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Mission SONlight Chatt Extra 18 - Your Help UA · Mission SONlight CHATT

0:09
Welcome to Network 7's Mission Sunlight Chat
0:11
and a very special episode reporting to you today
0:15
from the front lines of Ukraine. And Jordan is
0:18
here with me in the studio. Jordan, we are praying
0:20
that the technology works well because this is
0:22
an important message that we share with our listeners
0:25
and viewers. Online, we have Steve Dickman, the
0:28
president of Outpost Centers International. We
0:31
call it OCI. 400 plus ministries around the globe
0:34
that are functioning under the umbrella in one
0:37
way or another in partnership with OCI. And Steve,
0:41
thank you so much for joining us online. This
0:43
is the first time we've ever actually had someone
0:46
join us from elsewhere. We normally have all
0:48
of our guests in the studio, but this is a story
0:51
that needs to get out right away. So Steve, thank
0:52
you for joining us. I want to ask. Jordan, before
0:59
we begin, if you would have a word of prayer
1:00
for us. Yeah, I'd be happy to. Generally, Father,
1:03
we thank you for the opportunity to come together
1:04
and discuss what you're doing with your... members
1:10
in Ukraine. As many know, the situation over
1:14
there is dire and these people are working on
1:17
the grounds with orphans and other people around
1:20
them. I pray as we talk about this that we will
1:23
be able to portray the need that is happening
1:26
over there and that you'll touch the hearts of
1:28
those listening and watching and be with us as
1:31
we discuss this so that we represent you fairly.
1:35
Bless our time here, Lord, and continue to be
1:38
with us. In your name, amen. Amen. Again, Steve
1:40
Dickman, our guest president of OCI. And Steve,
1:44
you are going to give us some background to the
1:47
story we're going to share today. We have a very
1:49
short interview with Igor Timko, one of the directors
1:53
of a ministry based in Ukraine, which is serving
1:57
the needs specifically of youth and young adults
2:00
in Ukraine during what is a terrible situation
2:03
of war and the needs that they have. Before you
2:09
tell us specifically about your home and your
2:12
camp, would you first give us a little background
2:15
about the connection that it has with OCI? Thank
2:18
you, Christopher. conflict began. OCI had a number
2:24
of ministries scattered across Ukraine that began
2:27
to be impacted right away. And we reached out
2:29
to them to encourage them and help them in their
2:32
work. And as a result of that, we ended up going
2:35
to Ukraine to try and bring some encouragement
2:38
to the ministries there. And while we were there,
2:41
we became aware of this ministry called Your
2:44
Camp, which is more on the western side of Ukraine.
2:47
So it's kind of in what we would have assumed
2:52
to be a safe zone. But as you know, there are
2:56
not many safe zones in Ukraine at this point.
2:59
The conflict has seemed to enlarge. It's not
3:02
just along a front, but it's basically things
3:05
are happening all across that region, make it
3:07
very challenging and very difficult. So in the
3:10
beginning, your camp was not a member of OCI.
3:15
But as we became acquainted and helped them with
3:17
a few projects there on their campus, they said,
3:21
we really want to be a part of what you're doing.
3:23
It's been encouragement to us. You've been a
3:25
help to us. And so they've joined OCI. They're
3:27
an OCI member now. And it's just, again, it's
3:30
a blessing to be able to work with entities,
3:35
organizations that are actively helping young
3:39
people that are in a crisis situation. Many of
3:43
these young people. have been left without a
3:46
father because of the nature of the conflict,
3:49
and others have been displaced from their normal
3:53
where they would live and have had to flee to
3:56
other parts of Ukraine for more safety during
3:59
this time of conflict. So OCI has, like I said,
4:04
a number of ministries there still functioning
4:06
in Ukraine. Some of them have had to relocate.
4:10
from one part of the country to another, attempting
4:12
to preserve their operations. And so it's been
4:17
a very challenging time. But it is a blessing
4:20
to work with Igor and his team as they serve
4:23
the young people and encourage them in their
4:26
journey, even under these difficult and trying
4:29
circumstances. And if you're going to describe
4:32
what is happening with your home in a very...
4:37
maybe mundane description, what is happening
4:39
there from day to day that Igor and his team
4:43
are doing? So your camp is a place where they
4:47
invite the young people to come in. And initially,
4:50
it was a long -term stay situation. But since
4:54
that time, they've been able to place most of
4:57
the orphans into more structured environments.
5:01
And so they're doing in and out sessions, maybe
5:03
a week or two at a time. They'll bring a group
5:06
of young people who have been impacted by the
5:09
conflict. They'll bring them in, maybe 100 of
5:11
them at a time or 150 at a time into the camp.
