June 2020 Project Update:
Ministry of mercy
Nikopol, Ukraine:
The service of mercy in our church developed gradually, it started as a group of sisters in Christ (9 ladies) supporting each other in this ministry. One of the sisters, Lyubov Malnev (she was 80 years old at the time), sacrificed constantly for this ministry setting an example for us all. Thanks to your support, we were able to help those in need of medical procedures, treatment and food supplies, especially now during the quarantine. We have learned to donate from you.
The first time we learned about the “handful of rice” movement was from our brothers and sisters who attended a conference in the west of Ukraine in 2018. We began to use this method in our group. After this same training took place in Nikopol in 2019 with Dave as the main speaker, several teams formed in our church in various ministries, including a children's day care center. At one of the meetings, Dave showed a video telling about a handful of rice. During the month when we go to the store to buy food materials we take a portion of some money and put it aside like a “handful of rice”. Once a month we bring it to church and put it the collection of “ministry of mercy”. These funds are accounted for separately from other giving. I give accountability to the church about where the funds are spent in helping the poor in our community. We shared with our brothers and sisters how we started to raise money for our ministry. The church supported us, and now once a month in the church there is a fundraiser dedicated to the ministry of mercy, which we first called "handful of rice", and now we call “Bethesda”. Thank you for all the teaching, help, and examples in serving people and our Lord Jesus Christ.
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