July 21, 2014
This was my third year working with the children in Vinogradov, Ukraine. Every year has come with surprises and has been different than the preceding year. God has given me the opportunity to go over there and make an impact on these amazing kids. It is hard to put the two weeks that I worked with the kids into words because the experience was just so amazing.
Colin Kubik |
Arriving in Ukraine this year was a bit eerie because there is a war that is happening there right now on the other side of the country. We were on the West side of the country where it was completely safe. The village we were in was a very prosperous village that isn’t damaged as much by the corruption of the government as the other part of the country.
On day one we just introduced ourselves and went over the curriculum that we would be studying. We introduced one of the songs that we would be learning. I was so thrilled to see the kids. Many of the kids are returning campers so I love getting to see them after a year of not being there. The kids were also thrilled to see me and thrilled to meet Michala. They all fell in love with Michala the second that they saw her. Of course all of the kids ask about the other Americans that weren’t able to make it this year.
Every day in the morning we would have an English lesson for about an hour and a half. The lesson was comprised of an hour of singing and learning the vocab of the song lyrics and about a half hour of reading a Bible story and learning new vocab with each story. The kids loved the English lesson and were eager to learn. You can tell that a lot of these kids can see that English is one of the key ways to a better life outside of a corrupt nation like Ukraine.
After the English lesson, the kids would have free time to do whatever they wanted. Usually they would go outside and jump on the trampoline or play on the swings. The kids usually had a ton of energy and it was nice when the weather allowed them to play outside. There were a few days where they were forced to play inside due to the rainy weather. Those days were the most insane days because the kids still had to use all of their energy but it was all contained within a very small space. It was very hard to control the kids from running down the halls when you can’t even speak their language.
During the free time we also provided the kids with arts and crafts activities such as pipe cleaners. Pipe cleaners in my opinion need a lot of imagination to be entertaining and these kids have some of the biggest imaginations. They loved making fake sunglasses with the pipe cleaners and could have entertained themselves for hours with them.
In the afternoon, the kids had an opportunity to go on an excursion. Usually we would go to the Tisa River because it was very hot out and the kids loved the swimming. The older kids would stay at the deeper part of the river where they could climb the trees and jump off them into the river. The younger kids would start off watching the older kids jumping and then they would go to the shallow part of the river so they could cool off for a while. The Tisa River was definitely a highlight of the trip. Another excursion that we did was go to a field near the woods and play games like dodge ball and soccer.
We would then come back from the excursion and eat dinner right away. Most of the kids would leave right after dinner and some of them would stay awhile until everyone left. At night I would be with the older boys that lived at the Salom. These nights we got to know the boys better and we would play a lot of chess. The Americans were undefeated in chess until I played Joseph. The game almost ended in a stalemate but I made some bad moves and the Americans streak of wins crumbled with my king.
Ukraine taught me so much about the world that we live in. Every year that I go back there, I think that I already know enough and am pretty educated about the world around me. There were always surprises around the corner. The kids there live much different lives than the way we lived in our childhoods. There are many disadvantages that these kids have to face while growing up.
I think that every year we make a huge impact on these kids lives. It isn’t completely about having an hour and a half English lesson. I think that when we go there, we are to show these kids the love and attention that these kids long for greatly. A lot of these kids don’t get treated very well at home and that might just mean that their parent isn’t mentally there for them. We are there to be the love that Christ is to us. It is always a hard thing to get in that van at the end and leave because they are stuck there and the government makes it very hard for them to escape. When I go there I want to make a lasting impact. I want to be the hope for them that one day if they ever get the opportunity to see the world outside of Ukraine, they will take it without hesitation. The people of Ukraine have a very special place in my heart that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I think that God gave me the opportunity to travel to Ukraine to serve there for the rest of my life whether it is with kids or in any other type of service to the people there.
-- Colin Kubik
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