“You have saved us.”
These are the words my friend Tanya told me as I delivered a gift this past December from the English Connection. She is the director of the Nehemiah House in Užhhorod, Ukraine. Every year we try to provide money for their summer English Camp program. This past year due to some circumstances with our giving and growth in other ministry areas we were not able to visit Ukraine until late in the year, but we made good on our commitment to support them. That gift was able to replenish the funds from other areas they used for the English camps in 2017.
We are able to do this kind of thing because of the faithful giving of our donors—you! If you are not familiar with Nehemiah House you can see quick video from our 2016 visit with them.
Nehemiah House is involved in a number of different ministries in the area. One of those areas is orphan care, and they gave us an exciting update. This year all of the state-run orphanages in this region are set to close. While that sounds like bad news at first, the reason is so good. Families, similarly to our foster homes/families in the U.S., are taking over. Children are moving from an institutionalized upbringing to a warmer, more family-like home environment. It is one of the initiatives Nehemiah House has been involved with for years, and it is finally happening. Praise God!
We want you to know that we will be continuing to work with and support Nehemiah House in the years to come. We would love for you to come visit and see firsthand what they are doing to make a difference in this part of the world—a place that has been detrimentally impacted by war over the past few years. Recently I was in Ukraine with a fellow missionary who currently lives in Prague, but has been working in Ukraine for over 20 years. He mentioned that when he first lived in Prague he was only making $150 a month. Our friends spoke up and said that because of the economic impact of the war against Russia, that this is about what they receive as a wage. Ever since the Russians invaded Ukraine the dollar has more than tripled against the Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAH). Their economy has tanked and is not showing signs of recovery in the near future. These are difficult times for our friends in Ukraine.
Among other things, the building Nehemiah uses is 17 years old and is in desperate need of some major repair work, mainly concerning the building’s roof. We want to help change that. God has and continues to bless us as we do His work, and we cannot thank you enough for the support you have given us over the years. Now, we ask you to please pray about supporting our efforts to help Nehemiah with the funds for a new roof. They are caring for orphans and refugees in a powerful, long-term way. We can be a part of that work from afar by helping fulfill this need.
You can give on our donation page, and simply let us know that you want your donation to go to this project.