Mission to Ukraine | Wide Awake Family

A Week in Photos: March 8th

Posted on March 8, 2015 by kimnjed

Oh my goooooodness! What an awesome week we had! It was go go go and packed with amazingness.

Jed was in America for 12 days and just got home last Thursday. He had an awesome time of connecting with supporters and churches. He went with the purpose of building a Wide Awake Medical Advisory Team and made lots of great contacts toward that end. It will be exciting to see what comes of it. We realize that we are at the far limits of our own personal knowledge for how to best help the boys at Romaniv. It’s time to pull in the big guns. The people Jed met with were so gracious and excited to help. Our Boys are loved by so many!

These past few days we had an extra special treat. You see Wide Awake gets to partner with some pretty special people, and two of them visited this past week. Suzy and Lois visited from Hands of Hope Adoption and Orphan Care and we had a super great time. We got to talk about how we can best work together and how we, along with Mission to Ukraine, can best join forces to care for our Boys. It was incredible!!! We didn’t want them to leave! Talk about kindred spirits… I’ll share more about that later. Now for the pics!

On Tuesday we celebrated Valera’s 30th birthday! He was over the moon excited!

That pink box was his only birthday wish 🙂

Suzy, Lois, and Romaniv Directors. All four, so precious to us

Baking, baking, baking in preparation for a BIG party for Romaniv nannies!

Four handsome MEN- all ready for their special performances

Addy and Ez came along to help with the party. They were so happy to see their Romaniv buddies!!!

Sweet nannies. We love them.

Stasik welcoming everyone to the special party!

Hands of Hope gave each nanny their own multicooker! They are all the rage here and cost almost a full month’s salary! The nannies were just a tad bit excited.

Meanwhile, the boys were busy being adorable…

Maxim’s first selfie 🙂

Our Friday afternoon team is back in action!

All in all it was a fabulous week. Good things are happening left and right. We are so blessed to partner with MTU and Hands of Hope.

On another note, our fam is battling some sickness and just all around exhaustion, so we would appreciate your prayer. We’re sick and tired of being sick and tired. Ain’t nobody got time for that! 😉

Till next time! Say yes to Jesus this week, okay?

On Contrasts and Soul-Feeding

Posted on October 29, 2014 by kimnjed

Tuesday was a day of HUGE contrast.

We spent the morning at Romaniv, as usual, and then in the evening we had our second Youth Night. This night was for our second group of graduates from Mission to Ukraine (MTU). As MTU focuses more on providing therapy for children, we are taking on the adults who have aged out of their services. There are about 40 graduates all together and we have them broken up in to two different groups, according to developmental level and interest level. The purpose of the Youth Nights is to provide a social opportunity for these young men and women, and for their moms. These guys and gals have grown up together at MTU, and this group of moms and their children are like extended family for each other. They just need a place and time set aside for them to be loved and valued and treasured for the the beautiful people that they are. They need a place to be with their peers where they are accepted and known.

We are more than happy to provide that for them.

I can't even accurately describe to you my love for this group of grown children and their moms. It felt like my birthday and Mother's Day and Christmas all rolled in to one as I anticipated Tuesday night. Most of these guys we hadn't seen since camp and we have missed them SO MUCH.

It's like God has planted them so deeply in to my heart that I am just bursting with love for them. I just want to squeeeeeeeeeze them all! And I did! Hahaha

As our awesome volunteers arrived to help set up one of them mentioned that there was a big group of people all huddled together down the street a ways, “Do you think that's them?” He asked. I said I would go check.

Oh.My.Word. I ran outside to find a group of like 15 of our youth and their moms all huddled together, in the freezing cold, 20 minutes early, not exactly sure where to go, waiting for everyone to arrive so they could come in together. I ran up to them to invite them inside, and seeing the excitement on their faces was absolutely priceless. SO PRECIOUS!!!!!

When God first made an opportunity for me to work with moms at MTU I was hesitant- and not that excited, to be honest. Then at camp He made another opportunity for me to work with moms, and again, I was not that excited (slow learner maybe?). But, He always knows better. Through those times of working with moms I grew to love them deeply. God knew we would be caring for these moms and their kids and He started preparing our hearts for it many months ago. These groups are just as much for the moms as they are for the kids

Work with this group is what brings me joy. More than anything else we do here in Ukraine, this group is the most life-giving to me. It feeds my soul- deep, deep down. I love Romaniv. Duh. I adore our Boys there. Duh. But Romaniv is also hard. It is painful. It is joy and sorrow and hugs and pain all at once.

This group is just joy. Pure and simple childlike joy.

God knew we needed this group just as much as they need us.

