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.

Two Worlds

Five days before I left America to return to Ukraine, Deb Erickson passed away. I was torn between staying a few days more so I could be at the memorial service and leaving to come back on time for the camp for the kids from the orphanage in Kaniv. Deb's husband Dave told me what I already knew but needed to hear: "She would have wanted you to go back." I had a feeling that if I didn't get on the plane, a little foot would come down from the sky and start kicking my butt.

The time home was a gift from the Lord as I was there for Deb's last few weeks on earth. The time back here was also a gift as the camp was amazing. I had the oldest guys in my room, the tough ones, and they were great. Even they took part in everything, from dancing to American Football. We had many discussions about the future, life and faith. Three days before the camp, the director of the orphanage asked if we could take 15 extra kids as they would've been stuck at the orphanage with no place to go. Anya said yes, but thought we would have to end the camp a day early as we didn't have the money for them. Just before I left, Dennis and Dot Mello and Jeff and Diane Nanfelt gave me some cash and it was enough to pay for the additional kids so we could do the whole camp. On that last day, Andrei and Vika became believers. The next day, Andrei told me that he felt light and free.

John, Deb, Shawn, Tim (font)

On the last evening of the camp, I shared about faith and fear. I used this photo, taken five days before Deb passed away, and shared that the photo was of some of my best friends and how each of us in the photo had fears and how God had helped us with those fears. When I came to Deb, I shared that I had asked her if she was afraid of what was ahead and how, without hesitation, she said "no". The verses from the Gospel of John, as sung by Rich Mullins, came to mind--"In my Father's House, there are many many rooms...and I'm goin' up there now to prepare a place for you, so that where I am that you may also be."

After the talk, several of the kids came up and gave me big hugs and said that what Deb said really touched them. They often feel alone, afraid, and unloved. Our prayer is that they will know that they are not alone.

I know that is what Deb prayed for them and for all of us.

 

 

Matt, John, Seva, Andrei

Ariel, Anya, Jess, Alona

A Saint and Sinners

Deb, Steema, John, Rob, Shawn, Tim 2005

I've been using this blog mostly to share some of the lives of the extraordinary people I am blessed to encounter in many places. I love being able to meet people who are not making names for themselves, but who are making their lives count in ways that go beyond words.

Since I came to faith in many years ago, one of the people I have turned to, laughed with, grieved with, and just loved to be with is Deb Erickson. Deb is Straight Ahead's prayer chain coordinator and has been coming to Teamworks for many years. Sometime before she started with us, the Lord told Deb that she would be visiting prisons and meeting with many inmates. At that time, Deb's reaction was something like "you sure you got the right number Lord?", but shortly thereafter, she starting writng to Shawn-the first kid I met at a lock up in 1990--as he was incarcerated. That lead to weekly visits, which lead to a wonderful friendship that continues to this day. Her letters to Shawn, Ryan, Steema, Joe, Mike and many others have kept their hope alive when others gave up on them. Her love is Christ's love incarnate.


Deb was also there when we lost Justice, JS, Red and Hollywood. If she had not been such a support, I don't know that I would still be in the ministry. Last weekend, Tim and Linda Crump, Shawn and his wife Mandy, and I got to hang out with Deb for the afternoon.  Being together gave us a chance to laugh as we shared some of the great memories that we've all had together for many, many years.

Right now, Deb is battling serious health issues so I'm asking for your prayers for her, her husband Dave, and their children Darcy and Todd. When Deb tells someone that she will pray for them, it's not a Christian brush-off, but a true commitment. I'm asking for all of us to do the same.

Seasons

Frank Buckles

Frank Buckles just died at 110 years old. That in and of itself was amazing, but what made his passing newsworthy was that Frank was the last living American veteran from World War 1. Between 1917 and 1918, 4.7 million Americans joined the military. Frank Buckles was the last of those 4.7 million. My grandmother's oldest brother, Alfredo Valli, died in WWI of the flu. I have the letters that Alfredo wrote to my grandmother as he was dying and those letters, over 90 years later, affect me when I read them.

Today, Cheryl and I will go into Teamworks and for me it will be the first time I have been there since September. The very first time I went there was 21years ago this month and when I think of all that has happened in those 21 years, I'm amazed. One blessing that Deb and I have is that Shawn, the first "kid" I met at Teamworks (then Camp Squanto), has become a good friend over the years. For many years, Deb would visit Shawn each week and the impacts of those visits goes on today. Shawn was recently married and is involved in a great church. Seeing how his life has been transformed is a great joy for Deb and me. 

Please pray for Deb as she is undergoing tests this week after doctors have found a couple of tumors. Please pray for her husband Dave, their kids, family and the many friends who love Deb.

Whether we are 20 or 110, each one of us impacts the future by our presence and the Lord gives us the choice to make that impact one for the better or one for the worse. Lord help us to keep that in mind with each encounter we have today. Amen.

