Written by Last Bell Ministries on December 21, 2015. Posted in Last Bell Blog, Newsletter

Our Winter Letter: Katya’s baby, the Restoration Project, and a new infographic

Last Bell Ministries Newsletter December 2015

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2015 Report to our Friends

Dear Ones,

Hello and praise God for an excellent year! Thank you for your gifts of time and treasure, and your generous prayers. Through your giving, you’re making a difference in the lives of hundreds of orphanage graduates.

For Last Bell Ministries, it’s been a year of blessings and encouragement. In spite of continued political unrest in Ukraine, we’ve seen growth in our youth and our organization. The unwavering, self-sacrificing efforts of our staff, volunteers, and friends has created a ministry in Zhytomyr in which our young people’s lives are truly affirmed.

Last Bell is serving more kids than ever before! Our programs are strategic, reaching to orphaned youth wherever they are: studying in trade schools, struggling in social dormitories, parenting their young children, or searching for housing and work. We often see several of our services working together to help our young people flourish.

We’ve also been blessed by the increase of our staff and volunteer base, all of whom share the common goal of helping orphanage graduates survive and thrive.

Right: Staff member Lena Voznyuk helps our Stop the Cycle “grandkids” learn how to have fun and play well together

The Ukrainian staff continually refines our ministry operations, a “labor of love” that reflects our desire to offer holistic care. We’ve recently added a necessary new program. You can read more about The Restoration Project below!

This year, we’re also developing our organization in the U.S. with the goal of long-term ministry sustainability. We strive to support our Ukrainian staff with excellence in our U.S. operations.

We have many stories to share about God’s grace to Last Bell Ministries in 2015, but we especially want to tell you about our young people.

They inspire us as they overcome trauma, encounter harrowing trials, and experience small miracles. One story illuminates how your generosity is changing lives.

Meet our dear Katya

Katya’s life started with a lot of trouble. Before her teenage years ended, she found herself in prison twice, giving birth to two babies there. Her brother took both children and refuses to disclose their location. When we met Katya, she was living with her third child and a boyfriend. She was also pregnant.

Invited by a friend, she traveled 60 kilometers from her village to investigate Last Bell’s activities in the city. Katya was convinced by her peers at the Shelter to begin attending our Stop the Cycle meetings.

At one meeting, the presentation was about the development of a baby from conception onward. Katya was deeply moved. After the video, she immediately shared that her boyfriend threatened to kick her out if she didn’t have an abortion. The Last Bell leaders counseled her and offered reassurance and help finding safe housing. She was responsive, and the life of Katya’s fourth baby was spared. Continued below.

Many of our young people inherit family properties shortly after leaving the orphanage. Katya inherited an apartment in unlivable condition. Most importantly, it didn’t have heat. The Last Bell staff brought her portable electric heaters before winter arrived, and a member of our staff fixed the wiring so the heaters could be used safely. She is now residing in her own home.

As with most Stop the Cycle moms, we help Katya with occasional groceries and clothes for her children. Meeting basic needs in times of crisis enables our staff to reveal the loving heart of Jesus to many orphanage graduates like Katya.
It wasn’t long before Katya asked for a Bible. Now she is sharing God’s love with her neighbors! She sees God’s hand in everything, and sometimes calls staff members for special prayers.

Recently Katya told us, “I want to do what you do, to help other orphans.”

The Last Bell staff worked together to meet Katya’s needs for housing, spiritual guidance, and parenting advice. Will you continue supporting Last Bell Ministries so that Katya’s children and others like them will never see the inside of a post-Soviet orphanage?

Staff member Vitya with Kolya, a young man who benefits from the Support Center. Our staff have been helping him find work.

Your gifts and prayers sustain Last Bell Ministries.

After ten years in the Zhytomyr region, Last Bell has earned a sound reputation in orphan advocacy. Our staff is known for working well with the government and with other ministries, and for confronting real cultural needs. Because of your support, the Last Bell staff is uniquely qualified to reach the “throw-away” kids of Ukraine.

We are increasingly known to the region’s orphans as a trustworthy organization. It’s now common for the young people we serve to tell their orphanage friends about us.

They know they can rely on our staff to help with their greatest needs: safe housing, navigating the educational system, finding employment, crisis medical intervention, parenting guidance, food assistance, legal support, and finding their place in the world. The foundation of all our programs is discipling mentorship, as it would be in a healthy, Christ-centered family.

Because of the people who care about Last Bell Ministries, orphanage graduates are changing the statistics in Ukraine. Your support enables us to guide them to hope in Jesus and purposeful living. You are bringing to a halt the vicious orphanage cycle.

The Last Bell staff have known Anya since she was a little girl at Orphanage #4. She is an excellent student and recent medical school graduate. Now in residency training, she faces her inheritance: a dilapidated house. Without considerable restoration, it will remain unlivable.

The Restoration Project: Looking to the Future

We’re always looking for new ways to approach orphanage graduates’ biggest worries: finding housing and sustainable work.

The former orphans who own this property must live with their baby in a rented space. It could take years, even a decade, of saving and working on weekends to fully repair their home. With help, it can be done much more efficiently.

The Restoration Project addresses two specific problems: the properties our young people were inheriting were uninhabitable, and therefore of no benefit to them; and practical vocational training is extremely scarce. The Restoration Project meets both of these needs.

In this program, a skilled staff mentor is training our young people to restore their own homes and the homes of their peers. In the process, they’re learning a valuable trade, and acquiring marketable skills. The participants in this construction apprenticeship program become housed and employable.

The Restoration Project is effectively helping our young people redeem their own future. Our dreams include many home renovations and thriving families!

Your gifts to Last Bell make you a participant in this ministry. You directly influence the future of orphanage graduates, their children, and the communities they live in.

If you’re an occasional giver, would you consider
making your gift monthly, helping us plan our budget wisely?

If you’re a regular giver, would you consider
increasing your monthly gift, or sending an additional year-end gift?

Thank you for walking beside us. Your involvement sustains Last Bell Ministries, and we’re grateful.

On behalf of the board of directors, our staff, and all the former orphans we serve, grace and peace to you this Christmas!

Ellen Jackson

LBM Board Chair

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