Their Mom is a heavy drinker, and the kids have been neglected due to this. She was in rehab two years ago for a period of time, went back in the fall of last year, and was recently released. Unfortunately, she quickly fell back into old ways. Nastya is eight years older than her sister, and basically played the role of a mom in raising her little sister. The two of them are very close and it is obvious how much they care for one another.

Nastya is sweet, and a huge help in the shelter. She does above and beyond her chores, daily offering her help around the house. She is in 8th grade, and enjoys going to school and spending time with the friends she has made there. Nastya is incredibly social, and, like our little Vika, LOVES to talk. She could talk from sun up to sun down! She also loves to read, cook, sing, listen to music, watch movies, and do artistic things.

It is encouraging to see how she is growing in her relationship with God. Lately, she has been memorising Scripture to help her when she is struggling. She is always ready to pray and loves answering questions, reading Bible stories to the little kids, and retelling Bible stories.
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Being a teenager with all of the many emotions connected to that age is difficult for most kids. You can imagine how much more difficult it is to deal with that while going through so much instability. Please pray for Nastya as she misses her mom a lot. Please pray that all of these difficulties would bring her closer to the Lord, and that she would see and understand God’s love for her more and more. Also, please keep her whole family in prayer; for their salvation, and that the necessary lasting changes would take place so that they can be reunited.

We want to invite you to prayerfully consider joining one of our mission teams for 2016!  We are excited about the opportunities for you to serve alongside our ministry team as, together, we serve the orphans and at-risk children of Ukraine!  

We want to make your short term mission planning experience as simple as possible to allow you more time for prayer and preparations.  To that end, Jeremiah’s Hope has simplified fee of a few hundred dollars that covers housing, meals and ground transportation in Ukraine.  This fee is in addition to your international airfare, which we will also arrange for you.  We want your planning to be seamless!  The less time making arrangements, the more time you have to pray!

SPRING MISSION OPPORTUNITY
Spring Team – Dates TBA
Cost – International Airfare + $300  (Housing, Meals & Transportation)
Ministry – Manual Labor projects benefiting Sasha Project families.  Projects include construction, fence building, remodeling rooms in homes, etc.
Sign Up Deadline: December 10, 2015
Non-Refundable Deposit of $200 Deadline: December 20, 2015
Ticket Money Deadline:  January 1, 2016
Balance of Trip Funds ($200) Deadline: February 15, 2015

SUMMER MISSION OPPORTUNITIES
Sign Up Deadline: December 15, 2015
Non-Refundable Deposit of $200 Deadline: January 1, 2016
Ticket Money Deadline:  February 15, 2016
Balance of Trip Funds Deadline: April 15, 2016

Team #1 – May 30 – June 27, 2016  (Short Internship/College Mission Teams)
Cost – International Airfare + $700  (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – Two weeks of camp serving American (and other foreign nationals) missionary kids and one week of camp serving Ukrainian at-risk children from the village of Kolentsi.

Team #2 – June 2 – June 20, 2016
Cost – International Airfare + $500 (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – Two weeks of camp serving American (and other foreign nationals) missionary kids

Team #3  – June 16 –June 27, 2016
Cost – International Airfare + $350 (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – One week of camp with Ukrainian at-risk children from the village of Kolentsi.

Team #4 – July 8 – 18, 2016
Cost – International Airfare + $350 (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – One week of camp with Ukrainian at-risk children from the Sasha Project.

Team #5 – July 13 – 25, 2016
Cost – International Airfare + $350  (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – One week of camp with Ukrainian at-risk children from the Sasha Project.

Team #6 – July 13 – August 1, 2016
Cost – International Airfare + $500  (Housing, Meals & Transportation)
Ministry – Two weeks of camp with Ukrainian at-risk children from the Sasha Project.

We first met Bogdan, during the summer of 2010, when SocialServices referred him to our summer camp.  As we were preparing todistribute back packs and school supplies at the end of the summer, we had theperfect opportunity to go to his house and touch base with him again and tomeet his family.

Bogdan is one of three siblings living with their single mother,Sophia.  Bogdan is 12, Mark is 8 and Alyona is 6.  They live in asmall two room village house.  They have no running water inside thehome.  They heat their home with a village style wood burning brick ovenand this is also the means of cooking.

The village they live in is remote and there are NO employmentopportunities and no daycare opportunities.  So, Sophia (the mom) is unableto work and earn a living.  Sophia lives off government aid and Bogdansdisability payment.  She is a good mom, does not drink, does not wastemoney and really loves her kids.

Bogdan and his siblings are part of “The SashaProject” which is an initiative of Jeremiah’s Hope to provide practicalhelp to at risk children in Ukraine.  Every two weeks, the Jeremiah’s Hopestaff visit Bogdan and his siblings, delivering a basic food package to assistin providing food for their family and to spend time mentoring the kids.

