SUNFLOWERS

Bruce has been hoping to see a Sunflower field ever since we arrived in Donetsk. He had heard that they were beautiful and we were beginning to think we would never see one. So when we drove by this one he not only insisted we stop but he had to go have his picture taken and it wouldn't have been as much fun unless I joined him. So here we are in the Sunflower field.

GRATITUDE

This is what we found when we entered the church building today.
Today was Sunday. I love Sundays. I love that we set this day aside to honor our Heavenly Father. I love that we call this a day of rest. I love that we have made a commitment to worship him on Sunday not only at Church but in our home. I love going to church. I love everything about it. I love pulling into the parking lot and seeing little boys and girls dressed in their Sunday best getting out of their cars and helping their younger siblings safely maneuver the parking lot. I love how when you enter the building the prelude music just washes over you like a thick warm blanket. I love that you can always count on certain families to occupy their "self assigned" pews. I love to see Daddy's wandering the buildings with babes in their arms. I love that so many of the women and men who occupy the space in our home ward with my husband and I on Sunday's are no longer strangers but Brothers and Sisters. I remember the first time we walked into an LDS Chapel it felt like "coming home" and I love that it has continued to feel like that no matter where we are. Until.........



Today I woke up and found myself thinking, "Ugh, I hate Sunday." I know, that is awful that I even thought it and even worse that I admit it. I'm sorry, but Sunday is a little different here in Ukraine because we don't speak Russian. I was not really looking forward to going to church because I feel like I miss so much when I can't understand what is going on. I don't know what the talks in Sacrament Meeting are about unless some poor missionary translates for me. I am still having difficulty singing the hymns because I can't read fast enough so I struggle with something that use to give me so much comfort. I feel sad that I can't talk to the members of the Branch and I can't participate in class discussions. I was feeling like "what do I have to offer." So, I was definitely starting the day out all wrong. I was in desperate need of an attitude adjustment.
I decided just before we left for church to e-mail a brief note to my daughter and her husband and tell them I love them and I saw that I had an e-mail from someone whose name I didn't recognize. I really didn't have time but I have to say, I felt prompted to open it before leaving. It was a comment that had been posted on our blog from a Woman in West Africa. She wrote,


"You have made my Sunday truly a day of worship. My 10yr-old  daughter and I are the only church members in Burkina Faso and it's a glorious day when we can find a way to keep a little Sabbath in our Sunday! We're the little red dot in West Africa and we love the sweet spirit of your blog. Book marked for FHE lessons.


I should have gone straight to my knees to thank my Heavenly Father for such a gift. It completely changed my attitude about the day. I noticed I felt HAPPY as we were waiting for the bus to take us to the Chapel where we meet with about 50 members and 10 missionaries each week. I felt happy when we walked inside and found 10 or12 umbrellas all opened and scattered across the tile floor. The umbrellas that these faithful Saints had used to stay dry as they walked to church today. I felt happy when just like every Sunday, some sweet sister approached me with a big smile and a kiss on the cheek as I was making my way to my seat in the back. When I sat down and opened the hymn book and the piano began playing one of my favorite hymns, "because I have been given much", I could feel the my Heavenly Father's Love for me. The members beautiful voices blended, and as they sang in their native tongue. I could feel a peace engulf me as the words ran through my mind. I felt incredible peace as a young man of 17 who had just recently joined the church offered the blessing on the bread. I was loving Sunday by now as I thought of the faith of this young man. He is the only member of his family that has been baptized. He was brought to church for the first time by a classmate. He is 17 years old and he is such a righteous young man. Every week he shows up dressed in a clean white shirt and tie, and every week he attends the youth night even though sometimes there is only 3 or 4 other young people there. He has attended every Branch activity and every Service Project we have had since joining the church. I was finding myself filled with gratitude when I looked over at one of the Sisters and saw that she was sitting next to her husband who has only attended church once before since I have been here. I know that it has been the desire of her heart to have her husband sit beside her as she worships her Heavenly Father. My heart was touched as I reflected on the sweet members of our branch and what a blessing it is to be here in Ukraine witnessing the growth of the church.

I love being able to see people enter our building for the first time and see a member welcome them and know that they too are having that "coming home" feeling that I experienced so long ago.
I am so thankful for that sweet Sister in West Africa and her 10 year old daughter who have reminded me once again to count my blessings. God Bless You. What an example you are to all of us. I promise you I will never look at Sunday worship with the attitude I started today with again.
When I woke up this morning I just wanted my daughter to know that I loved her and was thinking of her. I think that's probably how it is with our Heavenly Father. He knows when we are struggling with something, he knows when our burden seems too heavy to bear. Sometimes he just wants us to know that he loves us. I pray that our eyes will be open, that our ears will hear when he sends loving reminders of who we are and why we are here.

