Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8
This verse from Isaiah spoke to my heart last January when Andy and Jaimee Langeland , directors of Operation Lazarus, came and spoke at our church . As they explained the ministry that the Lord has called them to, I sat listening with a pounding heart. They were speaking about reaching out to children in Ukraine who are growing up institutionalized; not being lovingly nurtured and taught life lessons as happens in a family, but rather being dutifully fed and housed until their 17th or 18th birthday when they are then sent out into the world, no longer the institution’s responsibility. They are orphans, in every sense of the word - parentless, left alone, abandoned.
Sitting in my seat thinking about the events in my life that had brought me to this point, I couldn’t help but think of the love and grace of a merciful Heavenly Father who never abandons us nor forsakes us. I, myself, had once been abandoned on the steps of an orphanage and now I saw everything coming full circle as an opportunity to share what the Lord has done in my life came into focus.
I was born in Seoul, South Korea to a young Korean woman who lived in a village outside of a U.S. Army base. I presume that my biological father was an American Army man who had no idea that he had impregnated the young woman. Full of courage, my biological mother decided to give birth; despite the overwhelming cultural taboo of having a mixed race child. She raised me on her own for 3 years, and for whatever reason, could no longer do so and brought me to a Catholic orphanage and left me there. I remember seeing a huge white cross on the orphanage building and as much as a 3 year old understands prayer and hope, I prayed that one day I would go to America.
A year later, I was adopted by an American family living in the state of Oregon who had 7 children of their own. In the course of time, I met Jesus Christ and gave my life back to Him and learned what sacrificial love was all about. God intervened in my life by moving on the hearts of my adopted mother and father, Jack and Jackie O’Donnell who responded to the call of God to “visit orphans and widows in their distress” as spoken of in the book of James. Now, Andy and Jaimee were using that very verse as their life verse for Operation Lazarus. It became clear that it was my turn to reach out and show other orphans that they are not abandoned; they have a Heavenly Father who loves them, will never leave them and reaches out to restore them.
I spoke with Andy and Jaimee after the church service. Then I began to pray about the opportunity to go to Ukraine and be involved with a team leading a summer camp for Ukrainian orphans with the love and message of hope that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Six months later, I found myself boarding a flight for Ukraine.
I arrived at Camp Gorney in the mountains between the cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula and was immediately impressed by the openness of the kids. As soon as we got off the bus, they gathered around and wanted to help us with our luggage. One particular kid, Valera, an 11 year old future leader (he had all the boldness and confidence of someone who knew what to do and when to do it), brought me a soccer (futbol) ball, and took my hand. We went down to the soccer field and kicked the ball around. Along the way, he called out something in Russian and children began running out from the center pavilion to witness this dark skinned American. They laughed and stared, ran alongside of us, and laughed some more. I spoke to him in English, and he spoke to me in his language, but somehow, we understood each other. After about 15 minutes, he picked up the ball, came to me and pointed back to the cabins where “the Americans” were staying. He was telling me that I needed to go back. I smiled and then he smiled and walked with me back to my ministry team.
As we got settled and the program for the next couple of weeks was explained, many of the kids came around and either sat amongst us or played in the vicinity; my impression was that they just wanted to be a part of what was happening. Not so strange, but definitely poignant. Throughout the ensuing 10 days of ministry time with the children, this little interplay would continue every time we had a meeting or a group of us would “hang out”.
We split into 3 teams and were assigned certain roles within the teams. They were: teacher/lesson facilitator; arts and crafts coordinator; sports/physical activity leader. A Ukrainian interpreter was assigned to each team. Although the structure was set up to rotate the roles, I ended up as the teacher for the entire time and witnessed God show up in some amazing ways beginning with the very first day of lessons. I spoke of a little bit of my background, but mostly of how much God loved them, gave Himself in the form of His Son Jesus for them and desired that each receive Jesus as His personal Gift to them. Every single one of the 14 kids that were with me that day raised their hands to receive the Gift of Jesus from the Father. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope”. I am confident that in that little space of time, for each of those children, that verse had found a home.
During my time at the orphan camp, I developed quality bonds – a big brother relationship - with 5 special kids, 3 boys and 2 teenage girls. The girls, Olya, age 16 and Ira, age 17, were always together. During the evening before our departure day, Olya and Ira brought me a couple of stuffed animals with their names on them. They told me…”so you won’t forget us”… I haven’t forgotten them and I never will. All of the kids are still in my heart, thoughts and prayers, but especially these precious five.
