THIS ONE'S FOR THE GIRLS

It has been on all of our hearts for quite some time to start up a Girls Ministry as a new branch of our Grad Outreach. So often, after leaving the orphanage, the girls are a hard group to reach. They distance themselves and we lose contact with them. The statistics for girls are just as startling as they are for the boys; it has been found that 60% of orphaned girls will turn to prostitution as a means of survival. Because of this, our desire to reach these girls with love and hope is strong. We want to be able to connect with them on a deeper level and show them the value and worth that they carry.

Recently, a group of girls have been coming to our weekly Grad Meetings and have attended a couple of our Grad Camps. We feel that this is exactly the group of girls that God wants us to pour into on a weekly basis. We have met together twice so far; once for a fun outing of bowling and once at our new apartment for tea. Both were great times, filled with laughter and new memories. Only a few girls have come each time, but we are excited to see where God will take this ministry.


As we begin to develop the Girls Ministry, we ask that you join us in prayer. Please be praying:

• for guidance as we continue to develop this ministry,
• that the girls who come to our weekly gatherings will have open hearts to what we will be sharing, and
• that our weekly gatherings and activities will be places where these young women will experience love and encouragement.

We are so thrilled that God has brought this ministry to fruition. Thank you for being excited with us in this!

TRUE LOVE GRAD RETREAT RECAP

OUR VALENTINE’S WEEKEND RETREAT WAS A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS ON THE THEME OF TRUE LOVE, FOCUSING ON THE NATURE OF LOVE ITSELF, GOD’S LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS, AS WELL AS SEX AND HIV/AIDS. AS ALWAYS, THIS RETREAT WAS ALSO AN OPPOTUNITY TO COVER EACH OF THESE KIDS IN LOVE. IT WAS SUCH A SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND - PLEASE READ ON TO LEARN MORE!

This was the first winter retreat we have ever done with the orphanage graduates and we couldn’t be happier with how the weekend went. With Valentine’s Day so fresh in their minds, our True Love topic couldn’t have come at a better time. From the first lesson, the kids were engaged and eager to participate in the group discussions. Our speaker, Vova, recently moved to L’viv (many hours away by train) and so were beyond excited when God provided a way for us to bring Vova back for camp. It was clear the kids missed him and were ready to listen to what he had to say. The three main discussions were:
What is true love?, Love and Relationships, and Sex and HIV/AIDS. Vova commented that the kids really responded to the directness and that no one had really been that direct with them in these topics before.

The rest of camp was filled with sports, crafts, and plenty of games. We even introduced them to the game of Bunco which was a huge hit among the kids! 

On the last night we got to surprise the kids with a Valentine’s Day themed party. They came back from dinner to a room decorated with tables of fun treats, drinks, and a photobooth to top it all off. The kids spent hours dressing up with funny accessories, choosing different poses to take pictures as big groups, small groups, and nice solo shots as well. We kicked off a Wii dance competition that left everyone’s stomachs hurting from laughing so hard. We ended the night with a movie on the projector, eating the rest of the junk food, and just hanging out. Many fun memories were made!

GRADUATE HIGHLIGHT: LILYA

We first met Lilya at our 2012 Fall Retreat. She grew up at the Romney Orphanage and was connected to us through one of our Ukrainian volunteers. Lilya is currently studying at a trade school in Sumy and we are so thankful God brought her our way. Lilya is absolutely full of energy and loves to laugh. She has a unique perspective on life and stands strong in who she is. We quickly bonded with her and she’s been a regular at our Wednesday night meetings.

Lilya had planned to leave us early Saturday morning (a day before the retreat would conclude) so she could spend the rest of the weekend with her boyfriend. Before leaving, she asked us what else was in store for the retreat. It was clear that she was looking for a reason to stay. We were able to lure her in with our “surprise” that would be awaiting Saturday night and we are so thankful she stayed! She was attentive in the meetings and it was apparent Lilya needed to be a part of the discussions about love, dating, and sex. She even thanked Vova at the end of the final discussion for being so direct with them. We are so excited for the ways God moved in Lilya’s heart over the course of the True Love Retreat and we ask that you join us in prayer that God will continue to speak to her about His love and her worth in Him. 

