October 2024 – The Hearts of Love Center in Konotop, Ukraine is a unique place where children with special needs are welcome. Families and kids meet there each day to find support, love, and care. The Hearts of Love Center is near the Russian border, so please pray for these kids and families.
Yana’s life is a miracle and she is so thankful for her sponsors
By Peter Wooding – I visited the Hearts of Love Center with a team from the UK in 2008. Lots of kids with special needs, and their mothers, excitedly waited for us to arrive and start the camp. Located on a dirt road, the old factory building had been restored with classrooms and a small kitchen. Moms brought cakes and that is when I saw a little girl with an extreme limp. She was shy, self-conscious, walked with crutches, and couldn’t stop smiling.
7-year-old Yana had spent most of her childhood in hospitals to correct a genetic condition which caused a malformation of her right leg. After several surgeries, she could now walk with crutches, the reason for her smile.
At a lunch break, I put her on my shoulders for the bumpy walk back to the Center. She was beaming while I carefully navigated the hilly dirt road. I laughed, we had fun, and I wondered what kind of future little Yana could expect. Children with handicaps don’t have much support. In Soviet days, they were removed from parental care and quarantined in group homes and boarding schools.
Yana however, was determined to take part in the camp activities. She visibly gained confidence as she did crafts and hobbled on her crutches to play with the other kids. Her dream was to one day wear normal shoes.
Summer 2024 – 16 Years Later
This past summer I visited the Center again, together with MP director Jeff Thompson. A group of moms gathered to meet us sharing stories over cake and coffee. In walked a beautiful young mother with her little daughter in tow. I got emotional. There was no limp, no crutches. She was beaming as usual. Now 24, Yana is married to a soldier in the war.
When we had a chance to catch up she told me:
“I really loved coming to this center as a child because I played with other kids. I started to embroider here and enjoyed drawing. I found acceptance and encouragement here. It was like a second home.”
Yana Volunteers At The Center
“You probably remember that I dreamed of wearing normal shoes. Well, after 10 surgeries, everything is now okay and I can finally wear normal shoes,” she proudly told me.
After overcoming so much in her life, she says the biggest challenge today is the fact that her husband is serving in the war. “I worry about him and that is why my hair is turning gray. I have to have it dyed black,” she said.
Yana went on to complete her studies in college and now helps out in her local church. She also volunteers at the Center and loves to work at the camps for the children at Hearts of Love.
Yana’s Sponsors Helped Her For Many Years
But all of this was possible because she was part of our sponsorship program for several years. Her sponsors, Richard and Lynne Lake from England, were thrilled to support her all this time:
“It’s been great to see how Yana has developed. We have followed her life and it’s great to see her married with a little girl,” they said.
Yana shared this message about her sponsors:
“They sent me money and sent me different gifts and they always prayed for me, which I really appreciated. I am so grateful that they are in my life. We can’t live without you. We love you.”
Sponsors Needed As Hearts of Love Takes New Children
The Center keeps expanding with new families seeking help like Lyuba and her grandson Andriy, who has microcephaly. As a result, he has intellectual disabilities and physical development disorders. They live in a tiny one room apartment with his two sisters. Lyuba is grateful for the Center and the help she receives.
“I’m so grateful especially because they show so much love to Andriy. Before he came, he could only speak two words, but now he can speak a lot more,” she beamed.
Sponsorship makes miracles happen. Just ask Yana. We pray Andriy’s miracle has just begun.