2010-What did we see?

How we frame events in our lives dictates how we live and how we look at life. Events happen and much of the time, we cannot control them. What we can control is how we look at them. These are some photos from 2010 and as I was going through them, I got to thinking, how do we frame what we see? Often time it can be a combination of many things. What do you see?


Do we see Sergei, the kid who stole the tractor parts to help feed himself or the one whose smile is infectious and whose faith came alive at a juvenile colony in Ukraine?

Do we see kids whose parents abused them and threw them away surrounding the assistant director of the orphanage or do we see kids with smiles that faith, hope, and love can give that can never be taken away surrounding a woman who grew up in the same place and who now dedicates her life to those who are like she once was?

Do we see a Muslim student who left school to take care of his family and a Christian educator who started a school for kids like him in Cape Town or do we see a son who calls her mom because she loves him and her other students as Christ loved His children?

Do we see a young man who once lived in a car with his alcoholic mother and who ended up in detention or do we see the loving father, husband and attorney who helps kids understand that there is a Redeemer and redemption?

Do we see colleagues who huffed and puffed their way up a mountain or do we see friends from different backgrounds whom God has blessed to allow to work together at Straight Ahead?

Are they just people crammed into the stairwell or friends who traveled to Ukraine for 10 years together, who can still share stories, laugh with and at each other and wonder how it got to be 11:00pm so fast?

Is he an abandoned kid who asked me if I knew what time it was in Russian 12 years ago and laughed at me when I didn't know how to eat sunflower seeds or a new husband, magazine writer and Believer who shows love in ways that still amaze?

Are they young men and women who grew up in an orphanage or a family which the Lord has formed from battered and broken lives?

Is it just a meal in a small house in Ukraine or a gathering of men, eating and having fellowship and just enjoying being together?

Old guys in Vermont being chased by horseflies or old friends sharing memories from 10 years on hot, cramped buses going to juvenile prisons and camps in Ukraine and sharing hopes for the future?








A prom queen or a beautiful young lady about to leave my oldest friends empty-nesters and us feeling really old and saying things like, "how did that happen so fast?"

Christmas Sorta

On the Road to Kamarivka

In Dr. Suess' How The Grinch Stole Christmas, after he had stolen all of the gifts, trees, lights and tinsel, the Grinch was waiting to hear the Whos in Whoville crying as they awoke to a Christmas without any of the usual trimmings. Instead, he heard the Whos singing and celebrating what was still Christmas. When he heard this, the Grinch's heart grew two sizes too big. He was transformed by understanding that Christmas was not about the lights and the presents. It was about something more...

Here in Ukraine, there are few signs of what we in the West have come to associate with Christmas: there are few lights on houses, few Santa Clauses, and few commercials reminding us of how many shopping days we have left. There are also few reminders of the birth of Christ for which the season is celebrated.

Yesterday, Doug Stoddard and I went to Kamarivka, a village where Doug has been working for 8 years with kids in the orphanage, old people in the hospital and with regular people in the village. It is a two hour drive from Kiev and Doug goes each week. Villages here in Ukraine are often breeding grounds for the social ills that plague the society-there are few jobs, cheap vodka, and too much time to do nothing. In many ways, they are like the poorer parts of cities in America.

As we were driving, Doug saw many people who know him and who stopped us to talk.  Doug and the organization he is with, MANNA Worldwide, have helped to bring aid to many there and have been able to put together teams that have helped transform the orphanage from a place where there was little heat, holes in the floors and children wearing raggedy clothes, to one where the kids have warm rooms and decent care. He has also shared the Gospel in a way that people want to see him and not in a way that makes them run away. In a Christ-like way.

As we were leaving the orphanage, Doug had about 5 kids in tow. When we got to the car, Doug said that it's always hard to leave, even when he knows that he'll be back the following week. When he said that, I thought how it's people like Doug who represent the Incarnate God of the Christian faith. He brings love and hope into dark places and finds a way to do it that make people smile when they see him. I'm sure that some of their hearts are already two sizes too big.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Police and Returns

For those who work with at-risk or post-risk kids, there are some things that are pretty much a given and some of them involve the police. When Scott, Hanne and I were at the Straight Ahead Discipleship house in Westboro, the kids who lived with us all came from lock-ups and some of them had some pretty serious crimes. They had all come to faith and wanted to live in a new environment, but the past was always with them. The police were aware of the house and would sometimes sit in front of it or would follow the guys to work at McDonalds. At one point, we had to let the police know that I was an attorney and though we didn't want any trouble, we were not going to let them make it harder for the guys to turn their lives around. That changed things and later, one of the kids, Moe, was even able to work with them as he studied criminal justice. God has a way of rewriting things, even if it is through demon spawn lawyers. I mean...

Last week, four days before Bogdan and Anya were to return from Egypt, I received a text message from Roma: "Привет Джон. У меня большие проблемы. Мне надо поговорить с тобой- Hi John, I have big problems. I need to speak with you." Never a good message. When he came home, Roma was shaking. He had been accused of taking something while at the university and he was brought to the police station for three hours. They told him to return the next morning. Orphans are often seen as guilty as they are thought to have "bad blood" and such was the case with Roma.

The Westboro experiences came flooding back (when Scott and Hanne went away or when I was gone, stuff always seemed to happen!) and I knew we had to pray. I also knew that we needed to contact a lawyer and we know one here who is a believer. Dima told Roma not to go back to the police and that if they came for him, he should tell them he has a lawyer. It worked and nothing went any further.

Anya, Bogdan, (L) a few of the kids, and Jenny Kelly from New Year's 2005

Early Monday morning, Bogdan, Anya and their son Pasha came home from their vacation. They were tired, but had had a great trip. Last night, they took out "the slides" and all of the kids, Bogdan's mom, and I watched and heard the stories. As Bogdan and Anya were talking, I was watching all 17 of the guys and girls who were there and saw how happy they were to have Bogdan and Anya home. It's hard to describe, but it was as if there was nothing wrong in the world for them and the ones who made them a family, the ones who keep them safe, were home.

I guess that is what Christmas is supposed to be like.

An Early Present

In many ways, Ukrainian society is more direct and has less "gray" in it than in the West. The weather is often hot or cold, Ukrainians are either upfront or avoid confrontation at all cost, and decisions are made more decisively. Two weeks ago, Handjik and Lena (two of the young people who used to live at the Safe Haven home) got engaged. The following Sunday, they and Anya sat down and had the wedding all planned out: where (Andrew and Jenny's camp), when (Jan. 22), who will come (53 people) and who will bring what. Assignments were given and, boom, a wedding is planned.

Bogdan baptizing Boo-who needs a fancy baptismal?

That next night, we had another one of those decisive moments. Sergei Buliyev's ("Boo") heart was opened and he felt God was calling him to faith. He repented and then wanted to be baptized. A few years ago, Boo had been at the orphanage camp and had really connected with Jake, Tim, Matt, Kyle and James. He even wrote to them to tell them how much their friendship meant to him and how much he admired their faith.

And what does it look like when you are connected with God and with a family? Take a look at the photo of Boo and Shkasia (below) and you be the judge.

Shkasia and Boo