Dear family and friends,
Believe it or not we are about to embark on the teams 4th trip back to the Pravda orphanage in the country of Ukraine. Over these past few years God has allowed us to work with the beautiful children there and this work is far from finished. It has been quite a journey as well as an amazing gift to watch this kids grow and partner with you in this ministry.
As we prepare for long-term ministry in the country of Ukraine we will be going on a three week trip back to Pravda. There we will be able to spend time with our kids, watch 40 of the children we love prepare to leave, and shower upon them the gifts so many of you graciously provided. For the last portion of our trip, we will be meeting with different churches and ministries in the Sumy region (the region of our orphanage) and establishing long term contacts in order to prepare for moving to the country.
Please join with us in prayer – five of us will be going on this trip and attempting to share the love of God with the 200 children at the orphanage as well as with the orphanage staff and director. Your prayers are vital in the success of our ministry. Please pray that God would put favor in the staffs' hearts so they will allow us to continue long term ministry at Pravda. Keep the children in your prayers that their hearts would be open and that they would allow God's love to change their lives. Specifically, this trip will focus on the oldest group of 40 children who are preparing to leave the orphanage and face life on their own. These children range in ages from 14-16 and we hope to establish contact with these children that will continue beyond Pravda as they face the harsh times ahead.
With this ministry there are various costs we will encounter along the way. Overall, the trip will cost around $2000 for each of us to go. These costs encompass far more than a plane ticket as we will be attempting to help the orphanage in buying new windows that will provide better insulation for the cold winters. Each window costs $200. Also, while most kids are sent to various locations during the summer while construction takes place, certain kids are instead snatched from their beds in the middle of the night and forced to reside in a mental hospital for the duration of a month. There are no grounds for these placements other than the money that will be saved on the part of the orphanage. During their stay they undergo harsh treatments that include shock therapy as they spend the month heavily drugged in solitude. We are attempting to negotiate with the orphanage director to send these children to various summer camps instead of the inhumane mental hospitals. All it takes is money for these children to be spared. These are just a few of the costs that lie ahead and every little bit of support can make a huge difference as we deal with these initial costs in ministry. $5 can help keep a child out of the mental hospital or provide better warmth for the winter months to come.
Your support in the past has been so vital and your prayers for the future enable us to do the will of God in the country of Ukraine. If you are interesting in donating to our trip, you can make checks out to Open Arms Ukraine and mail them to 10637 Ashworth St., Bellflower, CA 90706. Please pray for us as we trust God to lead us in this trip and fill us with His love as we care for these amazing children. Pray that these children will see God clearly and be filled with His hope as they come to know Him and the beauty of the gospel. Thank you for all the love and support that you have showered on me! God has truly used you to bless me beyond measure in this ministry! May you continually be reminded of and filled with God's love for you each day!
God bless,
-The Open Arms summer team
[Anika, Annie, Laura, Melissa, Donovan]
