Life and Service in Belarus
April 29, 2010
Dear Friends,
We greet you in the name of Jesus from the Belorussian land. Here is the update from our ministry. And there is a slide show with many more pictures at the end of this report.
Orphanages
We are very busy with the preparation for camps. This summer we will have two camps, one for Stankovo kids at the end of May—beginning of June and the other one is in July– for Slytsk kids.
You can see pictures of Stankovo kids, who will go to camp with us. Only 4 girls, and the rest is boys. It’s a Christian camp for 18 days.
Meanwhile we continue to do our regular programs such as crafts (He holds the whole world in His hand, was the last one.)
Some kids didn’t know who is He, so we explained and finished with the song in Russian that He holds everybody (we called every child by name) in His hands. It was great.
We also did a seminar for teenagers at Stankovo. The topic was “How do I spend my life? What is important for me in life?”
We had some teenagers, who are believers participate as well and at the end, they shared their testimonies over the tea with cookies.
Slytsk orphanage is in the last few months of its existence as the government has decided to use the building for something else and the kids will be spread all over the place. It’s very sad for everyone, but we do hope that our camp that will take place in July will be a blessing. The camp will be on the lake and will go for 7 days and we’ll have a team from Massachusetts.
Sponsorship program
We continue our sponsorship program to help poor, needy children and families to get basic needs met. Right now we are working on getting about 5 kids from our program to go to a Christian camp in Latvia, together with other kids from all over Belarus. It’s a third camp we are involved in this summer.
Raisa, 65 year-old grandmother who takes care of Vlad, 14 years old, (at left, with Steve Singley from the USA) whose parents are alive; the father is an alcoholic and was in prison for many years, and the mother has another family and another child, so she doesn’t care for Vlad anymore.
The family is in great need of what to eat daily and how to have their needs met, but with God’s help and with the help of a sponsor, they are able to go on.
Another family is Lilya, a single mom, with two boys: Lesha (Alex) and Vlad. The need is there and we have been helping them to get food, as well as go through difficult health issues for the boys. Also with our own efforts (just the girls) we made complete repairs of her flat, and you can see the results in the pictures as well.
It took us about three week of every day work there at the flat, but we wanted to encourage her as well, as she is single, we showed her that it’s still possible to go on, even after her husband left her and the kids, with no support.
Minsk Family Home
Our service continues. There are 5 girls: Masha, Alona, Katya, Alla and Tanya, as well as our counselor Alesya.
Three girls have started to attend a bible school at church.
We are planning a retreat for them at the end of May. Two girls will be applying to colleges this summer. Besides, they are very active in the orphanage ministry.
Personal news
Our family is doing well and we are going to have an addition to our family, a baby girl, at the end of July. Please pray for us.
Prayer needs
- Camps for Stankovo kids, Slytsk kids and two groups for a camp in Latvia. Pray for God’s protection, health, for His glory and changes in kids. Also for all the finances to come in and for God’s anointing on the counselors and volunteers.
- In May there will be graduation parties, that we’ll take part in. Pray for all the kids, who leave, especially for Slytsk since they do not know where and when they are going to be moved and for finances for us to do something special for those graduation children.
- For MFH and the retreat, for the girls to be accepted to colleges.
- For health and provision, God;s wisdom and strength for the Goncharenko’s family.
Thank you very much and all the blessings of Heavens and Earth be upon you,
In Christ, Olga and the team.
From Head to Toe
April 26, 2010
Another great post by Christina Melton —
I haven’t posted about teenage ministry in a while, so I will go ahead and do that, for those of you who are curious.
It is difficult to come up with activities and topics from week to week, so this last we we did some cooking together. Of course, we had no idea that it would take an hour and a half to cook 2 kg of cevapi (a type of sausage).
I am continually finding that it is not that hard to study the Bible; however, it is another thing entirely to try to live out what it says.
One of my teenagers asked me as we were all cooking, “What are we learning about today? Jesus cooks? Is cevapi in the Bible?” (joking, of course)
My response was simply, “Nope! Just cooking!” But I guess we were doing a little more than that.
“Love is patient; love is kind…”
“Bear with one another…”
“Consider not only your own needs, but the needs of others as well.”
We have been talking about how Jesus treated the people that society considered annoying (Zaccheus) or unintelligent (fishermen) or “sinful” (the adulterous woman in John 8). Cooking was an opportunity to see if any of those stories transferred into real-life “I’m so hungry!” situations.
I think our guys did a pretty good job. Paul once wrote that “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” and “there is no law against such things.”
Moving from head knowledge to honoring Jesus by living according to His word, through His strength, is pretty difficult and often painful. It hurts when we don’t get what we want, when we want it.
Our guys patiently waited, were willing to help cut potatoes and flip pancakes (desert!), and to serve even the adults upstairs who were not part of our teenage meeting. Good job, guys!
I think next time though, we will cook something that doesn’t require so much time…
Is that the Bible???
