Teacher, Mother, Pastor

Teacher

I am teaching English as a Second Language. Our goal is to benefit as many at-risk families as possible by partnering with the Emergency Outreach Team at our two Achievement Centers. The Achievement Center on the left-bank of Kiev has proven to be very effective for the at-risk families on that side of the city. It is still functioning.

Over the last year the Emergency Outreach Team have reached more families on the other side of the city. As a result, we have opened another Achievement Center on the right-bank of Kiev. I teach English at the right-bank Center on Tuesdays: I have 2 groups with 16 students total. I would like to be there another day and I want to take my older students to mentor them. We also teach them life skills, as well as spiritual disciplines. My goal is to help them discover their other gifts and talents that God has given them, for them to pursue English more deeply, and possibly even be a teacher themselves in the future. We are seeking more staff to teach at both Centers.

In the summer, I am hoping to hold a cooking camp with the kids who are from my English class. By using English as the base, we would teach them basic cooking skills.

Mother

Arkadiy and I have taken four children under foster care (according to the government regulations but in our hearts and minds they are adopted as our own children).  The children are now: Jennifer –20 yrs, Zhenya-18 yrs, Keera-9 yrs, Arthur-7yrs.

Jennifer has moved to another city in Ukraine – 600 kms from us. She is working and supporting herself, We keep in touch with her and send her care packages that include an encouraging note and her favorite homemade foods. We pray for her every day that God will give her wisdom and direction.

Zhenya is living with us. He has befriended a lot of Christian people from our church. Zhenya is currently looking for work. We are praying for him every day and trusting God to guide him in finding his path of work or education.

Keera and Arthur have started Grade 1 at a special education school. At this school there are small classes, so they get one-on-one attention. The teachers do their homework with them each day.

Keera has continuing medical issues – kidney problems and developmental issues. This last year we discovered that Keera only has 50 percent hearing in both ears, she has hearing aids for both ears. She also got glasses as she is far-sighted. Having hearing aids and new glasses have dramatically impacted her education and we are seeing her develop amazingly. She is struggling with being away from me, both of them are, so it is a bit traumatic each day for them to be gone the whole day. I try to help this by picking them up early two times a week and they participate in my English classes at the Achievement Center, and another group I teach on Thursdays. Keera is remembering more details of what she is studying. She is talking in more logical sentences and communicating her thoughts. She is interested in music, dancing and all active activities. We would like to put both of them in musical lessons – singing and learning an instrument. We would like to do this later in the year so they do not become overwhelmed.

Arthur has very poor eyesight – pretty much completely blind in one eye. He can see a bit peripherally and the other eye is 20 percent. Glasses assist but they are not the long term answer. His biological mother is blind and grandmother legally blind. Arthur’s eyesight has been decreasing and we are praying for a miracle. We have an appointment with a specialist in December 2021. Hopefully an operation can be done to restore his eyesight.

Since both smaller children are in school this frees me up to help Vera out with ministry trips and meeting with the Emergency Outreach Team.

We are planning to take more children in but probably near the end of next year (2022). Currently, we are very busy with the medical issues of our two little ones and with our two older children adjusting to adult life, we think it best to wait until these issues settle down before bringing any more children into the family.

Pastor

I am a teacher at church. Since some time has freed up I would like to be part of the outreach ministry of our church. On Wednesdays there is a team that feeds people (at-risk families or low-income families). There are many children who come to the meal. I would like to bring together a team of people to work with those children, to teach in a Sunday School fashion – showing God’s love through Bible object lessons, crafts, and by building relationships with them. I am seeking out people to teach with me as I need assistance with the language - not everyone understands my accent and how I speak. Als,o it is important to involve more people so that one person is not responsible for everything. My goal is to mentor the next team of leaders, to work with young people and other parents.

My plan is to do some sort of summer camp with them, possibly a day camp. I will submit a proposal for the Pastors at the church so that I can get their support and also will be seeking resources to fund the camp.

WHAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED TO DATE

• We have taken in 4 children into our home and family. Two of which are young adults. One is living with us and we are helping support until he can find full-time work. Both our older children have applied for a government-funded apartment – an entitlement for orphaned children. Jennifer is still waiting and Zhenya has just been put on the waiting list. We are planning to take in more children probably near the end of 2022 because of the uncertainty and adapting of the others.

• We have a small house 30 kms outside of Kiev. Because of the needs of the two little children, the location of their school and their doctors and our church, we are planning on selling it and trying to get another one in Hostomel which is closer to all of these things.

• Our Achievement Center in Kiev has been in operation for 7 years and will continue to work. We have opened a 2nd Achievement Center on the right-bank of Kiev to reach more children and at-risk families.

Facebook-Emergency Outreach Program

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