Washburn Family

We (Floyd & Patty Washburn) had committed to support a child in the “His Kids” program that the church had established 3-4 years ago. The key aspects of the program is that an orphan child would be adopted by a Christian family in the Ukraine and a member of Community Bible Church (CBC) would commit to support the child until they are grown.

The family that God allowed us to support is the Karnauh family of Rossosha, Ukraine. The family is Sergey, Oksana, and their adopted son Maxim. Sergey and Oksana adopted Maxim some years ago. In order for Sergey and Oksana to adopt Maxim they had to sell some of their belongings to be able to pay the adoption fees involved. At the time of the adoption Oksana was a believer and Sergey had not yet become a believer.

Since we have become part of the His Kids program, we have written to the Karnauh’s 10-11 times over the past three years and feel like that they are part of our family. As a matter of fact, Sergey & Oksana think of us as their parents and we feel that Maxim is truly our grandchild. I know that corresponding 10-11 times does not sound like a big number but when you realize that each letter must be translated and the time for a letter to go from Beaufort to Rossosha in approximately a month versus a few days in the US, it is a big number.

We have felt convicted in hearing the stories of our church teenagers and in talking with others that it would be possible to go visit our family in the Ukraine at some point. We also wanted to reassure ourselves that our support was really needed and that the program was using funds wisely. In my job I have the opportunity to travel to many places overseas due to business reasons. This August I was scheduled to go to Sweden on business and was able to schedule a ticket for Patty to also go. In conjunction with the business trip, we were able to arrange a trip to go to the Ukraine to visit our family. At first it seemed impossible to schedule everything, but all obstacles seemed to fall away and everything fell into place. I believe that God was helping to arrange the visit. We also thank CBC for setting up the infrastructure allowing the transportation within the Ukraine to be very feasible and safe.

When we arrived at the Kiev airport, we went quickly through customs and immigration. Vova and Elia Pochapska from the Church in Vinnitza met us at the airport. Vova and Elia are the bothers of Oksana who works in the office at CBC. Vova and Elia drove us first to Vinnitza where we saw the bible college that CBC is helping to build. This is an impressive building where students will be able to reside and study in the process of being prepared to spread the word of God. Vova and Elia then drove us onto Rossosha to meet our family.

Sergey, Oksana, and Maxim live on a small farm approximately 1/2 – 1 acre in size. There is no grass to mow as everything is planted to provide food for the family and animals. They have a milk cow and a milking goat, chickens, rabbits, geese, and two pigs. Their home is separated into sections, The two bedroom’s and a small living room is in one section and then you go outside to the other section which has the kitchen and the barn. The small barn is part of the house and it is where the cow, goat, and other animals reside. At present there is no running water in the house and heat only in the kitchen. Sergey is planning to install running water into the kitchen in the near future and is in the process of installing a partially homemade heating system. The biggest challenge we had while we there was the “Ukrainian Bathroom and Shower”. You will need to just think primitive, very-very primitive!! The shower was rustic and Sergey would light the gas under a water tank on the roof of the shower for few minutes ahead of when the shower was to be used.

We knew ahead of time that the food would be a challenge for Patty as she has a heredity disease and cannot eat anything with gluten which includes wheat, rye, oats, barley, etc. At the end of our visit she was becoming very ill due to cross contamination of foods. Even with feeling ill Patty was able to sing two songs at the Rossosha Church on Sunday morning and two more songs in the evening.

When we arrived at the farm, we discovered that an interpreter had been arranged and Inna a young lady from the church in Vinnitza would stay at the farm for the weekend. We had planned to just use a few words from the Russian-English travel guide and a lot of hand motions. Inna was a great help and we were able to have many conversations with our family.

