Soldier spends leave on church mission to Ukraine

Courtesy Photo | Spc. Aralem Valladaresflores, a native of Rochester, Wash., and a heavy wheeled vehicle operator with the 1161st Transportation Co., 541st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 96th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), talks to children during a mission trip to Berdychiv, Ukraine while on his Rest and Recuperation Leave from Camp Taji, Iraq.  

TAJI, IRAQ

12.14.2009

Courtesy Story

13th Armored Corps Sustainment Command (13th ESC)

CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Many years ago, Spc. Aralem Valladaresflores' friends had shared with him their evangelistic missions to Russia and Ukraine. They shared with him experiences they had helping orphans, reminding him of his youth where he traveled to an impoverished rural town in Mexico. He recounted the many delightful smiles of joy and gratitude that remain with him today. He began focusing on a new mission that would take him to Berdychiv a small city in the Ukraine.

"My friends had told me about going on missions there, and explained to me a lot of the needs, especially with the orphan kids," said Valladaresflores. "That's something that I've done before, and to me, it was an opportunity to be part of another mission."

Valladaresflores, of Rochester, Wash. is currently deployed with the 1161st Transportation Co., 541st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 96th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), out of Ephrata, Wash., in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During his deployment, Valladaresflores could have opted for a ticket home to relax for two weeks. Instead, he volunteered his time to help others.

The trip started out with him flying to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. During the long flight, provided by the U.S. Army, many things would cross his mind, to include being able to communicate with others seeing as how his Russian-Ukraine vocabulary was very limited, he said.

"The challenge was the language, because I didn't know how I was going to handle that," said Valladaresflores. "It was like a crash course to me. I didn't have a translator all the time, so that made it more challenging."

Valladaresflores was a guest of Pastor Leonid Zhuchkov, and spent his time working at Zhuchkov's church, Novay Chass. Despite the language barrier, Valladaresflores and Zhuchkov learned to communicate effectively, and Valladaresflores enjoyed his stay in the pastor's home, he said.

"He turned out to be a really awesome chef. Everything he cooked was natural, homemade meals," said Valladaresflores. "I could tell the difference between food I'm used to eating in the dining facilities, and his way of cooking. It was a world of a difference."

While at Novay Chass, Valladaresflores worked in an after-school program with the children of Berdychiv. Many of the children were orphans or lived with foster familes, said Valladaresflores. Most families in the area live on less than $120 per month. Valladaresflores taught the children popular stories from the Bible, like the story of Johah, David and Goliath, and Jesus' healing miracles, and then he had them act out the parts. Their enthusiasm was infectious, he said.

"I love the energy the children have, especially the children who have grown up not having all that we have," said Valladaresflores. "There's something special about that."

Valladaresflores attributes his involvement in mission work to a spiritual awakening that occurred when he was younger.

"When I was 16, I was questioning a lot of things, and questioning my purpose. I had a miraculous experience," said Valladaresflores. "It's hard to put into words how I experienced that. It felt like somebody flashed this light into my mind and I could understand things I could never understand before. It was a total change of heart."

Following this change of heart, Valladaresflores began traveling on mission trips, serving in Mexico and Guatemala, where he had been raised by his grandparents.

"I found this thing that brought me such great joy, and I wanted to be able to go out and share it," he said.

Valladaresflores hopes to continue his mission work by working with a full-time traveling ministry. He said he found the trip to Ukraine a refreshing and challenging change from his work in Iraq, and was happy to be able to help those in need.

"The compassion of this small town and the adorable children have once again engraved in my mind a most honorable and delightful end to my evangelical mission," he said.

• Date Taken: 12.14.2009
• Date Posted: 12.14.2009 09:38
• Story ID: 42726
• Location: TAJI, IQ