The Market

I love to cook so buying food at our local market is never boring to me. Outside the market there are Babas who sell food straight from their dacha. Flowers, socks, buttermilk, fresh vegetables and fruit are just some of the things you can find. You have to look carefully for what you want.

Cliff Notes For Helping Others

I don't know why, but it seems that we make helping others really hard to do. There's always a lot of talk about what we want to do but in the end we seem to be hesitant to step out confidently with the knowledge of what God wants us to do.

Here are some "cliff notes" for helping others:

Loose the chains of injustice

Untie the cords of the yoke

Set the oppressed free

Break every yoke

Share your food with the hungry

Provide the poor wanderer with shelter

when you see the people without clothes, clothe them

Take care of your own family

Do away with the yoke of the oppression

Do away with accusations

Do away with malicious talk

Go out of your way to help hungry people

Satisfy the needs of the oppressed

Rebuild what others have torn down

Lay a foundation for people to live their life on

Repair broken walls

Restore homes

Honor the Lord over doing your own thing

Don't speak idle words.

I've taken this list from Isaiah 58. (paraphrased) It's interesting to me that "setting the oppressed free" is mentioned three times. "Feeding the hungry" is also listed twice. Why do you think these are mentioned repeatedly?

The Past And The Future

Monday was a holiday so ChildRescue had a party to celebrate our ministry to at risk children. We invited children whom we have worked with who are now adults and also children which we have placed in families. It was an emotional day and everyone had fun seeing each other again.

We had a good turn out but this group does not reflect how many children ChildRescue has worked with in the last ten years. The number is in the hundreds.

I was at the Day Center the day this little girl's mother came to visit us and started to learn about how we could possibly help her. The mother's situation was heartbreaking and unfortunately she was unable to continue to take care of her little girl. The little girl came to live in our Rehabilitation Center until we could find her in a new home. It was a tremendous blessing to see her again with her new family and to see her healthy and happy.

Of course there was an Ukrainian feast!

The day was a time of reflection and shared testimonies on how our lives have been blessed but it was also a time to look forward to the future. I realized that we are not only ministering to children, but also to their parents, the community and to each of us who work together to help at risk children. God has a plan and future for all of us who trust in him.

Life In Ukraine

Here's a link to some gorgeous, award winning photographs by Yevgenia Belorusets which show what the details of life look like in Ukraine.

To see the photos, click HERE.

Summer Cleaning

I've probably posted about this somewhere in my last blog but I still get overwhelmed with the whole "summer clothes/winter clothes" concept so I have to share this with you again. Originally from California, I am used to ALL my clothes staying in my closet or chest of drawers ALL year. In Ukraine, due to the small apartment space and the concept of wardrobes, twice a year all the summer clothes go into my suitcases and the winter clothes are unpacked for use and then vice versa when the weather changes. Oh and yes, there is such a thing as fall and spring clothes that overlap until the summer or winter weather gets extreme.

This is what my bed looked like this afternoon as I hauled everything out and cleaned my wardrobe. (Yes, there's a bed underneath it all!)

After letting everything air out, I will pack up my winter clothes tomorrow and I will arrange to have one falling apart suitcase that is packed with recycled clothes to be taken to our Humanitarian Center.

Summer Ukrainian Toddler Fashion

Summer has arrived and with it specific outerwear guidelines for Ukrainian toddlers. Hats are requirements for both boys and girls.

Adorable? Yes!