HungryForLifeInternational

(Sorry, Photo's not uploading)

After three days of tough negotiation we were able to purchase a home for a lady named Ruth. Ruth is a lady from John and Nadia's church whose husband has been unjustly accused of a crime. He has been imprisoned.
Ruth and her family were missionaries in Russia before
all of this had happened. Ruth is unable to rely on
her family for help. We had the opportunity to purchase this home for her on behalf of the many people who have contributed to this home. The team that came before us left a very significant amount of money for the purchase of this home. And, along with that amount, there were some individuals who made some substantial donations. Our team was able to donate the final amount that was needed to make up the total purchase price. We were able to complete the transactions, on behalf of so many who had a heart for this family.

Ruthanne and Edna were able to visit was to Svetlana's home. She is a bed ridden widow. What a blessing to see how God is using this woman to reach others.
Instead of feeling sorry about her circumstances, she is praising God and blessing others. Praise be to God that she was such a blessing to us too!!

And in the evening Mary and Janelle were able to make a final visit to Victoria's home. We had just the right amount of shoes and sized to outfit 4 children from this family. These were the left over shoes from the orphanage. We count this as a modern day miracle from God. As we talked to the family they told us of how this special help from the Christian brothers and sisters in Canada have impacted their lives. We were able to share with them the privilege we have to be able to facilitate the funds of all who give to the Ukraine.

We traveled about 200 km to the Priazovye Orphanage for a 2 day visit. In 2007, the orphanage celebrated its 5th anniversary. This is a Christian orphanage that lives by faith. There are 34 workers and 38 children who range in age from 3 to 18 years. The government checks on them regularly and sets a high standard for them to attain but doesn't give them any funds. As our team arrived, the children ran towards use, grabbing our hands with excitement. It was overwhelming to see these beautiful children who greeted us by calling us "mama". There were so many heart-wrenching stories, such as 4 beautiful children from one family, taken from their home because of alcoholism and abuse - this story was repeated many times over.





One of the first things we did was view the workshop that had been renovated with the monies donated to the Mark Tiegen Memorial Fund. The building was a shell before they put on a new roof, insulated & stuccoed the exterior walls, redid the floor & interior walls.
We were impressed by their accountability in supplying receipts for every penny they spent. Its amazing how quickly they get things done. It was Mark's desire to see young people receiving training in a trade and this workshop will provide the opportunity for boys aged 16 - 18 to learn skills in repairing vehicles.




They will now be able to start purchasing some of the required equipment, however additional funds are still required to complete this project. The boys are looking forward to getting started with two old cars awaiting mechanical and body work. The Lord has already provided a qualified instructor who will donate his time. Praise be to God for this project!
We shared meals with the children & staff and slept there overnight. Mary and Janelle were doing English grammar homework with 2 of the children until 11 pm.
We had purchased shoes and socks for the children prior to coming, so we set up a "shoe store", brought them in 3 at a time with us clerks waiting on them to get the right size and supplying each of them with 2 pairs of socks. It was so much fun. For those whose sizes we didn't have, we told them we would go to the market and purchase a very special pair. We left a suitcase of candy, toys, clothes & toothbrushes for them. After supper, the children sang for us and then we made animal balloons for each of them. The older ones immediately got involved.



Ruthanne and Mary spent several hours helping to purchase food from wholesale outlets in the city - meat, fish, fruit, flour, sugar, dairy products and other supplies. The Rice Raiser initiative provided $1000 for this pre-campaign food distribution. It was especially exciting for Ruthanne as she is actively involved with this ministry.








Praise God for this Christian orphanage in Eastern Ukraine where the children are loved, taught the word of God, receiving an education and having their physical needs supplied. They live by faith when a need arises and the children are called to pray. Each of us had attached ourselves to the children and it was hard to leave them behind.

Fraser Valley Team

On Sunday morning we had the privilege to visit the church where John and Nadia pastor. What a great time we had. How wonderful it was it to see so many faces of the people we had made connections with on our very first visit to the Ukraine. We each had the opportunity to say what God has shown us about this ministry since our last visit, and the impact from the visits and donations received over the last few years.

thank you for the prayers , we feel God is totally in the midst of all the things we did today. He led us to a foster home of 24 children and youth.
What a family! Both the husband and wife care for all the children. We met one of the foster daughters who is married with 2 children and lives in the neighbourhood. You could see the love and care between the three generations. What a blessing it was to see how content and happy they are despite their poor circumstances.




We were able to shop and bring lots of groceries, hygiene supplies and goodies. Shopping was quite an event as we had 5 shopping carts full at the checkout and every move was observed by security officers, staff and onlookers - it seems we made a spectacle.






The family was very grateful for these supplies and the way God continues to provide for their needs. Pray for this family and continue to pray for us as we visit more families tomorrow.

Mary Martz
HFL Team Leader

Great news, the team and all the luggage made it to Kiev. Team is currently driving down to the guest house in Nikopol in which they are looking forward to getting their project started.
We will keep you posted