Unicorns of Ukraine

Ukraine-the bread basket of Europe. It is a beautiful place filled with cracked streets, crumbling grey buildings, and incredible people. Generosity and hospitality abound despite what may seem like a chilly exterior. Not to mention the food, oh the food! It is like getting a hug from the inside at every meal. We are very fortunate to have a wonderful friend of Jed and Kim's cooking us meals. We are staying at The House of Bread, a Messianic church that is a great landing spot. Our morning routine consists of waking and then walking to McDonald's for coffee before breakfast at the church. I couldn't believe I left my French Press and Street Bean Coffee on my counter at home, but the morning walk does the soul good. And hot coffee against the frigid sunny air is treat. We then eat a hearty delicious spread of cheeses, breads, eggs, oatmeal, fresh jam, and cakes. After that we run a few errands before embarking on the hour drive to the Romaniv orphanage that is home to around 85 boys with disabilities.

Describing this place is like attempting to tell someone what a unicorn is when they've never seen a horse. It is so far outside the paradigm of normal life in America.  It is a place of great injustice that simultaneously brings evidence of God through each of those sweet souls. 

Music is truly an invitation of joy and peace. Both Jed and Brett play the guitar and it beckons the boys to song and rhythm. There is also a Ukrainian volunteer who plays worship songs on the accordion. At one point him and I were singing In Christ Alone- him in Ukrainian, me in English, the flow of the accordion filling the small kitchen room accompanied by the hums and offbeat claps of 8 precious boys. 

This place provokes you to mull over the realities of the world we live in. How beauty and disability are perceived, how amid neglect and darkness, light can shine through.  I wish I could share more but my soul continues to process and I hold the stories of these children with care. I'll let the pictures do a better job of describing these past few days.

I can tell you that my heart has never been more broken and has never been so full as it as been these past few days at Romaniv.