Bogdan has a deteriorated hip bone.  Sophia has taken him for consultations with doctors in Ivankiv (the closest town and a very poorquality hospital) and she has been told that he needs a hip replacement inKyiv.  She has been asking us for 3 years to help her get him the surgerythat he needs.  An American doctor has examined Bogdan’s x-rays and hiship bone is deteriorated and some of his bone is simply powder.  He walkswith a great deal of pain on his right side due to the deterioration.
We now have new x-rays and are beginning a series of doctorsconsultations, guided by an American doctor (consultation role only due tolicensing issues) and Bogdan will have surgery in the early spring. Surgery, even discounted due to humanitarian reasons, is expected to cost, approximately $5,000 USD and this amount includes consultations, surgery andrehab after the hip replacement.

To date, over $3,000 has already been donated to Jeremiah’s Hope to assist with the operation.  Those who would like to donate towards the cost of surgery can donate online at the Jeremiah’s Hope website.

Our container arrived today. After 6 weeks making its journey across Texas by truck, across the Atlantic Ocean and then by truck from Germany to Ukraine…it has arrived!
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After the container was offloaded and set in place in the parking lot, we began unloading it.  It was awesome to have 2 orphan graduates (who are also now refugees) and a refugee family helping unload the container.  They were so excited to help unload all that was donated for their fellow Ukrainians.  They truly are grateful.
There are MANY to thank, but most of all, we are grateful to God for His continued provision! TO HIM BE THE GLORY!

Last weekend, we were able to bring out 4 teenage boys from our “Sasha Project” for a Boys Weekend.  Andri, Sasha, Dima & Denis were excited to be able to be back at camp and we had a great time catching up.  We usually see these boys at camp, but we were not able to do that during the summer due to the large amount of refugees we had been sheltering & working with.
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This weekend, we ate some good food, as our amazing camp cook had prepared for us. The boys asked for second, thirds & then some. After the boys had showered (something that is rather a luxury in their world), we went for a hike in the woods with a bow & arrows,  to shoot them.  All the arrows have no feathering, so we spent more time actually looking for them then shooting. But that gave us a great time to joke, run around & simply connect. The boys had also played soccer with two older orphan boys that come out to our place every weekend.  Ray Walker (one of our ministry team members) also decided to jump in & quite possibly had more fun than the boys.

In between the amazing food and fun activities, we met together for some heart to heart discussion times. The boys did not open up much, but they listened very well as we talked about the right choices in life, working just a little bit harder  in school & respecting their parents regardless of the choices the parents make. We talked how we love them & care for them.   We talked about God’s love for them and how He is never going to be too far for them to reach out for & get a hold of. These are our goals with the boys: 1)  that they see hope for themselves & choose better than a hopeless cycle of poverty & alcohol abuse they’re surrounded by in their villages and 2) for them to come to know Jesus & the power of His redeeming love personally.

At the end of the weekend, the boys had the hardest time getting in the car, as it was time to take them home. Though the situations at home are good (though not easy) for Andri, Sasha & Dima; Denis has got it pretty rough with the parents that are abusing alcohol & don’t care for his existence. They all wanted to stay for just another day, but we are bringing them back in less than a month.

— written by Alexander Petrov, Sasha Project Coordinator and Boys Weekend Coordinator

As winter draws near, there is more and more need for people, especially Christians, to provide aid to the tens of thousands of refugees from eastern Ukraine.  Our ministry has been blessed to receive a large amount of aid during the summer for refugees and much of it was winter clothing, which the refugees declined at the time as they had limited storage space in the cabins they were living in on our property.  Now, most of our refugees have moved into apartments or returned to their homes.  The aid remains and we have a container load of aid from America on its way.

Jeremiah’s Hope has been receiving weekly updates from Dema Grischuk, a Christian and founder of Let’s Love Ministries.  Our ministry team has have known Dema for many years because Jeremiah’s Hope would not exist if it was not for the help of Dema when Steve Taliaferro and Andrew Kelly.  Dema now teaches at a Bible training school and runs Let’s Love, a ministry also dedicated to orphans and at-risk children.

Let’s Love is operating several small warehouses (think apartment sized) and are distributing aid to refugees.  We are blessed to be able to help them help others!

SPRING MISSION OPPORTUNITY
Spring Team – Dates TBA
Cost – International Airfare + $300  (Housing, Meals & Transportation)
Ministry – Manual Labor projects benefiting Sasha Project families.  Projects include construction, fence building, remodeling rooms in homes, etc.
Sign Up Deadline: November 15, 2014
Non-Refundable Deposit of $200 Deadline: December 15, 2014
Ticket Money Deadline:  January 15, 2015
Balance of Trip Funds ($200) Deadline: February 15, 2015

SUMMER MISSION OPPORTUNITIES
Sign Up Deadline: December 1, 2014
Non-Refundable Deposit of $200 Deadline: January 1, 2015
Ticket Money Deadline:  February 15, 2015
Balance of Trip Funds Deadline: April 15, 2015

Team #1 – May 29 – June 22, 2015  (Short Internship/College Mission Teams)
Cost – International Airfare + $700  (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – Two weeks of camp serving American (and other foreign nationals) missionary kids and one week of camp serving Ukrainian at-risk children from the village of Kolentsi.

