12 Jul Fathers house in kiev, Ukraine

Ever since I met Roman Korniiko two years ago and heard the story of how God interrupted his life as a medical doctor with a vision for Fathers House, my heart has felt a strong connection. The moment one steps onto the grounds of Fathers House, one is left with no doubt that this is holy ground.

The number of awards Fathers House has received continues to grow, but to me, what matters most is the number of children whose lives have been impacted. More than 700 orphans and children at risk have received help at Fathers House, many of these now live in forever families though adoption.

It has been my privilege to visit Fathers House twice, once in 2017 and again this year. Both trips have been for the purpose of photographing and telling stories of broken lives and hearts that have been mended. In the end, I am amazed at the impact Fathers House has had on my life. I always experience a little bit of healing in my own heart as I hear the stories of those who live and work here. Everybody has a home at fathers house, including me. 

Narrowing the hundreds of photographs taken down to the 42 memorable moments you see in this post was nearly impossible. I hope these images allow you to connect with Fathers House as I have. 

I invite you to learn more about how you can be a part of Fathers House at http://www.o-dim.com/en/

You can read my previous posts about Fathers House at https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/tag/fathers-house/.

Brief description of this multi faceted ministry –

Children that Ukranian social services have taken off the streets, or from very abusive homes, come to Fathers House. Here they receive counseling and treatment and a home environment where they experience the love of God through those who are the hands and feet of Jesus. 

Fathers house has several layers to its ministry, the first of which is a rehabilitation center for traumatized children. Here they receive professional care to aid their recovery from mental and physical abuse. Fathers House is not an orphanage; the focus of Fathers House is to transition abandoned and traumatized children into the arms of loving families who will adopt them. 

The treatment facility facility at Fathers House provides much needed counseling and medical assistance so they can enter their foster family program. 

Within Fathers House are apartments that house volunteer families who live here with their own children, fostering children until their adoption. The photographs in this post are of families that have blended their own children with the children that they foster. The combined total of children is ten per family so if a family comes here with five children they can foster five more. Many children have been adopted into families around the world as a result of this very successful program.

Fathers House also takes in your adults who are aging out of orphanages and equips them with the needed tools to transition into a life of their own. I witnessed the success stories of those that have received college educations and are now living independent lives. Without this type of assistance, the statistics are very unkind to children coming out of orphanages at the age of 16 with little preparation of how to function on their own.

Fathers House supports other ministries in the area including a home for elderly people living on the streets that have fallen between the cracks of a very fractured Ukrainian welfare system. During my time here in Ukraine I visited with these overlooked victims of society, holding their hands as I heard their stories. 

I hope that these photographs fill you with hope and a desire to be a part of this life changing ministry here in Ukraine.