April 22, 2010
From Christina Melton, in Podgorica, Montenegro:
Hello all!
Pictured at left is an unusual sight: Montenegrin teenagers holding a New Testament in their hands!
Granted, we sort of made them read some stuff out loud… 
For all who have been praying for Montenegro and the work here, many many thanks. I will ask that you would please continue to pray for our teenagers especially.
Outside of our weekly meetings and other contact that we leaders make with them, our teens have no Christian influence. Only one has parents who are believers.
Recently we have begun trying to spend more time just opening the New Testament and becoming familiar with it, reading actual stories about Jesus and talking about them or acting them out.
We have yet to find a form for Friday night meetings that “works” — something that will grab our teens’ interest and keep them coming on a continual basis. We are competing with average teenage weekend occupations, which can sometimes be frustrating.
There is also no “youth group” culture in Montenegro, but we are trying to create an understanding among our teens that we are here every week, and that if they come, they will have fun and learn about God in a way that they cannot anywhere else.
It is difficult to find resources here in Montenegro, as there are so few believers, but some time in June, Violeta and I are planning a trip to Belgrade to visit the Serbian Christian publisher there. We hope to find good material to use when we begin our weekly teenage meetings again in the fall.
We stop having out regular Friday night teenage meetings at the beginning of May, but we will continue to get the teenagers together some weekends for some fun at the beach and other beautiful places in Montenegro.
Teenage camp is July 19-27, and a team from St James UMC in Athens will be coming to help us run the camp. This is an amazing opportunity to get these teenagers away from their usual distractions and teach them about Jesus and how to live as believers.
Again, thank you all so much for your interest and your support, and for more frequent updates, more pictures, and more information, please take a look at my blog: CMinMNE@blogspot.com
(Russian) rules for life
April 18, 2010
More interesting insights from Liz Hulley —
While waiting for my pupils in the orphanage the other day, I amused myself by looking at the bulletin board set up in that particular group.
Along with birthdays, awards, and other announcements, there was a list of rules displayed prominently in one of the sections.
I found the phrasing of the rules intriguing, as well as the juxtaposition of moral standards with rules meant to preserve order. Of course, the orphanage is a place for academic pursuits as well as a home, so it’s natural that classroom rules and rules relating to family life would be combined.
First, a sample of American classroom rules for comparison (found in a forum here):
1. Raise your hand.
2. Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
3. Walk.
4. Treat people the way that you would like to be treated.
5. Follow directions.
The rules posted in the orphanage: (loosely translated)
1) Respect yourself and others.
2) Listen to your elders, for they will not lead you astray.
3) Help the younger ones, who look to your example.
4) Wash your hands before meals.
5) Do not walk around indoors without changing your shoes or while wearing your outdoor coat.
6) Strive to keep everything tidy.
7) Don’t linger at school, so as not to worry the adults who are responsible for you.
Be polite towards others.
9) For safety’s sake, do not run in the hallways.
10) Don’t wander aimlessly during homework time.
11) Read books during your free time; it will benefit you in life.
12) When leaving the grounds of the orphanage, don’t forget to write a notice.
Valera Pavlov — A life story
April 14, 2010
By Le Ann Dakake, director of New Horizons for Children –
In the fall of 1986 a baby boy, Valera Pavlov, was born to a young married couple in the small village of Chubaksari, Russia. He was the 2nd child born of their 3 children and everyone was quite happy! However, in the height of the Soviet Union rule, the family did what they could do survive and lived day to day making money to buy food and maintain a place to live.
Communism was a part of their everyday life, and while it promised equality and provisions among all, not everyone actually received the care and support that was broadcast to the world in government’s propaganda. A couple of years later, the couple gave birth to a daughter as well, bringing the family to 5.
Soon after the arrival of Valera’s sister, while trying to survive and provide for his growing family, the father was forced to take on odd jobs working on other’s farms to make ends meet
In 1991, Valera’s father took him, at about the age of 5, to tag along for a day’s work on a farm to chop wood. This had become a normal part of Valera’s life as mom was now at home with his toddler sister. On these days, Valera would entertain himself while his dad plowed fields, watered farm animals, sheered sheep, butchered hogs, milked cows, did simple repairs or like today; he chopped wood for the coming winter.
At the end of the day, if the work was satisfactory, the family might invite them to have leftover dinner portions. On this particular day, the father’s work seemed satisfactory, so he and Valera were given some food to eat. After dinner, as is customary, the woman who owned the farm handed the boy’s father a glass of wine.
However, this day’s glass of wine was very unlike any previously offered to his dad. Apparently, the family didn’t have the money to pay for the day’s wages and some alternative was sought to get out of doing so.
Not quite understanding what he saw, Valera would later remember something: the woman took a thermometer, broke it, and poured some liquid from it into the glass of wine. She then handed it to his dad. Read more
Welcome to Jill Tyson — new SII board member
April 11, 2010
We welcome Jill Tyson to the SII family as our newest board member.
