A Fishermen's Net

Every night before bed, my three year old daughter and I sit and read a short story from her Toddler's Bible. One of the stories recently from Matthew 13:47-49, really caught my attention. It is a story I have heard several times throughout my life...but for some reason...the simple way that it was written in this Toddler Bible was all I needed to fully comprehend it. It goes as follows:

Jesus told a story. "One day, " he said, "some fishermen took their boat out." "They threw their net into the water. All kinds of fish swam in the lake." "When the fishermen returned to shore, they dragged their net out of the water and looked through their catch," said Jesus. "They kept all the good fish and tossed out all the bad fish." Jesus said, "The fishermen's net is like God's kingdom." "Everyone watns to be apart of His kingdom. But the angels will come and separate the godly people from the ungoldy people." "The godly people will live in heaven with me forever."





Now...I know that the story is so simple...and it is something that most of us probably grew up learning...but it really paints a picture for you. Have you ever envisioned yourself as one of those fish? Wouldn't you like to be a sparkling, healthy fish, rather than a scrawny, unkempt fish?

They Don't Find It

Billy Graham speaks about the search for meaning and contentment:

Young people are searching for something … anything to find peace and happiness in a world that seems to have gone mad and insane. Nothing seems to make sense to some of our young people anymore. And many of the people that are your heroes, and many of the people that you think are at the top, are really in their hearts at the bottom—searching. They don't find it in all this popularity. They don't find it in all the adulation. They don't find it in money. They don't find it in some other philosophy. But they can find it in Jesus Christ, and so can you.

Thanks to our September donors!!!!

Thank you VERY much to our September donors!! We couldn't do this without you!!! Every penny helps...every prayer helps!!!!

Laurie and Edward Push

Kathryn and Daniel Alexander

Vera and Ken Gustafson

Kimberle and David Wolff

If you are interested in donating, please contact me at jtfilleman@cox.net. You can mail a check to 6012 S. 149th St., Omaha, NE 68137. We are non-profit...EVERY penny goes directly to Ukraine. We keep NONE of it. If it is a one time donation you will receive a receipt immediately. If it is monthly donation, you will receive a receipt at the end of the year.

THANKS FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR VERY GRATEFUL HEARTS!!!

Deuteronomy 10:18

Helping orphans is a direct reflection of the heart of our heavvenly Father, who, "defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow"(Deuteronomy 10:18).

Can you think of anything more frightening for a child than to enter the world without knowing security, reassurance and stability that a family can bring? I am not saying that we all need to go out and adopt. We are not all called to adopt, but Julia and Sergey help these young people to feel that security...give them reassurance and stability...their ministry is SO important.

I hope that you and your loved ones will develop a deeper sense of concern and empathy for the millions of kids worldwide who begin their lives without the loving influence of a mom and dad.

If your church has not become actively involved in this issue, you might encourage your pastor or church leadership to take up the torch. And maybe you will also consider whether God might be leading you personally to make a difference in the life of an orphan no matter how little.

Have you ever thought about how many orphans there are in the world?

When you hear the word orphan...what do you think of? China? Russia? Ukraine? Romania? Africa? The United States? Around the world, there are more than 143 MILLION orphans. They live on the streets, in train and bus stations, and often care for younger brothers and sisters.

The worldwide church is best equipped to address this issue. So what are we waiting for??? Let's get going!!!

Great Quote

I felt that this quote was excellent for our cause.

"Never doubt that a small gruop of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Keep the prayers going up...Youth of Ukraine will be fully financed in the 2008/2009 year...I just know it! I can feel it!!! This small group of people that are thoughtful and committed will make it happen!!! Pass on our info to anyone and everyone! Let's make a HUGE difference this year in the lives of the Ukrainian orphans!!

Boosting Self-Worth

Did you know that as early as age 3 or 4, kids start to ask basic self-worth questions? Who am I? Who needs me? Who cares about me? Every child starts to gather evidence to answer these questions and more. Each mistake, each time he or she is not invited to a party or picked for a team, called a name, it all gets stored in his or her memory bank. When the child starts going into adolescence, all of that comes back with an explosive force to attack his or her sense of self-worth.

There is a story about a farmer who found an eagle down by the lake on his property. One of its legs had been caught in a steel trap, but even though it was heavy and it was in pain, the bird flew many miles, but now was totally exhausted. A damaged self concept is like that. You can fly with it for awhile, but it weighs you down. Unless you, or someone else, can find a way to deal with it...remove the trap....it will ground you and lead to your destruction. The high incidence of teen suicide may relate to this lack of confidence.

Think of these kids in Ukraine who are lost souls. Who have no parents to love them. Their only love and support are coming from the busy workers in the orphanages and hopefully, they are lucky enough to meet Julia and Sergey who will give them that unconditional love that they are so desperate to have. When children are weighed down by those steel jaws created by a crisis of confidence, they need to have a response of love, understanding and affirmation. If they don't get that, terrible things can happen...rebellion, running away, suicide.

Please continue to support Julia and Sergey through Youth of Ukraine both financially and prayerfully so that they can give these lost kids the love and understanding and affirmation that they so DESPERATELY need. By helping to boost others' self-concept, we are mirroring the heart of God, "who comforts the downcast" (2 Corinthians 7:6).