Radooga's children
On Sunday, March 24, we are honored to welcome mission partners, Oleg and Lena Vasilevsky of Radooga to Grace. Joining them will be two young ladies named Rita and Sophia. Rita and Sophia are representing the 1283 children that Radooga serves. In this article, they have shared a little of their stories since war began in Ukraine. You don't want to miss their stories. Be encouraged by these young teenage girls who are enduring great trials while finding hope in Jesus through the ministry of Radooga.
Rita - age 14
"Hello, my name is Rita. Not long ago, people at church gave me the nickname Queen Margo. I liked it. I am 14, and I have two brothers younger than I am. I talk with them a lot. Too much, my mother says. She used to worry that I had few friends. I remember one conversation I had about that. Mom asked me why I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I replied that it was enough to have brothers. I wasn’t really interested in anyone else. My mother replied, “Rita, your brothers will grow up and you and they will have different interests. You need to talk to people your own age.” I made two friends in my class, but it was hard. My family lives in Kharkiv, and we have a small vacation house in the village of bilya mista. This house has only two rooms. We would spend nine months living in this small house.
At first, it was loud in our city of Kharkiv. Rockets flew over our heads, and we heard explosions. We stayed home for seven days straight, but, for me, it felt like more than a month. My mom was continually reading the news. As I watched her worried face, I felt scared. At night, it was worse because of the continuous explosions. My parents slept little. The fatigue affected their emotions. My mother started raising her voice. They then made the decision to leave the city and move to the country, to move into our tiny vacation house. On the eighth day of the war, we hit the road to go to the village. Along the way, we saw shot-up cars and ruined houses. It was the beginning of spring, and we stayed there until the end of the year.
It was calm in this village. The sound of rockets was far away. We had internet, but we had trouble with food. It was hard to buy groceries. I was used to having friends at home, but here, I had no one to talk to. A family moved into the house next door. They had two boys, and I went to visit them. We would just play board games. At least it was something. Still, I missed the companionship I had enjoyed at home. Mom read the news all the time and was filled with fear. Things changed when my mom found a job online. She cheered up, and I cheered up. Still, I wanted some activity in my life. One day, I told my mother I wanted to take up boxing. She was very surprised, and said, “Rita, you are a fragile girl! Boxing! You astonish me!” In January of 2023, we returned to our own town of Kharkiv. Our region was calm, and we had electricity. My mom looked for an after-school activity for me, but it was very hard to find anything. Nothing was running. The schools, also, were only online. Then some acquaintances told mom about robotics at Radooga, thinking my brothers might like it. My mother was surprised when I, too, said I was interested, that I wanted to understand something so complicated. Before my first lesson, I overheard my mother talking to Olexander and Lilia, “My daughter is shy. It can be hard for her to make friends.” To this Alexander replied, “Radooga is for just such children.”
It was calm in this village. The sound of rockets was far away. We had internet, but we had trouble with food. It was hard to buy groceries. I was used to having friends at home, but here, I had no one to talk to. A family moved into the house next door. They had two boys, and I went to visit them. We would just play board games. At least it was something. Still, I missed the companionship I had enjoyed at home. Mom read the news all the time and was filled with fear. Things changed when my mom found a job online. She cheered up, and I cheered up. Still, I wanted some activity in my life. One day, I told my mother I wanted to take up boxing. She was very surprised, and said, “Rita, you are a fragile girl! Boxing! You astonish me!” In January of 2023, we returned to our own town of Kharkiv. Our region was calm, and we had electricity. My mom looked for an after-school activity for me, but it was very hard to find anything. Nothing was running. The schools, also, were only online. Then some acquaintances told mom about robotics at Radooga, thinking my brothers might like it. My mother was surprised when I, too, said I was interested, that I wanted to understand something so complicated. Before my first lesson, I overheard my mother talking to Olexander and Lilia, “My daughter is shy. It can be hard for her to make friends.” To this Alexander replied, “Radooga is for just such children.”
I have been at Radooga for more than a year, and I have made friends, Olenka and Paulina. At first, we only saw one another at the club, but now we also meet at church and exchange visits. I am very glad to finally have friends. It was hard to be without them. My mom says I have improved, and I know why. I am no longer afraid to start a conversation with someone new. At Radooga, the Bible is part of the lesson. Some of the boys behave very badly. If I had been in Olexander’s place, I would have kicked them out of the lesson, but he is patient and very kind to everyone. Sometimes, Paulina, Olenka, and I can’t stand it and say to them, “Shhh, we can’t hear!” but it doesn’t always help. Still, I really like the stories from the Bible, especially about the birth of Jesus. We even put on a skit about how the Messiah came into the world. I now go to church with my friends. My mother supports me in this and gives me a lot of freedom. I love her."
