|
Andrey and Oksana Pankyeyev visiting in March
Our Ukrainian director, Andrey Pankyeyev, and his wife Oksana, leader of the Stop the Cycle program, will be visiting the States this March. We will share dates ASAP. If you’d like to invite the Pankyeyevs to a church event, small group meeting, or coffee date, etc. in Indiana or Colorado, please contact Ellen Jackson at 317-590-5071 or ellenmjackson@yahoo.com.
Last Bell’s New Address
Donors especially, please take note: Last Bell’s mailing address has changed. The new address is:
Last Bell Ministries
PO Box 3922
Carmel, IN 46082
Don’t worry – we have mail forwarding! Even if you use the old address on accident, your check or note will make its way to us. However, we encourage everyone to begin using the new address as soon as possible.
Juicemakers and Christmas Lights: Our Gift-Giving Volunteer
Last Bell has many volunteers from the Zhytomyr community. Here’s an introduction to one of them. At the end, please note our link to a blog written by another volunteer, Lena, who was recently hired on part-time.
For the last four years we’ve had help from volunteer Alexander (Sasha) Nesterenko. We actually only met Alexander two years ago. At first, we’d be looking for Christmas presents or other items for kids, and talked to him through other people without meeting. But even without knowing us, he always gave us a significant discount on some goods, and others he gave us for free.
Sasha owns a small business. He provides many stores with merchandise and has storage places in Zhytomyr. He is 32 and, for his age, has lots of experience in different spheres, and is very creative.
Two years ago we decided to meet Sasha personally – someone who has helped us so much – and show him what happened to his donations. After Sasha visited the Shelter one time, he decided to help and visit even more! Every week or two, Sasha brings something delicious – ice cream, cookies, sweets, expensive cheese. He’s given us small appliances, like a toaster and breadmaker, and other gifts, like jars, teapots, and Christmas lights.
Sasha is a spontaneous visitor. He might come to the Shelter at night with a juicemaker and fruit, and make juices for everyone; or he might bring a coffeemaker and make all kinds of coffees. Or he might bring groceries and cook a tasty meal we’ve never tried before. Our kids know where to buy anything they need, because Sasha sells to them at cost – and offers an unlimited guarantee!
Sometimes Sasha helps by driving. He takes us home from the grocery store, or drives us to Berdichiv orphanage to visit the kids. And he and Abram spend time with guys from the orphanage, just talking, or maybe going to a movie, bowling, or doing other guys’ activities.
Sasha was worried about our Shelter kid Sasha Gamma and a difficult situation he was in. So over fall break Sasha spent the whole day with him, taking him to the pool, a movie, and a café. It was a fun time out, but also a time for conversation and reflection, an attempt to change Sasha Gamma’s thinking.
During the last two years Sasha has become not just a volunteer, but a close friend to the kids, who are happy to see him every time he visits the Shelter.
~Andrey
Up on the Blog: Lena Voznyuk is Last Bell’s newest part-time staff member, and she was formerly a volunteer for one and a half years. Click here to read what Lena wrote about volunteering.
Sasha with Shelter kids & staff
A Haven Story: Anya Ivanchenko
Our staff often spend months helping one orphanage graduate with legal and logistical problems, especially with housing and related documents. Here’s the story of one Haven girl and how the staff helped her step-by-step.
Anya Ivanchenko is an orphanage graduate who recently appeared at the Haven. Oksana first met her at the hospital when she was visiting a Shelter girl there.
Anya graduated from the Potivka orphanage, which is for kids with special needs. When she was two years old, her mother threw her from a window, and her spine was seriously injured. As a result, she has had nine surgeries and has been disabled since then. She weighs 93 lbs. Because of the anesthesia from multiple surgeries, she now has gastrointestinal problems and can only eat small servings.
After the orphanage, she entered a special trade school for people with disabilities. There she met her boyfriend and they moved in together. Anya got pregnant. Her pregnancy was very complicated, with kidney trouble. Her boyfriend started to drink, and took Anya’s money to buy vodka. After a kidney spasm, she had a c-section, and her baby boy Oleg was born.
Oleg, now a year old, was born very sick. His kidneys are enlarged and he has “sand” in them, plus he has kidney spasms. He is very restless and cries a lot. With Anya’s health issues, it is difficult for her to take care of him.
Oleg also had throat surgery to remove a cyst. During the surgery a doctor damaged a nerve, and as a result he has some facial weakness.
Anya’s boyfriend didn’t visit Anya or Oleg in the hospital; at home, he beat both of them. We realized we needed to separate Anya from such a “husband.” So these are the steps we took:
- We found an apartment, where Anya now lives with another orphan girl and her child.
- We renewed Oleg’s birth certificate, since his first one was burnt by Anya’s drunken boyfriend.
- We found doctors for Anya’s son and help with his treatment.
- We renewed a bank card for Anya to receive government money, since her boyfriend had taken away the previous one.
- We helped her collect the documents she needed to receive a pension for losing her family’s breadwinner.
- We helped her with food and clothes and continue to do so.
- We helped her renew her pension certificate, which she had lost. And we help her in many other ways.
Anya received Christ and started to attend church regularly. We thank God for this. Oleg attends nursery during the worship service; so every time Anya is at church, one of our Haven leaders stays with Oleg to give Anya a chance to listen to the sermon, since Oleg behaves very restlessly.
At church, Oleg received a prayer of blessing from the pastor.
But Anya herself is also a blessing. She has a gift of singing, given from God. It is difficult for her, since she and her son have so many problems. But we are glad we can help. When Anya comes to Haven, her son’s behavior is a real test for leaders and kids, but we try to make everyone feel comfortable.
Please pray for Anya, for her son, and for God to give us wisdom and strength in this uneasy work!
~Olya |