SANITORIUM

How cute is this little guy with the ball?
Look at that face. Give me a blanket under a shady tree and a bunch of little children and I am good to go.........
You could just come back to get me in about 4 or 5 hours and I would be perfectly happy.
We went to a facility today that was called a Sanitorium. They use the term differently here then we do in America. Here a sanitorium is a place people go to recuperate. This facility is for children ages 1-7 who have special needs such as cerebral palsy, down syndrome, or language delays as well as children with psychological problems. The child on my lap was born in a prison.

I was told most of these children are orphans but they don't live in orphanages they live in hospitals. I am still trying to understand who determines where the children are placed. Everytime I think I have it figured out I learn something new. At some point it is determined if they can go to a "normal school"or if they will be sent to an "internat"(orphanage) to live. One facility told me before children turn 4 they are evaluated at a hospital to determine where they will be placed.

Here is where I got lost. I don't understand how they can go to a "normal" school if they don't have families. Sometimes I get overwhelmed while communicating through an interpretor and it is difficult to go back and ask questions. I guess that is why I am still piecing together information.

So here is what I was able to understand. This facility has 2 buildings each house 25 children between the ages of 1-7 who have various "special needs". The government pays for them to come here 36 days each year for therapy. They receive Physical Therapy, Massage, and Speech Therapy. One of the ladies told us they try to focus on "social adaptation" and education.

Here is an interesting fact. The highest paid employee at this facility would be a doctor who makes $240.00 per month. The teachers/nurses make about $140.00. The lady who does the laundry makes $100.00 per month. No wonder they have a hard time finding staff. Another interesting fact is, the government allows the facility the equivalent of $1.66 per day per child for meals, clothing, medicines and any other needs.

I find this disturbing!!!!!!!!!

The other thing I want to share is the unbelievabe truth is that I found myself thinking "this is a nice place." Something I never would have thought when I first arrrived in the Country.

Here's why.................

They have a nice big outdoor area where we found the children playing. They have some really nice therapy equipment. There was a room with a big tub filled with balls, there were large therapy balls, squishy toys, wooden toys for stacking and stringing, lots of books, walkers, and standers. I even saw a nice wheelchair. As I have mentioned before, this is a nice facility

but, that is what it is, a facility where children are being raised. I am a little alarmed that I am becoming accustomed to seeing childen institutionalized. This is not a home. There is no mom, no dad, no brothers and sisters, no consistant person in these childrens lives.

When these little ones go to bed at night one woman prepares 25 children for bed. She takes all these little ones into the bathroom where they are given a sponge bath every night of the week except one day when they have a real bath. These sweet little ones aren't allowed the luxury of playing in a bath filled with warm water and rubber toys, spongy letters, or bath paints. There's no lap to climb into for a bedtime story. This one woman sits in a room outside 3 little sleeping rooms.

The very sad truth is these little children are being raised in intitutions and this is their Disneyland. This is a nice place to come and run around outside throwing balls, and digging in the sand. This is a great place to come where you can play with other children. This is a wonderful place to come and sing songs, and listen to the piano, to have a nice person rub your back with lotion. But how do you tell them it's time to go home?

The sad thing is this, they are only allowed to come once a year for 36 days. I wonder how a child feels when they realize they are not staying but have to go back to the hospital where we were told "nobody cares about them" and "nobody has time to pay attention to them."

I find myself saddened once again by how this country treats it's children. I don't know how this makes any sense to anyone. Once a year for 7 years children are allowed to come here and stay for 36 days. And when they are not here they are being raised in a hospital by a nurse who doesn't have time to care for them. They are not placed permanently until they are 4 and then they will probably end up in an orphanage or an internat.

I won't go on anymore. This is one of those times that I have to look at the glass as half full and not half empty. Tonight I have to be grateful for what they have and not for what they are missing. I have to be grateful that these children are some of the chosen few who are given this wonderful experience each year. The staff members were nice and seemed to enjoy the children. I am thankful for the dedicated staff who work for practically nothing so that these children can experience joy in their lives.

HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS

I would like to answer a few questions people have asked me about the Humanitarian Program of the Church.

Where does the money come from?

• first the money that is used comes from members of the church worldwide who donate to the Humanitarian Fund

Who does it go to?

• the funds are used to assist organizations who help the poor and needy
• we do not provide assistance to individuals
• we have worked with; hospitals, schools, institutions for the handicapped, boarding schools, orphanages, women's groups, a veteran's group, and an organization that supports people raising large families, a blind school, a day program for "invalids", and shelters.

How do you find the organizations to help?

• sometimes we will get a letter from an organization that has had assistance from the church in the past.
• sometimes a local church member or Branch President will know of an organization that could use some assistance and they will make a referral.
• when things are slow we go looking for places that are doing great things to assist the poor and needy.
• we work with other non-governmental agencies like the International Relief Development who will recommend possible organizations to partner with.

