I’m coming home on Thursday for my sister’s wedding.  I plan to be home for a month and I’m speaking in at least three churches so far.  It will be a good time to visit and renew relationships.  Please pray for me as I’m traveling.
     In case you haven’t heard, we’ll be doing a charity disc golf tournament on July 29th in memory of my dad.  The funds will go to provide a summer camp for orphans next year.  I don’t know how many people to expect, but I was happy to tell my leaders that while they suggested a $2000 dollar budget, we managed to do it for $600.  That’s paying one dollar per child for a six day camp.  There are reasons behind that, but it’s an exciting statistic.  So if you’re interested in disc golf or just want to support the camp for next year, check out this webpage.  There’s a registration form there and everything!
     I want to share a little story.  Yesterday, I was at an orphanage for special need kids outside of Kyiv.  Because of involvement in other ministries, I don’t often go to visit there.  The building houses orphan babies with mental and physical handicaps.  
     There’s a special boy in this home whose name is Nikita.  His legs don’t function properly and his arms are twisted in an awkward way.  Nevertheless, he manages to move around quite quickly by pushing himself forward with his hands.  Nikita is five years old.
     When I first met this boy, it was a little distressing to see his condition.  From the neck up, he’s a normal kid.  He can communicate if you know enough language.  And if you don’t, he’s pretty good at telling you what he wants.  He’s the oldest child in the home.  None of the other children speak there because of age or conditions.  It may be that Nikita’s there because they don’t know where else to take him.
     I was playing with these handicapped children in a relatively quiet manner yesterday, when a thought comes into my head.  “What Nikita really needs, is someone to play rough with him.”  I’d like to believe that the thought came from the Holy Spirit, but seeing how some of the others were shocked by my behavior, I don’t want to give Him undue blame.  I went for it just the same.  It’s the kind of command that’s fun to obey.
     Most of the time Nikita only sees older ladies, and when Mother’s Care ministry is there, it’s women too.  But Nikita is a boy, all boy.  He’ll shuffle his body up on to a chair and fall from it, on his head, and not shed a tear.  Most people would see him and say, “Oh be gentle with him, he’s handicapped.”  And I think that does him a disservice.
     The proper way to play with real boys is to throw them in the air and catch them just before they... um… splatter.  Nikita spent a good amount of time upside down, to his delight.  I even pretended to fling him out the window once or seven times.  
     Now of course, there’s a certain staff member who’s smarter than I am, and more concerned about safety and that sort of thing.  She worried about Nikita feeling some sort of “pain.”  And our games did grow rather barbaric.  But I never dropped him, not once.  He kept saying, “Yesho, Yesho” (again, again) until I was tired.  She was right of course.  When I told him it was time for us to go, there was a really painful expression in his eyes.  I had to stop and give him an extra hug right before I left.  
I don’t know that on this side of heaven, there can be love without pain.  It seems we’re always saying goodbye to people we care about, and there’s a correlation between the amount of pain in the farewell, and the amount of love in the relationship.  But even if you’re not saying goodbye, doesn’t love cost something?  Love is continually giving to another, at your own expense.  King David said, “I will not offer anything [to God] that costs me nothing.”  Giving is a necessary part of love.
So, I lift my bottled water to those boys who need to be treated like boys, and the loving dads who get just a bit carried away.  Relax mom, they’ll be just fine.  Cheers!    

¶ 4:00 PM

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