UKRAINE TRIP

JUNE 18 – JULY 3

Team members:

 Heidi Graf & Dena Archibald

Betty Bills with grandchildren Jordan and Raegen Geyer

Jan and Chuck Jenkins

Lynnise Stoltzfus

And the many who joined with prayers and ministry funds.

Day 1: Arrival in Kiev, Ukraine.  .

A lesson in the history that has shaped the cultural, religion, economy, politics, and outlook of Ukraine and its people

Day 2: Getting settled in and preparing for our work.

              Heidi and young translator Sasha shopping            We found homes where we could eat,

                             for school supplies.                                           fellowship and make great friends.

Day 3: Visiting indigent families in villages and city apartments and dorm buildings.

On this day the team visited 4 of the 8 families that receive monthly assistance through CFK,

and visited 3 more families that our Ukraine administration knew of who were in need.

Pertaining to families, we used ministry funds to purchase food we delivered and help with a home repair debt.

Day 4: A busy day at Pliskave orphanage for mentally disabled children:

Heidi and our Driver Ruslan are entering CFK’s school in a proper way

 and making sure they are clean as the children do each day.

We brought gifts and received songs and crafts                          Student Ira enjoyed the

            from the children in the school program.                     challenge of a puzzle Chuck had made.

Next we visited the children in CFK’s special care group. 

The love and attention Oksana receives has minimized her self harmful behavior, but you still have to be careful Dena!

After that we headed outside to pass out treats to the children who spend their day just sitting.

The team was great at loving, singing, and dancing with the children.

One last visit to the school rooms to deliver the soft furniture that will eventually be in the “sitting rooms” . . .

. . . and then hand-in-hand we headed off to an ice cream shop with some of the children!

  Ministry funds were used in Pliskave to purchase the treats we shared with the children, school supplies and educational CD's, diapers for the care group, cement for instilation of playground equipment, as well as the purchase of the soft furniture.

Day 5: A village family visit, and then Ladajyn orphanage for physically disabled children.

Chuck gets to meet Philip who will be receiving an operation soon.

And we enjoy the wonderful musical talents of this family of 8 children.

Ministry funds were left for Philip's medical evaluation in Kiev as well as ministry and personal needs of this family.

Upon arrival at Ladajyn orphanage, to minister to the physically disabled children, the team paused to pray for strength and understanding before entering the facility.

While it is evident the children are well taken care of, it is still a difficult situation to understand.

Seveta shows Dena what a good massage feels like. 

The children enjoy physical touch each week from two therapists and the girls have a school teacher, all hired by individuals through CFK . 

At the end of a long day it was hard to say good-by.

Ministry funds purchased treats along with a birthday cake for Arthur's 21 birthday celebration.

Day 6: Sunday

The team splits, visiting old friends and church construction projects.

Trystenyets’ temporary and future church home        Nadia in Demkavka

Through CFK, many people have been helping Trystenyets with their church construction project. 

The team left additional funds for this project as well as funds for Nadia to distribute with those in need in her village.

 Day 7: Bible Camp with Operation Mobilization missionaries and a historical outing.

Almost all of the OM missionaries serving in the Vinnitsa area are Ukraine citizens. 

It is difficult for them to raise their support from within their country.  CFK is pleased to be the chanel through which they are able to share their needs and receive support from individuals in the States.

This day camp was being held in a village that has no church. 

The Mayor tried to stop the program, but soon his granddaughter was coming and attendance grew each day. 

Ministry funds were left wtih OM to help with future camps for this summer.

Later we visited “Werewolf”, Hitler’s secret underground bunker which was destroyed when the Nazis retreated from the area.

Today the large area is dotted with rebar-riddled cement hunks.

Day 8: Visiting around town.

While in Ukraine we traveled by train, taxi, tram, trolley, marshutkas, bus, foot, and hired vans.  Thank you for your prayers for our safety!

At the Veterans Hospital, Heidi and Dena get a first hand story from a man who made deliveries to Hitler’s Bunker!

Chuck shares words of encouragement and gifts from his scroll saw talents with some of the pastors supported through CFK.