5:15
And they have. mission -minded people there who
5:19
are ministering to them during these stays, and
5:22
which time they try to lift up their heads and
5:25
see that there are more positive things in the
5:29
world than just what's happening to them, and
5:32
to encourage them to have a personal connection
5:34
with the Lord. They teach them the fundamentals
5:38
of Christianity and a connection with God. put
5:44
their trust in God, that even under trying and
5:47
difficult circumstances, they can have hope.
5:51
Amen. Amen. So Igor is going to share a bit about
5:56
what the need is and what they're doing as well.
5:58
But can you give us just a nuts and bolts of
6:01
what you know of needs at your home would be?
6:05
And also just carry us into what can someone
6:09
do who wants to be a part of helping those? Adventist
6:13
ministry and also these probably a mixed bag
6:17
of spiritual and non -Christian secular youth.
6:23
I'm sure it's whoever has a need. We're not defining
6:28
whether they have a particular religious persuasion
6:30
to be a part of it, but how can someone be a
6:32
part of helping this ministry and these youth?
6:35
Yeah, thank you. Christopher, that's a great
6:38
question. The camp has many needs, as you can
6:41
imagine. They're running on fumes at this point
6:45
for support. And so every time they bring a young
6:49
person there, they're not charging them to bring
6:51
them there. It's a free service being provided
6:54
to these young people. And it costs real money
6:58
to feed them. and to house them, to keep the
7:01
infrastructure running, to keep the heaters going,
7:04
to keep food on the table, and all of those things.
7:07
And so they also try to bring in some medical
7:11
professionals and counselors as they're ministering
7:14
to these young people so that they can have an
7:16
experience there that would be a blessing to
7:19
them. So there are a number of ways a person
7:21
could actually be involved in helping. If a person
7:24
wanted to go there, that's a possibility. Now
7:27
you might think, well, I'm not going to Ukraine
7:30
at this point. That's a dangerous place. Well,
7:32
let me just tell you, in spite of the fact that
7:35
there is some danger in Ukraine. the western
7:38
side is is less of a danger zone and they would
7:41
appreciate any help they could get volunteers
7:44
that would come there maybe teach english to
7:46
the young people maybe just interact with them
7:49
a lot of times the young people are looking for
7:52
someone to care someone to listen to them someone
7:56
to show concern for them and so i don't speak
8:00
ukrainian i don't speak russian i was there in
8:03
your camp visiting with them and to me I felt
8:07
like these young people were really reaching
8:09
out even to me to say, to look at me and to basically
8:14
the question I saw in their eyes was, do you
8:16
care? What are you here for? What are you doing
8:19
here? Do you really care about me as a person?
8:23
And how are you going to demonstrate that? How
8:26
are you going to show me that? And so interacting
8:28
with them at mealtime, sitting down, eating with
8:30
them, you know, having worships with them. um
8:36
playing with them on the playground there they're
8:39
looking at that as okay this person cares about
8:43
me and so maybe god has given you some free time
8:46
in your life at this point and you want to take
8:48
a trip to ukraine and visit your camp and you
8:52
would be a blessing to them so you could do that
8:54
you could go there you could stay for a month
8:57
or so and be a blessing or a week or two whatever
9:00
you could do secondly you could say i can't go
9:03
but i would like to support some young people
9:06
that are going there. Your contributions of support
9:09
are always welcome and they would be much appreciated.
9:13
There will be some links that we can open up
9:16
and tell you about where you can go and you can
9:19
contribute online to the work that they're doing
9:21
there at your camp. And it will certainly be
9:26
a blessing to them. The financial resources for
9:29
purchasing food and keeping the... things running
9:33
there at the camp are significant. So I would
9:35
challenge you to consider what you can do in
9:38
a tangible way to be a blessing to the ministry
9:43
there that's happening at your camp. We have
9:46
a link on our OCI website to Your Help. And so
9:51
it's called Your Help in our system of website
9:56
on the OCI. website, and we can sort that link
10:00
out so it can be made available directly to people
10:03
that want to go there and to make a contribution
10:07
so that they can continue their ministry. But
10:11
I would mention another couple of things that
10:13
a person can do. One thing you can do is you
10:16
can pray. We can all pray wherever we are, whatever
10:20
we're doing. Maybe we don't have financial resources
10:23
to support an orphan or a visitor at your camp
10:26
or something that we could do tangibly. Maybe
10:29
we can't go there, but we can pray. And so prayer
10:32
is needed. These young people are suffering.
