Hello
Friends, Family and anyone with internet connections,
James 1:27 Religion
that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after
orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by
the world. We might think
that James wants us to move to Haiti for the rest of our lives and work at
orphanages, but it's not always necessary to do something big and hard in order
to follow James 1:27. For me, following this verse meant living in Ukraine as a missionary. Going to
Ukraine may be an overall big and hard act, but there are also many small yet
hard things that are sometimes overlooked.
As you probably know, we invite kids who are now too old to live in orphanages to stay with us or keep in touch with
us until they find somewhere to live and support themselves. But you might not
know all the problems that these kids have developed because they do not have
families. Sometimes these young adults
act like little children even though they're 20 years old. The reason that they sometimes act like
children is because they missed out on many important experiences that they
would have had with their families. When they're put in a situation that
they've never experienced before they often react in unexpected ways. They find simple things like elevators
interesting and will ride up and down because they never experienced riding in
an elevator before. These guys also demand a lot of personal attention. They did not get any attention from
parents and siblings throughout their whole lives. The caretakers at the
orphanages help the kids, but they still need attention and love that can only
be given to them by family. Like many other people in Ukraine, smoking is
another problem most of these guys struggle with. Very many people in Ukraine
smoke, even the children. Ukraine is the listed as number six on the list of
most smoking countries, having 37.4% of its population as smokers. One of the
guys that stays with us started smoking when he was only six years old. If
these kids had parent who wanted their children to have healthy lungs there would
be less of a chance that they would be smoking
now.
One of our main goals is to try to
help these guys fix the problems they have that were caused by not having
families so that they can successfully live by themselves. Many times it's
difficult to try to help these guys and keep a good attitude. It's not always
fun. It's hard for us to not see our family and friends for long periods of
time. It's hard for me to give up some of the attention that was mine. It's
sometimes hard to give up conveniences that I used to have. In the next few
paragraphs I'm going to tell you how God helps me have a good attitude about
doing hard things that he tells me to do.
As Christians, we should be showing
Jesus' love to others. The following
section of the Bible helps me to know how to show Jesus' love. Corinthians 13 4-8 - Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor
others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. Love never fails. I made a Love
Chapter of my own that applies more directly to how I should show Jesus' love
in my life.
Love is patient, even in the long
legal complications required to get one of the kids to our house. Love is kind,
even when I want to kick someone out of my house. Love does not envy when
someone is getting attention that used to be mine. Love does not boast about
going to a foreign country as a missionary. It does not dishonor others even
when I want to and they're doing something that puts them in an easy position
to be dishonored. It is not self-seeking, even when I get tired of always
giving without receiving. Love is not easily angered when someone is flinging Jello across the room at me. It keeps no record of wrongs even after the need
to remind someone not to do something several times. Love does not delight in
evil even when I want to annoy someone in return for annoying me, but it
rejoices with the truth. The truth is
that everyone annoys each other at times. It always protects, even when I want
others to be put out in the open.
Sometimes I make excuses when I complain about
helping these guys. One time my excuse for
complaining was that the kids staying with us, who are older than me,
often behave worse than I do. My dad explained
why this is an invalid complaint by pointing out that these kids have
never had anyone to teach them right from wrong. I had never realized that.
Remembering that these guys never had parents to teach them right from wrong
helps me to be more patient with them. After realizing that these kids do not
know right from wrong in many situations, I see that we need to be the ones
trying to teach them.
God also showed me that I should not
complain by reminding me of what Jesus did when He lived on Earth. He lived on
Earth for over thirty years and yet sometimes I complain about living to
Ukraine for only two years. The differences of living conditions in America and
Ukraine are much smaller than the differences between Heaven and Earth. America and Ukraine are more similar to each
other than Heaven and Earth are. Almost
all of the people we know in our Ukrainian town have accepted and welcomed us
very much. When Jesus came to Earth a lot of people did not accept him. The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking
and beating him. They
blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to him. While he was dying on the cross he said “Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus is a perfect example of
how we should act in all situations.
As I try to live
for God it's always going to be hard. I need to remember that I’m not just
living for God, but living with God. I know He will always help me and that I
can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Matthew - age 13
Probably the biggest lesson I've been learning from being
involved in ministry- especially Ukrainian ministry- is to trust God and
remember that He is sovereign and good.
