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.

Highs and Lows

Luba and her boys from the camp.

It's interesting that Psalm 22, which starts out "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning..." and goes on with David crying out for help, is followed by Psalm 23, which starts out, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures..." and goes on to extol the hope and peace that we can have in the Lord.

That intertwining of heartache and joy, peace and despair, are a part of being in ministry with kids who live on the edge of so many things. We cannot be like social workers who are taught not to become personally involved in the lives of their clients, as Christ calls us to do otherwise.

This past week, I got a call from Sergei who was heartbroken as both Igor and Pasha  left the aftercare home last weekend. Igor took some things and just left-which is his pattern in life. Pasha, for some unknown reason, decided to leave and wouldn't say why. Sergei sees Pasha as a son and this is a tough thing. I've been through that myself, too many times, and it hurts. It helps us to remember that people have to make their own choices and that the Lord gives each of us free will to do so, but it's never easy. Please pray that Igor will be safe and pray that Pasha will come back. And pray for Sergei too.

Shkasia and his new buddy.

This past week, we were sitting here at the house, when Bogdan looked at me and said, "I'm so happy. You know why? This is a dream come true for Anya and me." We were looking at photos and talking with the guys and girls who have lived here at the Safe Haven house, just after they returned from a camp that they put together and ran for kids from broken, destitute homes. Andrew and Jenny Kelly do outreach to those kids and this was a special time for them to get away from the hell of home.

All of the kids who lead the camp grew up in the orphanage and became believers through camps or through living here. Now, they are helping the kids they once were and they were so excited about it. I kidded with Bogdan that we can now retire since the next generation is keeping things going.

Thank you Lord for that and for keeping us going when we don't have the strength. That is a great gift.

A boy, a dad, and a car

I have always loved cars and still enjoy getting my Car and Driver magazine each month when I'm home. Cars and young (and not so young) men are kind of a universal match.

The Lada, Bogdan and Seroja

A few months ago, one of the guys here at the house, Seroja, bought a 40 year old Russian Lada from one of Bogdan's friends. Often times, I've come home to see Seroja, his fiance Yana, and some of the other guys and girls from the house just sitting in the car listening to the radio.

The car needed quite a bit of work and it's been awesome to see Seroja and Bogdan working on that car together, as a son and father. Such a simple thing, but one that wouldn't have happened if Bogdan and Anya had not made this group of people a family.When I see these things it makes me think of all the day-to-day events that we take for granted as "normal", which are anything but that for so many kids who grew up in orphanages.

Today, I was sitting here and looked out the window and saw the two of them putting on a new grille--again, a universal thing with guys and cars is that you have to make them unique and "tuned" as possible. Seeing such interactions and seeing Seroja and the others enjoying a such simple things is really a blessing. God still has a way of making something out of nothing, even in the little things of life.

It is Good Friday

 

When I was a child, I could never understand how this day could be called Good Friday. I would sit in the church and look at the crucified Christ and wonder how His death could be Good. I understand now, from the theological point of view, that it is Good because Jesus' death allows us to come back to a unity with God that our sin had destroyed. Yet there are times when that Friday so long ago just doesn't seem good.

 Today, I was in bed recovering from a mild case of the flu and I found Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth on YouTube. When I first became a believer at Boston University, with the help of my then roommate Jim Vivian, we wanted to watch Jesus of Nazareth on TV. But neither of us had a TV so we went throughout the dorm looking for one. When we asked one guy if we could borrow his set, he asked what game was on. When we told him, "Jesus of Nazareth, you want to watch?", he looked at us strangely and said to just take the TV.

I remember watching the series and being in awe of what was happening. As I watched the final segments today, I cried a bit and felt a love in my heart for the Lord that sometimes gets covered up in the day-to-day.

Some of those tears were helped by missing Deb a lot this week and some were from the fever. But most were from a place that needed to be touched by God's Love.

Sergei, Pasha and Igor

We all need that touch. This past week, I got to spend time with Sergei, Pasha and Igor at the rehab house in Zolotonosha. A group of guys from New Hampshire is interested in coming over and repairing the second floor of the house as it is falling in (not a good thing) so I needed to get some photos. As I was there, I saw how Igor is like a child in many ways, especially when he is around Sergei. Igor never knew his parents and grew up in an orphanage. After he turned 18, he lived on the streets and at places all over Ukraine, never for more than a month.

A couple of years ago, Igor found his mother and was so excited that he bought her roses, candy and other gifts and went to her door. When she opened the door, Igor saw his own face before him and she saw hers. Yet in an act of brutality that is hard to understand, his mother told Igor that she didn't want to see him and started to shut the door. Devastated, he threw the gifts at her and ran away.

Until recently, Igor has kept running. But he is learning about a Father who never shuts the door to His children. He is also finding that there is a love that allows others, like Sergei, to love him more than he has ever been loved before.

Tony Campolo used to say,"It's Friday, but Sunday's comin'." Igor's and many others' lives are full of Fridays, but thank God we have a love that comes from a special Sunday so long ago.

Христос Воскрес! Christ is Risen! Happy Easter.

New Every Day

One of my favorite scenes in the Bible is in the Gospel of Mark where a father comes to Jesus and asks him to help his son. When he comes to Jesus, the father asks for help with the words "if you can" and Jesus replies, "'If you can!' All things are possible to him who believes." But the part that always strikes me is the father's earnest response: "I do believe; help my unbelief." This has been a prayer of mine for many years now, as doubts come up more than they should.

Just a few days ago, I was with Sergei Skiba, who is now on staff with us at Straight Ahead, when he called the director of the juvenile prison colony to see if I could finally go in there. As they were talking, Sergei sounded a bit doubtful, my heart sank, and my unbelief started to rise. I prayed. Sergei finished and said that the director was going to call his superiors to let them know how much we have done to help the boys in the prison. Ten minutes later, he called and said I had been approved to come in for the next six months. The Lord continues to help my unbelief.

Bogdan and friends

This past weekend, Bogdan, Anya, several others and I went to the orphanage/internat in Kaniv to follow up with the kids from the camp. Well, that was the plan; in reality, we ended up spending most of the time with the little kids who were not at the camp. It was fun to see them,to let them jump on us, to swing them around, and to realize what joy there is in being Christ's hands and arms for them.

Kostik, Ruslan, me in 2007

I also had a treat as a young man, whom I met when he was 8 and now just turned 15, came up and gave me and Dima big hugs. Kostik had pulled away from all of us over the last few years, but lately, there has been a softening of his heart. That is a huge blessing as many of the kids we work with in the detention centers, colonies and internats end up pulling away when attachments start to get deeper. They do that in order to protect their hearts, which have been broken before.

Kostik now.

So when Kostik gave those hugs, hung around with us, and then followed up with a phone call the next day, it was a nice gift.

Those are the things that renew and help our unbelief.