Gifts

Christmas/New Year 2010 at Safe Haven, Kiev

Monday night, we were watching the movie The Nativity with the boys at Teamworks when one of them asked why we give presents on Christmas. It was one of those perfectly timed questions as right then, the movie showed the Wise Men presenting Mary and Joseph with gifts for Jesus. Right after that, we gave the guys stockings that Sharon Cummisky had gotten and filled up for all of the guys.

The reaction was amazing.

Most of the guys we have are pretty guarded, but after we handed out the stockings, each guy gave both Cheryl and I hugs and one guy, Al, put his head on Cheryl's shoulder and said thank you. Usually Al walks right out after the study. The youngest of the guys, Ned, said that getting the stocking made his bad day good and another guy said, "Christmas at Teamworks is pretty good." Cheryl and I both left with the feeling that we'd seen a side of those guys that only God can bring out.

God gave me two other gifts that same day: First, Matt and I got to see Igor from the orphanage in Kaniv who is staying with friends for 4 weeks (7 kids came over from the orphanage this time). Matt and Christy said that Igor has been laughing and playing with their kids like he was part of the family. He was so happy to see Matt and me that he gave big hugs and made us promise to come back.

Then that night as I was winding down, my phone rang and it was Kreg, who lived with us at the Straight Ahead discipleship home and then in independent living 16 years ago. We hadn't heard from Kreg in 14 years and Deb and I had prayed for many years that he would contact us. Kreg is doing great, is involved with his church and just wanted reconnect and to thank Scott, Hanne and me for being a part of his life.

Not a bad way to start off the week when we get to focus just a bit more on the many gifts the Lord gives us.

Prayer from the heart

Lydia with her boys and a "Praying Hands" gift from prayer partners

One thing that I've consistently seen over the last 20 years of working with kids in juvenile detention centers and prisons in America and overseas is how similar the kids are and how broken they are. I just read that 80% of the kids in one juvenile colony in Ukraine are there for stealing food to survive because they were abandoned by their families or left on their own as their parents lost their battles with addiction.

That affliction is here in the States too. Last night, Cheryl and I had a Bible study at a local detention center in Plymouth. When I read the prayer requests from the guys, two of them hit me in the heart and I want to share them with you (I'm changing the names, but God knows them):

Rick-I want to pray for my sister and hope the best for her since she's the only family I have left.

Jimmy-I want to pray for my mom to be safe and to stop using heroin.

When you read about "those type of kids" pray for them and think of what is behind that. "But go and learn what this means, 'I desire compassion and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" Matt. 9:13.

Selflessness

Atyom and Me

Every once in a while, the Lord gives us someone special who continues to amaze us and change our world in subtle ways. I met Artyom, a/k/a Zhivchik (loosely translated "hyper boy") when he was 13 and had just come to the orphanage after his father almost beat him to death. He was pretty much out of control, but there was something special about him for sure. He would jump on me, take my camera and run away and generally be a pain in the butt--my nickname for him is "zanoza" which means splinter, as in "splinter in the butt".

Zhivchik is now 17 and is in his last year at the orphanage. He has matured, but still has a zest for life, a smile and heart that I pray will never be dimmed. At the camp we did for the kids at the orphanage, Zhivchik did something that showed me his heart; he was ladling out soup for all of the kids at our table and when he was doing the last bowl for Vanya, he saw that there was not enough left for a full bowl. Many other kids would have just passed it on, but without hesitation, Zhivchik took the ladle, scooped soup out from his own bowl and gave it to Vanya. Then he sat down and we prayed.

The crew as we were leaving the camp...Artyom on my shoulders in what he calls our "tradition".

I don't know why that hit me like it did, but maybe it was because it was one of the most purely selfless acts that I have seen from anyone. It was also a challenge and a reminder of what "doing unto others" truly means. I love that kid.

Known by Love

Lydia and her boys.

At the end of our last meeting with the boys in the juvenile prison colony, Lydia took out a bag of pears and apples that she had taken from her garden at home. She saw that there were six guys with us and she carefully arranged six equal rows for each of the boys. They all stood around Lydia, waited and then thanked her. All of them were there for the first time, as was Pasha, my interpreter. When Pasha saw how Lydia was with the boys and how they were with her, he teared up and said, "she really loves them, doesn't she? And they love her already."

How that is possible? How can love appear instantaneously between kids in prison and an 86 year old retired nurse? "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:38. God is love and it's God's love alive in us that makes this possible.

And yet, He gives all of us the choice on what, if anything, we will do with that love.

Names of Souls

Friends of mine in different ministries often hear from supporters asking them "how many times did you share the Gospel this last month?" or "how many made professions of faith from your ministry?" Recently, one of those friends asked me if I get those questions, given the population with whom we work. I thankfully told him no, that the people who are a part of this ministry are concerned about "James" or "Yura" or "Alina" or "Ryan" and not about numbers, which we can't ever know anyway.

