Losha's School

Ministry in Ukraine is inevitably a roller coaster ride from day to day. This reality was definitely an aspect in Losha's schooling. He had been accepted into a trade school here in Sumy, but after receiving enough "regular" students, Losha was dropped due to the mere fact that he is an orphan.

5 trade schools later, countless meetings, and determination on everyone's part has brought Losha to a new trade school here in Sumy!! We couldn't be more excited. As far as trade schools go, it is one of the best. It even accepted him into a better trade than he was in before.

For Losha, this is a huge transition, but one he desired and fought for. God definitely used the closed doors to lead us to the best school for Losha. And the fight to get there helped Losha in countless ways. From the first school where he couldn't look a teacher in the eyes, to his current school where he gets right on in the midst of conversations - Losha has already changed. It is a much more difficult school than what he is used to, but he has a new pride in where he goes. He is up at 6:30am every day and ready to go at 7 am. We can only pray that he will utilize this opportunity as we are here to support him. We praise God for where He has brought Losha thus far.

Prison Ministry

We recently made a trip to Sambir, Ukraine near the city of L'viv to visit our Sasha in the "juvenile colony" there. We had the rare opportunity to sit down with the prison Chief one on one; gaining insight and an open door to minister at the prison and the 173 children there. At this moment, we are beginning to plan programming to bring to the children. We are also asking for help in fundraising to provide new tables for the children to eat on. After a discussing with the Chief this is a current need that would greatly help the prison, but providing these tables will help us in ministry and give us more opportunities to visit Sasha, whom we love so dearly. Any support is greatly appreciated! And your prayers are always needed! We are beyond excited to have these new doors open before us and we can't wait to share with you all that God will do!! These children are in a uniquely open position in life and God's grace is a message they so desperately need to hear!
Please make checks out to Open Arms Ukraine - PO Box 277, San Lorenzo, CA 94580-0277 with Prison ministry in the memo line!

School Goodness

One of our main goals has always been to provide tangible help to these children we love so much - schooling and jobs. This past week we had the amazing opportunity to help our Losha Yeremenko get into the Sumy trade school! He made the decision to transfer down to Sumy from the village where his mother lives; this is such a good move for him in countless ways. After two meetings with the director on his own things weren't looking good. So we decided to take matters into our own hands. After a 5 minute meeting with the director he stood up to say, "Well, you've convinced me!" AND LOSHA IS IN!!
The smile across Losha's face was about a mile long and this is such a huge blessing! It is a much better trade school and he will no longer have to return to his home environment that has proven to put his physical life in danger. This training will open the doors to many more jobs for Losha in the future! God is so good and we are soaking up the beauty of this moment!

Family trip to Kiev

We have been in Ukraine for almost 2 weeks and of course we are off with a bang. We had a friend from the States visiting and sadly her passport was stolen. It was very unfortunate because that meant we had to make a special trip to Kiev. But we were able to use that time and take a couple of the kids to the zoo. It was such a fun experience because it was all of their first time. We walked past an elephant and all of them stared in awe because they had never seen one in real life. They were like little kids in a candy store soaking up the new experience.
After the zoo we walked around Kiev and saw the historical sights they have. This is also something the kids had never seen before. So they were able to see and learn more about the history of their country.It was a very long day but was so fun to share this experience with them.