Thankfulness

This week in my English lessons at the Christian school I talked about Thanksgiving.  It was fun to teach these Ukrainian children about our celebration...not just the food and football part, but the real reason we have the holiday.  It was a great opportunity to have them share what they were thankful for, and it was a great opportunity to get me thinking about all my blessings.

This season is a little tougher than ones in the past--knowing that my dad is not around.  Although it has been many years since I was in the states for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I could always count on that afternoon phone call with the full description of the meal, the latest antics of the grandkids, or the newest joke.   I always felt a little bit like I was "home for the holidays'.

Even though it is tougher this year...I find many things that I am thankful for just the same.  I am thankful that I was loved and supported through the years by my mother and father.  I am thankful that I grew up in a family that went to church and taught me the importance of faith and hope.  I am thankful for a church that was (and is) strong in the word and evangelistic.  I am thankful for Godly men and women that encouraged me in my Christian walk.  I am thankful for feeling wanted, loved, and prayed for.

I am thankful that God has provided me with an opportunity to serve Him in Ukraine, and for the people that I have met because of this time....supporters, visitors, fellow missionaries, and Ukrainians.  I am thankful for the blessing of touching the lives of children that have not been as fortunate as I was growing up.  I am thankful for a God-given love and desire to see these children cared for and protected.

Don't let this holiday season pass without telling those that you love that you are thankful for them.  Too soon they may be gone.

So...I am thankful for you!!!  Whoever you are reading this right now--whether family, friend, or casual guest.  Thank you that you cared enough to stop for a moment to listen to my ramblings.  I wish you and yours a very thankful Thanksgiving Day!

In His Hope,
Becky

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him and bless His name."  Psalms 100:4

Growing Older

Look at that beautiful face. Is she not just a sweet looking child? She is as sweet as she looks. In less than a year she will turn 16. Sweet 16!!! What a celebrated day in most cultures...including America. It is a waited for milestone that is a joy to celebrate.

BUT.... not for this child. Natasha is a child turning 16 in a Ukrainian orphanage! This day makes her an official graduate of the Ukraine orphan system. Sounds pretty good, huh?! NO!!! At the age of 16, this precious innocent child becomes an adult in the eyes of the Ukrainian social system. She is dismissed from the orphanage and is on her own....alone, scared, and lonely. She will not be prepared for "real" life because she has never had to learn how to care for herself, manage money, or deal with regular life outside of an institution. What will happen to her??? Well, about 70% of girls like Natasha end up in some kind of sex trade, or pregnant because they have nowhere else to go.

As I have become more and more involved with the children in the orphanage, I have begun to be concerned about this group of children. Those turning sweet 16 with nowhere to turn! It literally breaks my heart to think of "my girls" turning 16!!!! Two of them turn 16 this year, and two turn sixteen next year!!! What can I do? As I have a prayed about this problem, I have grown even more certain of the need for "House of Hope". However, the direction of the home seems to be changing....WHEN God provides the funds to buy the house, I am praying about it becoming a transition home for 16-21 year old girls. A place to help them become prepared for real life outside the institution!!! It will only take 1000 people giving $300 to make this start to become a reality.

(By the way, as I was leaving the orphanage today, Natasha turned, hugged me, and said "Becky, please find me a forever family!!!!" And.... I may just have!!!!!)