Each also received Russian speaking, solar powered Bibles to share with those they minister to, and an extra blessing from our ministry funds.

We were all encouraged at the progress of Harmony’s rehabilitation center. President Rya brought us up to date with their programs which include counselors, computer classes, and therapy equipment.  They are a hub of social activities for disabled youth, and even have a wheelchair accessible bus for transportation. 

It is a privilege to partner with them in their work and leave them with funds for their many projects.

Day 9: A road trip looking for children but finding the elderly.

Our plan was to drive to the village of Boodknee to find Yuri,

a boy who has received cleft lip surgery.

We found the house pad locked and the neighbors said Yuri had moved to another village for the summer.   It was a disapointment yet . . .

Instead we meet in the local church where we sang together, asked questions of each other, and listened to the elderly women tell about their village, church, and lives. A wonderful unexpected experience.

Day 10: Stepping back in time.

After stopping in a local market for breakfast and snacks for the road,

we headed out for a day of adventure . .

. .  arriving at a castle!

 Where there was a lot to explore, 

                               try our luck at,          learn from,        and observe.

Incase you are wondering, no ministry funds were used today.

Day 11: Camp, Kids, and crafts.

We had the joy of visiting the camp where the children of Citkovtsy orphanage spend their summer.

Bringing in craft projects, sports equipment, sharing together, and distributing donated clothing.

 On our visit some of the children made cards for us to bring back to groups here in the states that support their Bible Club and special programs the village church provides for them.  We also left funds with CFK's administrator to purchase sports equipment when school starts back up in the fall.

After the long day we were treated to a fresh garden meal at a village home.

We all want to retire in this quiet village!

Day 12: Getting lost.

In the morning we visited “Greenway” church, then had lunch at "The potato house".

We each had some objectives for our last fee day in town so we split up.

Heidi and Dena just wanted to get lost in town,

adventurous girls that they are, so Lynnise joined them.

They ended up not losing their way, but losing their hearts while visiting a local

“Baby nest” where orphan children begin their institutional lives.

Later that evening the energetic of our team went for a picnic and fishing,

while the older generation hit the sack.

Day 13: Getting sick.

This last Sunday in Ukraine finds some of us sticking close to the . . .

while the older generation is up and out early for another village church service.

The church in Khmelnick seats 50 comfortable, today there were over 100 in attendance.

We stopped by the site where, by faith,

they are building a new church that will hold all who want to come.

(for more information click the Khmelnick link on this site)

Next a home church, which meets everyday of the week!

And another safe, scenic ride back to our homes in Vinnitsa.

Funds distributed today: food parcles for the families we visited, donations in the 2 church offereings, funds for the pastor to continue to meet the material needs of those in the comunities he serves.

Day 14: Saying good-by.

It was hard to say good-by to the Tkachuk family.

This is a registered foster home family.

Please keep them in your prayers as they deal with changing Ukraine laws and houseing needs as well as raising 6 teenagers!

Without their meals, driving, translating, and becoming best of friends our time and ministry in Ukraine could not have been so meaningful.

Because of your blessing your team with your financual support, we were able to bless this family also.

 And what about our main translators?

       We are grateful to Oksana for giving us the gift of language, and adding her musical talents to the team.

And to Yuri, for his helping heart and historical perspective.

We were also grateful for the host homes

that put us up at a moments notice when our original plans fell through!

Leonid Pachopskie and his wife Natasha became grandparents during the week they hosted

Dena, Heidi, Betty, Raegan, and Jordon.

And Ira Sulim-Carlier, soon to be a mom herself, hosted Chuck, Jan, and Lynnise while coordinating the logistics of each day’s agenda.

On this last day we also had a team meeting to decide where to invest the

remaining ministry funds that were given for us to administer. 

Thank you for your equiping the saints by helping purchase Sunday School supplies, meet the pressing needs of indigent families, sponsor Bible camps run by local churches and OM missionaries, purchase gravel for a muddy road to a village church, purchase medicines for those in need, help with 2 church construction projects, bless pastors and congregations, etc.

Thank you to all those that prayed for our safety and effectiveness during the trip to Ukraine.

And for your continued support of the projects our team members contine to be involved with.