A WEEKEND WITH LENA

This week we had the humbling privilage of having Sasha Pivnev’s little sister stay with us for the weekend. It might not seem like a big deal on the surface but for Lena and Sasha, it was more than just siblings hanging out.

Until about a month ago, Sasha hadn’t seen his 12 year old sister in about 5 years. She wasn’t born until after he was sent to the orphanage and she had always lived at home with her parents. Geographically they’ve never been close so they haven’t ever had much relationship. Sasha has wanted to get to know her and help her for some time. Earlier this year a pastor at church, not knowing, asked him if he had a little sister. When Sasha answered yes, the pastor told him that he needed to help her. When he went to visit her in August, Sasha found out that she has been in the Konotop orphanage for the past two years. 

This past Thursday we all took a train to Konotop, a bus to the orphanage, and Sasha introduced us to his little sister. We were so excited when Sasha was able to sign her out of school that day and found out he could even sign her out for the whole weekend and bring her to Sumy!

Chelsea, Anika, Melissa, and Sasha of Open Arms with Lena (center)

From Friday morning to Sunday afternoon Lena came on her first visit to Sumy. Sasha and our team spent time with her at the Open Arms Home, loving on her and breaking her out of her shell. She was initially very shy and would barely say much to any of us. Within about 6 hours she was asking us if we could take her all summer to stay with us. We all had a lot of fun pouring love and gifts on her. She giggled at nearly everything her brother did or said. She loved having Melissa curl her hair, eating Nutella by the spoonful, and cuddling in bed before she went to sleep.

Left: The girls of Open Arms with Lena

Right: Melissa curling Lena's hair

Lena also experienced a lot of firsts with us - first time on both an elevator and escalator, first pancake, and first time bowling! She lit up when we took her to a roller rink and skated around for the full hour with a beaming smile, giggling at anyone who fell. :)

At the roller rink

Anika, Lena, and Melissa at the bowling alley

We were so blessed to help facilitate a relationship between Sasha and his little sister and to pour God’s love on her this weekend! We look forward to continue visiting her and having her visit on weekends. We can’t wait to see what God will do in her life.

Sasha and Lena

TRUE FAMILY

We met Dusya over seven years ago at the Pravdinska orphanage and have had the honor of walking alongside her as she transitioned out of the orphanage and into motherhood. She has navigated this transition with utter grace, determination, and love despite having no example of a mother in her own life. She completed the 9th grade six years ago and now has two beautiful children - Vala (five years old) and Andre who just recently turned one. 

Last week we joined Dusya and her family to celebrate Andre's first birthday. We stayed true to many Open Arms birthday traditions by making a personalized cake, bringing plenty of gifts, and taking lots of pictures. We also got to participate in some Ukrainian birthday traditions as well: a table full of food and a ceremonial first hair cut. 

Clockwise from top left:

Andre's birthday cake, homemade and decorated by the Open Arms team; Dusya and Andre with his godparents, Sasha and Anika of Open Arms; Andre takes his first bite of his first birthday cake;

Andre with his loving mom, Dusya

Other relatives joined for the festivities, but were sadly very drunk which made us all the more thankful to be able to be there and support Dusya. Over the years, she has told us  many times how we are her true family; an honor that is hard to describe. We were glad to be the family that day that truly supports her and her children. It brought us so much joy to watch her with Andre - he is very much a mama's boy and she is a excellent mother, so full of love for both of her kids. 

Open Arms looks forward to continuing birthday traditions and being a support and extended family to Andre as he grows up.