HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JULIA!!!! I am sorry I didn't post this ON her birthday! I have been having a bout with pneumonia. Her birthday was actually Sunday, the 22nd of March. So...if you think about it could you send her a little note of encouragement and Happy Birthday's!!!??? I know she would appreciate it!!!!!

Thank you Julia for all you do for Youth of Ukraine!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Christian Student Union, and Holiday's

On the 23rd of February we have a holiday when we honor the men in our families and society. It used to be a Day of Soviet Army but became a day of manhood. On the 8th of March we have a Women's Day when we honor women. So in the CCX (Christian Student Union) we had two parties. The 23rd of February party was at our flat. There were 3 orphanage graduates and two girls who are still in the orphanage. On the 8th of March party came two girls (Alina and Ira) from the orphanage. They really enjoyed the parties and want to come again to the events of the CCX. We are very glad that they can meet other young Christians. This is our dream for the orphanage students and graduates to be involved in this great organization that provides them with many opportunities to study the Word of God with other young believers. Recently I (Julia) started to study the Bible with Ira. Please pray that God gives me wisdom in this and work in Ira's heart so she may grow in her personal relationship with Jesus.

Gifts, gifts, and MORE gifts!! THANK YOU!!!

In February and March we went twice to the place for the kids from 3 to 8 years old who are in the TB group of risk. Most of them are orphans or kids from homes where parents are drug and/or alchohol addicted. Right now there are 20 kids. When we went there the first time we delivered the Christmas gifts collected by the churches in the States. I want to thank again everyone who participated in the Christmas gifts project! We made many kids happy (about 300 gifts were collected, wrapped and delivered to 4 orphanages). Thank you again! In March we went to deliver them some of the things they asked for: underwear for the kids, clothes (special thank you goes to Sharon and Pat Paterson who donated some of the clothes for the kids), toilet paper, detergent and soap enough for two months (special thanks goes to our Ukrainian friend who donated money to buy that and chose to stay anonymous). Our friend donated a lot of childrens books and videos with cartoons that they will use to entertain the kids. We are very blessed to be in a team of all these people who donated in this way or another to we can bring some good and useful things to the kids.

Thanks to our Ukrainian friends!

When we went to Troitskoe this month we delivered 33 nice sport type jackets and pants for the kids there. Special thank you for tha,t goes to our Ukrainian friends ( a family) who donated money to buy it.

Thanks to Pat and Sharon Paterson!

Pat and Sharon Paterson sent Julia and Sergey a large amount of blankets and other necessities...we are so thankful to them for helping out the kids like they have. Here is their story.

Our youngest son passed away in December of 2000. We wanted to do something to keep his memory alive. In 2004, our niece and her husband traveled to the Ukraine to adopt a darling little boy. She told us about the dire needs of the children in orphanages. We began sponsoring children; all total with family and friends we have sponsored 9 children. Even though we were sponsoring children we felt we could do more. Thus we started “Blankets in Memory Of Brian. We are happy we could make a difference in a child’s life.
Pat & Sharon Paterson

In the pictures are a few of the 12 boxes that we got from Pat and Sharon Paterson. Half of the things which were sent we delivered to an orphanage for the kids with special needs about 2 hours away from Odessa. The staff was very thankful and happy, they really liked nice blankets. We still have other things to deliver to another orphanage.

A BIG thanks!

Thank you to our generous donors, Jason and Stacia Siemer and their family, Payton, Hailey and Anthony! They donated $1,000 recently to Youth of Ukraine! Thank you SO much!

Compassion

Compassion … means to suffer with another. It means that when another person experiences pain or sorrow, we feel that pain. Throughout the Gospels we read that Jesus was moved with compassion—for the multitudes, for two blind men, for a leper, for a widow whose only son had died, for orphans. … Yet the disciples had a difficult time learning this quality of compassion. When people in one village did not welcome Jesus, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" (Luke 9:54, NKJV).

Jesus said, "The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them" (Luke 9:56).… The place to learn compassion is here, right now. The Apostle Peter wrote, "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate" (1 Peter 3:8, NIV).