I don’t remember if I explained the place where we stayed near the village of Elizabethovka, so I will now. It is actually called Canaan and is similar to a retreat center. There are some dorm rooms with bunk beds where visitors stay and families/children stay if they are taken out of the home for problems like alcohol abuse. There were about 30 kids there Friday night when we arrived and they left Saturday night. Some also had their moms there. There is a large kitchen, dining room and outdoor picnic tables, activity building and the church. The town is about 2 km away, so Canaan is surrounded by fields with a beautiful view of a large salt lake. It is very peaceful and serene there, quite a change from the large city of Odessa where we are today. Sunday was another beautiful day in Elizabethovka. After breakfast we went through a dress rehearsal for all the skits because the narrators will change for Fontanka and Victoria. Then there was time for four square, volleyball and basketball with the kids that were there. There are a few kids that live there and a few more came back from the village. The smaller number of kids allowed more one on one time and I especially was blessed by talking to Yana, a 15 year old from the nearby village. Her story is typical of what you find here. She likes physics, algebra and geometry at school, but the thought of further schooling is not even something she can envision, so she wants to be a hairdresser. Her mom takes a bus everyday to Odessa, about 45 minutes, to work at a pantyhose factory. Now that she is off for the summer she goes with her mother to help her and she receives a little money from her. When Yana is not working she watches her 4 younger brothers and sisters. She was watching 3 of them Sunday, and was very good with them. The mother pays 20 grivna, about $2.50 for the bus trip to the Baptist church in Odessa. They cannot all go each Sunday because the bus ride for all would be too expensive, so they take turns. She finds it very hard to believe her heavenly Father loves her and wants the best for her because her earthy father abandoned them for another woman who forbids her father to have any contact with her. But unlike most kids we talk to, she is trusting Jesus to forgive her sins, and believes she will go to heaven because He died on the cross.
At 3:00 we attended the church service in the small church on site. We were also the guest music and sermon! Colin, Andrea, and Hannah led all of us in English songs and we also sang Amazing Grace together in both Russian and English. Ron gave an excellent sermon on the compassion of Christ which was a good reminder of why we are here. Just as the crowds were drawn to Jesus because of this, our prayer is that we will show the same compassion and draw these children to us so we can point them to Christ. It was a special church service!
The Pastor invited us back next year and hopes we can stay longer!
Then it was goodbyes again and off to Odessa, where we settled in for the rest of our time here.
Love, Carol
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| Yana, the 15 year old, who is from the nearby village |
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