Children's Bible School (ages 5-12)

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

Children's Bible School (Ages 2-4)

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

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

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

Playground Improvments

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.

Easter Egg Hunt and Party

Saturday, April 8th, we had our annual Easter Egg Hunt. Nearly 40 kids attended and quite a few parents. As usual the kids had a great time hunting eggs and playing games. This year Lora had a craft for the kids, a bag/backpack to decorate then use to collect the eggs. We also had a great meal following the egg hunt.

We hope that you have a great Easter wherever you are. Because of the resurrection of Jesus we are all full of new life - kingdom life!

Baby Hospital and Family Care Center

Here are some recent photos from the Baby Hospital and the Family Care Center. Please keep both of these good works in your constant prayers. Thanks.

Weekend in Gorlovka

Greetings Cross Culture family and friends. We had a great weekend with all our classes and worship on Sunday. The weather warmed up a bit (but then we awoke to snow on Monday morning!). Oh, well, you can't have everything. I thought you might enjoy some pictures of the kid's class, teen class, and Sunday worship service. Enjoy.

Garden of Friends

Cross Culture, Inc. has provided assistance for abandoned children in Gorlovka, Ukraine since January 2000. We began dreaming several years ago of building a home for those children that would provide a stable, family atmosphere until they could all find their “forever families.” We have been working on that dream for the past three years and it is close to becoming a reality.
By the end of 2007 we expect that the Family Care Center will be completely renovated and fully operational. But for that to be the case we need your help.
We are beginning a fund raising campaign called “Garden of Friends.” It is a way for you to help us complete the Family Care Center. You can leave a lasting legacy of your gift for all the residents of and visitors to the Family Care Center to see and enjoy.

We need 1,000 friends to give $500 each to complete the project. Your gift will be acknowledged with a granite tile engraved with your name and place of residence. These granite tiles will be used to create our “Garden of Friends” in the courtyard of the Family Care Center. This courtyard will be a wonderful place for our residents to relax and enjoy being outside. The engraved tiles will be a constant reminder of the many friends who cared enough to provide this wonderful place for the children who were once abandoned. Your loving gift will serve as a daily reminder that they are never abandoned by the Lord!

Your gift is much more than a tile in a courtyard, as nice as that will be. It helps provide a loving, caring home for children who otherwise would likely live in an institutional setting and never know what it feels like to live in a family.

If you would like to support the Garden of Friends please print the following information, fill it out and mail it to Cross Culture, Inc.

_____ $500 - One engraved tile
_____ $1,000 - Two engraved tiles
_____ $1,500 - Three engraved tiles

Please engrave my tile(s) with the following information…
Name: ______________________________________________________
City: _______________________________________________________

Please make your check payable to Cross Culture, Inc. and put Garden of Friends in notation. Mail it to Cross Culture, Inc. P.O. Box 505 Luverne, AL 36049.
Your gift is tax deductible for the full amount. You will receive a thank you letter and tax receipt when your gift is received by Cross Culture, Inc. Your gift will be matched by the Barnes Family Foundation. Thanks for your generosity.

Growing Babies

For a small church family, we are abundantly blessed with children and teens. We focus a lot of energy on our minstries to children and teens. While some churches like to keep the kids "quiet and out of the way" we decided that Jesus was serious when he sat a child on his lap and encouraged his disciples to become like the child.
As many of you know, our friends Sergei and Luda Korotya adopted a baby last year. His name is Sasha and he is adorable. He is wlking pretty well now and he strolls all over the worship room every Sunday morning. It is fun to watch all the people hold their arms out to Sasha as he gets anywhere near them (yes, I do it, too) and to see the expressions on his face as he decides who to bless with his presence. He, along with Lexi and Katya, are a source of joy for our church family. As long as there are the sounds of little feet and small voices there is continuing life in the church family.

Visit from Brett and Alicia White

This weekend Brett and Alicia White are visiting with us. They live in Kiev and are doing two years of intensive language study to prepare them for work in Ukraine. We have corresponded with one another for about a year but have never met one another, although we have a lot of common friends.

They arrived on Friday morning on the 7:30 AM train and will leave Sunday evening at 7 PM. During their visit we have spent a lot of time talking and have also visited the Family Care Center, the Children's Hospital and the Teen Bible Class. It is great to make new friends.

Here are some pictures from our visit to the Baby Hospital. Enjoy...