Minister to Those Left Behind

On my first trip to Ukraine. I ran into this young man. He tried to take something out of my hand. He was speaking to us in Ukrainian and sense I don't speak it, I was intimidated by how close he was to me and that he actually was bold enough to just try to take my bottle. I think he was the dirtiest person I've ever seen. ( I feel really bad saying that, but he was) I'm not sure how old he is and it makes me so sad knowing that he lives on the street. The sadder part is that he may be handled by someone who is using him to make money begging outside of the old church buildings in the city. So there's no way to tell how bad his life really is. We can only begin to image it. This picture is only a glimpse into the life of people in Ukraine. I try to look past what he is doing and his appearance, because after all he is a young teenager. He might even be twelve. Unfortantely this life is a reality for many people his age. There are a lot of kids living on the streets and in orphanages in Ukraine.

The purpose of my blog is to share about the need for ministry in Ukraine. It's also a means to follow, pray for and cheer for families who are adopting. These familis have truly embraced the gospel by being obedient to what the Lord has led them to do, make a lifetime commitment to a child, to be a parent and love a child born an ocean away.

I've recently found out about a project that will be an ongoing ministry to people in Ukraine. Which very well may end up reaching someone just like this young man. And hopefully, this project will prevent other young people from being lured or forced into such a life.

Each year, 117,000 people in Ukraine, mostly women and children, become victims of human trafficking. This is just one fact shared through the video embedded above. It was created by the Ledford family, missionaries to Ukraine.

The Ledford family has also made a lifetime commitment to live in Lviv, Ukraine and share the gospel with people there. They have been involved in many types of ministries. They have taught english in clubs, building relationships and giving the opportunity for Bible study. They are involved in ministry through local churches and minister in orphanages.
Their new project is a community center. You can visit their website and read more about it here. Did you know that there is not even a word for community in Ukraine. It is really an unheard of concept there. After a lot of meetings with officials and explaining their plan and purpose, they were actually shown a place where they can establish the community center. This center will be not only be a place for safe entertainment (as opposed to very dangerous stuff), but a place where "they can experience Christian love and find their own relationship with Christ". You can read the newsletter article and see pictures of the building here.

I have installed a Chip In Widget that is a secure way to give to this community center. All you have to do is click the chip in button and create your own pay pal account. All the money raised will go to establishing the community center.