It will be hard to describe all of the experiences that happened this weekend with Sergey, Oksana, and Maxim. But here are just a few:

* At first Maxim, who is now eight years old, was very shy and by the time we left, we were part of his family.
* The baseball playing, which started with just Sergey, Maxim, and myself, and ended with teenagers from the area, Inna, Oksana, and Patty also playing.
* Riding and driving an old Ukrainian motorcycle like the ones from a WWII movie. Sergey had converted this to a work vehicle with a wagon rather than a sidecar attached. This is their only motorized vehicle and is used to work on the farm to transport material from the village to the farm.
* Watching Maxim put together “Lego’s” that we had given him as a gift.
* Seeing Maxim work on the farm and helping his parents.
* Noticing that Oksana was up early to milk the cow and goat, feed all of the animals and prepare breakfast.
* We had stopped at the store in Vinnitza to buy some things for our family such as butter, cheese, and other items. While we were at the farm, Oksana showed us the all of the butter and cheese that she makes by hand. Very little goes to waste as they make and use everything possible. The scraps from the table become food for the animals.
* Going with Sergey & Maxim on the motorcycle to another common field to gather grass for the rabbits.
* Meeting Sergey’s father who was a teenager during WWII when the German’s took over this area of the Ukraine and was here when the Russians won the area back. There were tank and infantry battles right in this area.
* The fact that Sergey must travel 6-8 hours to his work on a bus and must stay in a worker’s hotel and be gone from his family for two weeks at a time
* That a good job in the Ukraine pays about $100.00 a month.

There were many other events and the list could go on and on. Overall we could see that the family works hard and has a close family home life. Maxim is a happy hardworking eight year old and we pray that he will come to know the Lord in the near future on a personal basis.

One evening while setting in the small living room, Sergey told the story of his coming to accept Jesus as his Savior. Sergey was baptized about one year ago and now both Sergey and Oksana are believers. They also talked about reading the Bible in Russian that we had sent to Sergey some time ago. Sergey and Oksana at times would stay up till three in morning; reading, discussing, and learning God’s word from the Bible.

On Sunday morning we went to the church in Rossosha. It was raining that morning and we walked on the rough rocky roads with the mixed-in mud to Church that morning. At Church I was asked to give my testimony. I spoke of growing up on farm similar to many of the farms in the Ukraine. I also spoke of going to Church as a child and knowing about God but not knowing God in a personal relationship. I told them that I was really only eight years old even though I looked sixty, as I had only been reborn eight years ago.

Patty sang two songs; and after-words, Pastor Leonoid stated that I could go back to the U.S. but Patty would have to stay in the Ukraine, as they loved her singing. In the afternoon Inna went back to Vinnitza and then a young man, Vadeem, from the Rossosha Church, came to the farm with all of us. Vadeem could speak some English and was now our new translator. Vadeem could also sing and play the guitar. Vadeem felt that his prayers had been answered for him to meet people from America, to be able to use his English, and to be with Christians that evening. We stayed at the kitchen table after dinner that evening and Sergey and Vadeem sang and played the guitar. Their playing and singing was truly part of their culture and it was a blessing to be a part of it.

The next day it was time to go and therefore say goodbye to our family. We feel like this was an experience of a lifetime and even though the physical challenges of being there in the rustic environment were many, we are already taking about when we can go back. We also want to help our family grow in their walk with God and we pray that soon Maxim will also join Sergey and Oksana in becoming part of God’s Family. We have confidence that with his parent’s love and teaching, he will.

During our trip to the Ukraine both the church at Rossosha and the Karnauh family emphasized that they wanted to say “hello” to all of their sisters and brothers at the church in Beaufort, SC.

The Church building in Rossosha is in the process of being completed. When we arrived in Rossosha, Pastor Leonoid was mixing concrete to help build the steps and wall at the front of the grounds. Pastor Leonoid wishes that they could complete the Church quickly as prices are going up very quickly, but they are limited by funds and still need $12,000 to complete the Church. When finished the Church building will seat approximately 150 people. The church currently has around 50-70 members.

Overall, Patty and I were greatly blessed by seeing that the “His Kids” program is a great program and that the money that God has allowed us to provide for Maxim’s support is being used wisely. This program has already had an impact in that Sergey has become a believer and is now helping to raise Maxim in a Christian home.

Please pray for the Karnauh family, Inna, Vadeem, and for the family of believers in the Church in Rossosha.