 A Return Back
Our Fund began its work in 1996. At that time many children simply lived on the street, in heating and train stations. They needed help. And help “flew in” straight from Canada. A married couple - Cam and Corrina Kroker became the first missionaries at the Good Shepherd Shelter in Makeevka, Eastern Ukraine. After three years, they completed their service. But, in February 2009, they returned. And returned with a team of students! Twelve individuals came to visit us and spend time with the children. The students stayed with families of staff. In addition to visiting with our children, the students visited state-run children’s homes. A special aspect of this team was that Cam and Corrina spoke Russian and the students learned ten songs in Russian. The children at the schools and orphanages were very surprised, wondering how it could be that the students could sing in Russian, but then when they tried to speak with them, they couldn’t respond.
 And in March a different team of students came from Canada, with Myrna Rempel. Myrna has come for the past ten years now with different students from her school. These young people also spent time with our children as well as visiting children at state-run orphanages.
What do all these trips mean? Why are they needed? We think that this question is best answered by a child who has waited for his mother for months, and she never comes. Only this child understands the full importance of being needed by someone and having someone take an interest in simply smiling and being nearby.
When you come to these children you must give a lot – your time, strength, energy, and when you depart, you feel that you leave behind even more – a piece of your heart.
 Nasha Sasha (Our Sasha)
In our previous information we shared about a girl named Sasha. She has lived with us since the end of November. She is ten years old. Sasha is an intelligent and sociable girl but she has serious problems with her health and appearance. She was born with a cleft palate, and she also has a spinal hernia and heart problems. We want to thank you for your prayers and support for this girl. Sasha had her first operation. She came through it well. Our Sasha is a strong girl! Her lip was sewn and her nose corrected. The appearance of the girl, of course, was transformed. Now Sasha is doing speech therapy, in order to better pronounce sounds. Please continue to pray for this girl. May God continue to support her and give her strength because Sasha still has a long road of treatment ahead of her.
 It’s Spring Here!
Finally the long-awaited spring break has come! Why is it long-awaited? Because each child has waited a long time for it. Finally there is plenty of time to do their favorite activities, talk with their friends, and simply relax. We thank God for a new spring!
During the break, the children’s relatives come more often for visits or to take their child home for a weekend visit. The children, of course, are very happy about this. But sometimes different situations occur, when a child comes up to you and says “Can you take me home with you for a visit, no one has come to see me for two months?” Or yet another situation, a mother takes her child home and says that she has difficulty with work and finances, and we ask her, “Please, if you have nothing to feed your child, bring him back to us as soon as possible.”
 School
Right now our children are on break, but another month of school awaits them, and then final projects and exams. Please, pray for our children, that they would overcome difficulties at school and not be lazy. We also request your prayers for our oldest children. This year Vova and Kristina Petrov are graduating and preparing to apply to a higher educational institution. Dear brothers and sisters, we ask for your prayer support for them. The Lord can do a lot!
 A Small Family
Sasha and Nastya Krutko live at our home. Nastya is four and Sasha is three. Their family is designated as “very lively, restless” and this is truly a quality of these children. Vivacious Sasha and the wide smile of Nastya, this is what can seen every day. These children ended up with us at their mother’s request. They don’t have a suitable home, their mother doesn’t have stable work and their father is in prison.
Sasha loves to play with cars and always tries to be with the older kids. He is one of the smallest children at our home and of course this makes him beloved by everyone. Nastya is a very affectionate girl who loves to play and do crafts.
Their mother very rarely comes to see her children. And once she asked, “Do the children at least cry for me?” Do they cry? They cry. And it’s difficult to even imagine how much awaits them to cry about and go through. And we’re left only to be amazed at our adult “blindness” and “deafness”. But the special quality of this young brother and sister is their ability to be joyful, and to be so every day despite everything! We trust our Heavenly Father, that He will never cease taking care of these little ones.
Please, pray with us:
in thanking the Lord that the winter season is over, that our home was always warm, the children weren’t sick much, and that we were able to buy a sufficient supply of coal.
in thanking the Lord that He sees the material needs of abandoned children
about relations among our children and staff
about the spiritual state of our children and staff
for wisdom in raising the children, and also physical strength for the staff
about the children’s education and finish to the school year
for the acceptance of Vova and Kristina into a institution of higher education
about the state of Sasha Larskaya’s health
Our material needs:
Food for 40 children
Medical supplies for the children
Linoleum replacement
Couches (2 for the play room)
Auto repairs
A dryer for linens
Staff salaries
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