Dear Friends and Family,
---This was actually sent out on the 24th of December, so if it seems a bit outdated, it is. :) ---
I hope this finds you well and ready for Christmas. Seeing how there is only a few hours left, I sure hope that’s the case. It’s been a very interesting last two months. I would have liked to have had an update out to you last month, but that was before my computer died over three weeks ago. I will (try to) be brief, so here goes…
Since the last update, Tara and I attended a Fall Harvest Party with the other American missionaries. The kids of other missionaries dressed up and played games, but Tara, Tammy (friend of ours), and I decided that we wanted to join in the fun with dressing up ourselves. After visiting several thrift stores, we completed our outfits to be Ukrainian babushkas (grannies). We had a great time fellowshipping and (of course) eating with our other American friends. Along the lines of eating, we celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with our American community as well. There were about 45 people there including kids, and it was a great time of food, games, and fellowship. Each person shared about something for which he or she was thankful before we ate together. This is also when we kick off the Christmas season. We sang worship songs together, but we also sang several Christmas songs. This was a very special Thanksgiving for Tara and I as we were volunteered by our fellow Orphan’s Hope staff to make a Thanksgiving meal for our staff and the teens during our Exodus 50 club. Exodus 50 meets on Sunday and involves teenagers who have already graduated from the orphanages. It operates similar to a youth group in the US , and throughout the week, we meet in small groups to pray, study the Bible, and fellowship, and on Sundays, we all meet together. There are approximately 50 teenagers who are involved if they were all to show up, but that’s usually not the case. The numbers vary, but for Thanksgiving, we had about 26 people total. On Thanksgiving morning, Tara and I joined another missionary who was preparing the turkey for the American Thanksgiving in order to see how to do it. Neither of us had ever cooked a turkey before. With our teens, we celebrated on the following Sunday. Tara and I picked up our turkey on Saturday morning, and we started early on Sunday morning with the cooking. Other than one emergency phone call to my mom at 3 o’clock in the morning (her time) in order to have some questions answered about the foil, everything went very smoothly. We cleaned it, stuffed it, and made all the fixings. The teens loved it, the staff loved it, and Tara shared a Thanksgiving devotion during the meal. We were so appreciative to the other Americans who helped us out in teaching us how to cook it as well as make us pies for the meal. Not only did I learn how to make and stuff a turkey, but I also made my first pie – crust and all! In the next update, I am sure I will write about the upcoming events: Emo/Goth theme New Year’s Party that includes Tara and I having to dress up like Ukrainian Christmas characters (only in emo or goth) and learning the “Thriller” dance to Michael Jackson. Oh goodness.
Tara and I continue to meet with our discipleship group made up of five young women ages 17 to 22 once a week – usually four attend. We are hoping to start a Barry St. Clair book soon that covers the foundations of being a Christian. While all of these girls have, at some point, made a decision to become a Christian, much of the understanding seems to be missing. We try to use this time to focus on how we can be positive examples and role models to these girls as well as help them understand their own faith while challenging them at the same time. Please pray for this group of girls as some are living with boyfriends, have quit school, or are making other destructive decisions. We are encouraging them to attend a church as well in order for them to grow in their relationships with Jesus. In general, we are meeting once a week, discussing, praying together, eating, and spending time playing a game or just chatting with each other about life. We will most likely also start to incorporate some lessons on “fulfilling your calling” as it will be the focus for 2010 for the teens involved with Orphan’s Hope. I really appreciate this time with the girls and am thankful that the girls are eager to come to us when homework or sickness doesn’t get in the way.