To go from Romaniv, where the boys are left alone in bed for hours, till we arrive to take them out, to young men and women being lovingly cared for by their mothers is like night and day. To go from Romaniv where Boys are not seen as individually valuable and special, to watching a mother's eyes light up as she watches her daughter laugh with her friends is like icy cold and cozy warmth. The contrasts between our morning and our evening are too many to count.

This group is like a salve on my soul. It reminds me of what is possible with love. It fills me with hope for our Boys. It is like a ginormous bear hug that lasts all evening. It makes my face hurt from smiling so big.

Thank you Jesus for this group. Thank you Jesus for knowing what we need. Thank you Jesus for the immense privilge of loving and knowing these families.

I'm just so happy. Sigh.

Pure Magic.

Posted on July 30, 2014 by kimnjed

The candles were lit, white lights twinkled overhead. The room was decked out in red and white, tablecloths smoothed, plates laden with treats. We were ready. I looked out the window to see the ones I love gussied up in their finest, smiling for the cameras like the stars that they are. Moms surrounded them with pride in their eyes, snapping photos left and right, attempting to capture this moment and never let it go.

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It was our last night at camp and time for our “Ladies and Gentlemen” evening. A night created to honor our campers and let them know how we cherish them. A night without parents, a night to feel young and free, grown up and proud. A night made for them to take with them for the rest of their lives.

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We opened the doors and applauded our dear ones as they entered the room arm and arm with their precious volunteers. Oh how their faces beamed with pride and excitement. They looked absolutely stunning- each one. Pure magic.

Every volunteer had written something special for their camper, and as each one was called up we cheered and hooted and hollered. We told them they looked beautiful. We read beautiful words about them, telling them how they are seen by their friends. Some had grins you couldn’t wipe off if you tried, some blushed furiously, shy with the praise, a few wept, and I know I joined them. 🙂

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Oleg shared a poem and dessert was served. I flitted from table to table, wanting to savor each face in my mind, wanting to cement this night in my heart. Volunteers, our waiters and waitresses for the night, served our guests like royals. Feeding those who couldn’t feed themselves, holding hands and pushing wheelchairs, wiping drool and crumbs, smoothing skirts and jackets, refilling cups and sharing conversation. The cream of the crop were there that night- Zhytomyr’s finest- young people who have chosen to ignore their culture’s definition of value and choose to see with eyes of the Kingdom.

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A waltz was shared and all were invited to join. A tall volunteer bends low as he invites a beauty in a wheelchair to join him in a dance. She laughs big as another volunteer cuts in. Every soul celebrated and treasured.

We ended the night with fireworks and the joy on each face was indescribable. Kingdom of Heaven come to earth. God’s Kingdom come here and now- on earth as it is in Heaven.

I wish I could transport each of you back to that night with me. I wish you could see and feel the joy in the room. I want you to meet those we love so. Roma, Vitaliy, Dasha, Natasha, Luba, Andrei, Vitya, Rostik, Oksana, Vika, Anton, Olya, Maxim…real people with real hopes and dreams. They may be limited by their bodies, but there is no limit to God’s love for them. They are of infinite value and worth. They are worth it. They are worth time and effort and energy and love. They aren’t a diagnosis or a mystery in a chair. They are beloved sons and daughters and sisters and brothers and friends, and on Sunday night they were celebrities. 🙂

I won’t be the same after this last month. Our whole family is changed. So much was solidified in our hearts and many, many times this past month my heart knew there is no place else I’d rather be. Yes, it is often difficult. Yes, the language barrier makes me want to scream. Yes, we feel like outsiders much of the time. Yes, sometimes we are lonely. Yes, we miss our family (so much). Yes, we miss our church (so much). Yes, we miss one-stop shopping and dryers and the coast and the beauty of Oregon. But our hearts know where they belong. Our hearts belong in a town full of those broken in body but alive and awake in spirit. Our hearts belong in an institution of the broken and forgotten. Our hearts belong with the royalty of Sunday night and with those who served them.

Praise God for knowing so much better than we do. Praise God for those who have gone before us and paved the way in a society that says their work is of little value. I just can’t thank God enough for placing our family here. Not every day is lollypops and roses, and someday soon I will share some of our struggles. But beyond all that I am thankful. God has flooded our hearts with love that only comes from Him and I can’t even express to you in words how much we love our Ladies and Gentlemen. They are absolute treasures.

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How is this our life? Somebody pinch me.

