And This One Matters......: God Has Re-Routed Kolya & I This Summer For Missions!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

God Has Re-Routed Kolya & I This Summer For Missions!

Kolya and I have been preparing our hearts and minds for a mission trip this summer. We had planned to go to Ukraine but God had other plans instead. (:

We are blessed to have awesome opportunities to come up that we will get to take part in. Kolya just joined the Boy Scouts and is loving the kids, the leaders and everything he is learning. Our boy is old school so the leaders said he has some old tricks up his sleeve to help the other kids because being raised in an orphanage using matches was not unusual for a little kid. Knowing how to use a knife at a young age, no biggee. Apparently a couple things the kids would fear or were afraid to touch he jumped right in. So proud of him. Then we have all our New Horizons For Children kiddos flying in for hosting and also a local hosting program, Redline United Kolya and I work with for 3 weeks. It is also a hosting program that brings orphans over from Ukraine but right here a couple miles from us so we love working with the kids in the day camps. Then our kiddo is joining the swim team. He's a fish. So with all these exciting things happening we had to juggle where to go mission wise. We wanted to go to Ukraine and we could actually work it time wise but all in all God gave us plenty of clear signs this was not his plan for us...he needed us to stay here in the US of A. So by golly we are!

Kolya and I picked a ministry that specifically focuses on outreach in the US and abroad with youth. I love it! SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUTH!! Again I will say I love it! It is called Teameffort.org We studied all the states including ours to do outreach and we felt lead to Tampa, Florida. We will be helping do repair construction on the church in this community we will be staying. We will be working with special needs folks and helping build ramps and items needed to help them move around better and doing Vacation Bible School outreach in the community with the kids. So we will be tackling a bunch of wonderful things all in the time we are there. We head out June 10th for the missions for a week. Verse flying we will be rocking the rental car and cruising in our Hyndai to Florida listening I am sure to Toby Mac all the way looking for gators on the side of the road and hopefully not in the middle of it! We are both so excited about this opportunity to serve here in the US and be used by God in whatever way he needs to. We are both excited about our own spiritual growth and relationship with God and being able to experience this together!

We come to you and ask for prayer for our trip in that again God uses as he needs and sees fit. That we are alert and aware to his calling of where he needs us to be and move right to that specific spot, location or person of need. That in all our construction (being first time for Kolya) that the team is safe in all the building we do. Safety in all the teams travel to this location and our time there. THAT GOD ROCKS OUR WORLD and changes out hearts!

We are officially signed up were going and again excited for all to come! We have paid all our enrollment fees and at this point, YEAH!! Now we are in need of raising our last remaining funds before launch on June 10th of $1800.00. This will cover the expenses for both Kolya and I. Should you feel lead to donate towards our mission we would forever be so grateful! You can click the Florida State Seal in the top right of this blog and it will take to you Paypal for any donation you would like to make towards our trip. Or you can donate directly to diveshark@yahoo.com through paypal. Or you can if easier you can mail a check directly to us at our home address. Again we thank you so much and we look forward to being used by GOD ALL summer with this mission, New Horizons For Children and the Redline Hosting kiddos! AWESOME AWESOME!

1 comment:

Melissa MacyApril 24, 2012 at 6:58 PM
Sounds so cool! I know you two will have a great time! :)
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

What Does Nicole Mean By Advocating For Orphans?

So glad you asked! In Ukraine many hosting programs are shutting down. The reason being is boarding schools (orphanages) are being condensed the more the foster care system grows in Ukraine. This leaves the school Directors in fear of losing their jobs if they do not hold a specific number of children in their boarding school. Then the threat of shut down looms over their heads. The second reason is with hosting programs that means many children will find their forever families which means again the number of children falls under what is required for the school to remain open. It is a double edge sword. You have many Directors that want their children adopted but then they know if they loose their job they cannot support their family. It is not easy in Eastern Europe to find a job in a couple days. Especially with the current climate Ukraine is in with war at hand.

5 years ago Nicole started to notice the decline in hosting programs being allowed to continue to bring children over to America. With the adoption of their children, especially their 2 littles ones Nicole & Joe knew they did not have the allotted time needed to dedicate to volunteer with NHFC and not be able to give it their all like they had done in the past. They did not want to fail the NHFC team. So they resigned and Nicole went freelancing in Ukraine. On Gods timing, when she was able, wherever God lead and with the team God put together. On these trips Nicole, her son Kolya and/or the team would teach children English, teach them about Jesus, love on them and then fight for them. Meaning if a child or boarding school staff came to Nicole and said this child wanted a family Nicole would interview them and spend as much time with them as possible to get to know them personally. Nicole would do this in an effort to learn as much as possible to help advocate for the child in hopes their forever family would come forward. Nicole would learn the good and bad in an effort to be upfront and honest with a potential adoptive family.

Nicole is not an adoption agency, a hosting agency, nor a professional and she does not work for anyone accept God. She is a gal after God's heart and children, a stay at home Mama that has worked with teens for 20 years and this is her heart and passion.

Why Ukraine Nicole?

