype the kiddos and send out an update, but our battery died…and the charger was back in the hotel room. Oops!

Early this morning we headed out by metro to catch a bus to Zhitomir. The buses leave every 20 minutes or so all day long. The ride was about 2 hours long and I slept the whole way. All I know is I woke up at one point briefly and there were about twice as many people in the bus as we started with. Standing room only! We got to Zhitomir and gave Ira, the director at Mission to Ukraine, a call. She helped tell a taxi driver where to take us and after no time at all we arrived at Mission to Ukraine! Thank God for Ira because apparently we got off on the wrong stop. Everybody else got off, so we just went with the crowd…I know, I know, if they all jumped off a bridge would we follow? 🙂

The bus to Zhitomir

Mission to Ukraine!

We liked MTU (Mission to Ukraine) and Ira right away. Serious case of love at first sight. You would be amazed at all they accomplish here. We were blown away. They have 2 main focuses of their ministry. The first focus is crisis pregnancies. They have crisis pregnancy counseling where they share the Gospel and really try to get at what the woman’s true desires are. As Ira said “When it comes down to it they all want life”. In the last 15 years 600 children’s lives have been saved through the counseling. One of the main barriers the expectant mothers have is money. The economy is struggling here and if a woman has to quit her job to stay home with her child neither of them will survive. MTU helps mothers during the first 18 months of their child’s life by giving them food, helping with diapers, giving free medical care, and also helping the mothers learn skills that may help them earn some income- like quilting. They have seriously thought of it all. Cool huh?

Boxes leftover from a huge baby food donation from Germany

The other focus of MTU is children with disabilities. Oh my word, they go above and beyond what we were expecting. They are truly excellent in their work and they give all glory to God. They have a medical clinic that is free of charge with a pediatrician, a neurologist, ophthalmologist, and dentist. Oh, that’s not all! They have physical therapists, occupational therapists, a clinical psychologist, a speech therapist…a sensory room, PT equipment, a little preschool…on and on and on. This is not a big facility, but it is jam-packed with Jesus-lovin’ servants who are pouring their lives out for these families.

In this country you do not see people with disabilities out and about. The public transportation is impossible to navigate with a wheelchair. There is simply no way. So there is that physical obstacle, but Ira told us that the biggest obstacle for people with disabilities is that the rest of society is not ready to accept anyone who is different. So a parent with a disabled child is completely isolated and without help or support. Imagine having a child in a wheelchair and living on the 7^th floor of an apartment building? No support, no respite, no Early Intervention, no Special-Ed classrooms…I cannot fathom. Part of the mission of MTU is to integrate these children into society. They want to help the children learn how to behave and experience life in society, but they also want to help society embrace these children. It is a tall task, but God is blessing it like crazy. I can’t count the number of times I heard someone say today “Every child can learn something! No child is unteachable.” Amen and amen.

Playground at MTU. The building behind has Occupational Therapy and a small preschool classroom

Jed got to be a big encouragement today to the Psychologist, Yulia. She is the head of their therapies and she has a couple boys with Autism that she has been working with in her office. Children with Autism are not really treated here. Yulia is a pioneer in her field. She is doing what no one else is doing. All she has done so far with the boys is what she has learned by her own research on the internet. Jed got to observe her lesson with a 4-year-old little boy. He was able to encourage her and hopefully connect her with professionals we know. She is starving for resources and someone to bounce her ideas off of. She is amazingly creative and has limitless patience.

The Sensory Room at MTU

Another cool thing we got to experience today is one of MTU’s “beading groups”. Once a week certain groups of children with disabilities come and do beading projects. This is a time when they can come and be accepted for who they are, interact with one another, and they LOVE it. The mothers come too and chat with each other. The smiles on their faces were priceless. –the moms and the kids! One boy named Vitaliy was pretending to be shy, but was really proud of his beading work. He even warned us not to steal his beads and was showing Jed how fast he was at hiding his necklace.

Havalah donated her Rapunzel doll and wanted it to go to a very special little girl. Here ya go Hava! This little girl and her mommy love Rapunzel. They are very thankful!

The ministry area of MTU that most interests me is their work in the Romaniv Orphanage for boys with disabilities. Their staff has been visiting the institution weekly for the past 4 years. These are boys that the state deemed unteachable. The orphanage is for men and boys ages 7-30 years old. These boys have never been taught at all. Tania, the Communications Manager at MTU told us when they first found Romaniv the boys were like animals being held in a barn. No stimulation, no teaching, no loving. They now get to learn about Jesus every week. They have learned how to play with balls, how to wash their hands. Supposedly the change is amazing. We’ll see because get to visit there on Friday with MTU! We are very, very excited. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Tomorrow we will meet some Vineyard folks for coffee and a visit, and then we will head back to MTU for the rest of the day. Thanks everyone so much for all of your encouragement after our last post. I know it was a bit schizo J, but you all blessed us so much by your encouraging responses. Thank you for reminding us of who God called us to be, reminding us why we are here, loving us despite my “emo” moments. It really means a lot from this side to hear from the ones we love. THANK YOU!!