10:35
They're traumatized. The war has left them in
10:37
many cases with some pretty significant scars
10:41
mentally. A lot of. challenging situations they've
10:47
had to deal with. So we can pray for them and
10:50
their healing. We can pray for the provisions
10:53
needed for other people. Maybe they can contribute.
10:56
If we can't, we can pray for other people that
10:58
they would contribute and be a blessing to the
11:01
work there at your camp. We can also invite others.
11:06
So maybe you're listening to this podcast, you're
11:09
watching this podcast, and you're saying, I can't
11:11
really do anything, but I know somebody who can.
11:14
I'm going to share this link with them. So sharing
11:16
the link, praying, contributing yourself, going
11:20
there. Those are all very real, tangible things
11:23
that you can do to make an impact in the lives
11:27
of these young people who their whole world has
11:30
been turned upside down. We don't understand
11:33
the significance of what's happened in their
11:36
life because we haven't lived through it. But
11:40
it's real. And it's traumatic. And they can use
11:43
our help. Amen. It strikes me that this really
11:48
goes to the core of you saw me when I was hungry
11:52
and you saw me when I was hurting. And this is
11:54
an opportunity to reach out to these kids, Steve,
11:57
that you've seen firsthand and just the need
12:00
that they have there. And if anybody is interested
12:03
in hearing what they can do more to help. Stay
12:08
by for our interview with Igor. But also OutpostCenters
12:11
.org is the website where you can go and get
12:16
the information Steve was talking about. And
12:18
we'll put a link down in the description where
12:20
they can click on and they can go directly to
12:23
the Your Camp site and they can help there. Find
12:27
it in the bio or in the notes. They can go to
12:30
OutpostCenters .org. They can even call us. We
12:34
give out our number all the time. So if somebody
12:36
has trouble with the link or whatever, we're
12:37
happy to help. If you call us or text us at 423
12:41
-855 -4877, we can text you back or call you
12:44
back with that information. Yeah. Steve, anything
12:47
final you want to leave with us about Ukraine
12:50
before we introduce the segment specifically
12:52
with Igor? I would just say that personally,
12:58
I've... experienced what they're going through
13:02
there to some degree by being there in their
13:05
country. And it's a situation that deserves our
13:10
attention. In the way the news systems of our
13:13
world work, after a period of time, something
13:16
becomes old news. And Ukraine and the conflict
13:20
has become old news. While we still hear about
13:24
it sometimes, it's not like in our face, current
13:27
news situation. But the needs there are still
13:31
very real. And I would just challenge you to
13:34
pray, ask the Lord what you can do, and then
13:37
reach out and do something. All of us can do
13:39
something. And if we can be a blessing, like
13:42
you mentioned, Jordan, it reminds me that these
13:46
are some of the least of these in our world today.
13:49
And it's not the only place on the planet where
13:51
there's challenges. But it is one place. And
13:54
we know about this challenge. And I believe we
13:56
can do something to help them. Thank you, Steve.
13:59
Thank you, Jordan. We're going to take a break,
14:01
but then when we take the break, Steve, I'm going
14:03
to ask you to just join us for another moment.
14:05
We're going to introduce Igor to our audience,
14:09
and then we'll go directly into hearing his interview
14:13
firsthand. But first, let's take a break. Remember,
14:16
you can always stay connected with us at missionsunlight
14:18
.org. As Jordan mentioned, 1 -423 -855 -4877
14:22
is the number to call or text. Hello at missionsunlight
14:25
.org is the email. We'll be back in a moment
14:28
with the interview from Igor Timko. This is Mission
14:31
Sunlight Chat. Being a media missionary can mean
14:43
many different things. It means the love of a
14:45
home at the heart of the planet. The intrepid
14:49
spirit of a village and the vibe of a great metropolis.
14:52
It means camera one and camera two. It means
14:57
transforming a school, orphanage, or hospital.
15:00
It means fire, rain, ice, and snow. It means
15:05
gifts by the dollar and by the check. It means
15:09
donations that roll and donations that fly. It's
15:15
a movement on a trail or down a motorway. It
15:19
means all of us together and individually. It's
15:25
who you are or who you are becoming. And to her,
15:30
it's a simple gesture that means hope. Whatever
15:33
it means to you, being a media missionary. means
15:37
more than you might think. Welcome back to Mission
15:48
Sunlight Chat, a very special interview, a very
15:51
special chat with our friend Steve Dickman, president
15:54
of OCI. And I might as well offer a full disclosure.