Doug and Suzie Stoddard and 'their kids' last winter.

This last week, Doug Stoddard, Lexi, Daniel, Jana (from Manna Int'l.) and I went to visit the orphanage in Kamarivka where Doug has been ministering for years. We visited kids there, played some soccer, held them, hugged them and told them how important they are to the Lord and to us. Then we visited Alina in the hospital where she was dropped off because of a bad infection. Doug is so good at visiting and just being. For Alina, it was as if light had come into her life and she was all smiles. Jesus won't ask about a soul count, but will ask when did we visit Him when He was sick.

Recently, there was an article in a Lynn, Massachusetts paper about three Straight Ahead staff members who were once in gangs and who are now working with us and going to school. It was encouraging for me to read that and you can read it here: http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2011/10/05/news/news12.txt. That all started with a prison visit from Straight Ahead staff.

Sisco, Jimmy, Jeron and Alina are not statistics, but are young people whose lives have been changed by the Lord and through those whom the Lord has put in their paths. That is what matters.

A personal memorial for Justice

Twelve years ago, Justin, a/k/a Justice died from an overdose of heroin at age 20. When we read in the paper about a young addict dying, we often brush it aside as "just another junkie" who tempted fate once too often. But all of those junkies were living stories and Justin's was a part of my story too.

We met at Teamworks when he was 15. He was smart, but guarded. He had become an addict at age 10 when his uncle gave him his first taste of drugs as a birthday present. Justin would come to the Bible study Matt and I lead there, but would often sit back and just take it in. A turning point in our relationship and in his relationship with the Lord happened when both of our best friends, David and John D., drowned on the same day. I remember sitting with Justin trying to work through how that could happen and how much it hurt. Knowing that John had a strong faith helped me and I was able to share that with Justin.

When his time was done at Teamworks, I remember telling him I loved him. His reply was "yup." I smiled.

After he left Teamworks, Justin struggled with his addiction. He would get better and then relapse. He always kept in touch and would come over to the Straight Ahead discipleship home with me when we had weekly Bible studies. After the studies, I would bring him home and sometimes, we'd sit in my car for hours talking about faith and life. He was a complex and deep young man. One time when I picked him up at his grandmother's house, he handed me a book and asked if I liked Yeats. "The Irish poet? Ya, I guess", I responded, a bit shocked. "You?" I asked. "No. I love Yeats." This from the same kid who could hang out in the worst neighborhood and know everyone on the street.

In the year before he died, Justin and I would meet each week and he would call me each day. A few weeks before his death, Justin found his Bible opened to Psalm 91 and was freaked out as that had been his ex-girlfriend's favorite chapter in the Bible. He asked if I thought it was a sign from God to him. I said that I think that the Lord had been after him for a long time. After that, his faith and his heart were even deeper.

The last time I saw Justin alive was a week before his death as he was waiting to get into a rehab center. As I was leaving, he asked me to buy him cigarettes and I said no. He smiled, gave me a big hug and said, "I love you." He had started doing that each time we met or talked.

Over the last 12 years, on this day and on his birthday, I would call his mother Liz and Deb, as she also knew and loved him. I had left messages for Liz last year, but I didn't hear back from her.  Recently, I found out that Liz had passed away last year. With both her and Deb gone, I guess I needed to write this as a memorial to them and the precious young man who was not just a junkie. 

"For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone." Psalm 91:11-12

Calls

David a few years ago.

One constant in the last 21 years in this ministry has been calls from "kids" whom I've gotten to know at the detention centers or in the juvenile prisons. This past week, I was able to speak with several of those guys. Some of them, like Justin, are doing great and just want to check in to see if I'm still alive over here in Ukraine. Others are from guys I haven't heard from in a while, like David, who called from a southern state where he is now living in the woods with some other homeless guys. David has had a tough life from the get-go and we met at one of the detention centers years ago. He used to come with me for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and other events as he was a ward of the state from a young age. He has had many diagnoses, but he's a good guy and he keeps in touch--even if it's after a few years of no contact. David assures me that he is OK, but it's hard to think of him living like that. I guess Jesus did it, but it was in a bit of a different context.

Me and Yur in June

I was over a friend's place last night, when I got a call from Yura. He had been working construction for a month, with his boss telling him he would be paid "next week". His boss took off and now Yura's going to be homeless. "Can you help me?" was his question, one that's also been a constant over the years. Often times, I feel helpless, but that gets me praying and directed towards the One who can help.

Today, I'm the one making calls to see who can help Yura. The blessing is that Yura's faith is strong, as it has been since he first prayed in the juvenile prison 8 years ago. The hard part is that he is down as it's just one of numerous hits in his young life. Please keep Yura, David, Justin and all of the guys in your prayers. There's a reason why Deb used to call them our Keepers: they are gifts from the Lord.