Ramblings

It's early for a blog post, but I woke up today, Curt's birthday, with a revelation: This is utterly absurd.  These arbitrary delays, I mean.  Ukraine is a hopelessly corrupt country with mountains of problems.  We put our lives on hold, traveled halfway around the world, and made tremendous sacrifices so we could help make a small dent in these problems, and for the most part we have been met with indifference and disdain.  Cultural differences, I know.  There is also pride involved; we are taking their children away.  But come on: Americans and Italians and other foreigners who are willing to make these kind of sacrifices are NOT the biggest threat to Ukraine's orphans.  Statistics say that 10-20% of these Eastern European orphans can cobble together some sort of productive life as adults in their home country; aren't their chances better somewhere else, with a family to guide them?  I just can't make sense of this system.

The fact that adopting these children is so difficult makes what Ben and Angela do so very important.  In May, we met some other missionaries in Zaporozhye with a similar focus: coach the teenaged orphans how to survive in Ukraine.  How to avoid getting caught up in human trafficking.  How to make the most of their situation.  How they will always have a Heavenly Father to guide them.  Ben and Angela, Jessica in Zaporozhye, and the others who are led to this extremely difficult calling are truly the hands and feet of Christ.  I'm just spending a few weeks here, then I get to go home to my warm house and comfy bed and mold these children to my way of life.  Ben and Angela live here, indefinitely.  They do their best to adapt to the drastically different lifestyle.  They struggle to communicate and endure the glares every day.  They see the appalling conditions that these unfortunate kids live in every day.  They see the devastating results of the kids' poor choices every day.  It takes special people who are truly listening to God's whispers to sacrifice their comfortable, easy lives back at home and jump into the fire.  They have a strength and faith that is beyond my scope of understanding.  May God Bless them in every way imaginable.