Understanding a "Child-Like Faith"
Report by Heather Kubik About Vinogradov, Ukraine LifeNets Mission

Ukraine 2011
 

On July 3, 2011 I had the honor of beginning a journey that would soon change my heart and views in so many different ways. I am so thankful for the group of people that God put into my life to share this experience with me.  My Uncle, Oleh Kubik; cousin, Natasha Kubik, and new friends Stephania Zajac and Gregory Zajac all were part of our group. 

After a few planes and trains from my hometown of Spokane, Washington, we had finally arrived in Ukraine! 

In the train station of Chop, we were warmly greeted by two Vasils and Mykhailo and after a really nice prayer by Vasil, all five Americans and the Ukrainian men squished into a van and set off to Vinogradov, Ukraine. I started to become overwhelmed by the language barrier and for the first time since I’ve known about this trip, I began to become nervous that the only Ukrainian word that I knew was Cavoon (meaning watermelon. Thankfully, I would soon learn that God is bigger than language barriers and that I do not have to use words and sentences with people to show them love.

After a bumpy, hot car ride, we pulled up at gates with the Ten Commandments proudly above them and rode into what would soon become the place that taught me more than what we taught the children. 

Over the next two weeks, our group taught English using a bit of a different approach.  Our idea was to let the children experience as much English as possible and because their minds are so fresh and young, they would latch on to as much English as their brains would allow. 

We planned on “drowning” them in English and their only options would be to sink or swim, and a child’s brain always finds a way to swim.  Also, instead of just teaching English from a typical language lesson, we used many lessons straight from the Bible and taught them not only conversational words, but life lessons.  Lessons like how to be a good friend, loving your neighbor, healthy living habits, and Noah’s Ark are just a few examples of the approach we used to teach English words and sentences.  We used lots of bright colored, fun posters with an abundance of words so the kids would have a visual to look at and we let them keep the posters.  Along with the posters, we incorporated many exciting English games.  The boys ranging from eight to twelve especially loved the games that involved running around and being boys, while learning English at the same time.

In the mornings we would bring the whole group (about 40 kids ranging in age from 7 to 18) together after breakfast to have a group lesson where the posters would come out.  That first lesson would be followed by a fun song.  Generally, we taught a new song a day, we used lots of fun hand motions and dancing while also teaching about Jesus Christ’s love and praising God. The kids really enjoyed the songs and would continue singing them throughout the days. 

In the afternoon we would go along with the kids on their excursions, which was personally my favorite part.  That’s when we really built relationships with the kids and just loved them.  I was amazed at how God did not let the language barrier hinder the forming of friendships between the children and me.  I truly loved all of those kids, leaving them was incredibly hard.

I learned so much throughout this trip.  God is not just the God of Spokane, Washington, or America; thousands of miles away people of a completely different culture are worshiping the same God I worship. They have nothing compared to us, yet are so grateful for all they have.  I am so thankful for the whole experience in Ukraine, I pray for those kids every day. I got to come home to a safe, loving home in America, and many of those kids go home every night to alcoholic fathers, unsafe homes, cheating mothers, yet still have good attitudes everyday and look for any sort of hope. I know I have a much better understanding of a “child like faith.”