I want to share this article with you because it provides the best visual descriptions of the protests that I’ve seen.  It’s a virtual tour of the protest grounds provided by the protestors themselves.  There is no media bias here.

Please understand that these protests aren’t a disorganized hodgepodge of fiery radicals.  This isn’t about hate or revenge.  This isn’t a grab for power.  This is about democracy and throwing off tyranny, corruption and oppression. The people of Ukraine have suffered enough subjection.  It’s time for them to be free.

For the most part, the protests are incredibly organized, intelligent, and humane.  Check it out for yourself and pass it on.

The Anatomy of Maidan

Over the last few years, I have become more and more involved in partnering with local churches and ministries in Ukraine in order to reach out to and serve orphans.  In that time my family and I fell in love with Ukrainian orphan kids and even decided to adopt a girl who stole our hearts.  We worked incredibly hard to find partners, raise money, secure the necessary documents, and prepare our family.  God opened doors and the impossible repeatedly became possible.  She was so happy to join our family and we were so excited to adopt her.  The adoption process was such a difficult but amazing ride until our dreams crashed when our girl suddenly changed her mind about wanting to leave Ukraine.  She was manipulated by her orphanage director who was more interested in money than her future.  He convinced her that she belonged in Ukraine and that she needed to stay and take care of her alcoholic mother who had abandoned her years ago.

We did everything we could to persuade her but nothing worked.  And then, after the deadline for her adopt-ability passed, her mother committed suicide.  It was a terrible time and I’ll never forget holding this poor girl last summer as she cried and cried, wishing she could undo her decision to stay in Ukraine.  I’ve never experienced such heartbreak.

The adoption journey has been hard on me.  I still wrestle with why God allowed this to happen.  Clearly, He is the Father to the fatherless and calls His people to love orphans.  We were simply trying to follow in the path of Jesus and it didn’t work out.  Why didn’t He show up and fix this?  I don’t think I’ll ever know.  But what I do know is that the world is more broken than I originally supposed.  There is darkness here that can’t be glossed over.  This world needs restoration.  I used to be satisfied with this broken world because my life was easy and comfortable.  All that changed in 2013.

Never again will I be satisfied with this world.  It’s broken.  Millions of people are hurting, lost, without clean water, without parents and love, without hope.  My prayer for 2014 is that Jesus would return and restore this broken place.  To be honest, I didn’t used to be terribly concerned about Jesus coming back.  I’ve always enjoyed life.  Now I realize how messed up this world is.

And until Jesus restores all things, may the Church rise up and serve and love.  May we represent Jesus well and may we work toward the restoration that is coming.  My hope for this year is that we would become more engaged in suffering.  That we, as God’s people, would become less comfortable and more mission-minded.  We are the agents of restoration in this world.  Let’s get to work.

For me, this situation is different.  In fact, I’m supposed to be in Kiev right now, staying in an apartment overlooking the square where the largest of the protests have been taking place.  The truth is, I’ve fallen in love with Ukraine, mostly against my will.  I can’t say that I’ve fallen in love with borscht but I did fall in love with the church in Ukraine and the orphans that it is struggling to serve.  You can read all about my experiences, including our failed adoption in a series of posts titled:  When Injustice Gets Personal.

A LITTLE HISTORY

If you haven’t been paying attention or if you’re still in a turkey coma, the people of Ukraine are rising up.  You see, Ukraine has been oppressed long enough.  The last 500 years have not been good to this nation and you’d be hard-pressed to find a country more devastated by the 20th century than Ukraine.  I’m no expert on Eastern European history but here’s a quick summary:

As WWI broke out, Ukrainians were caught on both sides of the conflict.  Some were fighting for the Russians and some for the Central Powers.  In essence, it was Ukrainians fighting against each other.  Civilians on both sides were victimized and killed.  After the Russian army collapsed and the Bolshevik Revolution began, Ukraine fell to pieces.  The conflict is so confusing, with so many different armies and political organizations fighting for power that I can’t keep it all straight.  The end result was that most of Ukraine fell into the hands of the Soviets and parts of Western Ukraine were annexed by Poland.  To be sure, the country suffered terribly.

Once Stalin consolidated his power he began implementing the cruel system of communism.  During 1932 and 1933, somewhere between 3 and 7 million Ukrainians died of starvation during a terrible famine.  Meanwhile, most of the grain produced in Ukraine was exported to other parts of the Soviet Empire.  Some historians have argued that there was plenty of grain and this was deliberate genocide orchestrated by the Soviets.  These events have been called the Holodomor which means “extermination by hunger.”  Deliberate or not, millions of people died of starvation.  We’ve never seen suffering of this magnitude in the United States.  I visited the memorial to these events last summer in Kiev and was stunned.

Ukraine suffered terribly during WWII.  16.8% of the population was killed in the conflict.  5.2 million civilians were killed as the Germans and Soviets battled back and forth through the country, devastating the country as they retreated.  Entire cities were destroyed.  The countryside was burned to nothing by both armies.

By comparison, approximately .3% of the American population was killed during WWII.  Almost 20% of the population of Ukraine was killed in WWII and this was after the suffering of 1932 and 1933.  The numbers are not even comparable.  This level of suffering and devastation escapes my understanding.

