Winter Wonderland

The Family Care Center is covered in snow, but the work continues. The fence is almost completed and progress continues on the brickwork to install new windows. The pictures speak for themselves. Blessings to you and your family for Christmas and the New Year.

Work Continues

The work at the Family Care Center is moving along despite the cold and snow. The fence is almost half way complete and it looks great (if you are able to use you imagination to supply the landscaping!). Igor and crew are working in the second building to remove old windows, do brickwork to make the holes the appropriate size and install the new windows. Please keep this project in your prayers.

The ladies of the church had Ladies Night Out last week and even without Lora they did a great job and from the reports I heard they had a great time. Our teens are still coming faithfully to the weekly devotionals despite the cold snowy weather. See attached pictures.

The Payne family is getting settled in Panama City and anticipating an enjoyable Christmas. We had a great Thanksgiving with our family.

We pray God's richest blessings on you and your family and thank you for being such faithful ministry partners.

If you are looking for a great place to make a year-end contribution, then consider giving to Cross Culture for the Orphanage Project. Your donation will be matched by the Barnes Family Foundation and your generosity will lead to a great home for our precious abandoned children in Gorlovka, Ukraine.

Baby Blessing For Sasha Korotya

Today following our morning worship we had a Baby Blessing and Shower for the Korotya family. It was a great time of joy and fellowship for our church family. This week Sergei and Luda were finally able to bring little Sasha home from the hospital. While his health is fine he was not able to join their family until all the paperwork was competed giving them guardianship. Today we pledged as a church family to be a source of encouragement and help to Luda and Sergei and family as they raise Sasha in their Christian home. The generosity of the church family, so evident in the gifts given to Sasha, truly overwhelmed the Korotya family. It is good to have a spiritual family that supports every good work you do. Enjoy the pictures.

Learning From Our Children

Today was an exciting day of worship for several of our teens. They have been Christians for a number of years, and today their mothers were at worship with them. Alesya's mom has been coming for a few months, Vanya's mom has come only a few weeks and today Natasha's mom finally came with her. They are some happy teens. I am reminded of the passage that said "a little child shall lead them..." I know that the original meaning of that passage was not about children bringing their parents to faith, but somehow it comes to my mind every time I see these dedicated teens bringing their mothers to worship. Please pray that the spiritual commitments of the children will be picked up by the parents.

Korotya Family Grows

Today was an exciting day for our church family. Sergei and Luda Korotya brought home their new "bundle of joy" - Sasha. They are proud guardians, in the process of adoption. Sergei is the chief doctor on the first floor of the Baby Hospital. He has worked for years with the abandoned children and has such a heart for these children. But late one night last month he simply fell in love with an abandoned child who was brought to the hospital only hours after birth. So when Sergei expressed his desire to Luda, they began the process of seeking guardianship of "Sasha." Today that process was completed and they were able to take Sasha home. It was quite a day, both at the hospital where all of Sergei's co-workers threw a great celebration, and at the Korotya's home where they were finally able to welcome Sasha. Please keep the Korotya family in your prayers as they make the adjustments of having a new baby in the house.

Ladies Night Out

Lora had her final Ladies Night Out for 2005 tonight. They worked on Christmas Wreaths. Since we will be leaving soon, Lora wanted the ladies to have the chance do a Christmas craft. There were about 20 ladies present. The most exciting part about ladies night out is that several of our teens have their mothers coming to worship now and they were also involved in Ladies Night Out. In addition there are other visitors attending as well. As you can see, where ever Lora goes a craft is sure to follow.

Work Continues at Family Care Center

The work goes on in cold and rain at the Family Care Center. The bricklayers are making great progress on the upstairs of the first wing and some windows have already been installed. It is enough to generate excitement because seeing that progress it is easy to imagine more.
Work will begin on the fence next week. They are people digging the foundation to the solarium/playroom, as you can see in the pictures. Everyone is starting to believe that the project is going to be completed...

Family Care Center update

Work is progressing at the Family Care Center. The architect is working on the blueprints. The plumbers have moved inside and are working on the sewer pipes. The brick-layers are working on the second apartment. I am attaching pictures of the architectural drawing for the Family Care Center. Stay posted for more updates.

Children's Home Update

Work is progressing at the kindergarten. The plumbers are working to complete the sewage end of the project and they will soon begin working on the inside plumbing. There are bricklayers working now to fill in the large window holes to make them fit the new standard size windows. Windows are ordered and should arrive by the end of the week or the first of next week. Since so much is happening right now it seems like a bigger mess than it was, but it is also easy to notice the progress when you walk on-site. It is getting exciting...
The weather has turned cold (38 when Leanna, Igor and I went for our morning walk!). Please pray for a warm front to come through and stay for about two months - that would really help us with the brick work and other projects! Thanks.

Fall In Gorlovka

The weather is changing, leaves are falling off the trees. A cold front will be blowing through in a couple of days. The signs are pointing to winter that is surely on its way. Yet there is much to do before the snow arrives. We are working diligently to get the windows replaced in one wing of the kindergarten so that the brick work can be completed before the cold prevents us from doing it. I hope to paint the outside of the worship room next week. The plumbing work is progressing quickly and the electrical contractor will begin his work soon. The architect is completing drafts of the project this week and we should be able to pick them up next week. Please keep all the work at the children's home project in your prayers.

We are having good attendance at worship and Bible studies. There is a lot of excitment in the church family right now. Our new sisters are doing great in their new walk with Jesus.