Ministry in the orphanages has continued to go well. There was a three week mandatory quarantine instituted by the government, where no one was allowed to enter or leave the orphanages. The media really took hold of the swine flu, and people really panicked. For those three weeks, we were not allowed to do our weekly visits, so we spent a lot of this time fellowshipping with friends and mostly continuing to get our apartments ready. For example, we both now have signed up for the delivery of clean, bottled water (since we can’t drink the water from the tap), we have the internet, and (as of this week), I have a couch in my living room. Getting (what to us seems like) simple tasks done usually takes much longer here, so we have played the waiting game one too many times. However, it’s just a part of life here. Now that quarantine is, for the most part, over, our weekly lessons continue, and we always find time to play games. There are random days when the orphanages have quarantine for the day because so many of the kids are sick. We are finishing up our focus on character for 2009. For our fourth grade classes, we are going to start working from curriculum of a previous job of mine that focuses on so many practical issues for them: staying healthy, making smart decisions, peer pressure, relationships, attitude, working together, etc. I am really excited about this, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to teach from this material again; it is just so good!
The last few months have held some special events for us and our groups of kids in the orphanages. In Gvordeeskya Orphanage, we were able to get tickets for all of our 4th grade class including two caretakers to the circus, and we treated them to McDonalds afterwards. We are still hearing about how much they loved McDonalds and how they were so full from it. Along with this exciting news, I ask you to pray for three boys from this class who have tried to run away. Two of them were already found and taken to a hospital for kids with psychiatric problems. They will return after a thirty day stay. The third has yet to be found, and he will most likely be shipped off to the hospital when he returns. We also just celebrated his birthday a few weeks ago. Pray that they find him and that he would somehow be protected from being sent to this hospital. We hear horror stories about this hospital- how the kids are just drugged up on pills in order to sedate them and keep them calm. Pray that these boys would find better solutions to their problems or make better decisions, in general, other than running away. At another orphanage, one of the girls in our 4th grade class was adopted last week! Praise the Lord! Y left with her mom at the end of last week, and while she was here, we celebrated her birthday by taking the group bowling (a first for them). Tara and I hurried to beat them back to the orphanage to surprise them with cake and juice already set out. Before they departed for the States, we also had a pizza party with the class. This was the first time they had eaten pizza, and the caretakers were also raving. With this class at Gagarin orphanage, we have such great relationships with the caretakers. They are so supportive of having us here and working with their kids, and it’s so encouraging to have them to work alongside.
In November, Tara and I were asked to give an hour presentation to 200 high school students in a village for World’s Aids Day. The day before we were to give the presentation, it was cancelled, but since we had already done the work for it, our staff sought out the idea to present it for our teens and the older kids in the orphanages. One presentation was given at Gagarin orphanage, and it was well received; the caretakers thanked us after, reiterated how important this message is for the kids, commented how it was interesting, and appreciated the information themselves. We are still planning on giving at least three more presentations. Ukraine has the highest growing rate of HIV/AIDS cases in Europe , so we really feel this is an important message especially for a population that is highly at risk. We’ve also heard that Ukraine has the highest percentage of alcoholism among teens, so please pray against both of epidemics that target our kids/teens in particular.
If you are still reading, thumbs up to you!
Just for laughs: I forgot to write in the last update that when I unpacked my luggage in October, I discovered a smashed up cheese wheel. It was French cheese, so my only conclusion was that it fell out of someone’s suitcase during the transit, and the airport workers thought it a good idea to put it into mine. I was quite confused to find it. When the weather was warm, I also had a stink bug invasion on my balcony – and only on my balcony, whew! I had to find a special spray that killed them. I panicked a bit at the discovery and was quickly reminded how I had some kind of wood worms in my last apartment in the cupboards. The stink bugs (I hope) are gone for good.
Since two months have passed, I am sure that I missed something I wanted to share, but I will be sure to inform you next month if it was important.
Current Prayer Requests:
*Please continue to pray for my family during this holiday season and for others who have lost loved ones. Holidays have potential to be a very difficult time, so pray for strength for those who are grieving.
*Tara and I leave on Sunday to head to Kiev by train to pick up Rachel who will be joining us for the rest of our time here. It will be good to have her back. Pray for our safety as she is traveling and Tara and I head out to pick her up.
