Ukraine AwanaGames: The Best Day of My Life
Those familiar with Awana know that AwanaGames™ is often the highlight of a child’s week. But in Ukraine, it might be the highlight of a child’s life!
Awana Ukraine recently hosted AwanaGames at First Baptist Church Cherkasy for around 150 children. Between 30 and 40 leaders participated in the games, and many parents cheered from the sidelines. In addition to playing games, everyone heard the Gospel, received gifts, decorated cookies and attended a lunch.
Awana missionaries Sergey and Tatyana Pyasetskiy organized and hosted the event, doing an incredible job even though both of their sons are currently in the Ukraine army, serving on the frontlines, and they hadn’t heard from one of their sons for four days.
The backdrop of the war impacted everyone at the event. The children recorded a video to send to soldiers saying, “Thank you for protecting us!” The heartfelt sentiment was, “Because of you, we can have games here.” One 8-year-old boy even recorded a video thanking a whole platoon of soldiers and praying for each of them by name!
Five of the kids attending the event have been fostered by the pastor of First Baptist Church Cherkasy and his wife since the start of the war. These kids were familiar with Awana from going to the Awana refugee center where Victor Divnich has served as director for many years. Victor, who helped at the event, expressed great joy at seeing the kids again. One of these boys told him the event was, “the best day of my life.”
Said Victor, “We are not stopping our work at all. We are keeping the priorities straight and investing in the young generation of Ukrainians. Today was a day of family celebration, team games, treats and prayer for those who defend Ukraine. Thank you to everyone who partnered with us!”
Read more stories about Awana Ukraine.
Give to the efforts to support kids and families in Ukraine.
The Awana Editorial team is a group of people passionate about child discipleship and the equipping of leaders for the advancement of the kingdom. We have a breadth of experience in children’s ministry, and our heart beats with the stories of what God is doing around the world. We have an affinity for salty snacks and the occasional sweet treat, and we believe that everything is better with a good cup of coffee!
