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Ukrainian Children See the Light of the World--in a Computer Teacher
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 Hitchhiking on Sunday mornings – that is how Maria travels the 26 kilometers from the city of Zaporozhye to the country church where she ministers. She knows the children in the small village and calls them by name as she and her coworkers walk down the country lane to the church building. Once inside, she welcomes each one with
a hug.  On Sunday mornings Maria attends the church service and then teaches Sunday school. In the afternoon she and her coworker lead The Future of Ukraine Club for 11-
to 15-year-olds. There are about 16 children in the club. The young teens are divided into three interest groups: guitar, crafts, and computers, which is Maria's group. They stay in their interest groups for one hour and then join together for an hour of Bible study.
Maria learned to work on computers after she graduated from Zaporozhye (zap-a-RO-sha) Bible College. She went on for vocational training as a seamstress but found time to take a three-month computer course at the Zaporozhye Children's Center. Now she is passing on her computer knowledge to young teens in the small country church. She has a group of six youth who all want to use the one computer that the church owns. She teaches them as best she can, letting them take turns on the Windows, Painting, and Art programs that are installed on the computer.
During this last year Maria has seen seven of the young people repent and come to know Christ as Savior. She
notes that four of the teens have had visible changes in their lives: in their speech, in their relationships, and in their witness to parents. One father told Maria that it was good for his daughter to go to church because of the changes that he has observed in her life. He said this even though he himself is not yet a Christian.
Hitchhiking isn't so bad when
the results are so positive.
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