There are a couple of reasons I have titled this post “learning to crawl.” The first reason being… I have realized that here, I am a like a child. I am basically dependent on Anya (the best translator in the world who is patient and so gracious to me with all my questions), I can’t order my own food at a restaurant, I basically only know how to get from my apartment to the office and vice versa. You get the picture? Learning is going slow, it is like learning to crawl, then walk, then talk! (Ugh!) But the second reason is that being here, I need to learn how to slow down. Not because everything here is slower, but because I need to have patience with myself and everything I am trying to do. I am not going to learn language overnight and a thriving University outreach ministry isn’t going to be starting next week. But I am ok with that. I am learning to trust in God’s timing and do all that I can do.
Now, I could sit here and bore you with details about flying, my apartment, the visa process, and so on… but I decided there is something so much better that I want to talk about and if you want to hear about those things, feel free to contact me and I will answer your questions (I may also post something about it in the future). This post I am going to tell you about the amazing opportunity I had yesterday.
Yesterday, four of us traveled outside of the city of Uzhgorod to Pavlova. There, we went to a home that is run by Mary*. Now you are probably thinking, what is so great about this Mary and the home she runs? Well, let me tell you, I have never been so moved by someone’s willingness and dedication to following the call of God as I was yesterday. Mary used to work as a doctor in a labor and delivery unit at a hospital (for 20 years). After a while, she started to wonder where the babies that the mothers left there were going. She found out that they were sent to an orphanage and started to go and visit that orphanage regularly brought things like clothing and toothpaste, but realized that she wasn’t changing anything in their lives. So she created group of women who would prepare bible studies, games, and just visit with the girls at the orphanage. After 4 years, the first group of girls they worked with “graduated” out of the orphanage system, but essentially had no place to go or no ideas on how to make money or care for themselves.
So what did she do? She started praying. What happened? She felt the call to do something. So she started talking to her husband and they started think that maybe they could invite some of the girls to live in their house, but how would they provide for them? How would their two sons react? After speaking to their two sons, Mary was discouraged, the younger one was enthusiastic about the idea, but the older one was very against it. Her husband told her to give him time and he will see the good in it. They started to put the word out that this is something they wanted to do and someone connected them with an American man that was looking to do essentially the same thing. This man eventually bought a house and some land surrounding it and built a bigger more sufficient house that could house many girls. This house became a home that allows girls to have a place to live after they are aged out of the orphanage system. Mary becomes a mother to all these girls, teaching them life skills like cooking, gardening, taking care of a home, as well as has daily bible studies and prayer times with all the girls that live in the house. Now to put this journey in perspective for you, Mary admitted to us that if she had known how hard it was going to be, she is not sure she would do this all again. But she is so glad she continually followed God’s calling. This house allows the girls to be cared for, have a safe place to call home, find work, and have “normalcy” in their lives. Currently, there are 12 girls living in the house, but Mary said that it could hold up to 25.
Two of the girls that live there gave us a tour and were so fun! They had a good time laughing at me and my love for the “puppies” that live there. They showed us the garden; they have different fruit trees, vegetables, and even have pigs, cows, chickens, and a goat! The best part though, was how happy they were to show us their rooms! It is amazing how this house grew so much. After hearing Mary’s story about the house and how many different troubles she ran into, not having enough money to pay for food, clothing, heating, and so on for the girls, I am so amazed at how strong she is! She would never take credit for anything though, and that is what is even more amazing about this story. She would say that she did nothing; it was God who did and provided everything. How true is that?
So often when we go into ministry, we think about things like, “what can I do, what is my job here?” Ok, maybe that is just me, maybe I am just really selfish, but I am ok with admitting that to you. What I realized yesterday, with the help of Mary, is that God is already at work here in Ukraine, and has been for a very long time. He didn’t need me to come here to do anything for Him; He can do anything He wants. So now, I count it a blessing that God has even called me here to do work for Him and along side these other people who have been so faithful to Him and His call on their lives, even through really rough times (and I mean rough). Ministry and missions aren’t about me- they never will be about what I can do or will do, they are about what God is doing and will continue to do with or without me!
*Mary is not her real name I changed it to be respectful
From my new home,
Julie