Help Needed for the Shevchenko Family

If you've followed our ministry much, you probably know about how much we love the "Shevchenko" family - Dusya, Sergey, 4 year old Vala and 7 week old baby Andre. Dusya and Sergey graduated from the Pravdinska orphanage in 2006 and have worked hard to build a happy family. Despite never having seen good parenting modeled for them, they do their best to be good parents to their two children and they love them more than anything. They fight so hard to provide for their kids and give them the family they never received. We are so privileged to work with this beautiful family and be a part of their lives! 

Since spring they have been working hard to do some much needed work on their home in Ivanivka. While they were waiting for Andre to arrive, they were busy redoing bedrooms, floors, wallpaper, knocking out walls and adding on... And they have done an excellent job! This week they called us asking for help. They don't have running water, they don't have gas, and they've always heated the house with an old fashioned stove and whatever they could burn to keep it warms through the winter. But with the new baby they've decided to have electric heaters installed. They've already put in 7000 hryvna into it but they've come up short on what they need to cover the cost. They only need 2500 more hryvna, which is about $315. We've committed to helping them and are looking to see if there is anyone else who wants to help keep them warm this winter. 

If you are interested in supporting the Shevchenko family please let us know. Donations can be made through PayPal [link on the right] or by mail at Open Arms Ukraine, PO Box 277, San Lorenzo, CA 94580. Thank you so much for your prayers and for helping us come alongside this growing family.

Fall Grad Retreat!

Fall Graduate Retreat

At the beginning of September a new class of Pravdinska graduates left the orphanage and entered into trade schools throughout the Sumy region. Twenty-five young kids out on their own for the first time. This is a time that has critical impact on their futures. Many kids after leaving the orphanage quickly find ways to use their new freedom to get into trouble. Statistically 70% of orphanage graduate boys end up in a life of crime. And 60% of the girls end up in prostituion. Adolescent alcoholism is worse in Ukraine than in almost all other European countries. And for many of these young adults, the first steps down that road are taken within the first few months of being on their own.

With that in mind, we are excited to be running a graduate fall retreat for some of these kids from October 21st through 24th. With all these freshly graduated kids, as well as the other grad kids we’ve worked with in the past, we are expecting a pretty big crowd. Our heart is to use the 4 days of camp to help set them on a course that will keep them from becoming just another sad statistic. And having known Luba, Lusya, Yaroslav and the 22 other new grad kids for years, it’s about much more than just numbers and statistics.


Melissa’s Heart
6 years ago, I came to Ukraine and spent a month with a group of kids who changed my life forever.  They were ranging in age from 10-12. I instantly fell in love with them. Over the past 6 years I have been privileged to walk beside them and be a part of their lives. So many of these kids have become my family. In May, they graduated the ninth grade and left to trade school in September. We are doing a graduate camp at the end of the month and am so excited that 10 of the kids are at a trade school in Sumy. We are going to travel to the other trade schools and connect with the others. Transitioning out of the orphanage is a critical time for the kids. Choices are made that will affect the rest of their lives. Camp is such a great opportunity to plug in the kids to Ukrainian leaders here and just some good fellowship sharing how much God loves them. We will have topics about freedom in Christ. I cannot wait to see what God is going to do in our time at camp.

Teaching Freedom
As we get ready for camp, visiting kids at their schools, planning lessons, organizing games, prepping crafts,please be in prayer for us! The focus of our camp is freedom in Christ. We’ll share about grace, being a new creation and the life God really has for us. Through small group discussions and a night splitting up boys and girls, our goal is make it personal for each one of these amazing kids.



Our team of 8 Americans and 5 Ukrainians will be leading up to 40 kids throughout the weekend. Please be in prayer for our American team as they arrive in Ukraine and for our Ukrainian team as they help invite kids and organize logistical details. We are so excited to see what God will do in their hearts and the freedom that He will bring! Be praying for the finances to do all that we’re working for. Pray that God would be preparing them now for what they will hear.



If you are interested in sponsoring to help cover the cost of one of our graduates to come to camp, please contact us at OpenArmsMinistry@gmail.com or give via PayPal. The cost for one camper is $65, which covers their transportation, food, games, crafts and other supplies. We are anticipating a large group of kids and are praying that God will provide for all our needs.



Thank you for your support and prayers as we serve the graduate orphans of Sumy! We are grateful for the part you play in our ministry.

$10 Challenge - What You Did

Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of our $10 Challenge! Some of gave, some of you blogged, some of you posted the link on your Facebook, some of you emailed friends and got others to join. In these past 10 days we had a total of 39 donors who gave. Thanks to your generosity the total count of donations received was $1,140!