*Continue to pray for our ongoing ministries. Please include the rest of the Orphan’s Hope staff and the groups of kids/teens they work with as well. Pray that we are effective in loving these kids and teaching them about Jesus’ love for them - continual prayer for their spiritual, emotional, and physical protection.
*For safety during the holidays. This is a time where most of the country finds an excuse to drink and make some really destructive decisions.
*One teen came to our staff looking for help as she discovered she was pregnant. She wants to have the baby but is receiving hateful and threatening phone calls from her boyfriend pushing her to have an abortion. Pray for safety for this baby and mother. Pray that our staff would know how to help.
*Another 16 year old teen we work with just gave birth about a month ago. I believe she is living with a foster family who has decided to take her and the baby into their house and care for them.
*Pray that our kid who ran away would be protected, found, and brought back to the orphanage safely – also for the two boys who are in the psychiatric hospital for their runaway attempts.
*For Y and her new family. Praise the Lord that they are in the States and for the miracle of adoption. The transition, as with any adoption, will be difficult at times, so pray for patience and understanding with all involved and also that God would unify this family.
*For missionaries and others who are celebrating the holidays away from family or are overseas during this time.
*AIDS presentations: that Tara and I would deliver accurate information in a way that kids would listen and understand the severity of the situation they are in.
*For Jason as he moved to Nepal about a month ago. Pray for his ministries that he is involved with there. Pray that we would continue to grow closer to each other and to God even though we are apart. (You can read more about his ministry at http://www.indiajason.blogspot.com/).
Thank you in advance for your prayers. On top of this, thank you for your continual encouragement and support for me and for this ministry in Simferopol . I appreciate so much your prayers and willingness to be part of and help the lives of orphans in Ukraine. You truly do make the ministry here possible. I pray that you have a Merry Christmas and that God continues to bless you with a safe, happy, and healthy new year. Again, thank you and happy holidays!
In Him,
Esther
---This was actually sent out on the 24th of December, so if it seems a bit outdated, it is. :) ---
I hope this finds you well and ready for Christmas. Seeing how there is only a few hours left, I sure hope that’s the case. It’s been a very interesting last two months. I would have liked to have had an update out to you last month, but that was before my computer died over three weeks ago. I will (try to) be brief, so here goes…
Since the last update, Tara and I attended a Fall Harvest Party with the other American missionaries. The kids of other missionaries dressed up and played games, but Tara, Tammy (friend of ours), and I decided that we wanted to join in the fun with dressing up ourselves. After visiting several thrift stores, we completed our outfits to be Ukrainian babushkas (grannies). We had a great time fellowshipping and (of course) eating with our other American friends. Along the lines of eating, we celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with our American community as well. There were about 45 people there including kids, and it was a great time of food, games, and fellowship. Each person shared about something for which he or she was thankful before we ate together. This is also when we kick off the Christmas season. We sang worship songs together, but we also sang several Christmas songs. This was a very special Thanksgiving for Tara and I as we were volunteered by our fellow Orphan’s Hope staff to make a Thanksgiving meal for our staff and the teens during our Exodus 50 club. Exodus 50 meets on Sunday and involves teenagers who have already graduated from the orphanages. It operates similar to a youth group in the US , and throughout the week, we meet in small groups to pray, study the Bible, and fellowship, and on Sundays, we all meet together. There are approximately 50 teenagers who are involved if they were all to show up, but that’s usually not the case. The numbers vary, but for Thanksgiving, we had about 26 people total. On Thanksgiving morning, Tara and I joined another missionary who was preparing the turkey for the American Thanksgiving in order to see how to do it. Neither of us had ever cooked a turkey before. With our teens, we celebrated on the following Sunday. Tara and I picked up our turkey on Saturday morning, and we started early on Sunday morning with the cooking. Other than one emergency phone call to my mom at 3 o’clock in the morning (her time) in order to have some questions answered about the foil, everything went very smoothly. We cleaned it, stuffed it, and made all the fixings. The teens loved it, the staff loved it, and Tara shared a Thanksgiving devotion during the meal. We were so appreciative to the other Americans who helped us out in teaching us how to cook it as well as make us pies for the meal. Not only did I learn how to make and stuff a turkey, but I also made my first pie – crust and all! In the next update, I am sure I will write about the upcoming events: Emo/Goth theme New Year’s Party that includes Tara and I having to dress up like Ukrainian Christmas characters (only in emo or goth) and learning the “Thriller” dance to Michael Jackson. Oh goodness.
