Cross Culture Ukraine

News From Ukraine

2008-07-10T08:31:00.001-07:00

Summer is in full swing in Ukraine and the baby hospital is full! Thanks to everyone who is sponsoring children - your help makes a real difference in the lives of these precioius children.

The church is doing well. Thanks to Sergey Korotya and Vanya Litvinov for carrying the preaching load in my absence. The Payne family arrives back in Gorlovka on August 5th. August will be a busy month for the church family as we try to cram a full summer of activity into just four weeks!

Thanks again to all who are part of the Cross Culture ministry family. Your sacrifices and prayers are changing many lives in Gorlovka, Ukraine.

Pictures of ABC Kids and Caregivers

2008-05-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Dasha sent me some pictures of the precious ABC Children and their caregivers. Thanks to all our sponsors who donate so that we can provide for the daily needs of these children. Please pray for the children and their caregivers, especially that the children will find their "fovever families."

Abandoned Babies and Children

2008-03-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

We currently have 25 children we are providing for at Hospital #2 in Gorlovka, Ukraine. They range in age from newborns to toddlers. While the Payne's are in the United States, Dasha is in charge of purchasing and delivering the supplies needed each month for the children. Dasha is doing a great job and learning a lot as well. Please keep the children in your prayers, especially that they will find "forever families."

Passing On the Faith

2008-02-01T16:35:00.001-08:00

On August 20, 2005 Valentina, one of the babushka's in our church family, was baptized into Christ. She had been attending classes and worship for several years when she decided to give her life to Jesus. Less than six months later Valentina and her husband moved to Russia to be closer to their children. While she was excited to be closer to family, she hated to leave her church family. Recently she visited with us while in Gorlovka. She met with the babushkas at class on Wednesday and shared an interesting story. These are her words through translation...

"When I moved I missed my spiritual family so much. I sat and cried for many days. For almost a year I was sad and feeling depressed because I missed my church family and I could not find another one in the city where I now live. Then it occurred to me, I can start a spiritual family. So I talked with several of my neighbors and invited them to my flat for a Bible study and for tea. Now we have about five ladies who gather every week, just like we did in Gorlovka."

She asked me if I could give her some resources to help her lead the studies with these ladies, which I was glad to provide for her. Please be praying for Valentina and her group of students. I am reminded of the passage in Acts that says, "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." (Acts 8:4)

The photos are of Valentina with Katya and Valentina (far right) with six other ladies who were baptized on the same day.

The ABC Children

2008-01-16T06:13:00.000-08:00

This week I bought pampers for the Baby Hospital and took pictures of some of the children. For those who have never bought pampers for more than 30 children at a time, I included a couple of pictures of my car with the pampers loaded. Please keep the children in your prayers that they will be healthy and that they will soon have forever families.

Church Family New Years Eve Party

2008-01-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

Our Annual New Years Eve Party was Sunday evening December 30th. The Sunday School class enacted the Nativity Story for us to enjoy. We had a talent show, a great meal and played "Dirty Santa" (a perennial favorite here!). We had a great evening of fun, food and fellowship.

Singing with the Children

2007-12-30T06:26:00.000-08:00

Today our Sunday School classes visited several elderly people in our neighborhood to sing carols and give them a bag of candy. The kids had a great time and the babushka's were grateful for the attention from the children.

2007-12-26T04:26:00.000-08:00

Work is continuing at Sasha's Home. With each passing week it looks more like the welcoming environment that we envision for the precious children abandoned in Ukraine. The balconies are being tiled, the breezeway is almost entirely sheet rocked, the ceilings are having the crown moulding installed and then painted, and the bathrooms are being completed. It is truly amazing how this building is being transformed into a wonderful apartment community for the children. Please continue to pray for the project and our workers. Also remember that all donations are welcomed - and matched!

Tee Shirt Party with Kids

2007-12-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

Today we had a party with our church children. We all decorated tee shirts to wear next week when we deliver presents to elderly people in our neighborhood. The kids made "dear shirts" using a tracing of their foot for the face and their hands for the antlers. They were also given bells for the nose. Enjoy the pictures.

New Classes and Visitors

2007-12-17T12:17:00.000-08:00

We recently started two new classes with our church family in Gorlovka. The first is an adult class that meets on Wednesday night. The attendance has been good with around fifteen people coming each week. Lora served chili last week and everyone enjoyed both the meal and the time of study, prayer and fellowship. The second class is for children from around ten to fourteen years old. (4th through 8th grade). Sunday afternoon we had 16 kids attend the class. Some of them are also attending the worship assembly on Sunday.

Mark and Courtney are visiting in Gorlovka while they are adopting children from a nearby city. More about their story soon.

Final room at Baby Hospital

2007-12-05T06:13:00.001-08:00

We finished the final room at the Baby Hospital this week. What a great group of workers volunteered from the church family to help with this project. Special thanks to Tanya, Olga, Lena, Luda, Lena, Tanya, Lora, Vica, and Victoria for all their hard work. The rooms are so warm and inviting that the nurses have commented that they would like to live in them! It is important to provide a wonderful place for our precious children to live so they know that they are greatly loved by Jesus and his people. Thanks for your help with supporting the Abandoned Babies and Children Program. Your sacrifices are touching many lives in Ukraine.

Another Room at the Baby Hospital

2007-11-27T11:22:00.000-08:00

Our team tackled another room for the babies on Monday and Tuesday. We have one more that we plan to do next week. Enjoy the photos of our team of artists!

