| Karen Springs.com | ||||||||
About Me Contact Info: Karen Springs Email: kmsprings7@spu.edu 131 A Krasnoarmeiskaya Kyiv 03150 Ukraine Phone: 011-380-44-292-5781 Mobile: +380-96-331-9363 I initially came to Ukraine in October of 2004 after I was invited to do an 8 month internship with the Christian Broadcasting Network’s Worldreach Mission located in the nation’s capitol, Kiev. My dad’s cousin, Steve Weber, is the president of CBN Worldreach Kiev, known in country as Mission Emmanuel, and has lived in Ukraine with his family for nearly 15 years. I had no idea about the types of projects I would be working on before coming to Kiev, but was open to whatever I would be given. Little did I realize that "whatever I was given" would become life changing. The 8 months in Ukraine led to my eyes being opened to a tremendous need and my heart being opened to a greater calling and a new passion. In Ukraine there are roughly 100,000 orphaned children, abandoned to orphanages for many different social reasons and because of broken families. The statistics surrounding the future of these children are grim, and options of crime, prostitution, and suicide are all too commonly pursued. As I visited several orphanages and dialoged with other Christians working on behalf of these children, God revealed to me the truth that we are all truly orphans in this world, and it is through the sacrifice and mercy of Jesus Christ on the cross that any of us are able to become his adopted children. This truth coupled with the Biblical mandate to care for the orphans led me to a new understanding of adoption and orphan care, and brought me back to Kiev in January of 2006. Adoption…. As I began to understand God’s heart for the orphans, adoption suddenly became more than just a "good thing to do"- but instead a tangible way that the body of Christ can minister to the fatherless and model the same adoption that Jesus gives us freely. The Gift of Adoption Project…. Under this understanding, "The Gift of Adoption" project was born at our office here in Kiev. The project exists to call Christians in Ukraine and abroad to understand God’s heart for the orphans, and to share how believers can impact the world through adoption. The tasks of the project are wide spread. One aspect of the project is encouraging Ukrainian Christians towards adoption by creating greater understanding and awareness. Another is creating a "Life Skills Training" program for older orphans who will not be adopted, but will instead transition to life on their own outside of the orphanage. A third focus is assisting foreigners with independent adoptions. Though our team is small and the tasks before us are many, we have faith in a mighty God who can work miracles on behalf of these children. It has been a privilege and a joy to be working in Ukraine during this season of my life and to be focused on a vision that I am so passionate about. It will be exciting to see the ways in which God continues to open doors as we seek His will for us and these children. Please keep this ministry in your prayers and pray that people’s hearts will be open to the thousands of children orphaned in this country, and the millions orphaned throughout the world. |
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