Tara and I continue to meet with our discipleship group made up of five young women ages 17 to 22 once a week – usually four attend. We are hoping to start a Barry St. Clair book soon that covers the foundations of being a Christian. While all of these girls have, at some point, made a decision to become a Christian, much of the understanding seems to be missing. We try to use this time to focus on how we can be positive examples and role models to these girls as well as help them understand their own faith while challenging them at the same time. Please pray for this group of girls as some are living with boyfriends, have quit school, or are making other destructive decisions. We are encouraging them to attend a church as well in order for them to grow in their relationships with Jesus. In general, we are meeting once a week, discussing, praying together, eating, and spending time playing a game or just chatting with each other about life. We will most likely also start to incorporate some lessons on “fulfilling your calling” as it will be the focus for 2010 for the teens involved with Orphan’s Hope. I really appreciate this time with the girls and am thankful that the girls are eager to come to us when homework or sickness doesn’t get in the way.
Ministry in the orphanages has continued to go well. There was a three week mandatory quarantine instituted by the government, where no one was allowed to enter or leave the orphanages. The media really took hold of the swine flu, and people really panicked. For those three weeks, we were not allowed to do our weekly visits, so we spent a lot of this time fellowshipping with friends and mostly continuing to get our apartments ready. For example, we both now have signed up for the delivery of clean, bottled water (since we can’t drink the water from the tap), we have the internet, and (as of this week), I have a couch in my living room. Getting (what to us seems like) simple tasks done usually takes much longer here, so we have played the waiting game one too many times. However, it’s just a part of life here. Now that quarantine is, for the most part, over, our weekly lessons continue, and we always find time to play games. There are random days when the orphanages have quarantine for the day because so many of the kids are sick. We are finishing up our focus on character for 2009. For our fourth grade classes, we are going to start working from curriculum of a previous job of mine that focuses on so many practical issues for them: staying healthy, making smart decisions, peer pressure, relationships, attitude, working together, etc. I am really excited about this, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to teach from this material again; it is just so good!
The last few months have held some special events for us and our groups of kids in the orphanages. In Gvordeeskya Orphanage, we were able to get tickets for all of our 4th grade class including two caretakers to the circus, and we treated them to McDonalds afterwards. We are still hearing about how much they loved McDonalds and how they were so full from it. Along with this exciting news, I ask you to pray for three boys from this class who have tried to run away. Two of them were already found and taken to a hospital for kids with psychiatric problems. They will return after a thirty day stay. The third has yet to be found, and he will most likely be shipped off to the hospital when he returns. We also just celebrated his birthday a few weeks ago. Pray that they find him and that he would somehow be protected from being sent to this hospital. We hear horror stories about this hospital- how the kids are just drugged up on pills in order to sedate them and keep them calm. Pray that these boys would find better solutions to their problems or make better decisions, in general, other than running away. At another orphanage, one of the girls in our 4th grade class was adopted last week! Praise the Lord! Y left with her mom at the end of last week, and while she was here, we celebrated her birthday by taking the group bowling (a first for them). Tara and I hurried to beat them back to the orphanage to surprise them with cake and juice already set out. Before they departed for the States, we also had a pizza party with the class. This was the first time they had eaten pizza, and the caretakers were also raving. With this class at Gagarin orphanage, we have such great relationships with the caretakers. They are so supportive of having us here and working with their kids, and it’s so encouraging to have them to work alongside.
