For the past few years, the Atlantic District Wesleyan Churches, through World Hope Canada, have been instrumental in touching the lives of hundreds of children who live on the streets of Odessa, Ukraine. Since most of us have never met these children, how can their lives have such a profound effect on us? We're not sure WHY but we all agree that God is using these children to teach us many life lessons right here in the Maritimes. I'd like to share with you my lesson about commitment.

Word on the streets of Odessa is that if you are homeless, hungry, cold, dirty and tired, you just drop into “First Step Center”. You can get a hot shower, a delicious meal, someone to help you learn to read, and you could even listen to stories about a “Father” who loves you more than anything. Hugs are free, smiles are plentiful and you can be SAFE there!

A middle-aged Christian couple, living in the city, had become VERY concerned about the hundreds of children crouching in doorways, sleeping under cardboard boxes in alleys, sniffing glue to keep themselves warm in winter, and rifling through garbage cans everyday just to find something to take away the hunger pains. Alla and Sasha are parents and grandparents, but more than that they are Christians and their hearts were broken as they passed these children daily on their way to work. Sasha worked as a trolley bus driver while Alla was a cook, but they began to ask God how could they personally do more for these throw-away children. They already had taken in several children from the streets to live with them in their tiny apartment but surely there was more that God wanted to do.

Alla worked on a regular basis at First Step and in September 2003, World Hope Canada, with the generous donation from two major sponsors, took a step of faith and purchased a building on the outskirts of Odessa, to house the growing number of children who were identified by the staff of First Step, as being ready to leave the streets. (This would be an amazing commitment on the part of the children to trust adults again). Alla and Sasha were asked if they would be willing to “parent” the children that would be moved to what is now known as Hope House. Without hesitation, they packed up their belongings, and began their new life as mama and papa to eight children (with room for eight more) – now that is a serious commitment.

Anne Medders, Executive Director of World Hope Canada, began the process of raising the necessary funds to try and get these children “Home for Christmas”. A plea went out to all the churches of the Atlantic District in the fall of 2003. In one of our churches, there was a young girl who had just graduated from high school and was preparing to go to university in the fall. She spent her entire summer working so that she could lessen the financial strain. When Amy (not her real name) heard about the plight of the children in Ukraine, without hesitation she gave $1000 to be used to help get these children off the streets. I am still amazed that one so young could make that type of commitment to strangers – children who are not even part of her world. When God spoke, she listened.

In the past few months, God has been speaking to others about the children in Ukraine as well. In the next few weeks a team of eleven, mostly from the Sussex area, will be spending several weeks (and for my wife and I, several months) in the community of Fountanka where Hope House is situated. The purpose of the trip is twofold: 1) to do major renovations at Hope House such as adding a bathroom, addressing a serious insulation and mold problem, putting in new windows and doors, etc, and 2) to work at the Fountanka Church, a local church planting project which has been struggling for a number of years to complete their building. This congregation and their Pastor, Alexander, have been very supportive of our ministry to street children in Ukraine. And now our Hope House family get their spiritual nurturing from Pastor Alexander’s church as it is the only church in the community. Because of this partnership with this young church World Hope has partnered with them in their building program for the past two years. As I write this, we are still in need of about $15,000 for building materials to make this team’s commitment all it needs to be.

What does all this say about commitment? Well, it took the commitment of a Moncton girl, passing through Ukraine, to make good on her promise to ensure that things got better for the homeless street children of Odessa. It took the commitment of World Hope to set up the “First Step Centre” and then to step out and purchase Hope House (as well as committing to raise $5200 on a monthly basis to cover the regular needs of the children at both First Step Centre and Hope House). It took the commitment of a teenage girl to listen to her heart and give much of her summers pay for “the children”. It took the commitment of Alla and Sasha to leave their home and take on the responsibility of raising upwards of sixteen children as their own AND it continues to be a matter of commitment for churches to send teams into Ukraine to help with the ongoing work there. We cannot afford to let even one of these children fall... because they are counting on our commitment.