Beginnings: In The Ukraine

I met the five other friends/team members and joined them at a hostel in the center of Kiev. There we began to reconnect and begin planning for the time ahead. A mixture of nations and personalities I consider each one to be a friend, something that will make the long road ahead much easier.

In Kiev we quickly discovered a description that would be apt is ‘classy’. Walk the streets and you will discover the beauty of its architecture, pillars, arches and intricate stonework showing incredible intention to detail. When night comes, many buildings are lit up with coloured spotlights making the streets a masterpiece to be seen.

After four days in Kiev we took the train to Vinnitsa, a three hour ride which was quite an experience. On arrival with luggage that should last us a year,  we had to take it all off the train in under two minutes. After that time the doors would close and the train would depart…. rising to the challenge we had all our luggage  off in 46 seconds with nothing left behind (one person set a stopwatch). There we were met by Andrew Ford an Austrailian missionary who picked us up and took us to where we would be staying for the next three weeks.

Vinnitsa- Transitional Home

Shortly before arriving in Vinnitsa I discovered the couple we were staying with- John and Fritha Washington were actually friends I met two years previously.. in a conference of around 8000 people, they ‘just so happened’ (God?) to be camping next door. Two years later I was meeting them again, staying in their home for three weeks with the Eloy team.

The transitional home is where John and Fritha (with the support of the YWAM Vinnitsa team) take in orphans who have ‘aged out’ or graduated from orphan care at age 16. This was a vision birthed by Andrew and Oksana Ford who saw the crucial need for parents and family. They realised how love in the final teen years and upwards into the twenties sets up the teenager with a far better framework for life. Sadly, without families, most orphans are exposed to the worst negative influences and circumstances. The time in the transitional home has the potential to alter the course of the teenagers lives from negative influences to hope, love, encouragement  and in turn impact society for good.

‘God sets the lonely in families’- Psalm 68:6

Incredibly in another stroke from the master artist, John and Fritha explained the inspiration behind the transitional home being for girls came through a prayer book on gender based injustice. When we saw what the prayer book was and where it came from we were astounded….

The prayer book was from ‘A Voice For The Voiceless‘, the ministry we come from, released before the Eloy Project began. In a beautiful set of events we were all encouraged by what an impact justice media can have and how it can influence farther than you could imagine. Soon after I contacted the leaders of A Voice For The Voiceless and they were deeply moved by how God had used this particular publication.

The Past Few Days

In the last couple of days we have had opportunity to go to local orphanages with Andrew, Oksana and other members of the team. Andrew (Australian) has been in the Ukraine for 14 years and is married to Oksana who is Ukrainian. They have been tirelessly building friendships and relationships with orphans and orphanage staff who likewise give their life to looking after the children.

They are an example for us on how we should operate, love and champion others around the globe. We are to encourage and celebrate the fantastic work that is being done, highlight and discover the solutions being used and assist with the problems in an appropriate way.

Personal reflections

Again my heart as been stirred to do what I can with my hands, mainly my camera. I believe and hold onto:

‘When many little people in many little places, do many little things, then the whole world changes’.- Michael Franti.

We are little people, doing little things but with God’s help the world will change. We will see these children get the love and care they deserve, We Will see societies understand the importance of their children.