Team #2 – May 29 – June 15, 2015
Cost – International Airfare + $500 (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – Two weeks of camp serving American (and other foreign nationals) missionary kids

Team #3  – June 11 –June 22, 2015
Cost – International Airfare + $350 (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – One week of camp with Ukrainian at-risk children from the village of Kolentsi.

Team #4 – July 9 – 20, 2015
Cost – International Airfare + $350 (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – One week of camp with Ukrainian at-risk children from the Sasha Project.

Team #5 – July 16 – 27, 2015
Cost – International Airfare + $350  (Housing, Meals, Transportation & Craft Supplies)
Ministry – One week of camp with Ukrainian at-risk children from the Sasha Project.
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Team #6 – July 16 – August 4, 2015
Cost – International Airfare + $500  (Housing, Meals & Transportation)
Ministry – Two weeks of camp with Ukrainian at-risk children from the Sasha Project.

This summer, we were not able to have our normal camps for our Sasha Project kids due to the over 250 refugees we served and ministered to from eastern Ukraine.  Our hearts ached to be with our kids and many called and asked when they could come to camp and when they would see us.  It was hard to not have them at camp, but we believed for this moment in time, God was calling us to serve the refugees who were strangers wandering in a strange land!

Our ministry team has been busy reconnecting with our Sasha Project kids over the past few weeks! Xander Petrov and Ray Walker are heading up our Sasha Project ministry and are often joined by Lindsay Pratt and Victoria Tyson.

At the beginning of each week, our team goes out and purchases “Food Packs” for each family.  Each food packet consists of macaroni, sugar, oatmeal, cream of wheat, buckwheat, oil, tea, bread, eggs, cheese and more.  Then, each Tuesday and Thursday, our team goes out to the villages where the children live and visit with each family.  The average visit is between 15-20 minutes and it is a time to catch up on the families news, find out more of what their needs are and to be a light in a sometimes dark world for the kids and their parents!

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This week, Ray and Xander visited the Kosanchuk family.  Bogdan, Mark and Alyona live with their single mom.  Their mom is a really kind lady who makes every effort to care for and provide for her children.  When Ray and Xander visited, they enjoyed a great visit with the entire family as mom served something for them to all eat and drink together.  After visiting together for over 20 minutes, Ray and Xander spent some time playing with Bogdan, Mark, Alyona and a dog outside on the street. This is one of the “good families” where the kids are safe and loved!  We praise God for their mom and continue to pray for this family.

Our container full of humanitarian aid was shipped on October 8th from Abilene, Texas.  At this time, the container is somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean as it journeys to Hamburg, Germany by ship and then by truck to Ukraine.  It is scheduled to be delivered on November 20th.
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The container has over 500 blankets, over 300 winter coats, 165 inflatable mattresses, 10 crib size mattresses, 20 Pack N Play portable cribs, 29 twin sized mattresses, diapers, baby wipes, crutches, walkers, walking sticks and wheelchairs.  These will all be a blessing to the many refugees who will receive them!

Jeremiah’s Hope is extremely grateful to all who have donated items for our container!  The giving has been TREMENDOUS!  We want to thank the following churches/organizations for their donations/collections of coats and blankets: Albany Church of Christ (Albany, TX), Christian Service Center (Abilene, TX), Durham Church of Christ (Durham, OK), Duncanville Church of Christ (Duncanville, TX), Kingwood Church of Christ (Houston, TX), Monterrey Church of Christ (Lubbock, TX), North Davis Church of Christ (Arlington, TX), Northside Church of Christ (San Antonio, TX) and Taylor’s Army Surplus Store (Abilene, TX).

Jeremiah’s Hope is planning to ship a 40 foot container from Texas to Ukraine.  The intended purpose of this container is to help provide for basic winter needs of some of the thousands of refugees from eastern Ukraine.  Many of them are Christians.

There is no set time for shipment yet (as of September 9th) but we want to have the items collected by September 30th so that the container may be approved the Humanitarian Affairs Committee of the Ukrainian Government and it can be shipped in and delivered to Ukraine by end of October.

If you, your civic group or church would like to help, here is what is needed…

Items Needed:
Men’s Black or Grey Crew Socks
Winter Boots
Sweatshirts
Winter Coats
Wool Blankets
Quilts
Sleeping Bags

Twin Size Mattresses
Inflatable Twin Size Air Mattresses

Gas or Diesel Generators

Pasta
Rice
Oatmeal
Sardine
Tuna

Baby Strollers (especially the kind that lay down so the baby can sleep – this doubles as a bed in crisis situations)

Drop Off Locations:
DFW – to be determined
Abilene, TX – to be determined