Chapter 2:  

In 1998, after years of helping not only those in need locally, but  missionaries around the world, I was able to take a first trip to a country we had been helping, Ukraine.  Through our pastor, I met a woman who lived in eastern Ukraine.  She had been our pastor’s translator on a trip to Ukraine, and their village was quite poor, so we started to support this village in 1994, and provide clothing to them.  They had invited me many times to come for a visit, but I was never able, having small children, and many family responsibilities.  But in 1998, my kids finally old enough to be left with my father-in-law and Rich, I embarked on a month long journey to Russia and Ukraine.  Sights, sounds, smells, people, culture, language; it was much to take in.   It was great to finally put names and faces to the people I had heard so much about.  They welcomed me graciously to their humble homes, and presented me with tea and cookies.  It was an amazing trip, and it was then that I made my first promise to the people there, ‘I will return, with help.’   Additionally, on this maiden voyage, we not only visited hospitals, but orphanages, where I was able interact with hundreds of orphans.  God had placed on our hearts the desire to adopt, specifically a boy…someone that maybe had no siblings, no one to care for him. Rich and I had already discussed this possibility with the other kids, and they were on-board, with an equal desire to give a child a forever family. There just so happened to be a orphan shelter in the town that we had been serving with clothing for 4 years. After making a trip to that facility, I met several boys that needed families, so we were sure that God would place on our hearts the ‘correct’ child to fit in our family. Thus after I returned home, we pressed onward with paperwork, with all 5 of us traveling back to Ukraine with plans to adopt a boy. The process took some time in country, and we unfortunately were not able to adopt from the facility in the town I visited, but we were able to adopt a boy, who was completely alone in this world, had no siblings, and is a ‘gypsy’ by Ukrainian definition, (not ours), who had been left in an open market when he was just 14 months old. He lived at the orphan facility, and was now 4 and a few months. The kids all agreed that this would be their brother, and our son. He seemed like he wanted to go with us, and the orphanage was very happy to have him gone. Seems that gypsy’s aren’t so well liked in Ukraine, and they were even confused as to why we would adopt him. He was very small for his age, wearing just size 18 months clothing at age 4.5 yrs. old. I stayed in Ukraine for the complete process, while Rich returned home with the 3 other children to resume ‘life’ in the U.S. I think my first sign that we were to have issues with our son, was that he set the side table on fire in the hotel room, when he and I returned to Kyiv to complete the paperwork process. I had a plug in ‘boiler’ on the table (though it was unplugged), decided to take a very quick shower, and while in the shower, he plugged it in, as it lay on the well shellacked table. As I exited the shower, he was standing at the door with very ‘big eyes’, staring in the direction of the table, and I could see a strange light, which were the flames. I was able to beat the fire out, but that would be the first of MANY fires with our son…more on that later. James ‘Artur’ became our son in March of 1999. 

We continue to return to Ukraine 4x a year for 3 weeks at a time to take aid back to the poor village, that I made the promise ‘to return…with help.’   I continued to ‘make good’ on that promise.  My vision for the community was much bigger than anyone expected, or anticipated…it was way more then shoes and clothing, but to find a place to either purchase or to build a Christian community center for children and teens in the local community.  What I saw when I went to Ukraine in 1998, was a depressed city, with little for kids and teens to do, and without something to ‘do’, then they will ‘find’ something to do, which resulted in drinking alcohol, and making poor choices.  My vision was to provide a place for kids to ‘hang out’, play games, watch movies, have a bon fire, play volleyball; but most importantly, hear the word of God and have opportunity to respond to it; and it would all be free.  It was a big task, but since we serve a big God, we had full confidence that God would provide.  He would also open and close doors as He would guide our footsteps in the future.