Ukraine Trip 2019 Recap

The New Song International team made a trip to Ukraine this past March and April. It was a whirlwind of a trip- probably the busiest and most productive trip to Ukraine we have had yet. God is moving in mighty ways and we are along for the ride. He has opened doors and cleared the way before us from day one, and we are so grateful and encouraged by the progress that’s been made. After our return from Ukraine, we have kept our momentum from the trip going and have been working hard on planning and other details, so we haven’t sat down to update the blog on the trip. It’s now July and we’ve been back from Ukraine for almost three months, which means a lot has happened in those months. We will update what’s been happening post-trip on the next blog post, so stay tuned!

Our team was a little bigger this time because we were joined by Harris (Leah’s husband) and Becky Ruland, our building project manager with International Networx. It was Harris’ first time to Ukraine, which made it all the more fun and exciting. We left for Ukraine with a pretty full agenda and a tentative plan to best utilize our time, however our plans were quickly rearranged because some very exciting opportunities came up. Seriously, God opened up doors for meetings and divine appointments that only He could have opened.

Our biggest goals while in Ukraine were searching for land near Uzhhorod, continuing to network with other organizations, and meeting with government officials. Our wonderful architect that we are working with to design the New Song buildings, Pasha, introduced us to his friend, Andrei, who ended up helping us tremendously in our search for land. Andrei then introduced us to Svitlana with Ukraine Without Orphans. We knew of Svitlana through other people at UWO, but we had never actually met her before. Svitlana then went on to introduce us to Nikolai Kuleba, the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights. What started as one simple introduction led to us meeting with someone that works directly under the President of Ukraine, which is why we were fine with changing our plans around a bit. :)

Lviv, Ukraine

When we arrived in Uzhhorod in far western Ukraine, we had already been invited to Lviv in northwestern Ukraine to meet with Svitlana, and because of our tight schedule, we hopped on a quick five-hour train ride through the mountains to go to Lviv the night after we arrived in Ukraine. We absolutely love Lviv and end up going there on almost every trip to Ukraine, usually for meetings, but we’ve been blessed to have done some sightseeing as well. Lviv is a charming, active, and artistic city where it’s easy to find a great cup of coffee or interesting museum. You will also find almost 100% Ukrainian speakers, signs, merchandise, and some of the purest spoken Ukrainian in the whole country. After arriving on an early morning train, we grabbed some coffee and breakfast and promptly started our marathon of meetings. We met up with Andrei and were able to share our vision in person since we had previously only talked on the phone. It was great to hear some of his insight and wisdom, and get to know more about him and his family.

Later in the day we met Svitlana for the first time and spent many hours sharing our vision in detail to her. It was so good to hear her input and go over orphan care statistics for the entirety of Ukraine. The numbers don’t lie, and it was a reminder of the huge need for alternative care options and family preservation efforts. Svitlana fully supports our vision and mission and confirmed that there is a tremendous need for care and resources for children with medical needs. They all too often fall through the cracks of a very broken orphan care system and they desperately need advocates. Svitlana was able to hang with us for a couple of days, and decided to take us to an incredible private outpatient rehabilitation center and special needs school in Lviv so we could learn from them and ask questions. We were absolutely blown away by this center and their attention to detail. After touring the facility, we sat down with their director and some staff and shared New Song’s vision. We were able to ask some specific questions about their functions as a nonprofit and cooperation with the government. It was a very helpful and encouraging meeting and we hope to be able to visit again in the future!