15:57
We are members of OCI. We joined a number of
16:00
years ago. We are kind of one of the unusual
16:02
associate members. Our, Jordan, our ministry
16:06
does not necessarily fit into all of the humanitarian
16:11
and health and lifestyle type programs that many
16:14
of the members OCI run. What we do is we provide
16:16
media to highlight what these ministries are
16:19
doing, and I've had the privilege of doing that
16:21
with a number of ASI and OCI ministries. We support
16:25
the supporting ministries. That's right. We are
16:26
supporting of the supporting, and it's a blessing.
16:30
As a matter of fact, one of our stories coming
16:33
up is... featuring two of the OCI ministries
16:37
in Europe. And that was a special opportunity
16:40
that we had. But I won't get into that one. That
16:42
was one in Hungary and one in Norway. They can
16:45
search for those. Yeah, don't spoil the surprise.
16:48
All right. Steve Dickman, thank you so much for
16:51
being a part of our program and for sharing with
16:53
us. For our listeners and viewers. technical
16:57
side of the interview you're about to hear was
17:00
a bit of a challenge. We did this interview at
17:04
the very end of a conference we were at in Phoenix,
17:07
Arizona, and we did it without a proper translation
17:11
of what was being said. And so you'll probably
17:14
notice a few warts and wrinkles, as they say,
17:17
about the conversation that I had with Igor,
17:21
one of our dear friends at Build and Restore.
17:26
came over and helped us with the translation.
17:29
So there's a little bit of just, it's not as
17:32
clean as we would like it to be is what I'm trying
17:34
to share with you. But we felt like that the
17:36
message of the need in Ukraine was more important
17:41
than getting everything just perfect and pretty.
17:45
So if you notice a few things seem a little bit...
17:49
off from the quality that we're trying to provide.
17:52
It is not the fault of the guest, and it is just
17:56
the nature of where we were at the moment we
17:58
were recording this. We wanted to do it just
18:00
the same as we don't have Steve directly on camera
18:03
with us here in the studio or up on our screens,
18:05
just trying to work out the technical side. We
18:08
wanted to get this story to you more than we
18:09
wanted to perfect the technology as it is. So
18:14
Steve, briefly introduce us again to Igor Timko
18:16
and what we're about to watch. Igor Temko was
18:20
pastoring for the Seventh -day Adventist Church.
18:22
And at the beginning of this conflict, he was
18:25
managing a youth camp in Ukraine. And he was
18:28
called by God to take up the work of serving
18:31
those who had been impacted by this war, this
18:34
conflict. And as a result of that, he's been
18:37
serving in the capacity as director of your camp
18:40
there. Been a huge blessing to the young people.
18:44
endless energy and boundless ideas about what
18:47
he can do to help young people, even under these
18:50
difficult and trying circumstances. And he has
18:53
been very much a a person to go and intercede
19:00
for them and to ask for funds to help keep the
19:03
camp going and to help the ministry to keep happening.
19:06
Igor is my friend. I appreciate him. I always
19:09
enjoy seeing Igor, and I'm sure you're going
19:11
to enjoy this interview with Igor. Welcome to
19:16
Network 7's Mission Sunlight Chat. This is a
19:19
Mission Sunlight Chat Minute. We've not done
19:21
one of these before, but we have a very special
19:23
report we want to take just a moment to share
19:25
with you here from the ASI North American Division
19:28
2026 Conference. A very special need happening
19:32
now with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.
19:36
I'm with my brother, Ihor, and my brother, Ihor,
19:39
does not speak English. I don't speak Ukrainian.
19:42
I think we can probably speak one or two words
19:45
each of the other's language. But we have some
19:47
technology. We're trying to just be able to connect.
19:50
Ihor, thank you so much for being a part of the
19:52
program today. You are the director of a camp
20:02
in Ukraine. Tell us about that. Currently, I
20:07
am the director for a summer camp. that was turned
20:11
into an orphanage during the crisis of the Ukrainian
20:15
war where we are seeking to shelter to host and
20:21
to help with recovery children that have lost
20:25
their parents in the time of war and we seek
20:29
to shelter them and we seek to provide for them
20:33
a safe place of recovery and also to be able
20:38
to offer them Tell me what you see happening
20:44
in Ukraine. Tell me what's happening with the
20:48
children. Obviously, if you're helping orphans,
20:51
something serious is not going well there. Tell
20:55
me what that is and what it's like. Ukraine is
20:58
split into two parts at the moment. You have
21:01
the West and you have the East. The East is where
21:04
the war is happening. That is where many of the
21:07
families are displaced. including the orphans,
21:10
and so we are stationed on the west, and on the
21:14
western side we are able to host some of those
21:18
children. With the war moving forward and much
21:24
distress in the country, we are seeing more and
21:29
more orphans as the war continues, and so because
21:33
of the many that are displaced, We are seeking
21:38
for support. We are looking for help to be able
21:42
to accommodate for the number of rising orphans
21:46
that we see on the streets today. So tell me
21:49
how someone like me in the United States can
21:52
help with what's happening there with church
21:57
members, with children, with people in Ukraine.
