08/12/2023
Our team, from the Washington DC area, was comprised of Linda Bunk (Abnormal Missionary), Kerri Perdew (a Special Education Teacher), Lannette Rice (Linda’s sister) and her two daughters Ruth and Vika. Vika was adopted at a young age from a Ukrainian orphanage. She could really relate to the children we went to serve in a unique way. We came as representatives of a non-profit organization called SALT - Train, Plant, Serve to partner with another non-profit, Wings of Faith. SALT Ukraine is an organization that exist to train pastors to plant healthy biblical churches that will then serve their communities. Wings of Faith is an organization led by Zoriana Vuiv that exists to bring access to the special needs community. Access to education, access to therapy services, and access to God’s Word. First and foremost, we are followers of Jesus Christ who desire to come alongside locals to partner with them and teach them how to plan activities centered around children, teenagers, and young adults that help them access God’s Word and as a result learn about the ways God has made them to be a part of the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12, God talks about the body and how we are made of many members. We believe it is important to adapt activities and use various teaching methods to help people with special needs access God’s Word.
Abnormal Missionary exists to engage leaders, stir churches and non-profits to connect with those suffering from mental illnesses. Linda Bunk has Bipolar and Asperger’s Syndrome. Like many of the Ukrainian children, her parents were recommended to institutionalize her as a toddle, because she would never be educated. She has a high school diploma, a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Fine Arts. She is thriving in her community with a great job, independent living, and creating fine art that has been exhibited all over the USA. Her own story of God’s grace seeks to serve on short term missions to bring awareness and education to others about how she struggles with mental illness as a follower of Jesus.
At DRW, our team spent time each day in a different room. We brought a parachute with beach balls, playdough/toys, pop tubes, water beads, a painting craft, and a Bible craft to do with the children, teenagers, and young adults that we had the privilege of spending time with. We also took some time in the afternoon to take a few of the children/teenagers who are wheelchair bound for walks. What a joy it was to see them smile when the sun touched their faces. It brought us great joy when the caregivers joined into the fun. While playing with the parachute, one teacher commented, “It is so important for our own emotional wellbeing to have fun with the children we work with.” We were so grateful that we were able to help create fun through the activities that we brought. We helped the children make a bracelet that explains the gospel (God created us to be in a relationship with Him, our sins separate us from Him, paying the price for our sins Jesus died on the cross, so that anyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. This is the lifesaving hope filled message that we hope the caregivers and children both learned while we were there. As we said our goodbyes our prayer was: “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else.” 1 Thessalonians 3:12
-Kerri Perdew (SALT Board Member)
If you are prayerfully lead to make a donation toward supporting this trip, we are still raising fund since we did not meet our goals. The trip is 64% fully funded. Together, we have raise $9,629 toward a goal of $15,000. We need $5371 to meet the goal. Please use link below:
https://saltmovement.churchcenter.com/giving/to/salt-trips
