Kinsley's Out There: Community

Kinsley's Out There: Community: "The guys downstairs This morning, I went downstairs and there were four guys sleeping in various places in the little house where I'm sta..."

Community

The guys downstairs

This morning, I went downstairs and there were four guys sleeping in various places in the little house where I'm staying. Last week, six guys from the orphanage, who just graduated, came here so that they could take their college entrance exams.  Now there are 22 guys and girls here. Give or take one or two.

What's interesting is that most of the guys were ones who didn't come to the camps for one reason or another and who never really connected with us.

Last night, we had a Bible study and most of them came, including Vitya, who hung out with us at the first camp (Tiger used to call him Curly, which may be part of the problem...), but shut down after that. As Anya was asking the group to explain what it means to be a Christian, I saw Vitya listening intently. I'm not sure what got through, but that he was listening was a bit of a miracle.

Family, celebrating my birthday.

The study was on Acts, and as we were reading  how the earliest followers of Christ freely sold their possessions and lived so that no one was in want, it was a reminder that we often miss out on the blessings that such living can bring. It was also a reminder that God gives us a place to belong, a place where we can be loved. Seeing the 22+ kids, thinking how they were all abandoned, abused or neglected, and are now finding a place to call home, made me think that this is what the Church should be about.

Maybe that is what Vitya was experiencing for the first time.

Colony Visit

Lydia, Ira and John at the festival

It had been over a year since I'd been able to get into the juvenile prison colony due to red tape and scheduling conflicts. This past Saturday, Sergei, Lydia and I finally got to get into the colony and it happened to be a festival day, where the guys were doing skits, singing, dancing and doing acrobatics. Most of the guys were there as were many officials and at the end, I got a chance to thank them for their openness to letting us in and got to present them with a laptop and LCD projector that we were able to purchase for them.

Sergei, Lydia and I also got a chance to invite all of the guys to the Bible study, which was great, as there were 80 new guys from other colonies that had just closed.

Guys doing acrobatics

When it came time for the small group, guys just kept coming. We ended up with about 35 or 40 and at least 10 were from the other colonies. Sergei, Lyda and I started to share about what we do and why and then the guys started asking me questions about the juvenile "prisons" in America. I got to share about guys whose lives the Lord has changed, including Jason who was at Camp Squanto 15 years ago and who now is on staff with us at Straight Ahead Ministries, and about His love for them all. Then I asked them about their lives and why they come to Lydia and Sergei's group.

One boy, Vlad said that he comes to get closer to the Lord. He has repented and he now feels hope that he can make it. Sanya shared that his father killed his mother when he was 9 and that he started stealing when he was not much older than that. Sanya told us that he loves coming to Sergei and Lydia's group, but when he goes back to the rest of the prison, he often feels hopeless. That lead to a great discussion about Sergei and Lydia's love for him and for the other guys, and how that love comes from Jesus, who never leaves us, no matter where we go. Sanya started to beam.

When it was time to wrap things up, Sergei said that if any of the guys wanted to repent, if they felt like their faith was coming alive, that they should stay. A couple of guys left, but the rest stayed. Sergei  wanted to make sure that they understood so he told them again that they should leave unless they wanted to pray. No one moved and they all prayed. This is not something that they take lightly as they get harassed and put down for coming to the group and for becoming believers.

As we were leaving, there were a lot more smiles and hugs, and many guys asked when we were coming back. It's amazing to see hope and life come into hearts that have been so hurt and closed. We need to pray that they keep that light and share it.

Red and Yura

Deb and Red, 2001

On June 7, 2003, Ricky Garcia, a/k/a Red, went home to be with the Lord at age 22. He was one of those kids whom people loved instantly, who was a leader and who was as complicated as they come. He had been an addict for many years, but he never lost his humanity. A couple of years before his death, Red's faith had come alive and that gave him hope, a hope that he shared with others. He was one of Deb and my "keepers" who was always close, at least in heart.

When Red passed, it seemed like a lot of my heart went with him. But just a month later, I was back in Ukraine with our band, Svuki Bostona, even though I was still in a fog. As usual, we did a concert for the guys at the juvenile colony in Kremenchug. After the concert, a tall, tough looking young man was standing on the stage by himself. I got one of those, "go over and talk with him" nudges and so I went.

His name was Yura and he had been there for about a year. He was not a believer, but something was stirring within him. Yura shared about his life: he didn't know his father and he and his mother had come to Ukraine from Russia when he was 5. When he was 6, his mother sent Yura for a bottle of wine, which he dropped and broke. When he came home, she beat him and kicked him out. Yura lived on the streets and when the police would bring him to the orphanage, he would run away. His mother died when he was 9. When he was 13 the police arrested him and Yura thought that they had caught him for stealing food. They charged him with murder, held a kangaroo court, and he was sentenced to 10 years for a crime he didn't commit.

Me and Yura, June 2011

I can't remember much about the rest of our conversation, but I remember sharing about Christ's love and praying with Yura. Yura later told me that on that day, his faith and hope came alive; in a way, my hope came back alive too after it had been pushed down with Red's death.

Last week, on June 7, 2011, Yura called me. He had been released from the adult prison after serving the rest of his sentence. He was living in Kiev and wanted to meet as soon as possible. I was happy, but I was also apprehensive as I hadn't seen Yura in the 6 years that he had served in the adult prison system, a system that often breaks people.

We met and it was great. Yura looked healthy and he was enjoying life. He had a good church and was living in a hostel until he could afford a room someplace. Yura asked what I saw in his soul and I told him that I was happy to see that he was full of life. I also shared that I had worried about what I would see. Yura smiled and said, "I am a believer and Jesus never left me." As we left, Yura told me that he loved me and that he was thankful to God that I was his "spiritual" father. I told him the same and we made plans to meet again over the weekend, with an interpreter so we could talk more in depth.

When I contacted Yura the next day, he had decided to go to another city a few hundred miles from here as his friend had a place for him there and he could live for two months on what he could live on in Kiev for just a couple of weeks. Part of me was happy for him, but part was bummed that he would not be around. That is pretty typical with the guys and girls with whom we work. Then again, I guess that's part of "spiritual" parenthood.

Life is full of comings and goings, but what a blessing it is when we get glimpses into the connectedness of it all. 

Please keep Yura in your prayers (and Pasha, whom we still have not heard from since he left the house in Zolotonosha) as he works through his freedom for the first time in ten years.