What do John Denver, Mötley Crüe, Phil Collins, Simon and Garfunkel, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Ozzie Osborn all have in common? They sing songs about going home. Musicians who are constantly on tour have a unique perspective on coming home after many long nights on the road which is why the idea of “home” is such a popular and universal song topic across genres.

Home is a special place. The English novelist Jane Austen wrote, “There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” There is indeed something comforting about being at home. Just recently I traveled from my “Sweet Home Alabama” back to Prague. I’ve meditated on the unique position I have found myself in the last couple of years. I truly feel there are multiple places I can call “home”, and I am very blessed to be able to feel at home in such culturally different locations.

Unfortunately, there are many people who find themselves without even one home. This can be due to poverty, broken relationships, or even big-picture external circumstances that cause them to live as refugees (even in their own country, as in Ukraine). I remember when Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city I had begun to call home in 2005. I was lucky enough to have family to go back to in Atlanta, but many of my friends did not have that luxury. Going through this experience and seeing many of my friends’ newfound homelessness had a great impact on my life. Because of it, the English Connection helps provide homes with partnering organizations when possible.

In May of 2017, the English Connection partnered with our friends at Porch de Salomon in Panajachel, Guatemala to host a project by our friends at Pageant of Hope. Together we raised enough money to provide a new home for a family of two sisters with special needs who participated in the pageant. In this family photo at the house dedication you can see the sisters on each of the ends.

This month, our friends from Pageant of Hope are partnering with us again… this time along with our friends at the Nehemiah House in Užhhorod, Ukraine. We will have another Inner-Beauty Pageant for children with disabilities and special needs where every child is a winner and will have the chance to showcase his or her inner beauty. We pray this will give us an opportunity to share how God loves and cares about each one of us. 

The pageant will be broadcasted locally in Ukraine and will be available with English translation a short time after the event. We look forward to sharing it with you all in the near future so you can see it firsthand. And just as we did last year, we will have the opportunity to provide a new home for a family participating in the event. This is an ongoing need in Ukraine due to the war.

Last year because of you, our faithful donors, we were able to raise $7000 in just three weeks to pay for the new house. We praise God for His provision through His people and are asking Him to do it again. Please consider partnering with us to help provide this new house for a family in need. You can do so by giving online.

In addition to these projects, we also have some specific prayer requests that we can share on an individual basis. Just contact us for that info.

Thank you for believing in what we do. We appreciate your support through giving and through prayer. We couldn’t do this without you.

To God be the glory.