In Eastern Europe it is very different then America. In America if a child is in the foster care system they can remain with their family for care until they are 18 years old. In America there is opportunity for just about everyone even if it is working at McDonalds. You are not labeled as an "Orphan". In Eastern Europe an orphaned children is basically wearing a stamp his/her their forehead that says "Orphan". It is like a permanent tattoo that is with them for life and never washes off not only in their mind but to others. They are not wanted or welcomed in many cases. On a trip to Ukraine a sign was spotted that stated "No orphans allowed" that was posted up on the door of a store. At the age of 16 these children age out of their boarding schools and have a choice of trade school or the streets. Most of them have no family to turn to. So just imagine a 16 year old child left to their own with NO accountability. With the economic crises and war in Eastern Europe the children that have extended family like Grandpa, Grandma, a sister or a brother cannot afford to take in the child so they only visit. If the child should choose to go to trade school it generally consists of coal mining, hair dressing, etc. Even with that in school the kids again are accountable to themselves and if they do not hold up their grades they are on the streets. If they graduate they still are stamped "Orphaned". So should they apply for a job with many other folks they will be the ones tossed because of this label. So their chances of graduating trade school and then getting a job are slim to known unless they are one determined child. The trade school housing for the kids is old hospitals that are now used as dorms. If a child is not back to their dorm by 10PM they are locked out for the night and they will call the streets then bedroom. Many children have been noted to say that they are scared to be in the trade school dorms because of the violence, rap, prostitution, drugs and alcohol. One child was noted to say that he would find kids shooting up drugs in the hallway and passed out. He bought a gun illegally in order to be able to protect himself of the unknown there. Then you have the rebels that take the world on by themselves that either at this point in their life want to live independently and not report to anyone or just cannot handle the trade school life and want nothing to do with it. So they take the streets to make it. They generally fall into becoming thieves, go into prostitution or commit suicide in order to survive. No matter how you flip this coin the statistics are grim from these children. They are all survivors doing just that.......surviving.

There is such a significant need all over the world even in America. Joe and I were foster parents and have served with youth in the US for our entire marriage and Nicole prior to marriage. God steered Joe and Nicole on a different path when they were introduced to NHFC and adopted their first son, Kolya from Ukraine. God has continued to call them to Ukraine in an effort to reach the voiceless and give them a voice, hope and love. God calls each of us to a specific place, time and season to do His work as Christians. God has shifted their call to Ukraine.....for the time being. Again they go where God leads where ever it may be.

Meet The Dewberrys

The Dewberrys came together as a family after hosting their now 18 year old now son, Kolya from Ukraine during Christmas 2010 through an International hosting program called New Horizons For Children, Inc.

In the midst of hosting Kolya, Joe and Nicole felt the Lord was going to lead them through more then just hosting in Ukraine. Nicole and Joe was were blessed to work with NHFC as a volunteer Regional Directors in North Carolina for the orphan hosting program. Nicole realized that in time there seemed to be a decline to host children from Ukraine with all the politics that was abounding in Ukraine. So she felt a lead to break away from hosting and go where God leads to travel to Ukraine and be wide open to God to lead her to orphanages to met children that could no longer be hosted and advocate to find them forever families that were aging out. For the last 6 years Nicole has been traveling to Ukraine several times a year to teach English in orphanages, teach the children about Jesus, show them the love of Christ and advocate for true orphans that want a forever family. Nicole brings aid to the Ukraine military, visiting the military in the hospitals as well as meeting active duty and on the field military and serving with mission teams the local folks that remain in regions that are devastated by war with her oldest son Misha. The Dewberrrys children have returned with Nicole to Ukraine on many occasions to serve the people of their country.

Kids are Joe and Nicole's love and passion. Nicole has worked with teens for 22 years. Joe and Nicole together have done mission work with youth and have specifically worked with at-risk youth and in church youth ministry for 17 years. The Dewberrys arms are wide open to show the love they have for the lost and forgotten youth.

The Lord lead them back to Ukraine in 2012 to adopt Tania, 10 years old & Stopha who is 8 years old and are HIV+. In 2014 the Lord lead the Dewberrys back to Ukraine to adopt Bogdan 12 years old who is HIV+ and Angelica 19 years old and Kristjan 16 years old. Then in 2015 the Dewberry's returned for Vova 16 years old and Viktor 12 years old. None of the Dewberrys children would not be home without the prayers and the hands of feet of Christ of folks coming alongside their family to see their children home and also all the mission trips Nicole has been on.

Nicole and her children continue to return to Ukraine to do mission work advocating for orphans that want forever families, teaching them about Jesus, teaching them English as well as doing doing mission work with the military and regions of devastation by serving those left behind.

With the greater increase in adoptions which is amazing there is also a greater need for support for adopted children and their families. Nicole is now working with Hope Connection International holding classes and support groups to teach pre-adoption classes, connect families that have adopted within the US and abroad and work with families in crises to help prevent disruption.

Our family prayer is to go where God leads.

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. - James 1:27

About This Blog

This blog is dedicated to our heart and soul, the orphans that cannot speak out of Eastern Europe. This blog is about our journey of the adoption of our children, the mission work we do in Eastern Europe, advocating for orphans and wherever God leads our family.

This blog is also about the trials and tribulations we have faced with hosting, adopting, missions work already and yet to come. The grace, mercies and restorations of our hearts and minds. The incredible friendships God has provided along the way. About our missions trips to Ukraine working with orphans. The blessings of when Nicole volunteered with New Horizons For Children as Regional Director. All our crazy stories & adventures we have had along the way here in America and in Ukraine. And oh how we have adventures and stories! This blog is a dedication to our Lord and Savior encompassing the one thing he treasures more then anything, His children.....the orphans.