Sometimes I wonder why I stayed in the church, and I understand that it was thanks to the people who came to me. They were sincere and good to me. I saw Jesus in them.
This is very important because our ministry is more deeds than words.
Today we have the opportunity to live our lives to show that
God exists. The ministry of mercy is a real opportunity to show the Creator and
each of us can be a partner in God’s work.
I want to say hello from Maria, the mother of Lera. They are in St. Petersburg and are waiting for a bone marrow transplant. All tests have been submitted. Lera underwent chemotherapy and it completely killed her immune system, this required a bone marrow transplant. This bone marrow transplant will give her have a chance to survive.
We helped them with renting an apartment, buying medicines
and food. The eldest daughter of Maria lives in Omsk, and we take care of her
while her mother is away.
Maria and Lera really need our help and thank you all for
taking part in their grief. Thank you for your help.
Thank you for your faithfulness in this ministry. Pray for
the health of children and our team. Pray for the medical staff we work with!
We believe that God will be glorified and will lead many to the knowledge of
the Truth!
At the “Word of Truth” church, we decided to take part in
the needs of people and show concern for those around us. During the month, we
have delivered over 50 food packages. Some greeted us with joy and others cried
from happiness, for receiving help from us. Nobody remained indifferent,
everyone thanked us and God for the care and participation.
We brought a food package to a woman who is raising her
teenage son, Danil, all alone. Her name is Evgenia. The boy has been disabled
since the age of five due to a medical error. Evgenia has been trying to suppress
pain and resentment by regularly drinking. We have known each other for a long
time since they were visiting the Church more than once.
A few months ago, Evgenia turned to the Lord with a prayer of repentance during our meetings. After that, she began to attend the fellowship of believers and started to read the Bible.
But with the start of quarantine, and the inability to have constant support, she returned into her old and sinful life. When we brought her food, she burst into tears. She said that she was tired and could no longer live like this. We invited her to go to rehab. She hesitated in the beginning but after praying with us she agreed. Danil stayed with his grandmother, and Evgenia is recovering in the rehab now. We continue to pray for their repentance.
We not only had blessings but also difficulties. Our car began to fail and at the most unfortunate moment. It stopped driving forward and only could go backward, then the ignition system fails, and the car stalled in the middle of the road.
You are part of the team and we ask you to pray from the
bottom of our hearts for our ministry!
Last week, an incident occurred in the children’s ark that
not only surprised us but made us see the greatness of God. After many warm
days, a light rain began. A few minutes later, the rain intensified and hail
with the size of a tennis balls began to fall from the sky.
While we were observing this natural phenomenon, one of our
employees shouted: “The basement is flooding with water! The Kurmaevs and the
Kireevs family possessions are getting wet.” Going down to the basement,
we saw that the floor was already covered with water. The sewage pumps couldn’t
handle that much water. All the employees and children of the “Children’s
Ark”, grabbed the containers that were at hand, began to collect the water
from the basement.
Other went outside to open the sewage system but this did
not help either, since the streets were also flooded. The whole process lasted
four hours, and we continued to clean until the next day.
Over the next few weeks, we expect rain again and pray that
our basement will remains dry. In addition, we will have to buy stronger sewage
pumps. We cannot afford them at the moment. Especially now that we are forced
to do it without government assistance due to the pandemic. Please help us
raise $2000 for our children at the orphanage and buy new pumps.
We are having difficult times, and with self-isolation, there are benefits and disadvantages. The benefit is that people have become more sensitive and more inclined towards the Gospel.
My team and I took this opportunity and delivered food packages and medicine to families in need. Savely and his mother Ulyana are especially thankful. Thanks to you, we were able to participate and bring warmth and light into their lives!
Also, in St. Petersburg after a bone marrow transplant, there are four children from Omsk, whom we help. The head physician of the department once again said that “we are a team and without you, I cannot imagine the work of the department”. She blessed us and this is a breakthrough in the development of the ministry. Since May 1, the department has a girl Lera with her mother Maria. Lera is seven years old. She has lymphoblastic leukemia (blood cancer). She urgently needs a bone marrow transplant, and on May 23, I took them to the airport. Maria herself, Lera’s mother, had a difficult life. She was brought up in an orphanage and, although she has a husband and another child, their family lives below the poverty level. We fully clothed Lera and her Mom so that they could fly to the surgery. Doctors say that there is only a small chance for her, everything needs to be done quickly. We took them under our care, and will we help them in any way possible in Omsk and in St. Petersburg.
Please pray for Lera’s family. We will need to help them with housing, food, and purchase medicines. Thank you for your concern!
Minusinsk is one of
the oldest cities in Eastern Siberia. It is located in the center of Asia and
is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Many families with foster children
live in our area. We want to build a house in Minusinsk in which the foster
families, like orphans, can live.
Many events take place on the first floor of the “Children’s Ark”: workshops, youth clubs, and seminars. On the second floor, we have two large apartments to accommodate foster families who have taken in children. One of our families that we would like to introduce is the foster family of Olya and Denis Grushevski. They have seven children, four of whom are foster parents. They are all relatives, two brothers, and two sisters. The children have been living with the Grushevski family for almost a year now. Before that, they lived with their mother and stepfather. The children’s mother is mentally retarded so that she cannot take good care of them. The children often starved, and nobody cared for them, they were left to take care of themselves.
The oldest girl Vika
had to take care of everything at the age of 11. She cleaned up at home and
took care of her siblings. During the time that the children lived with their
mother, they were put in an orphanage several times, but then they returned to
the mother every time. The last time the government took them to an orphanage,
it was final, the stepfather was jailed, and the mother lost custody of them.
A team of volunteers constantly goes to the orphanages to spend time with the children, and Olya Grushevskaia sometimes went with them to give the children a haircut. Back then, Olya and Denis thought of fostering children and did everything possible. At that time neither of them thought that they would foster four children at once. When they came to the orphanage, Olya saw two of the brothers, Rusik (4) and Misha (5), who were four and five years old. She immediately fell in love with them, then met Vika (11) and Dasha (2). From the beginning, she knew that these were her children. Now they are a big and friendly family!
No home, in our time, works
without electricity, neither can we! Almost everything depends on it.
Currently, the electricity in the children’s ark comes from a nearby store with
which we have a temporary agreement. The electricity we get is being
interrupted again and again and we remain without electricity many times, which
makes the bill for the electricity very high. To have electricity without
interruptions and to be independent, we need a power station.
We would be very
grateful if you could support us with prayers and finances for this matter.
We need the support of
everyone who is not indifferent to it!
When we were visiting families with disabled children, we
met one family closer. Olga has two children, 10 and 12 years old, they both are
diagnosed with a psychological delayed development. Olgas life is not easy. A
year ago, she buried her mother, who died from a stroke. One of her siblings
was diagnosed with schizophrenia and is being treated in a psychiatric
hospital. Her second brother is addicted to alcohol. With him her problems
began in her life. He asked to live in her apartment. She could not refuse to
help him. Within a few months, he turned the apartment into a landfill. It
became not just uncomfortable, but impossible to live in. He was sent in a
rehabilitation. We pray that he will find freedom.
During the stay, the brother did not pay for utilities! He didn’t bring any money home. She had to accumulate debt and now there is a danger that the apartment will be taken from her. Olga turned to us for help: “I was left all alone. If you do not help, no one will help me.” We decided to help Olga and put the apartment in order. In order to make necessary repairs and to make the apartment became livable again we will need about $2000. We really hope for the help of caring people. We believe that through our care of Olga and her children, her heart will open for the Gospel.
