“I’ve brought news about Anya, Nadia, Denys and Viktor!” I exclaimed as I ran up to my friend and fellow Kompas Park volunteer Eda Beacham upon my return from Ukraine this past summer. “Did you get to see them? Were they at Kompas Park again this year?” Eda wanted desperately to know. As I filled her in on the details, her eyes filled with tears of joy.
During the summer of 2007, Eda and her husband Rutledge lead a team of 9 from our Dunwoody church – they prepared us before the trip with devotions and bible study, and then lead the group from Atlanta to Ukraine where we worked alongside the Ukrainian staff at Kompas Park for a week. We were also blessed to make a day trip to Alexandria so that we could see the building site as it was in 2007. While we were there, we said “hello” to two shy teen boys who were working the site with a small work crew. Who knew that 2 days later, these same two boys, Denys and Viktor, would be at Kompas Park where our team would subsequently fall in love with them! God knew, that’s who.
At the camp, we also immediately took to a little girl of about 7 named “Nadia” who seemed to be running the place. Her infectious smile and laugh blessed everyone around her, but tended to exasperate her older sister, Anya, the more serious of the two siblings. Still, everyone at the camp could not help be drawn to these to sisters, especially with Anya’s constant berating cry of “Nadia, Nadia!” which could be heard throughout the camp, several times a day.
Sometimes it is difficult for a volunteer to understand all a child is trying to tell them, due to the language issue, as well as us not wanting to pry to ask too many details. All we knew about Denys and Viktor was that they had somehow come in contact with the pastor of the Baptist church in Alexandria and had shown up at the site 2 weeks previously, after apparently having lived on the streets. After the 1st day at camp, it also became clear that both boys had excellent bible knowledge. The girls had told us that their mother was a Christian, and Anya especially had a lot of questions about God, repentance, and His love. We thought the girls lived with their mother, and that she was a good influence on the girls, based on our conversations, but it turns out this was not the case.
So when I returned to both Alexandria and Kompas Park this year – a year later, I was hoping to see these children, as each had secured a special place in my heart. However, God had a different plan. Although there were many wonderful kids at camp this summer, our week only had one returning child: Stephany. It was a joy to see her again as well, and this year she even brought a few friends from her school with her. Still – no word on Anya, Nadia, Denys or Viktor.
After a tearful good bye at camp, the 2008 American team from Dunwoody split up, some going onto Kiev for the weekend, others going to other parts of Eastern Europe, and myself, my son Danny, and Hope from Louisiana opting to stay a couple of days at Alpha House, so that we could go to the site in Alexandria before coming back home to the USA.
In Alexandria, we left Danny and Hope in the care of Pasha, Pastor Vasily’s son-in-law, and he took them on a walk of the town and then back to the work site. Meanwhile, I had a wonderful meeting with the Mayor of Alexandria, Kjrovograd, which was artfully arranged by Pastor Vasily, and Hope Now’s Ukrainian Director Misha Vishymeersky served as an excellent translator. The pastor did a terrific job of introducing Christianity into the meeting, which I myself was trying to figure out how to do. I was in the midst of trying to concentrate on all the details of formally inviting the Mayor to fly to Alexandria, Louisiana in Feb. 2009 to serve as Mardi Gras International Guest of Honor. It was a real effort to speak so diplomatically, and to remember to ask about his family, interests, the current state of his constituents, the local products of his region, etc.. before launching straight in to what we had come there for. And all this while only saying a small bit at a time, so that Misha could have enough time to interpret what I had just said, and then using this time to form my next thoughts.
The bombed out hotel that Hope Now is helping to turn into the Alexandria Church and Rescue Shelter is located directly across the street from City Hall, and the Mayor can see it everyday. We pray that it is a daily reminder, and that the local government would help as much as they can, to speed up its re-building process. The meeting came to a close, with the Mayor promising to come to Louisiana, and to do everything he can to help see our project to completion. Pastor Vasily said that he was sure it would succeed, as it is God’s will to do so.
Our troupe left this rectangular former-Soviet block of a building, and walked down its wide promenade, across the street to the site. As we approached, we heard a “yoo-hoo” coming from above. We squinted up, and saw Danny and Hope on the top of the building waving down at us. The roof was yet to be put on! After a tour, and more photos of the work site, we were invited to the pastor’s home, where his wife, Ludmilla had prepared a snack for us.
We arrived a short while later, to a lovely cozy home, complete with a very large and tidy garden growing out back. Our snack, turned out to be a very delicious full lunch – complete with rose water to drink! It not only tastes delicious, but makes your home smell like a wonderful rose flower shop. While Ludmilla laid the food out on the table, she gave me a photo album to flip through. Those who know me will tell you that I very rarely become speechless, however when I saw the photos in this album that is exactly what happened. As my voice returned, I said to Danny, “Hey – look! Here’s Denys and Vikor! And Anya and Nadia too!” Sure enough, this is the home where all four of these children are currently living – with the pastor and his wife!
After lunch, Ludmilla showed me the boy’s bedroom, as well as the girl’s – which even contained a piano! We laughed about how Nadia was still indeed running the show, even in this house. She also told me that they had just converted Pastor Vasily’s office into a bedroom so that they could take in 2 additional children in that room. The pastor laughed when I asked him where he would now work? His jovial response was, “The attic, I guess!”
As we were leaving, we heard a kitten meowing and we had to know where it was coming from. Ludmilla led us out to their beautiful enormous garden, and the kitten appeared. She told me that Denys is the one who is mainly tending the vegetables, and that he is their little farmer. She also got very excited to show me not only Denys’ crops, but also his “livestock.” We went around the side of the house, and into a partially covered pen – the floor of which was covered in chickens and a rooster too! She beckoned me in still further – into the dark part of the pen where there was a wooden stall of some
sort. She motioned for me to look inside, which I did, but I couldn’t really see anything (and thankfully couldn’t really smell anything either…). After my eyes adjusted to the light, I was rather surprised to find myself looking down at a dozen or more creatures resembling beavers! Long and sleek black rodent-like creatures, with whiskers and long orange teeth where all looking up at me trying to climb out! Having never seen nutria before in my life, I was rather taken aback! Luckily Hope from Louisiana was there, and she told me what they were. Since they had been munching on pumpkins, their teeth had turned orange.
Thanks to Denys, the family has fresh eggs, vegetables and meat everyday. Thanks to the pastor and his wife, four precious children are cared for and loved by this wonderful Christ-like couple. Thanks to Hope Now partners like you, Misha and all those in Ukraine can carry out the work that the Lord has set before Vic to complete.
It was such a joy to see Eda’s face when I told her the news about the kids we met last year at Kompas Park. No one from our team has seen them since camp last year, and we don’t know their whole life story, but we rest knowing where they are, and that they are so well cared for in such a loving home. “…it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” (Matthew 18:14b)
Alina Zalygina suffered terrible burns in a house fire when she was just 2 years old. Her alcoholic mother, the cause of the fire, had her parental rights taken away...
