Saturday, April 24, 2010

A Week of Training and Conferences

It seems like a world away from our work in Krygyzstan.  We have been in Ukraine since Tuesday doing social work training, ministry training and sharing in the very first adoption conference in this country.  Held in downtown Kiev, this awesome conference was sponsored by LAMb International, Father's House and CBN Ukraine among others. It has been wonderful to meet adoptive parents in this country who have such a beautiful heart for the orphans here.

May our pictures tell a small part of the story. As we share these pictures, please know that we are deeply humbled by these opportunities and trust that we honor God in the work in Ukraine.

   WEDNESDAY TRAINING AT THE NEW ILCD OFFICE IN KIEV
Lynn and Ruby conducted caregiver training at the new office of the International Leadership and Development Center.  This is a separate organization under LAMb International whose purpose is to offer leadership training for ministry, social work and business.
This is the first group to enjoy training in the new location.

Wednesday evening David spoke on the Power of Deadly Emotions.  The responses were extremely positive. The pastor reported a number of calls the next day from people who were impacted by the session and felt God had brought healing into their lives. 

While Lynn and Ruby were in one location, David and I were in another.  This is a light hearted moment in our training on Thursday afternoon.

AN AWESOME OPPORTUNITY

Prior to the conference on Friday, we had the opportunity for an interview for the television program - 700 Club of CBN Ukraine.  Our book, Telling the Truth to Your Adopted or Foster Child, has been translated into Russian and was the subject of the converation. This is on one of the sets of CBN Ukraine that we visited after the interview which was filmed in a private home earlier.

PREPARING FOR THE ADOPTION CONFERENCE

A valued moment of prayer before this Christian adoption conference begins.

Families from all over Ukraine

        Another view of the crowd, while Anya, one of the ILCD staff shares announcements.

Ruby shares to a packed room of interested families

Sharing from the book, Telling the Truth, which was given to everyone attending. Sitting next to David  in the front row on the right is Ruby and to her right is Lynn.  This conference happened due in a very large part to the vision and work of Lynn and Ruby.  They have been working in Ukraine for over six years.


After our work is completed on Tuesday morning here, David and I will fly to Poland for another round of new experiences and new people.  We will be training government social workers and Polish adoptive families on Wednesday through Friday and flying back to Kyrgyzstan on Saturday morning.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

So wonderful to hear about the conference in Kiev! I was especially glad to hear about your book about telling the truth to adopted children. We put on a training event for adoptive families in St. Petersburg, Russia two months ago and I was appalled to find that only one of them thought that you should tell your adopted children that they are adopted (the rest were vehemently opposed). Is your book available for families in Russia?
Thanks so much!
Cristi Slate
CoMission for Children at Risk
cristi @ comission.org