Thank you so much to all of you who helped participate in our watch drive for the boys in the Sambir Juvenile Prison! We were able to bring enough watches for every one of the boys for Christmas! Because of your willingness to support and give, this enables us to be able to continue to do ministry in Sambir and brings a little bit of joy to these lost boys in prison. Thank you!
Another Yeremenko
Ira Yeremenko, age 23.
Ira is the oldest and the only girl with six brothers. We have worked with three of her brothers, Roman, Losha and Ivan, but had only ever briefly met her once. Upon returning to Ukraine, our translator got a disturbing call from Ira. She had been kidnapped and held in a nearby city for the last three months. She had been forced to work and beaten daily by a man who had a personal vendetta against her mom. After three months, she was finally able to get a hold of a phone and found a piece of paper in her pocket that she didn't know what in there. Ira had washed her pants seven times, not knowing that this paper, with numbers for her brothers and Sasha, our translator, was in the pocket. She found the paper and was surprised to see that it still looked like new, having no water damage to the phone numbers written on it. She tried each number and the only one that worked was Sasha's. Thanks to the help of a friend who works for the police, we were able to get the man to put Ira on a bus to Sumy and we picked her up at the bus station the following day.
Since arriving back in Sumy, the people in the local church have warmly accepted and showered her with God's love. Ira has now professed to accepting the Lord and has been filled with joy and a peace we didn't see when we first met her. Right now she is staying with us and looking for a job in Sumy. Ira strongly has it on her heart that her brothers, and even her mom, need to know that Lord and has spoken to them boldly about it from the moment they were reunited.Upcoming Events
We will be making a trip to Pravda on the 6th to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas with the kids there. We will be bringing home-made American sweets and small gifts for each of the children.
Ukraine is the number one country for AIDS in Europe. We have been approved by the orphanage and the prison in Sambir to bring a small group and give a presentation on AIDS. An international organization called ACET - AIDS Care Education and Training - has developed a curriculum that we will be using. Both of the presentations will be some time in January.
Prayer Needs
Ira - Pray that God would continue to give her boldness in her new faith. Pray that she would be able to find a job and begin a new life in Sumy.
AIDS Presentations - Please pray that we would be able to find a couple more volunteers to help with the presentation in Sambir. Pray for the effectiveness of our times in both locations.
Finiancial Support - Continue to pray that we would receive the nessecary financial support for our ministry in Ukraine.
Local Church - Pray for God to work in the hearts of Ukrainian Christians as we reach out to try find more volunteers for our ministry.
Graduates - Please continue to pray for our graduates salvation.
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