"Hello! My name is Sophia. I love soccer, playing the piano, dancing, and math. At school, there were twenty boys and seven girls in the class. I like my class. Before, I laughed a lot, but the last two months it has always been loud in my city. Now, I have nowhere to go. A missile hit our house. I lost my father in that attack. I loved him very much. Before the war, we had a big, loving family.
We were almost always together. I am the youngest of 6 children. My brother Illya and sister Paulina still lived at home. The rest of my brothers and sisters lived in the next town and visited us often. We were at home when the war began, and it was very unexpected. My mother, Svetlana, had a railroad job, and she couldn’t go to work on the 24th. The railroad had been closed to keep the enemy from getting to Kharkiv. My mother says I made those days easier for her, perhaps because I saw she was afraid and said, “Mama, don’t be afraid. God will help us.” Actually, I was scared. We lived 20 kilometers from the border. Everything that flew into Ukraine had to fly over us. It was loud. The bad roads saved Prudyantsi, our village. Because there weren’t any good roads, the Russians didn’t remain in our town. We stayed at home until April 29. For two months, we had no electricity or internet, so we didn’t know the news, although we heard frightening sounds. One time, our glass veranda was destroyed in the shock wave from an explosion. The weather grew warmer, and we wanted to go out in the sunshine, although it was dangerous. Two neighbor boys came to play soccer with us, but, when things got louder, their mother stopped letting them come to us. One day, when my brother Illya was outside, we heard a piercing whistle, then an explosion. Illya came home looking green. He had gotten a concussion. That was the last straw. My parents said, “We’re leaving.” Right until our last day at home, my parents helped the volunteers. It was a lovely, warm day. That morning, my parents helped our neighbors evacuate. Then, my mother said, “We have 20 minutes to get ready. We’re going to Kharkiv.” “What is most important to me?” I asked myself, “my soccer ball, my pencils, and a pencil case. I’ve got it! I’ll cover my ball with a shirt so nobody sees it. I’m ready!” Mom says I did the best packing job of any of us, and in, and in such a short time. There were nine of us, because we left with our neighbors. We also took our turtle and parrot. We wore body armor to protect us. We lived a month in Kharkiv at the house of my parents’ friends. After May 27, 2022, we moved to Zeleny Gai, 15 kilometers from the city. Our new house didn’t have electricity or other modern conveniences, something I wasn’t used to. We have been living away from our home for nearly two years now. We have electricity now. More importantly, I have started going to robotics classes. For almost two years, I have been making robots. When I can’t make something work right away, it makes me sad. I like best when everything works and everything is clear. I like Lilia and Olexander, two of the teachers. They always ask how I am doing, and I want to come back again and again."
We were almost always together. I am the youngest of 6 children. My brother Illya and sister Paulina still lived at home. The rest of my brothers and sisters lived in the next town and visited us often. We were at home when the war began, and it was very unexpected. My mother, Svetlana, had a railroad job, and she couldn’t go to work on the 24th. The railroad had been closed to keep the enemy from getting to Kharkiv. My mother says I made those days easier for her, perhaps because I saw she was afraid and said, “Mama, don’t be afraid. God will help us.” Actually, I was scared. We lived 20 kilometers from the border. Everything that flew into Ukraine had to fly over us. It was loud. The bad roads saved Prudyantsi, our village. Because there weren’t any good roads, the Russians didn’t remain in our town. We stayed at home until April 29. For two months, we had no electricity or internet, so we didn’t know the news, although we heard frightening sounds. One time, our glass veranda was destroyed in the shock wave from an explosion. The weather grew warmer, and we wanted to go out in the sunshine, although it was dangerous. Two neighbor boys came to play soccer with us, but, when things got louder, their mother stopped letting them come to us. One day, when my brother Illya was outside, we heard a piercing whistle, then an explosion. Illya came home looking green. He had gotten a concussion. That was the last straw. My parents said, “We’re leaving.” Right until our last day at home, my parents helped the volunteers. It was a lovely, warm day. That morning, my parents helped our neighbors evacuate. Then, my mother said, “We have 20 minutes to get ready. We’re going to Kharkiv.” “What is most important to me?” I asked myself, “my soccer ball, my pencils, and a pencil case. I’ve got it! I’ll cover my ball with a shirt so nobody sees it. I’m ready!” Mom says I did the best packing job of any of us, and in, and in such a short time. There were nine of us, because we left with our neighbors. We also took our turtle and parrot. We wore body armor to protect us. We lived a month in Kharkiv at the house of my parents’ friends. After May 27, 2022, we moved to Zeleny Gai, 15 kilometers from the city. Our new house didn’t have electricity or other modern conveniences, something I wasn’t used to. We have been living away from our home for nearly two years now. We have electricity now. More importantly, I have started going to robotics classes. For almost two years, I have been making robots. When I can’t make something work right away, it makes me sad. I like best when everything works and everything is clear. I like Lilia and Olexander, two of the teachers. They always ask how I am doing, and I want to come back again and again."
Sophia - age 12