AMERICUS — 16-year-old Nadya dreams of being a teacher, but her family, like most Ukrainian families, doesn’t have enough money to send her to college. So Deborah Pinnell, along with an organization called Angelina Ministries, through which Pinnell met Nadya, is raising money to send Nadya to school.

Nadya recently graduated from high school, and Pinnell hopes to raise enough money soon to help Nadya further her career.

Pinnell recently spoke to the Americus-Sumter Kiwanis Club about her 10-day mission trip to the Ukraine.

Pinnell said three years ago, during a prayer, God told her she needed to visit the Ukrane on a mission trip. She’s been trying to go ever since, and finally got the chance through Angelina Ministries.

She said her group left the U.S. with around 27,000 pairs of shoes, 6,000 Bibles, 4,000 children’s Bibles, medical and school supplies and much more, but Pinnell said she wishes they could have done more for the people of the Ukrane.

The largest house Pinnell saw had two rooms.

“I feel like (Americans) are so blessed so we can bless others,” Pinnell said.

Pinnell also said she felt bad coming back to America where she had air conditioning and a spare bedroom; even in governmental buildings there, there was no air conditioning.

She said when Russia pulled out of the country, they pulled out much of the technology, as well, so the country couldn’t compete with them.

“The whole nation is just so poor,” Pinnell said. “It’s just so hard to describe. I saw no mansions or nice cars while I was there like I do here. There is poverty in America, but there are also the wealthy. There, it’s a different story.”

She went intending to spread Jesus, and that she did. She also spoke to children in an orphanage, and told them about her experiences as a foster child. At a nursing home, she found a friend with whom she never spoke. As she was approaching the nursing home, she saw the woman from a distance, and just knew she had to hug her.

“We ran up to each other and hugged one another, and stayed with each other all day,” Pinnell said. “It was like a scene from a movie.”

There are Orthodox and Christian Churches in the Ukrane, but not in the smaller villages. Pinnell’s mission was to go into the smaller villages to spread the word of Christ. Pinnell found that there are “home churches” developing because there are no funds to build a church. In those cases, people invite others into their homes to worship.

To donate to Nadya, stop by Clinic Drug Store on East Forsyth Street.