A Saint's Birthday

Pasha, who had been at the colony, me, and Lydia at her home.

On Saturday, Sergei and I drove a couple of hours to Kremenchug to meet with Lydia Petrovna. Since it was going to be Lydia's 86 birthday on Sunday, we stopped and got her 7 roses (I wanted to get 6, but Sergei told me that in Ukraine you only get flowers in even numbers for funerals. Note that). When we got to her house, Lydia was so happy and said, "how did you remember?" My question is how could we forget?

That is a typical thing for Lydia to say as she truly doesn't expect people to do things for her. Another was when we were talking about how the weather here has turned cold and wintry, Lydia said that it's hard for her to get to the juvenile prison colony to see her boys and she misses them. It turns out that she's still been going into the colony, but "only" once or twice a week, rather than the three or four visits she usually makes.

And Lydia gets such joy from sharing the Gospel and love in the colony. When Lydia and Sergei came back from there (I'm still waiting for permission to go in), Lydia told me that Sasha came up to her all excited as he had gotten a letter from his mother, whom he had not heard from in months. Just the week before, Lydia and Sasha prayed together for his mother and that he would hear from her. Her happiness for Sasha and her thanks to the Lord for that seemingly small gift was awesome to see.

So happy birthday Lydia Petrovna, may the Lord bless and keep you. And Lord, thank you for the gift that Lydia is to us.

A Healing Touch

For some reason, our electricity has decided to take a vacation-its third one this week. I don't think it likes the cold that we're finally getting.

Luda, John, Zhenya from a previous visit

Yesterday, Doug Stoddard (www.manaworldwide.com) and I went out to Kamarivka, a village where Doug has been ministering in the orphanage and in a local hospital that has become a de facto nursing home. A couple of days before, Doug had come to the Safe Haven House and had told me that he was heading to the orphanage and that Zhenya keeps asking when I'm coming back to see them. I met Zhenya, 12, and his sister Luda, 10, the first time I went to Kamarivka and right away they came over to me, hugged me and just wanted to walk around hand-in-hand. When that happens, I wonder what the kids have been through that leaves them so longing for affection.

As soon as I saw them, Luda and Zhenya came running over and greeted me with big smiles and hugs. We talked a little, but mostly just walked around, each of them in one of my hands. When Jesus was in a crowd, a woman who had been bleeding for years (making her an outcast, unable to meet with or even to touch others) just wanted to touch the fringe of his robe in the hopes that she would be healed. She was taking a huge chance that Jesus and the crowd would reject her and throw her out, but the desire to belong, to be removed from the ranks of the outcast, was compelling. She reached out in faith, was healed and was brought back into the fold.

Kamarivka

After we left the orphanage, Doug and I went to the hospital to see Baba Pasha and several others Doug has gotten to know. They all lit up when they saw Doug. In between her jabs about Doug's poor Ukrainian (it's not bad), Baba Pasha smiled as she looked at and listened to Doug. He had left her a booklet with inspirational Bible passages and when Doug tried to read it, Baba Pasha said she didn't want to hear it. But I saw that she had left an old photo of her and her sister in the middle of it, by a meaningful passage of Scripture.

A line from a song by Steve Wiggins says "All the darkness in the world can't put out the light of the smallest flame. I pray that many will be shown that light.

The Hills are Alive

The Alps

Living in Ukraine has been awesome, but when you live in a different culture or in a different country, an underlying anxiety can build up over time and it can get wearying. The cure for that-get away! And I had a chance to do just that thanks to friends Viktor, Caroline, Attis, Maris and Andreas. Last week, I visited them in Budapest and got to go skiing in Austria. We went to Austria with a group from 6 different churches from Catholic to pentecostal and everything in-between. Each evening, we would have a small devotional group, which was lead in Hungarian. When we were singing, the only word that I understood was "alleluia", but that was enough. When I was out on the mountain, I saw the majesty of creation and of the Creator. The scenery was amazing, the weather was great and seeing The Alps was a gift for sure.

John, Viktor, Attis and Maris

 Another gift was seeing how the Lord has given me such good friends in America and over here. At one point, I was sitting in Andreas' apartment in Budapest, looked around, and smiled as I saw our own little League of nations: Andreas from Sweden, Caroline from England, Viktor from Ukraine, Victor from Hungary, and me from America. All of us from different backgrounds and lives, but all of us having a common faith and a common love.

Andreas and Caroline cooking curry.

Four and a half days of skiing also gave me a new appreciation of Paul's admonition in 2 Cor.4:16: "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day." My outer man's legs were hurting for sure, but good saunas, good food, good beer (I hope that didn't just cut out the funding from my Baptist friends) and good friends helped renew the inner and outer man for sure.