SASHA PEVNIV: A LEADER ON THE RISE

Over the years, it has been a complete blessing to watch Sasha Pivnev grow and change as he navigates his way into adulthood. Currently, he is attending leadership meetings at our church in Sumy, participating in a weekly Bible Study with some of the other grad boys, and is being mentored by one of the men from church. While our American team was home over Christmas, he was busy running our mid-week grad meetings and reaching out to more kids as the group continues to grow. 

It has become very apparent that Sasha is a leader among the other kids. He even played an integral role in camp planning and logistics. It has been an honor for us to be involved in of Sasha’s journey and we look forward to sharing with you all how God will continue to use him in our ministry and in the lives of so many. 

THANK YOU!

The reality is, this camp could not have existed without the help, support, and encouragement of so many of you. Your prayers were deeply felt as we reached out to these broken children with the truth of God’s love for them. Thank you to everyone who sponsored our kids and provided candy-grams! Not only were the kids thrilled to have the opportunity to come to our True Love Retreat, but they were also so excited to find the notes, candy, and hygiene items awaiting them on their beds the first night. Every aspect of your support allows us to continue to minister to the children here, and we can never express just how deeply thankful we are.

TRUE LOVE: VALENTINE'S GRAD RETREAT

Camps are a huge part of our ministry to orphanage graduates here at Open Arms. This past year we held three camps for the grads and are so excited for the addition of a Valentine's Weekend Retreat! Here's some of the information of what the retreat will hold and how you can be a part of it!

True Love is an incredibly difficult concept for orphans to grasp. They have been abandoned, abused, and rejected by the very people that were supposed to love and care for them. With Valentine’s Day approaching we thought it would be a great opportunity to share with them about the True Love that awaits them from their Heavenly Father. For most of these children, love is utterly confused with sex. Ukraine is an oversexed country. The orphans are exposed to it at a very young age and become increasingly desensitized to the topic as they grow older. In light of this reality, we feel the need to take some focused time to educate them on things such HIV, AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Their ignorance puts them in danger and they deserve to understand the truth of what they are doing physically and emotionally. We believe in God's best for them and will be bringing that truth to the table with discussions on abstinence and waiting for the love God has in store for each of their lives.  

We couldn't be more excited about the addition of this retreat in our yearly camp schedule! Not only will we be sharing these important topics but we will be spending our days pouring out God's love into their lives. On top of the discussions and lessons, the days will be filled with good food, games, crafts and so much more. All of it will be topped off with a special dinner on the final night with a chance for the kids to dress up and be served by our Open Arms staff as they enjoy a "fancy" meal and dessert with their friends. We can't wait to share with you about all that takes place!

Now, here is how you can be involved...

The cost per child will be $50, which includes transportation, food, lodging, and every other aspect that the retreat involves. You also have the option of adding a "candy-gram" to your sponsorship for $10. This will include a bag of special candy, Bible verses, and a card letting the grad know that they are being prayed for by you here in the states throughout the retreat. You can choose to do one or the other, or both! 

Partial sponsorships are also a huge gift to our team and these amazing kids.

If you would like to be a part of this year's True Love Retreat by sponsoring an orphanage graduate to attend and/or by sending a candy-gram, click HERE to be redirected to our donation page.

Be checking back for highlights, bios, and more as the retreat unfolds!

THANK YOU, TEMECULA HILLS!

We wanted to take a moment and give our gratitude to Temecula Hills Christian Fellowship who recently partnered with us by holding a socks and underwear drive. The kids in Ukraine often lack these basic necessities and we are so grateful for the opportunity to provide these for them. We were given so many different sizes and styles that we will be able to donate to the orphanage as well as to our graduates. 

Thank you Temecula Hills for loving our kids!