New Belts for Teen Orphan Girls

Last month we had the opportunity of going to a Humanitarian Aid conference in the capital city of Kiev. We were able to meet a very tender-hearted lady by the name of Nicole who works for the U.S. State Department. When she heard that our teen orphan girls were in need of some belts for an end-of-the-school-year parade, she reached into her pocket and gave us everything that she had in Ukrainian currency. The orphan girls sewed their own costumes for this parade, and we were able to take the money Nicole gave us and buy each of them the belts they needed. Here are some pictures of David and some of our Sunday-school teachers delivering the belts:

Next week, we will be purchasing about $20 worth of groceries at the market for the teen orphan girls to take some cooking lessons. I am pleased that the orphanage is taking care of teaching these girls to sew and cook. My greatest heart's desire is for our church to one day be able to get our Bible college to a full-time position, complete with a dormitory, so that the kids who desire to serve God in some way or another will have a place to go once they are too old to be taken care of at the orphanage. At the age of 17 or 18, they leave the orphanage to begin life on their own. Sadly, it is estimated that 35% of the Ukrainian orphan boys become criminals; 30% of girls become prosititues; and 15% of the orphans commit suicide. We so desire to give these kids Christ and teach them how to make a good life for themselves! How we hope to make a difference in their lives and see these statistics lowered!

Our home on the mission field

If you're anything like me, you want to know how people live. I love decorating and knowing people's tastes, so I am one of those people that goes into someone's home and wonders what is behind every door! Well, just in case you're like me, I'll gladly show you exactly what our house looks like. It is pretty "raw" right now, as it is still being built. For the time being, we are living in the VanSant's home. They are a missionary couple that is currently in America on furlough. They return to their home the second week in August, and we will begin living in our own home at that time. Will it be done in time? Well, I sure do hope so!

Just this last week, we had our well dug.... 52 meters deep (57 yards.... more than half a football field deep)! The well man said he has been digging wells for 30 years and has never seen water gush out of a well like it began gushing out of ours. God is blessing us in so many tremendous ways! We have lived for nearly seven years with "come and go" water, so I am thrilled at the thought of always having water!

Here are some quickie details about our house for those of you who may be wondering. Our house sits on about 1/3 of an acre. The house was originally to be nearly 1,600 square feet, but our builder convinced us to put an extra room up in the attic area. Since the project was already started, it took quite some time for us to figure out where to put the stairs. My guess would be that the house is now going to be nearly 2,000 square foot. It will be four bedrooms, 2 baths, with the smallest room being used as a school room since we homeschool.

There is still lots to be done, so please pray earnestly for us. I will keep you updated with the progress. Here are pictures that were taken just last week:

Our home - front view, with "well" workers busily working

Our home - back view

(That is styrofoam being put on the outside of the brick for insulation.)

Our home - front view of roof insulation and brick work

A Ukrainian Funeral

The mother of a lady in our church passed away last week, and I thought it might be interesting to our friends and family to see what a Ukrainian funeral looks like. The lady who passed away, Oksana, was 76 years old, and a born-again Christian. Her daughter Ella, is also saved and a member of our church. David conducted the funeral and many members from our church helped out in one way or another. What a comfort it is to know that people who are saved and have left this earth go straight to the arms of Jesus!