From WWII until the early 1990s Ukrainians lived under Soviet oppression–lack of freedom, no rights, secret police, massive corruption and constant fear.  And now, although “free,” Ukraine is a society riddled by corruption and poverty.  Based on national resources alone, Ukraine ought to be a world power.  Instead the nation is struggling terribly.  Part of this is inevitable after the devastation of the 20th century and part of this is due to mismanagement by the nation’s leadership.

All of this breaks my heart and makes me angry.  And yet, I don’t have a clue what it is really like.  I don’t live in Ukraine.  I don’t have to pay bribes to the police.  I don’t know what it’s like to suffer like the Ukrainians have over the last 100 years..  All I know is that it is wrong.  This is unjust.  People shouldn’t have to live like this.  This is not what God intended.

THE PROTESTS

Now, when it appeared that Ukraine was about to create stronger ties with the European Union which would have meant greater traveling freedom for the people, international pressure for the end of corruption and wider economic opportunity, their president, under pressure from Russia breaks off the deal.  The people are protesting.  Hundreds of thousands of people are demanding a reversal on the EU deal and new elections.  Wouldn’t you? Wasn’t our own country born as people demanded freedom and stood up against injustice?

But, the truth is that Ukraine is a country deeply divided.  For the most part, those in Western Ukraine speak Ukrainian and want stronger ties with Europe and those in the south and east speak Russian and want stronger ties with Russia.  The nation is not united.  There is no quick political solution to this quagmire.  In fact, I’m not sure there can be any political fix to appease everyone and end the corruption.

THE CHURCH

So, is there no hope for Ukraine?  Is it doomed?  I don’t think so.  In my opinion, the hope for Ukraine is the church.  The church is the presence of Jesus in Ukraine.  What I do believe in is the community of Jesus I have met in Ukraine.  I believe in Oleg, Lena, Sergei and others and the work they are doing to introduce students to Jesus and empower the younger generation toward a society marked by compassion and justice.  I believe in Alina and Anya who have quit their jobs to establish a ministry to love orphan kids and help them find a healthy place in Ukrainian society.  I believe in Slavic and Sasha who invite orphans into their churches and connect them with mentors.  The church in Ukraine is alive.  It is growing.  It is gaining influence because of generosity and love–because of the Gospel.

The church has transformed cultures and nations many times since the time of Jesus.  I believe it can happen again in Ukraine.  Jesus is the hope of the world and He is the hope for Ukraine.  My prayer is that the people of Ukraine would continue to rise up and demand justice and that the government would respond appropriately but even more than that, I pray that the church of Ukraine would rise up and live with generosity, love and justice.  You, church, are the light of the world because of the presence and power of Jesus.  Be the light.

image credited to markwinnipeg

I’ve never felt more hopeless than after leaving the orphans I had fallen in love with, knowing that 70% of the girls would end up involved in prostitution and most of the boys would end up in prison or addicted to drugs living on the streets.  Who would care for them?  Who would lift them out of poverty and hopelessness and teach them how to live.  No one.

That was 3 years ago.  In my opinion, the game has changed.  Along with me in that orphan camp 3 years ago was a Ukrainian pastor named Sasha who, to be honest, seemed to be there against his will.  He was the speaker for the camp but he didn’t seem to enjoy it at all.  He also seemed rather unwilling to engage the orphan children relationally.

But, when we returned to the camp the following year, he was waiting for us along a bunch of people from his church.  There could be no doubt, he was a different person.  His entire demeanor was different.  He had fallen in love with orphans.

As it turns out, he experienced the same haunting feelings of hopelessness and felt compelled to become more involved in orphan ministry.  Here was a man fighting against the cultural tide and leading his church to do the same.

Our second year of ministry with the orphans was amazing because we served as the body of Christ.  The Holy Spirit overcame 7 time zones, national borders, and language and cultural barriers to produce amazing camaraderie between Americans and Ukrainians.  It was a beautiful experience.

Some of these Ukrainians reordered their entire lives to serve orphans.  One young woman began visiting the orphans every weekend.  Now she’s teaching cooking classes in the orphan school, developing relationships what will endure as the kids exit the school and enter the real world.

Last month, I returned to Ukraine alongside 23 friends from our church.  This time, 25 Ukrainians from 3 different churches met us.  The passion of these Ukrainian Christians was deeply evident.  They led the way in all aspects of the ministry.  In three short years, everything has changed.

A few days after our orphan camp experience, I met a young pastor near Kiev whose passion for orphan ministry blew my mind.  I fought back tears as he described how his entire church is training to become mentors for orphan kids.  Their church is welcoming the orphans into their community with open arms.  They are teaching them vital life skills and connecting them into small groups.  The people from this church are setting up ministries at the local technical schools—where the orphans go after their time in the orphanages is complete.  The church is even putting on its own summer camp for orphan school graduates.  I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  His vision and model for ministry is amazing.

I also met a woman who, because of her orphan camp experience, plans to leave her medical practice and set up a transition home for orphans.

3 years ago I left Ukraine utterly hopeless.  I cried for weeks and even experienced terrible nightmares about the bleak futures awaiting these orphan children.  This year, I left with a powerful sense of hope.

God is in Ukraine.  God is moving in His people and His people are responding.  They are loving and equipping orphans.  God’s people are doing incredible work.  This is the church.  The church truly is the hope for the world.  When the church does what it was designed to do, it is beautiful, compelling and transformational.  I, for one, am very proud to belong to the church of Jesus Christ.