Outrageous Joy, Indescribable Beauty

Posted on July 20, 2014 by kimnjed

Fun. Laughter. Extravagant love. Joy. Triumph. Compassion. Excitement. Tears. Healing. Hugs and more hugs. Potatoes and buckwheat. Creativity. Singing. Rejoicing. Miracles. Awakened hearts. And….more love.

A little girl, nonverbal, barely in control of her body and unable to walk, claps her hands with joy when she sees her volunteer at breakfast in the morning. She tugs at his beard and rubs his face as he beams with delight over her, like a proud father.

Six sweet souls from Romaniv run and swing and slide without a care in the world. I think they laughed for eight days straight.

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Weary moms walk with a new spring in their step. Every day they hold their shoulders a bit higher. They smile with tears in their eyes as they see their children loved with abandon- just as they are. “I didn’t think anyone could ever love my child like that.”

Addy runs across the grass holding hands and laughing with Ryan, a most special young man. Their giggles echo across the field. Addy gushes, “I love you Ryan!”

Vlad, a little guy with special needs, his first time at camp, holds his head high as he belts out the Ukrainian national anthem for a room crowded with people. His mom cries as thunderous applause fills the room.

My own children’s hearts fill with love and compassion as they grow to know these special people God has placed in their lives. They truly begin to understand why we live here in Ukraine and tell me “We have to stay here. The boys at Romaniv need us to love them!”

My prayers are answered.

Ukrainian volunteers give their whole selves to serve and love those who their society has cast aside. Beauty beyond measure.

I stand in the back watching a slide show of pictures throughout the week and realize there is no place on earth I would rather be.

A week absolutely full of glimpses of God’s Kingdom breaking through into earth.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

Mission to Ukraine hosts two summer camps each year for people with disabilities. The first camp is for children, and the second camp, which starts on Monday, is for teens and young adults. Children with all levels of ability are present and loved. I can’t begin to describe the beauty. Today we head back for the second camp and our hearts are bursting with anticipation. May the love of God fill every single corner of every single heart. May each soul know the love of the Father like never before. May mother’s hearts be renewed and strengthened. May it be on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you for your prayers!

Visit MTU’s Facebook page to see many more beautiful pictures, and a picture of Romaniv boys doing a traditional Ukrainian dance!

Radio Silence (+ Mustache Bonus Feature)

Posted on July 8, 2014 by kimnjed

Tomorrow we set out on a big adventure!

Our family will be participating in Mission to Ukraine’s (MTU) two summer camps and tomorrow the fun begins.

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Every summer MTU holds two different summer camps for children with disabilities and their mothers. The first camp is for young children and the second camp is for teenagers and young adults. The children and youth each have varying levels of needs and abilities and all are welcome. These are all kids who receive services at MTU, whether it be special needs preschool or physical therapy or occupational therapy or life skills classes. Not only do the kids get to have a blast playing games, doing crafts, and learning about Jesus at camp, but the moms get a week of respite and fellowship with each other. We’ve heard it’s just amazing and we can’t wait to see for our ourselves. 🙂

The campers are put in to small groups according to their ages and then each camper is paired with an adult volunteer who helps them and cares for them during all the camp activities. During the first camp Jed will be in a group with the little little kiddos. Havalah and Seth will also be in his group. How cool that all our kids get to be campers too! Addy and Ezra will be with their age groups. I’m not exactly sure how it will work with our kids during the second camp…but I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Twelve older, high functioning boys from Romaniv get to come for the second camp. YAY!

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Originally I was supposed to be with kids, but there was a surprise need for someone to work with the moms, so I’ll be doing that. There is an American woman who has come to camp faithfully, for like 12 years straight and she always serves the moms, but she was unable to make it this year. Sooooo…I guess I’m up! Every morning I’ll be doing a small group with some of the moms of the campers. I feel pretty nervous and completely out of my element, so it you could pray for me I would so much appreciate it!!! I really just want to hear the Lord and His heart for these moms. I can’t even imagine how it is to raise a child with special needs here. It must be so isolating and difficult. I don’t know all that these moms need, but God does and so I’m just praying He speaks through me. Who knows, I might even make some new friends in the process! 🙂 I hope so.

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Our goal for this camp is just to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these families. May they experience joy and love at every turn. May they be refreshed and their hearts filled to overflowing. May those who don’t know Jesus meet him during this camp. May each person truly understand the they are seen and they are known by God, and if they will only glance in His direction, He will meet them there. By the way, did you know those things are true for you too?

We’ll be out at camp pretty much until the end of the month with only a couple days home in the middle of the two camps, so we won’t be posting any updates during that time. Email responses will also be delayed, FYI.

Radio silence commencing….now. Catch ya on the flip side!

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*So, we got some mustaches in a package from the US…and one thing led to another…