In November, Tara and I were asked to give an hour presentation to 200 high school students in a village for World’s Aids Day. The day before we were to give the presentation, it was cancelled, but since we had already done the work for it, our staff sought out the idea to present it for our teens and the older kids in the orphanages. One presentation was given at Gagarin orphanage, and it was well received; the caretakers thanked us after, reiterated how important this message is for the kids, commented how it was interesting, and appreciated the information themselves. We are still planning on giving at least three more presentations. Ukraine has the highest growing rate of HIV/AIDS cases in Europe , so we really feel this is an important message especially for a population that is highly at risk. We’ve also heard that Ukraine has the highest percentage of alcoholism among teens, so please pray against both of epidemics that target our kids/teens in particular.
If you are still reading, thumbs up to you!
Just for laughs: I forgot to write in the last update that when I unpacked my luggage in October, I discovered a smashed up cheese wheel. It was French cheese, so my only conclusion was that it fell out of someone’s suitcase during the transit, and the airport workers thought it a good idea to put it into mine. I was quite confused to find it. When the weather was warm, I also had a stink bug invasion on my balcony – and only on my balcony, whew! I had to find a special spray that killed them. I panicked a bit at the discovery and was quickly reminded how I had some kind of wood worms in my last apartment in the cupboards. The stink bugs (I hope) are gone for good.
Since two months have passed, I am sure that I missed something I wanted to share, but I will be sure to inform you next month if it was important.
Current Prayer Requests:
*Please continue to pray for my family during this holiday season and for others who have lost loved ones. Holidays have potential to be a very difficult time, so pray for strength for those who are grieving.
*Tara and I leave on Sunday to head to Kiev by train to pick up Rachel who will be joining us for the rest of our time here. It will be good to have her back. Pray for our safety as she is traveling and Tara and I head out to pick her up.
*Continue to pray for our ongoing ministries. Please include the rest of the Orphan’s Hope staff and the groups of kids/teens they work with as well. Pray that we are effective in loving these kids and teaching them about Jesus’ love for them - continual prayer for their spiritual, emotional, and physical protection.
*For safety during the holidays. This is a time where most of the country finds an excuse to drink and make some really destructive decisions.
*One teen came to our staff looking for help as she discovered she was pregnant. She wants to have the baby but is receiving hateful and threatening phone calls from her boyfriend pushing her to have an abortion. Pray for safety for this baby and mother. Pray that our staff would know how to help.
*Another 16 year old teen we work with just gave birth about a month ago. I believe she is living with a foster family who has decided to take her and the baby into their house and care for them.
*Pray that our kid who ran away would be protected, found, and brought back to the orphanage safely – also for the two boys who are in the psychiatric hospital for their runaway attempts.
*For Y and her new family. Praise the Lord that they are in the States and for the miracle of adoption. The transition, as with any adoption, will be difficult at times, so pray for patience and understanding with all involved and also that God would unify this family.
*For missionaries and others who are celebrating the holidays away from family or are overseas during this time.
*AIDS presentations: that Tara and I would deliver accurate information in a way that kids would listen and understand the severity of the situation they are in.
*For Jason as he moved to Nepal about a month ago. Pray for his ministries that he is involved with there. Pray that we would continue to grow closer to each other and to God even though we are apart. (You can read more about his ministry at http://www.indiajason.blogspot.com/).
Thank you in advance for your prayers. On top of this, thank you for your continual encouragement and support for me and for this ministry in Simferopol . I appreciate so much your prayers and willingness to be part of and help the lives of orphans in Ukraine. You truly do make the ministry here possible. I pray that you have a Merry Christmas and that God continues to bless you with a safe, happy, and healthy new year. Again, thank you and happy holidays!
In Him,
Esther
Harvest Party: 3 Babushkas
Discipleship Group and Flat Stanley
Buy it!
Stuff it!
Eat it!
Hanging out with 5th Graders
Celebrating a birthday at Club
At McDonalds after the circus
Bowling with the 4th Grade
2 comments:
Fabulous update! Praying for you today. I know things are ten times harder to get done in Ukraine, and can wear on you! So glad God continues to give you the grace and strength for your ministry.
Thanks so much!
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