If you see our kids give them hugs and kisses from us. Addy, Ez, Havalah, and Seth- we love you and miss you so much! We talk about you to everyone we meet. We are so proud of you!

Today so Far

Posted on April 17, 2012 by kimnjed

This blog has a couple of purposes. One of them being a way to keep friends and family informed of the process and journey God’s had us on, and the other purpose is just to have a place to document our thoughts, what God is saying, what God is doing, so that when the going gets rough or we have doubts we can look back and remember. Today is one of those days I need to read back and remember what God has done and what He’s said to us in the past.

I hate to be a downer, but today has been pretty emotional for me. One of our contacts we were supposed to meet today ended up having to reschedule for Sunday, and that’s totally fine, it just means we had another day to wander. We ended up heading to the spot I wanted to see the most here in Kiev.

At a statue near the building for adoptions

After much searching, a coffee break and uphill, downhill trial and error we located the Adoption Authority office. That is the infamous building where families who are here to adopt receive the file of the child they are here for. At your appointment at this office you officially get permission to go visit your child in the orphanage. This whole crazy journey we’ve been on started with the dream of going to that office and picking up a referral of our own. Even though we aren’t here to adopt I just knew I had to find that office. I just had to give the statue a rub. I guess I didn’t realize how I would feel being there. I wasn’t expecting it. I felt sad, a little confused, a lot aimless. I mean, there is a little boy in this country right now that I would adopt right this instant if God gave the go-ahead. He’s mere hours away, sitting in a high chair with no stimulation, no Mama to love him and I’m here, not sure at all what God has in store. I’m a “doer”, so I guess I feel like if we were here to adopt I would know what to “do”. But, we are here at this point just to “be”. That is super hard for me. Of course later in the trip we’ll have a chance to “do”, but a lot of our time will be just “being”, eyes and ears open to what the Father is saying. If we get too busy doing, we may miss His still, small voice. A friend gave us a Word just yesterday that we are to be “Kingdom Observers” here. We are to observe what is Kingdom work here and bless it.

Today as we were out and about I was looking around at all the people and thinking in this very city there are babes wasting in cribs. Are the people here aware? Do they know? How can we help? What would God have us do? I’m desperate to know.

I know we are here for a reason. I know it. It just feels a bit sad today that we are not here for the reason we originally thought. I think I’m mourning that a bit today. I just have to trust God that He has a great purpose for us here. His plans are pleasing and perfect no matter if they look how I thought they would look. Today I need to remember that and trust. I did tell Jed to take note that we will be returning to that office someday. And when we do, we will have an appointment of our own. BAM. Take that! 🙂

(From Jed’s point of view)

Today has been great. I just spent all day walking around Kiev, a beautiful city full of history, with my beautiful wife, who is full of passion. When I watch her I’m reminded of the calling on our lives. See, I have no problem resting and taking in the sights because I know that we have, and will, spend most of our lives pouring out of the overflow of God’s goodness in our lives. Today was not that day. Today was a day of fun. God loves fun. He is happy to watch us be happy. “Happy are the people who’s God is the Lord.” -Pslam 144:15ish.

As Americans, we are emotionally tied to pursuing happiness. But, our diet of happiness has left us empty in the Purpose department. Kim does not lack purpose; she is ready to fly. But, God is not quite ready for us to take off. He has us here to see what He is already doing. We are here to notice His Kingdom breaking into the present. And I see His Kingdom everywhere. I see it in Daria and V as they talk about what God is doing in the Churches. I see it in Eugene’s eyes. I hear it in the voices of Nastia and Oleg. I see it as young men give their seats to elders on the metro. I could point out the oppression we see, but today I am seeing His Kingdom and I am praying for more.

“Holy Spirit you are welcome here. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory God is what our heart longs for, to be overcome by your presence Lord.” -Bryan Torwalt

We were walking down the street, looking at paintings for sale. It was so nice to see actual paint on canvas. I mostly just see prints in America (probably says more about me, I’m sure there is plenty of paint in our fine country). Anyways, there was a painting of a girl in traditional Ukrainian clothing and she was harvesting wheat. I was so moved by the picture. I was reflecting on all of the Ukrainian people who are ready and searching and harvesting.

If our life was a war movie and God was a Captain, today He said, “Smoke ‘um if you got ‘um boys!” Today I was smoking and Kim, like a Sargent was planning for what we would do after the rest. We all knew she had rank on me anyways.

-puffing away, Jed (not really puffing, Glen.)

Here’s some pictures from our adventures!