Thank you all for your willingness to be a part of this ministry. Because of your help this month we are better equipped to pay bills, support kids at the Pravdinska orphanage, take care of grad kids with health needs, buy groceries to make meals in the Open Arms Home and celebrate birthdays. We are so thankful for each and every one of you and the role you play in our ministry!

$10 Challenge - Day 10

Today is the final day of the $10 Challenge! The challenge is simple, looking for 10 new people who are willing to spare $10 so we can finish out strong. $10 can go so far in our ministry and as 10 of you give $100 can make a bigger difference than we can express.

Today's focus is on the family your donations allow us to create here for these kids. With few places to turn to, no family to trust, Open Arms has the extreme privilege of offering a trustworthy safe haven. Thank you to all for giving and for helping us minister to these beautiful children!!!

$10 Challenge - Day 9

Welcome to day 9 of the $10 Challenge! Only a couple of days left so let's finish strong! Today the goal is the same as it has been the last 8 days - 10 new people giving $10 to help support the day to day ministry needs of Open Arms Ukraine. Today we're highlighting how just $10 can help keep kids healthy. Please watch the video and join us in the challenge!

$10 Challenge - Day 8

$10 Challenge - Day 8! Yesterday we only got half way to the goal but we're gonna make up for it today! Hoping for 10 new people to give $10 today to help support our ministry in Sumy. With the PayPal link on the right, you can make a donation in 5 minutes! And sharing the video is as simple as hitting the little Facebook logo below and posting it to your profile. As you watch this video, keep in mind that we have multiple birthdays and Halloween we're so excited to celebrate this month! :)

[YouTube videos are not wanting to work right on the blog for some reason... Watch it on here and if you want to share the video from YouTube you can find it here.]

$10 Challenge - Day 7

Day 7 of the $10 Challenge is here! Thank you to all 7 of you who gave yesterday! Didn't quite hit our goal of 10, but hoping we make it today. Watch the video below and consider taking the challenge and joining our ministry in Sumy. Thanks!

The embeded video is struggling so please follow this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=wl35hqFVd-I

$10 Challenge - Day 6

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the $10 challenge!! Today is day 6 and we are looking for more people to partner with us. Our goal in the $10 challenge is to get 10 new people each day to donate $10 dollars. The challenge goes on for 10 days with the hope of raising $1,000!  Are you ready to take the challenge? Watch the video below to find out how your $10 can help!

$10 Challenge - Day 5

In case you are just getting here, we're right in the middle of the Open Arms Ukraine $10 Challenge. The goal is simple - 10 people giving $10 for 10 days. The first couple days started off slow, but yesterday picked up! Special thanks to Kari Bachle for encouraging a bunch of her friends on Facebook to see what we've got going on! Anybody else who wants to follow Kari's lead and post a link on your friends pages is welcome to do so! :)

Today is day 5 and each day we're showing you just one way your $10 can help support our ministry here in Sumy. If you haven't watched the previous videos feel free to go back to the last few blogs and check them out. And be sure to watch this one and see how your $10 can help get us where we need to go!

$10 Challenge - Day 4

Thank you Lauren and Andrew for giving yesterday! We've yet to get 10 people on a given day and are still hoping to make it there in a day. Let's get it done today for the Shevchenko family...

If you're interested in giving, please use the PayPal donate button on the right. And please share with your friends :)
Thanks!

$10 Challenge - Day 3

Day 3 of the $10 Challenge is already here! The first two days weren't quite what we hoped but we are so thankful for those of you who did give. Please watch the video below to find out what your $10 can do and consider joining us in this challenge today!

The YouTube link was struggling, but it's here if you want to share it. 

$10 Challenge - Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the $10 Challenge! Still waiting for those donations from day 1, so we're hoping day 2 we can do double! 20 people, 10 bucks each.

Today we took a trip to the village of Ivanivka and were able to see a few kids from the Pravdinska orphanage... It was a good reminder of how much those kids need individual, loving support. Watch the video for today, share with your friends and let's see what we can do today! Donate via the PayPal link on the right. Thanks!

$10 Challenge - Day 1

Last year in October we kicked off the $10 Challenge fundraiser on Facebook. The goal was 10 people giving $10 for 10 days. We were overwhelmed by the response we got - 62 donations totaling almost $2500. And so we decided to make it an annual thing. So... today we're starting the 2nd annual Open Arms Ukraine $10 Challenge!

The goal is the same - each day for the next 10 days, we're looking for 10 people to give $10. Or more if you can! :) Each day we will be posting some pics and videos sharing here on the blog of the kinds of things that $10(ish) can do. Today we're starting at home...

There you go! Give. Tell a friend. Share the video. Post it on Facebook. And be checking back here and on Facebook daily to see how it's going and how you can be involved! We're looking forward to seeing how God works through you!