Karen Springs
Slaviansk, a city in eastern Ukraine with about 130,000 residents, has suddenly gained international notoriety, as it has become one of the epicenters of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. A gateway city to the eastern regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kharkiv, it is a strategic location for pro-Russian separatists. However, prior to the international attention the city has gained in recent months, Slaviansk was the epicenter of another revolution, a revolution surrounding adoption.
Adoption in Ukraine
Since 2004 a national adoption and orphan-care movement has been on the rise in Ukraine. A country where adoption was once considered taboo or strange has experienced a dramatic shift in embracing the fatherless--so much so that in 2013 Ukraine was recognized by UNICEF as the nation showing the most progress in child protection and welfare reform in Eastern Europe. Much of this success can be attributed to the activity of the Christian community and to an alliance of like-minded individuals, organizations, and churches that banded together in 2010 to launch Ukraine without Orphans. Its vision can be traced back to a movement that began 11 years ago in Slaviansk, the very same Slaviansk that today is making international headlines.
A Movement Begins
Good News Church, a congregation of 600 members and five daughter churches in Slaviansk,has been at the forefront in promoting national adoption in Ukraine and Russia for the last decade. Thanks to its campaigns and promotion of adoption and foster care, over 100 Ukrainian children have been placed with families in the Slaviansk area alone. The Good News Church’s example has served as an inspiration to hundreds of churches across Ukraine and Russia, and as a result the adoption movement has continued to grow.
The Current Situation
But today Slaviansk is recognized by the world, not for its transformational work in adoption, but because of the pro-Russian separatists who have taken control of the city, and because of the violence taking place there. By early May, active fighting intensified in Slaviansk, and it was apparent that proactive steps needed to be taken to ensure safety for adopted children and their families. Safety for Sails of Hope Children’s Home, that Good News Church supports, became a top priority for this congregation’s pastors, Sergiy Demidovich and Peter Dudnik.
Evacuating Children and Families
Getting the children out of what had become a war zone was critical. “I know what a traumatized child is,” said Pastor Peter Dudnik, “and we don’t want kids to see what is going on here. We do not want these kids to go through more trauma than they already have.” In early May, 17 children from Sails of Hope were evacuated to a Christian camp near Kyiv. Since the evacuation of the orphans, Pastor Peter Dudnik and his wife Tamara have helped coordinate the departure of other foster and adoptive families as well as other families in need. With the city completely shut down and no forms of public transit running, coordinating transportation for families to leave the city has become a challenging, daily task for Pastor Peter.
Just in Time
As it turned out, the evacuation of the children’s home happened just in time. Within a day, separatists occupied the territory, and only several days later the orphanage became the site of a battle, which caused extensive damage to the outside of the building and shattered many windows. Those who evacuated could only thank God for His provision of a safe place at the right time.
Evacuations Continue
But the efforts in Slaviansk have not stopped with the evacuations. After seeing his own family to safety, Pastor Peter chose to remain in Slaviansk to see that the needs of those who are not able to evacuate are met. Food supplies are short and most stores in Slaviansk are now closed, so Pastor Peter and his team are regularly visiting families in need and providing them with groceries and other essentials. Supplying food and meeting basic needs has been an opening for Pastor Peter and his helpers to pray with people and share the Gospel. “Everyone is living in fear. We are able to give out prayer booklets, prayers that contain the Psalms.” People are open to listening and are turning to God in prayer like they never have before.
Pastor Peter does not want to talk politics or sides. For him the crisis is an opportunity for the church to be the church and to remain as a light in a very dark time. “We as the church need to be higher than this situation. We need to rise higher than the flags that are being waved. We cannot focus on politics. We are serving everyone – the injured and the hungry on both sides….That is our calling.” So he continues distributing food and making house calls to those who label themselves pro-Russian and to those who are patriots of Ukraine. For Pastor Peter it is a chance to share the love of Christ, and he says he will remain in Slaviansk as long as he possibly can, doing what he has always done, serving the people of his city.
Karen Springs serves with Orphan’s Promise, a ministry of The Christian Broadcasting Network-CIS, Kyiv, Ukraine.