Greetings to you my brothers and sisters, I wish everybody a Merry Christmas. This is a very important event every year that we celebrate. We experience Gods mercy and we understand what we can’t be silent about it and so we go to show people that Jesus is alive. I would like to share the blessings that we have experienced as a team and would like to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts from all the children who we received Christmas gifts from you. On Christmas, we visited several hospitals that have children suffering from blood cancer. Very often they don’t win the fight`1 against it. We wanted to bring the holiday and the hope to be with our great God in the future. When we read the Gospel, we see how Jesus taught his disciples to show mercy and compassion, that’s is the reason why we can’t be silent about it. Around seventy children heard about the love of God and received gifts.
The parents and the hospital staff were thankful to everybody who was involved. Children are waiting for us and this changes our hearts and hopefully yours as well. Thank you for participating in our needs and we will be thankful for any help. Please pray for us, because God opens the doors to the children’s homes and nursing homes. Glory be to Him.
I agree it is hard to rejoice when you are in pain, have no hope or it is difficult to live. When you have to wait for several months to get results from a specific puncture and it happens to be positive again. With your help, we were able to bring children in several hospitals a part of Christmas to their sickbed. This holiday is a shimmer of hope for them. God has come to us. He cares about us, it’s an occasion to celebrate. The smiles on the faces of children and parents were the best reward for this. We were able to share the Gospel and the story of the birth of our savior with around sixty children and sixty parents.
In our house of prayer, we had over 300 children gathered on Christmas. One-third of them were invited through social engagement. These are children that come from large and low-income families. Most were the first time in our church and even heard the first time about Christmas. Together with their parents, they learned what this holiday means. None of the children were left empty-handed but all received a gift.
Thank you for your participation in this Christmas ministry for our children.
During these holidays days the atmosphere filled with celebration, but we should not forget about those who are going through a hardship. These are orphans that will spend Christmas in the same room that they are living in for years now. Their tables will not be decorated and filled with delicious food. The day will be as usual for them and the food on the menu will be served. That’s why our visit with gifts for them is a very important time for them. Their friends visit them and congratulate everybody with a gift to everybody. And this is the time when they start to feel that somebody cares and thinks about them and makes them feel special. Their right conclusion is that since these people who are showing love and are helping are believers then their God is also loving and helping.
These children suffer from serious illnesses. The diagnosis hits the children like a lightning and from that moment on they and their parents are fighting for their lives. Painful treatments, like chemotherapies and long periods of stays in the hospital, leaves it impressions on them. And we as the church should be here with them. It is not in our power to heal them, but we have the opportunity to pray and for them, give them hope, sit and play with them. Just having fun with them and support the exhausted parents is in our power. And on Christmas, we certainly should be there. 190 orphans and 80 cancer sick children should be happy at least on Christmas days.
One gift costs around $8 and to provide a gift to each of them we need $2160. We would be happy if you could share the joy of Christmas with those children.
Greetings to you, dear brothers and sisters! Voloda’s mother, Svetlana, is sending regards and a heartfelt gratitude to you. We were able to help her to adapt to her new status. After her son died she would have been all alone if not for you and your support. We were with her all during all the times emotionally, spiritually and financially.
Svetlana started a new job and is proactive visiting the church and getting ready for baptism. This is the real fruit of your prayers and support. Life continues and we keep visiting other children who are admitted to the oncological hospital in Omsk where many of them are diagnosed with cancer. I work with the parents of these children and participate in their lives by offering friendship and help, and we really need you.
In November, Vera, a mother of her daughter Katya came to us, she is only two and half year’s old. Katya’s stomach started to swell suddenly and when she was brought to the hospital she received a terrible diagnosis. It turned out that the spleen was swollen. She was admitted to the hospital for six months for examination and treatment. We already started to take care of them with buying diapers and food. Katya’s appetite is very good, she eats 6 times a day and even at night.
Their problem is that the family has three more children who are living with the father in a village further away. They don’t have the chance to see each other. “I am devastated that this is happening to me,” says Vera. The doctors say that the treatment is very costly and they are left with not having enough money for food. I already gave Vera a bible and told her that we as the church won’t be just stand by and watch.
Jesus said: “I was sick and you didn’t visit me” This is not us. We will be glad to share the blessings with you. Thank you for your participation in the life of little Katya and her family.
The house of mercy “Bethesda” gets more and more attention. We have people coming to us who seek help from the Lord. The Lord also lets Christian families move from the city to our village. To this day we have 3 families who have acquired house with the help of the government through the one-time maternal support. Together they have 12 children. Praise the Lord.
Vadim and Olya came to the Lord through the ministry “The Road Home”. They have 5 children now and when they arrived at “Bethesda” we offered them a ministry but they declined. But the Lord kept working in their hearts and blessed them with finances and a desire to help. Now they are helping us coordinating projects with Evgeniy and Maria.
The local administration was planning on closing the school and kindergarten here but our brothers and sisters had arrived with 12 children. We currently have 15 people who reside here in “Bethesda” and are establishing a relationship with God. Half of them are disabled, one without legs, four a partially paralyzed and one is blind. The ones who are capable of working help us out with the disabled ones.
It will be winter soon and we don’t have a shower or a heated restroom. During summer, we heat up the water in the sun and shower in an outdoor shower but in the winter, this doesn’t work. To build a shower and toilet from pipes, bricks and cement we need $3000. We will build everything on our own.
I recently met an old friend here. He is 63 years old and disabled. Around 20 years ago we were in prison together. He taught me to pray “Our Father who art in heaven…” I came to Christ later in and this stayed in my life since then. Now he found shelter here in “Bethesda”.
With all our hearts and souls, we ask you for help. We pray for you, for the abundance of God’s blessings, in your life!