21:59
How can we be of service and really make a practical
22:02
difference? The biggest need today in Ukraine
22:05
is to help to support the children and to be
22:08
able to sign them up for a program of recovery,
22:13
to be able to work with counselors, pastors,
22:17
therapists, to give them a new chance, a new
22:22
beginning. And so the biggest support for us
22:28
is to help work with the children. Where can
22:31
folks find a way to give if they want to support
22:34
or they want to try to help volunteer or whatever?
22:36
How can they contact with you? Currently we have
22:39
our Your Help Fund available through the OCI
22:45
platform on our OCI ministry page where people
22:49
can come and learn more about what we are doing
22:53
with the program, with the camp. and there's
22:56
an option there to donate, and there's an option
22:58
to contact us if those that are available would
23:01
like to actually travel and come volunteer and
23:04
help support the camp there in person. Ihor,
23:08
before we end this special minute report, is
23:13
there anything else you want to tell our listeners
23:15
and viewers about what's happening in Ukraine
23:17
today? We have an average of 100 children that
23:21
attend our recovery program. And the way that
23:24
it works is that each child has an opportunity
23:27
to receive a Bible. Each child has an opportunity
23:31
to work with a pastor. child is able to receive
23:35
personal care so that when they leave the recovery
23:38
program, they understand why their life has changed.
23:42
They understand that there is hope, there is
23:45
future, and they are able to place these orphans
23:48
with a family either from church or from the
23:51
community that can continue to take care of them
23:54
even when they have lost their parents. Anything
23:57
else? We have three simple requests. that if
24:03
volunteers are able to come and hug the children
24:06
and support the children, that would be incredible.
24:09
If we could have people come and teach and spend
24:14
personal time with the children, especially with
24:17
emotional care during this hardship of war, and
24:21
to financially support this program as we are
24:25
dependent on donations to reach out to these
24:28
orphans and to donate. Bibles to the children,
24:33
to donate resources that can help further their
24:38
upbringing and their recovery from the trauma
24:41
of war. Ihor, thank you so much for your time
24:44
and for sharing today. Thank you so much to our
24:47
listeners and our viewers who are part of our
24:49
program today. Jordan, thank you for working
24:52
with the technology. You've had to do more for
24:54
this particular interview than I think we've
24:57
done in any other. It's definitely been a little
24:58
bit different, but that's exciting too. Yeah.
25:02
And Steve Dickman, thank you so much for joining
25:04
us as well. Well, thank you for inviting me to
25:08
be a part of this and that I can promote the
25:11
work being done at your camp. And I'm sure that
25:15
it's going to be a blessing to them. Amen. Jordan,
25:18
before we close, would you have a word of prayer
25:20
for us? I'd be happy to. Dear only Father, we
25:22
thank you for the opportunity that we've had
25:23
to hear about your work and Igor and his team
25:27
there. I pray that you'll continue to give them
25:29
the energy and the passion that they have to
25:31
reach out to these kids and just to give them
25:34
a safe place to live. And I pray that you'll
25:38
show us how we can reach out and we can help
25:40
them to help us to always see where you're leading
25:44
us and where you're directing us to. to serve
25:47
you and thank you for being with us during this
25:50
time in your name amen steve jordan again thank
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you so much to our audience we thank you as well
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for being a part of the program we thank you
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for listening and for considering sharing this
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story with others and potentially even looking
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for ways you can volunteer you can support and
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certainly we all can pray. Please continue your
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prayers for us at Mission Sunlight Chat and know
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that we are praying for you as well. That is
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our program today. This is Mission Sunlight Chat.
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This has been a Beeson Brook production in association
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with Network 7 Media Center. Executive Producers
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Christopher and Rebecca Beeson Roddy Scarborough
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Don and Nancy Van Ornum Associate Producers Jordan
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and Ashley Wagner Your host today, Christopher
26:35
Beeson. Director of Production and Audio Engineer,
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Jordan Wagner. To suggest guests, topic questions,
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to pray with us, or to give, visit missionsunlight
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.org or text us at 423 -855 -4877. You may write
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to us at Network 7 Media Center, Box 25468, Chattanooga,
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Tennessee, 37422. This has been a production
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of Network 7 Media Center.