UKRAINE—One hundred thousand orphans live in the Ukraine, most having been abandoned by alcoholic and drug-addicted parents. Many older orphans become lost to crime, sex trades, or suicide. But there is hope, says Last Bell Ministries—hope in Christ Jesus.
Last Bell Ministries is a Christian ministry offering family care for orphans in transition in Zhyrtomyr, Ukraine. It invited Pam Russell to come to the Ukraine to teach an Almond Tree Ministry seminar, a drug and alcohol abuse program based at Bible Baptist Church, Kokomo, Ind. Pam is an instructor for the substance abuse curriculum, which she wrote while working as a chaplain with female inmates in Indiana. She is endorsed by Regular Baptist Chaplaincy and is a member of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors.
The Almond Tree material had already been translated into Russian, so translators with Last Bell fine-tuned the translation and served as interpreters for the two-day training seminar. Accompanied by Steve and Ruth Salmons, members of Bible Baptist Church, Pam visited Last Bell’s two drop-in centers and support center, where orphans can find help with Biblical counseling and legal issues, as well as eat a meal, access a washer and dryer, and find love and acceptance.
- Read about Almond Tree in “Life and Hope for Addicts.”
Ministry in a “Cursed” City
“Ukraine is a country of contrasts,” Pam says. “The capitol city, Kiev, is stunningly beautiful, straddling the Dnippe River, and crisscrossed by bridges. Kiev managed to escape the communist purge of all things beautiful. The architecture of many of the buildings is ornate Victorian, and the Orthodox churches are intensely colorful, with turquoise or intense blue walls and golden onion-shaped domes dotting the skyline. We ate at the wonderful bakeries and enjoyed some of the best coffee anywhere.
“However, Zhyrtomyr, where we spent most of our time, is far different from Kiev. Someone said, ‘Zhyrtomyr? Why would you go there? It’s cursed.’ It shows that it has not long left Communism with its shades of grey and austerity. Ancient trams and trolley cars provide public transport. High-rise apartments look dreary and dirty. Homes are made seemingly of any materials that could be salvaged, odd bits of this and that, and corrugated metal roofs are the norm. Front yards have few flowers and no lawns, rather, a large vegetable patch and a few chickens, and often an outhouse. The city reminded me of the post–World War II Britain I grew up in, over 50 years ago. . . .
“What really sticks in the mind is the orphan problem. It boggles the mind. There is an orphan problem because there is a great alcohol problem. And the orphans are all ages, raised in government-run orphanages that used to be in Communist hands up to 21 years ago.”
God has not left Himself without a witness even in this “cursed” city, Pam says. Believers and churches are proclaiming the gospel and helping the needy—especially the orphans.
In Zhytomyr, orphans live at Orphanage #4. A Last Bell Ceremony marks the end of the school year for these orphans. Last Bell’s website explains, “For the 15- and 16-year-old graduates of Orphanage #4 in Zhytomyr, this means the end of life in an institution. They go on to trade school for two or three years and live in large government dormitories with minimal supervision.
“Many enter trade school already devastated from the rejection and abandonment they experienced growing up. At the orphanage kids often develop coping mechanisms to deaden the pain: stealing, fighting, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual promiscuity. They are not prepared for life at a trade school, let alone independence. After leaving the institution, orphan teens are more alone than ever. The long-term emotional effects of abuse and neglect become unavoidable and sometimes unbearable. About one out of ten commit suicide in the years following graduation.”
Hope for the Future
In the days leading up to the Almond Tree Ministry counseling training, Last Bell Ministries’ staff educated Pam and the Salmons on the issues faced in the Ukraine because of overwhelming drug and alcohol problems. (Ukraine ranks #6 in the world for adult alcohol consumption.) They learned about the ministry of the Shelter, the drop-in center for teen orphans. At the Shelter, they receive love, good food, and hear the gospel. The Haven is the other drop-in center of Last Bell; this one is for postgraduate orphans, but also offers love, good food, and the gospel. Ukrainian nationals, single and married, along with folks from the U.S., operate these homes, acting as houseparents. At the newly remodeled support center, Vitalie, a lawyer from Kiev, volunteers his time three days a week to be an advocate for the orphans. He had just won his first case, in which he fought successfully to get a house left to one of the orphans. Many orphans have homes or inheritances stolen from them, Pam explains.
After visiting Last Bell’s facilities and local substance-abuse treatment centers for men and women, Pam led the Almond Tree Ministry training session. Over 30 people attended—Last Bell staff and graduates, foster parents, treatment center staff, prison ministry workers, and church counseling workers—depleting Pam’s supply of workbooks that had been translated and printed. The Almond Tree material was well received, with many questions and much discussion, Pam says. “Haven staff wanted to know how to get their orphan grads to listen to them when they say they do not believe the Bible. They have a tough ministry, but we were able to give them answers.”
The Almond Tree team in the U.S. is praying for much fruit as these brothers and sisters in the Ukraine begin to work with this new material. “We thank God for this amazing opportunity,” Pam says. “May He use it for His purposes.”
- In a separate ministry opportunity, GARBC International Ministries will be taking pastors to the Ukraine Oct. 15–24 to minister.