Land Hunting

After a couple days in Lviv filled with lots of productive meetings, it was time to hop on a train again and head back to Uzhhorod, this time with Andrei, to begin hunting for potential land. Andrei had already lined up multiple properties for us to look at, and we were more than ready to begin looking and researching. We ended up looking at around twelve different properties over the course of a week, and we narrowed it down to two pieces of land that we really liked and met all our needs. Some further investigations were done on each property and we consulted with a couple of lawyers to help us get the most accurate information. We came to Ukraine with the intention of purely looking at potential properties to see what’s on the market and learn more about the land buying process. Our mindsets were to start the research process now, so that when the right time comes, we will be ready to buy a piece of land. When we were looking at all the different properties, we were able to discuss, brainstorm, and further refine exactly what we are looking for and pinpoint our priorities. We decided that the timing to buy land isn’t right yet, but if either of the two properties we like are supposed to be for New Song, then we trust that they will be available when the time comes. If they are not available, we know that there’s another piece of property that New Song is supposed to be on and we trust that God will lead us to the right land. Also, after having some very positive meetings after our land hunt, we know God is telling us to wait and trust him. So wait and trust we will…

Kyiv, Ukraine

While we were not originally planning on going to Kyiv this trip, our meeting with Svitlana went so well that we were invited to meet with Nikolai Kuleba at his office in Kyiv. We definitely couldn’t pass up this opportunity, so we rearranged our schedule and boarded another (very hot) train across the country. At this point we hadn’t stayed in any one place more than two nights, but we were thankful for the chance to meet with influential people involved in Ukraine’s orphan care. Fifteen hours later, we arrived in Kyiv ready to hit the ground running. Our meeting with Nikolai Kuleba went really well and we were able to share the vision and mission of New Song and also hear his dreams for Ukraine. We discussed the changes happening throughout the country and the shifts that are being made toward more alternative care options for children removed from their homes. He and his team were supportive and excited for our vision of an alternative care center specifically for children with medical needs, and the community resource center that’s open to families with children with special needs. They also emphasized the huge need for a two-part center like this in Ukraine and encouraged us to make this a pilot center that can be replicated throughout the country. We are so humbled and excited to have their support and assistance as we navigate the legal side of Ukraine’s changing orphan care laws. God has opened a big door for New Song and we are now on the ground floor of historical changes being made to better love and care for the most vulnerable children in Ukraine.

Final Week in Ukraine

We had an incredible time in Kyiv, but it was time to go back to Uzhhorod for our final week in Ukraine, well, final week for this trip. We’ll be back to Ukraine soon. Our week in Uzhhorod was relaxing and a much needed rest from the very busy schedule and pace we’d been having. There was plenty of time to catch up with friends in Uzhhorod, go to church, visit the local toddler orphanage, and drink plenty of coffee. We were also able to achieve one of the biggest goals while there, and that was to meet with the regional social services department, which is who we will be working directly with in the near future. We had begun establishing a relationship with some people in the social services department a couple of years ago, but we were able to meet someone in a more senior position this time and the meeting couldn’t have gone any better. In fact, after sharing our vision in detail and discussing how we could partner together, the social services director was so excited that she ran to the mayor and shared everything we had discussed. The fact that the regional government is so supportive is a huge encouragement and answer to prayer. We are honored to partner with them in advocating for children that can’t advocate for themselves.

Belarus

Kelly and Becky made a quick side trip to visit friends in Belarus on the way back to the states. Recent changing laws in Belarus made it possible to travel there for short periods without a visa, so we decided to visit while we were in Eastern Europe. Becky and I (Kelly) boarded one more Ukrainian train (at least for this trip) and headed to the international airport in Lviv. We had a sweet surprise when a friend of ours was on the same train as us, which allowed for more time to talk and catch up as we made our way through the snowy mountains. Once in Lviv, we had time to grab a quick bite to eat and then made our way to the airport to board a short flight to Minsk. Becky used to live in Belarus, so she was excited to be able to visit again and show me around. Majority of the time was spent visiting and simply fellowshipping with Becky’s friends from when she lived there. This time with friends also allowed us to share about New Song and what we are working towards, which opened up a lot of discussion and interest for something similar to be started in Belarus. A short five days in Belarus came to a close and we boarded our flights back to Houston. Since being back, the New Song team has been actively working behind the scenes and keeping the momentum going from the trip. Our vision now is clearer than ever, as God has continued to lead us after returning home from our trip. He has prepared a path before us and we are simply following. Keep your eye out for the next blog post that will update about what we’ve been doing since returning to the states, and how we continue advocating for children in Ukraine.