I Have a Story to Tell
I have a story to tell, that God wrote for me. How did a Christian with Bipolar and Asperger’s end up serving in Ukraine? The world and even some Christians see a very broken person, but God sees His glory in my affliction. I have been to Ukraine twenty plus times since 2010. Every trip, God uses me and stretches me. In past years, I travel to Ukraine 2-3 times for short-term mission trips. Ukraine has become as comfortable as my home, and this past year has been incredibly difficult not serving in Ukraine.
In October 2010, I went to Odessa Ukraine for a short-term team mission trip. This trip was to serve in the many orphanages in the Odessa Region. I had been to Central Europe many times, but Eastern Europe was a cultural stock. It was very different. Although people looked similar to me, they had differences beyond language. God pushed along regardless. At the orphanages, I took photos for documentation and for the children. God had called me and was showing me how to serve using the gift of photography. After departing for home, I wanted to go back and do more. And so I did go back again and again, many times alone. I took more photos and started giving them back. I was the first visitor to do this. People would take many pictures but never return with gifts of photographs. The children loved them.
Several trips later, I visited nursing homes. I don’t like visiting nursing homes in America, and I really didn’t want to do it in Ukraine. Visiting the orphanages was fun because of the children. God pushed me to go to the nursing homes. He allowed me to let go of my issues with hugging, because to me hugging is physically painful. The grannies loved hugging me. They loved getting photographed. I also shared photographs with them. They were just like the children, they shared them with each other. God was using the photographs and testimony to soften their hearts to hear about His grace through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
At this time, I started sharing my story about struggles with Bipolar and Asperger’s. He used this story to shows His love. In Ukraine, people with mental illness hide their illness and struggles. Because Ukraine was apart Soviet Union, people that rebel were branded as mentally ill and taken away to “hospitals” for treatment through dangerous drugs. The stigma of mental illness is terrible, people are seen as a plague on society not a person with an illness. People were drawn to my story, and, people shared their fears of being open about their struggles. My story gave people hope, but not in me – in God’s grace and love.
In 2018, God guided me to Wings of Faith, a local ministry of preschool of autistic children in Ukraine. Parents connected to the story God wrote for me. As a toddler, my parents were told to institutionalize me, because I would never be able to be educated. This is the reality in Ukraine for many parents with special needs children, especially autistic children. I took portrait of their children, and they were amazed how I got their child to smile. The children hardly smiled when they tried to photograph them. These smiles are awesome. I have developed an art project to break down the barriers autistic kids face in Ukraine with portraits. God gave me a gift of photography, Bipolar and Asperger’s to use for His glory, and I want to try to use them for His Kingdom.
Serving with Linda
Thank you Dr. Vuiv for writing this kind note about serving with me. Dr. Vuiv worked in the Ukrainian medical system and this has been translated into English from Ukrainian:
Serving with Linda is something out of the ordinary. She has an extraordinary feeling of sacrifice and it inspires others. Linda's willingness to share the specifics of her diagnosis makes her especially valuable. What mothers of children with autism most want to know what their child is feeling. And Linda's testimony is especially valuable to them. The photos Linda is willing to take and give touch parents' hearts.
Understanding the peculiarities of Linda's perception and wanting to be sensitive to her, I often wait before asking her "how are you doing?". I wait for Linda to talk to me first. Sometimes I wonder whether it is right. Linda sharing her feelings and experience helps us understand more about people with Asperger's Syndrome.