I will praise Him for He is worthy!
Ruslan and I have not been to a baby orphanage in a very long time and as you can see from the faces on these kiddos, it’s one reason we haven’t. It’s so unbelievable hard to imagine someone leaving these little ones and the entire time we were with them, they all just wanted to be held and loved on.
2020 has gotten off to a rough start this year for us in Ukraine. We had a good new years celebration and even had a team here with us where we visited some families, partnered with OM to share Jesus birth through a puppet show in several villages and visited orphanages. After the team left was the beginning of what seems like a battle, but praise God, He’s the one that fights our battles and no weapon formed against us shall proper!
Many of you know our dear friends and pastor, Igor and Lena. In just a few weeks their lives changed instantly as they found out their younger daughter has stage 3 leukemia and within the first day she was admitted into the hospital they were told there are no guarantees she will even make it the week. But, our God is merciful and a healer and He heard all the prayers from all over the world and she got better and well enough to travel. They have uprooted their lives and family and moved to Spain in order to get her treatment. She needs intensive Chemo and a bone marrow transplant, which is not done here in Ukraine. What a whirlwind of a few weeks, but they are currently in Spain and have checked Alina into the hospital and are beginning all the tests and things she needs done in order to begin treatment. They are saying it will take 3-5 years. We will be keeping everyone posted on how they are doing. This is going to be quite the financial burden on them as there is no insurance that covers the cost and so all expenses are out of pocket. Therefore, if anyone is interested in helping them, you can do so by making a donation to Raising Hope and we will make sure they receive the funds in Spain. But most of all they are grateful and thankful for each of your prayers.
We, as a family, have been battling sickness as well. Francesca got the flu along with some other junk that had her throwing up so much she got dehydrated and we had to be admitted to the hospital for a couple of days and has been sick for the past week. Praise God she is better today and getting better every day! Along side Franya, I, Archie, got the flu as well. AND… Diana at the same time was admitted into the hospital with a kidney infection and is currently still in the hospital but doing much better as well (she sent me a picture of her arm with the iv). She has been there for almost a week now.
Alongside all the sicknesses, teenager hormones, and other relational issues with some of the children, we had to say goodbye to our dear friends, under poor circumstances, take on responsibilities within the church and the crisis center, which was just opened in January, prepping for 8 teams this summer, responsibilities at home and family and somehow keep ourselves healthy and stable for each other. We will praise Him for He is worthy!
God is still God and He is faithful!
The crisis center has helped over 70 families in just over a month! We are excited about getting a kitchen in place to be able to have some hot meals for those in need.
Even through all the difficulties, God is still God and He is still faithful and there are so many people in need and are walking hard days and we would like to continue helping those in need. We are very excited to say that Raising Hope has grown so much over the past years with teams, projects and donations that we have had to hire an accountant stateside to handle the bookkeeping for Raising Hope stateside. We will also be hiring some help here in Ukraine for Raising Hope ministry support because of the additional responsibilities of ministry we are taking on. Also, we are growing in our needs financially as a family and ministry. With the upkeep of the homes, education for the kids and ministry needs, we are asking for you all to pray and consider partnering with us on a monthly basis. If you are interested in partnering you may do so online at www.raisinghopeukraine.com (you can set up a monthly payment via paypal) or send a check monthly to the address below. We are grateful for all your prayers and support and look forward to all that the Lord has in store for 2020! May God bless you!
| All donations are tax deductible and can be made made online at: www.raisinghopeukraine.com or by sending a check to: Raising Hope Ukraine 836 Appenzell Dr. Hummesltown, PA 17036 |
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