My friend Vanya

One of the great blessings I receive from living in Ukraine is the friendship of so many wonderful people. Our church family is close knit and vibrant. Here is a story from one of my teen friends, Vanya, concerning a recent lesson and its application...

Do you want to hear an illustration for your sermon on false commitments? Yesterday after the class I took Dasha and Masha home. I visited a little and when I decided to go home it was about 10:20 p.m. I was going to the bus stop thinking how nice it would be if the bus would come at once. It's not very pleasant to be waiting in the cold. I was about 200 metres away from the bus stop when I saw the bus there! I started running asking God to make the bus wait for me. I didn't have much hope, because I was too far and buses do not stay for more than a minute. I was running and the bus was still there! So to my great joy and surprise I got to the bus praising God for the miracle. But my surprise got even bigger when I found out that it was a WRONG BUS! I almost felt God laughing! I realized how foolish I was! Instead of asking God to help me get home quickly and safely, I asked for that crazy bus to wait for me, because I thought I knew better!
Today before the Lord's Supper I told the Church this story and the point was that luckily, our Lord didn't ask me how I wanted to be saved!

Successful Trip...

I am now back in Panama City, Florida after a short trip to Gorlovka. I was accompanied by Ray Wilcox and Tim Spencer. Ray is a video production specialist who is working on a DVD for the Family Care Center project. Tim is a friend from the Palo Alto Church of Christ who accompanied me to help with whatever projects came up! He did not know before going the kinds of projects that can arise in Ukraine...

We had a great trip and Ray and Tim were both favorably impressed with their Ukrainian experience. If you would like to read about their adventures in Gorlovka click on this link: http://www.ukraineorphanage.blogspot.com/ I think you will find their blog enjoyable.

The church family is doing well in Gorlovka. All our services and classes are well attended despite the severe cold. I will attach a few pictures of recent events with the church family.

Please keep the Family Care Center project in your prayers. We have an ambitious schedule that will only be possible with your prayers and God's blessings.

Grace and peace,
Kenny Payne

Bowling with the Youth Group

Recently a new bowling center opened in Gorlovka. Most of our youth group have never been bowling so we decided to plan a little party for them. On Monday afternoon 18 of us went and bowled for about 2 hours. It was a great time and I just wanted to share some pictures with you.

Baby Stories

(Tim with Sasha Korotya) (Child found last week in Gorlovka)

I have had the opportunity to visit with Sergei and Luda Korotya a couple of times in the past week. It has been very enjoyable to hear of their "new life" with Sasha. He is growing and is a very plesant baby. They are so thrilled to have him in their family.
When Sergei and Luda took Sasha home from the hospital, some of the nurses who work with Sergei thought they would move so that no one would know that Sasha is adopted. There is a stigma here about adoption and many people do not know the joys of adding a child to their family. Well, time has passed and Sergei is being a faithful witness to the power of adoptive love. Now one of the nurses on his floor is interested in adotping a little boy who was recently found abandoned on the street in a plastic shopping bag. We are praying for her famiy as they begin the process.
Yesterday Luda told us about her cousin who visited in Gorlovka recently and discovered that the Korotya's adopted Sasha. She was quite surprised. Then Luda said, "You should really consider doing it. You need a little girl in your family." Well, her cousin looked at her like that was the worst suggestion she had ever heard. But a day or two ago, she received a call from her cousin who said, "I have been dreaming about your suggestion. Each day as I walk to work I imagine holding my baby girl. I have already figured out where to put her bed. We are coming to Gorlovka soon and getting a baby!"
Please pray for our precious children and the families that God has in mind to adopt them.

Church Christmas Parties

Both the adults and the teens at the church had Christmas Parties recently. I thought you might enjoy seeing pictures.

Fence Completed

The fence around the Family Care Center is (almost) completed! It looks great. We will finish painting it in the spring (it will be black, not red). The progress around the Family Care Center is really starting to be evident. Thanks for your generosity that makes it all possible.

Hospital Christmas Party

The annual Hospital Christmas party was a great event this year, even though the Payne's were not there to enjoy it! The babies all recieved presents along with the staff. The hospital staff is simply incredible in how they love and nurture our abandoned children. Thanks for your generosity that makes not only Christmas parties but also daily life possible for these children and their caregivers.

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.