Deja Vu all over again

On Saturday morning, I slept in until almost 10:00am and that has not happened in a long time. But then again, what happened on Friday night had not happened in a long time either.

Bogdan and Anya had gone away to Anya's mom's for the night and I was at the house with most of the guys and girls. I decided to read at about 11:30 and about 20 minutes later, I heard the gate open and saw five of them leave. The area we live in is not the safest in the evening and they are not supposed to go off like that, especially without asking permission. About 45 minutes later, I had one of the other guys call them to tell them to get a part of their anatomy home. Memories came flooding back of 16 years ago when Scott and Hanne went away for the first time and I was alone at the Straight Ahead discipleship house. One guy took a car in the middle of the night and took off, another didn't go to his school graduation party, but managed to stay out all night, another decided to come back late just because and...you get the point.

Saturday night, we had a meeting with the five of them. Bogdan and Anya were upset, but stayed on the positive: "you've not had a family before and when you are a part of a family, it means giving up certain freedoms and living for others." They also said that they know it is not easy coming from a place of no rules, being 16 or 18 and having to be in by a certain time. When it was my turn, I just asked, "If Bogdan and Anya had been home, would you have done it?" There was silence. Only one said he did not know. I shared how I felt and we wrapped it up.

About an hour later, there was a knock on the door and all five filed in. "John we all wanted to say that we are sorry and didn't mean to hurt you and wanted to know if you can forgive us." Unlike one activist I once heard, I don't believe that forgiveness is yet another "F" word. I said I did and there was relief and hugs all around.

The real blessing came Sunday morning, when we could all look at each other and know that it was a new beginning. For some of those guys and girls, that was the first time they had done that. Lord help that to be a transforming moment for each of them and for me.

A Second Birthday Party

On any given weekend, Bogdan and Anya have 15 to 20 young people staying with them at the Safe Haven home in Kiev-that's on top of their own two sons. Thirteen of them live at the home, but others who lived there and who are now in college come "home" each weekend.

This past Friday, we celebrated Seroja's 18th birthday, but it was his second birthday party, ever. Last year, when he came to Bogdan and Anya's, Seroja had his first one. When the kids grow up in the orphanage, they do not have birthday parties unless some of the other kids do something special for them. So when Seroja (6th from left, standing) got his cake and blew out the candles, he looked more like an 8 than an 18 year old. His smile was infectious and everyone loved being able to celebrate him.

At one point in His ministry, Jesus redefined what it means to be family. He went to the outcasts and people who had been pushed out of the mainstream, loved them, took them in as disciples-followers- and said this is my family. He celebrated them and he called on all of us to do the same.

Those are true family values.

 Dima, me and Sveta before the ceremony.

Sveta and Dima at the Church

Sergei K. on right (with pillow) on our way to speak at the juvenile prison

Passages

Two phone calls in just a few minutes can show the intracacies of life. Dima called to let me know that we would take a van out to the city where his wedding would be. He was getting excited and couldn't wait for the big day. The next call was from Sergei Skiba letting me know that our friend Sergei K. had lost his battle with HIV/AIDS and that the funeral was the next day. At first it seemed a cruel twist of fate that a new life, where two were to become one, was about to begin, as another one of a friend was ending after only 27 years.

But the reality is that both lives are continuing, in different ways. Sergei was a believer and the promise of Christ of eternal life is now his reality. For his wife, daughter and friends, that gives hope. Please pray for them.

For Dima and Sveta, their lives are also moving forward in new and wonderous ways. This was my first experience at a Ukrainian Orthdox wedding and it was a treat. The pageantry and the beauty were awesome. As the godfather, I held the icon of Christ and as the rings were blessed, my eyes teared up and I had to blink as fast as I could to keep my composure--I'd be banished if I dropped that icon!

The day after the wedding, quite a few people wanted to come over "to meet the American", which I came to find out involved trying to drink a whole bunch of vodka and cognac with said American (when they weren't looking I put juice in my shot glass so it looked like I had already poured). It was fun getting to know some new people and to see how Dima is already part of another family.

I guess this is going to be a time of lots of new beginnings, even when endings seem to come with them...

Still no internet so photos will follow

A Good Start

Attractive young ladies just don't come up to me in lines for some reason, but when I was waiting in the immigration line at the airport in Kiev, Victoria did just that and asked why I was in the "visa" line if I am an American since Americans do not need visas. I explained that I would be here more than three months so I needed one. When I told her why I was here, Victoria lit up and said that she was going to be working with orphans this week. It turns out that Victoria is a children's rights lawyer in the States who wants to do more outreach and advocacy for kids in trouble with the law. I told her that is what we are doing and now she is interested in helping out here (her grandfather lives in Ukraine) and in America.

Not a bad way to start the trip, eh?