On behalf of the children and staff of the government run foster/orphanage, thank you for your generosity! It was amazing today to supply a timely sum of cash in a moment of need – the director of the orphanage was in a panic as the government had failed to provide funds promised in time for the holiday weekend –
The rest of the money will go towards clothing (letting the kids pick some out), and building materials as the reconstruction beings.
Besides running around trying to help organize some things with the school and kids, we’ve had an eventful week at the Cafe. Our fire alarm system is installed, and tomorrow we sign the final papers and receive our coveted stamp.
The gas company continues to fail us. This week was another promised deadline, but has come and gone without a viable explanation. Sometimes I wonder if there is actually a gas company.. or just some buildings with bodies in them. Yet, we preparing to open anyway and planning a coffee night, by invitation only to folks in the town, neighbors, students, friends – we are testing some roasts and choosing which brands by democratic vote!
Tomorrow is Victory Day in Ukraine. It’s ironic that Ukraine is planning a celebration of the fallen Soviet Hero’s (of which Ukraine lost the most), during a time when Russia is threatening along it’s borders, and inciting within. Tonight we received two alerts from the US government to avoid public parades and basically stay in doors because of possible pro-russian provocation.
All eyes are on the presidential elections on of this month. Nobody is certain that these elections will take place with the existing tension or without more bloodshed. The only difference we notice in our area is when you travel into Kiev – there are more police and occasionally highways reduced to one lane at checkpoints. They seem to be looking for larger caravans of ‘things’ , and I found several gas/propane/chemical type transports pulled over and discussing with police.
Anyway, thankful to be here at this time. The fire has incited some new relationship building, and allowed for some open doors. Today Dema, Kolya and I went and visited some of the older teens at the orphanage in Burty. They ended up being really sweet kids once we started chatting and messing around. Many of them grew up in the Kuzmenci orphanage and know some Christian friends of ours that used to visit regular and teach bible lessons, do crafts before our kids started attending that school. It’s neat to know there are some gospel seeds sown in their hearts and perhaps by the grace of God, all they need is some watering to produce growth for the Kingdom. We plan to come back next week for a game of soccer and maybe teach them baseball (none of them have ever caught with a glove).
Pray for us in the coming weeks as we go out there, and visit both sets of kids. We’d like to invite some Ukrainians with a heart to build relationships with these older ones. In a year or two, most of them will be totally on their own, with very few places to go. We’d love for them to feel like the Cafe a place to be, be loved and grow in a relationship with God.
This weekend we will be staying overnight in Kiev with a family from the church. They are a neat Ukranian family that speak Russian – we’ve prayed for more Russian immersion, and God gave us Ukrainians with a house big enough for our entire crew! We’ll also be eating a lot:)
Bruce & Deborah Crowe Missionaries | Ukraine