Visit with Oksana and Andrey Pankyeyev

Our Last Bell US team is still coming down from a deeply encouraging and community-building time in March. It was a substantial three weeks for our ministry and we are exhaling, seeing the Spirit’s movement and thanking our Father for this precious space.

The arrival of Andrey and Oksana to Indianapolis soil commenced an intense three weeks spent in strengthening relationships, strategic planning, and vision-building. We spent time with new and old Last Bell friends and visited various ministry partners who are similarly working in the trenches with at-risk youth. We compared stories and learned how others are serving young people effectively. One specific outcome of this time is our consideration of partnering with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) to merge their curriculum (already translated into Russian!) with our current Stop the Cycle program. We also interviewed and consulted with a Last Bell friend and expert on childhood trauma; she patiently answered questions from our Ukrainian staff on how to best engage with our youth in the midst of their healing process. We look forward to sharing this interview video with you all soon!

Friends of Last Bell in Texas and in Indianapolis opened their homes to Andrey and Oksana and helped us share the story of how God is moving in the lives of our orphanage graduates. Also, the Last Bell board gathered together from across the country for our annual Board Summit. This is a rare time for our Ukrainian Director and the US team to interface, pray, and plan for the future! We spent time in prayer, seeking God’s voice for the exciting vision ahead. Andrey and Oksana were able to experience some much-needed Sabbath rest and retreat.

Lastly, at a fundraiser in Noblesville, IN, we feasted on a delicious Ukrainian meal and shared our story with many new faces. We were excited to see this evening come together with the help of many key volunteers.

Bless all of you who contributed to our busy and fruitful month of March!

~Megan Hershey