Working at the Baby Hospital

2007-11-20T12:31:00.001-08:00

We have been working hard at the Baby Hospital for the past week. We had curtains made back in September and last week I hung new curtain rods in all the rooms (not as easy as it sounds!). Lora made all the necessary modifications so they hang to the floor in each room. In addition we purchased two new rugs for the playroom and a new bench seat. The rugs are larger than the old ones and the kids love the extra room to crawl and play on the plush carpet.
Monday a team from our church family worked cleaning off whitewash and preparing a room for painting. Tuesday we painted the room complete with Frogs and Dragonflies. The kids could not stop coming in to visit us while we were working (lots of staff members found reasons to wander in as well!). More pictures later, keep checking back...

Sasha's Home Photos

2007-11-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

Today I took pictures at Sasha's Home. The balconies are completely blocked up and tied in to the roof, and the windows and doors have been installed in them. Same is true for the playroom (formerly envisioned as a solarium).

Please keep this project and the workers in your prayers.

The Precious Babies

2007-10-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

Currently we have about 35 babies and toddlers at the hospital in Gorlovka. They are beautiful and full of life. While Lora and I were in Gorlovka in September we saw them quite a few times. Here are some of the pictures from that visit.

Sasha's Home

2007-09-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

For a couple of years we have used the working title - Family Care Center - for the home we are building for the abandoned children. We recently decided upon the real name for the facility - Sasha's Home. Sasha is the "loving" nickname for either Alexander or Alexandra, making Sasha's Home a great name for both boys and girls.

The logo for Sasha's Home is fully Ukrainian with rich cultural and religious symbols - especially the egg - a recognizable symbol of new life (think Easter and resurrection). The words of Jesus serve as our motto - "Let the Little Children Come to Me." We want to welcome these precious children and let them know that though their parents may have abandoned them, they are loved and accepted by Jesus and his people.

We are still looking for people to provide financial support to complete the construction of Sasha's Home. If you have not purchased a tile in the Garden of Friends please consider doing so soon. See the post from February 2007 entitled Garden of Friends for more information.

Family Care Center Update

2007-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

The work is continuing at the Family Care Center site. Allan Wood, the brother of Patricia "Sister Schubert" Barnes is presently in Gorlovka and working at the site. We are almost finished with the sheetrock. The bathrooms are being tiled and will begin installing toilets, sinks, and other fixtures soon. Here are some pictures of the work being done outside on the solarium and some balconies. There is also a picture of Allan. Please keep the workers and the work in your prayers.

Ukrainian Friends

2007-08-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

This Summer two of our friends from Gorlovka, Ukraine came to the United States with us. Dasha Sverdlova was a patient of Dr. Joe Keller in Panama City, Florida while Ira Grabko was a patient of Dr. Jane Lamb in Luverne, Alabama. We thought Ira might need eye surgery, but thankfully she was fitted with new glasses and was able to get back to Ukraine at the end of July. Dasha had several appointments with Dr. Keller and last week had her braces removed. She flew back to Ukraine on Monday, August 20.

Many thanks to Dr. Lamb, Dr. Keller, Benji and Kim Nall, Howard and Carol Gray, George and Patricia Barnes, Tim and Tammala Spencer, Jerry and June Harrison and others who helped provide for Ira and Dasha while they were visiting in the States.

The pictures are of Dasha with Joe and Jane Keller. and then Dasha "all smiles" with Granny at the piano. (Dasha also got glasses while she was here!)

Children's Bible School (ages 5-12)

2007-06-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

We had about eighty 5-12 year old students each night. We had centers that included puppets, games, crafts and snacks. Then we all watched "The Prince of Egypt" together to close out the night. Each day we learned memory verses from the life of Moses.

Children's Bible School Photos

2007-06-16T12:57:00.001-07:00

Children's Bible School (Ages 2-4)

2007-06-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

This year for Children's Bible School we decided to have two sessions, one for ages two to four and the other for ages five through twelve. We had between 10 and 15 each day for the two to four class. (We thought we would have more four's than two's but we were wrong!) Our theme was "The Life of Moses" and the kids were great. As always we had a lot of help from the teens and adults at our church. It is so much fun working with these young children and teaching them to have faith.

Yalta Retreat 2007

2007-06-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great retreat last week in Yalta with the teens. Our theme was "Life on the Vine: Exploring Our Unity in Christ." In addition to daily Bible classes, we also had activities designed to promote unity and greater friendship among the teens, and, of course, we had a lot of time to play at the pool and the Black Sea. For me the highlight of the retreat was getting to baptize my daughter, Leanna. As always everyone had a wonderful time and came home to Gorlovka tired, but spiritually recharged. This is a good thing because we arrived in Gorlovka late Saturday night and began our marathon preparations for Children's Bible School on Sunday immediately following morning worship. I will post about Bible School soon.

Family Care Center Update

2007-05-29T02:01:00.000-07:00

The work is progressing at the Family Care Center. We are completing the balconies, putting up the stud walls in the final family apartment, and tiling the bathrooms and entryways. The walls in the apartments where the Sheetrock is hung are being smoothed and prepared for painting. The interior of the complex no longer looks like an old building, but rather like a nice apartment complex. This is the look we are working towards. Please keep this good work in your prayers. Don't forget about our Garden of Friends program - it is a great way for you to partner with us in making a difference in the lives of the children. (See the post "Garden of Friends" in the archives).

More Playground Photos

2007-05-23T03:21:00.000-07:00

Playground Improvments

2007-05-23T02:23:00.001-07:00

We spent the last few weeks renovating the playground. We added more attractions - a larger deck for the sandbox with a white picket fence, a cargo rope, a wooden incline with rope, a snake balance beam, a set of tires to climb (painted like a giant butterfly), a hop-scotch board, and a small picnic table. In addition we also painted the entire playground in a garden theme.

The neighbors are really helping with the playground and garden area. We had a lot of volunteer labor to help with the renovations. There are also people willing to help everyday watering and weeding the garden and watching out for the playground. It is great to see the growth of community spirit and pride that is occurring in our little neighborhood.