What happens after you meet with the organization?

• we (the Humanitarian Couple) write a letter supporting their request for assistance and it has to be approved by our directors in Kieve and then they send it to the Directors in Moscow for approval
• we don't give any organizations money. LDS Charities pays the vendor directly for the items that have been requested. The whole process takes 3 or 4 months.
• when the items have been delivered we meet with the organization one last time to celebrate the arrival of their new equipment.

What happens to the Hygiene Kits, School kits, Blankets, Newborn Kits that are made in the Relief Society (church's women's organization)?

• Those items are sent to the foreign countries in large containers by ship. We have to have a partner organization like The International Relief Development (IRD) work with us to bring the containers into the country.
• In Ukraine we have partnered with IRD. They are the consignee for the container and they locate organizations who have a need of the equipment and distribute the items to those organizations. They are very good about inviting us to see the containers unloaded and attend the distribution. I have posted some of these experiences in previous post.

Can we send items directly to you to distribute?

• I appreciate your desire to help with our Humanitarian work in Ukraine however, it is not that easy. When large quantities of items are sent they have a difficult time clearing customs. There is a concern that the items will be sold. We have even had items disappear sometime in transit from America. There is also a tax or duty added to items that are brought into the country. So the church has been very clear that they do not want friends or family members sending items here.

How can I help?
Go to the blog http://www.peaceablewalkldshsp.blogspot.com/ for my post about how to help.
or you can go to the church website: www.lds.org/ldsfoundation/welfare/welcome

Today we went to a hospital that asked for some assistance to purchase some wheelchairs. When we arrived we had a meeting with a Surgeon who does Surgery on patients with decubitis ulcers(bed sores). He said they have many patients who develop decubitis because they are bedridden or wheelchair bound and when a bed sore develops "nobody knows how to treat it" and it becomes infected. We met with the doctor for about an hour.

The first thing I want to say is this..........

HE MAKES $300.00 PER MONTH AND HAS BEEN A SURGEON FOR 38 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!

(Olga told us teachers make about $160.00 a month).

We learn things here everyday that are so hard to comprehend.
As we toured the hospital once again, I was so sad to see the condition of the equipment they use or the lack of equipment. We went to the floor that this doctor works on. It is where patients go who are recovering after surgery on their decubitis. They usually stay in this department a few months. We met one young who was probably under 30 we found lying flat on his stomach with nothing for entertainment. There were no T.V's, or VCR's in the room, absolutely nothing. He had placed a mirror on the head board so that he could see what was going on behind him. When we spoke with him we discovered he had been lying this way for 4 months. The doctor said they don't allow the family to stay because the doctors have to visit patients 3 or 4 times a day.

You must know what I am thinking about now. ........

Did I just hear him say no family?

I never stop being amazed at what goes on here.

When I worked in the hospital the family was such a support to the patients as well as the nurses.

So what if the doctors need to see the patients. At home the patient and his family see the doctor.

What did he just say????????

I bit my lip and went on with the tour.

The hospital requested 4 or 5 wheelchairs that would allow the patients who must stay on their stomach's an opportunity to go outdoors or at least leave their rooms. They told us they only have one now for all of their patients to use. After a little bit of searching we found this young man using the wheelchair to go outside and enjoy some fresh air. We stopped to ask if we could take a picture and to visit for a few minutes. I was so touched. He had a beautiful smile and was so sweet. He is 24 years old. He was injured in a fall 7 years ago and has been in and out of the hospital many times since because of bed sores. The doctor told us they had to bring him back from "Hell" twice. He does not have the use of his legs anymore. The doctor said he had such bad infection that they should have removed his legs but didn't want to because he is so young. I can't imagine how hard that would be at such a young age to be left without the use of your legs. I know that this young man will not have the opportunities young men in America have to attend college and eventually have a career. This country has just not recognized anyone who is handicapped in any way. They can't even get around the streets in a wheelchair not to mention public transportation.

I have mentioned this before but I want to share it again. When people are born with any disability they are sent away to an "internat" to live. These facilities are usually outside town so that no one has to see them and be reminded that the even exist. Bruce and I walk the streets everyday and we very seldom see anyone with a physical or mental disability.

So once again, I am grateful to be an American. I am grateful for the Americans with Disabilities Act that assures humane, fair treatment to people who are born with special needs. I am grateful that I live in a Country where we aren't afraid to work with, or to be friends or neighbors with someone who may look or act different then we do. I am grateful for our freedoms to choose how to raise our children with special needs and for all the wonderful programs we have to support families who are raising children with special needs. I am so proud of all of my friends who have fought for the rights of their special needs children. I am grateful to my friends, both mommies and therapist who have dedicated their lives to enriching the lives of their special needs children. I am so proud to call you my friends.
Tonight I am filled with gratitude for all the blessings that come with being born in the United States of America. God bless the USA.