Jill has been married to Steve Tyson since 1986. They have 6 children ranging in age from 9-21, and they attend Trinity Presbyterian Church in Cleveland TN where Steve is an elder.
Jill has her BA in International Relations from the University of TN. She’s been a La Leche League accredited leader since 1991, and also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
She’s been involved in missions since high school in some capacity. In 1998 the Tyson family hosted a Belarusian boy who visited the USA with Chernobyl Children’s Program, and Jill began to take interest in Slavic culture and Eastern Europe.
Jill has been on the Board of Chernobyl Children’s Program since 1999, and has traveled to Belarus many times on behalf of this ministry. She’s also served on the board of Children of Chernobyl US Alliance since 2007.
Jill met Olga Goncherenko in 2004 while on a mission trip in Belarus. Since then, Jill and Olga have had a cooperative relationship in facilitating SOR’s aim to reach Belarusian children for Christ.
In October 2009, she obtained CELTA certification in Moscow for teaching English to Adults.
In her spare time, she teaches English to a local immigrant population of native Russian speakers, works on-call for Edward Jones, attends tennis matches and baseball games, regularly turns the ‘doctor is in’ sign around when anyone needs to talk, runs a Tyson family ‘taxi’ service and plans nice family trips.
And Chocolate Potatoes for Dessert
April 7, 2010
From Olga Goncharenko, in Minsk Belarus —
Dear Friends,
Greetings in the name of Jesus! He is risen! May He be glorified in our hearts and deeds.
Here is an update from a country of Belarus.
The MINSK FAMILY HOME is doing great. Five girls and Alesya, the counselor are really enjoying the atmosphere at the home as well as ministering to the other orphans.
In March we celebrated birthdays of two precious girls Masha and Alona (19 years old now) as well as the 8th of March, women’s day. Three celebrations in one. We made it special for them and had a day out: first the indoor swimming pool with a slide, then a lunch in a Belorussian buffet-cafe, where each MFH girl was able to choose what she liked.
For Easter week-end, the girls have invited their friend Zina from Slytsk orphanage. She is in her last year, so it was great for her to see MFH as well make Easter bread, paint eggs and come to Church for a special Easter service.
SLYTSK ORPHANAGE. Cooking classes have become a tradition there.
But it’s so special to have our family home girls go there to do a cooking class.
Four girls were teaching eight kids how to make macaroni dinner and “chocolate potatoes” for dessert.
It’s always so very special for orphans to cook and to sit down at the table as a family does.
The boys are enjoying cooking as much as the girls do. And our Minsk Family home girls have learnt a lot by now, so they are not afraid even to do classes. (we still supervise them a bit on that).
Spring break was also the time we took Slytsk orphans on a day tour to MIR and Nesvizh, two places telling a lot about the history of Belarus.
They loved it and we enjoyed them having a special day during their break. Alona from MFH and Alesya have joined in the group for the day.
STANKOVO. In March we had a fair at the shelter in Stankovo.
Again we do it to encourage the kids to do well at school and at the shelter, to be obedient and to get something nice for them, such as toy, or a chocolate bar.
We love it to see little ones with their coupons, trying to make a choice.
They are all so happy, no matter what they get.
ESTONIA AND RUSSIA. At the end of March we also were able to go to a retreat of SII. All our three workers, myself, Alesya (our family home counselor) and Masha (our accountant) were able to get away for a week and meet other workers of SII. It was a time of rest, prayer and fellowship. We enjoyed it.
SUMMER. We are now into our summer preparation and we ask for your prayers and support for our summer programs, such as camps for orphans and sending kids to Latvia.
If you are moved to pray and donate, may God bless you. It’s a great time to change lives of kids.
1. We are looking for a donation to purchase chickens this spring. One chicken is about $3. We would like to get a least 100 chickens for foster families with orphans.
2. Stankovo orphanage is making a kitchen for kids, so that they can cook. So far three out of 5 groups have their own kitchen. Two more are needed. We are looking for a possibility of getting them kitchen cabinets or a refrigerator or some pans, pots, dishes,etc.
That’s all for now. God bless you,
Thank you for all your prayers, your friendship and support.
In Christ, Olga
Typical day at the orphanage
April 4, 2010
From Liz Hulley — On Life in St.Petersburg
A trek visit to the orphanage. Would it be worth it? It seemed like for the past few months I had often shown up at an inopportune time, when the kids were in bad moods or otherwise occupied. But I needed to at least fulfill my commitment, and I also had to get some information from the director, so that was another reason to go.
As I approached the orphanage, I went straight into the school/administrative building, in order to catch anyone that might still be in the office. I decided not to look for the director, because as friendly as he is, I couldn’t picture him sitting down and getting some information for me. I went instead to seek out the slightly intimidating, yet competent social worker.
Room numbers and street names are not always my strong point, and I usually rely on my visual memory. Walk into the building, turn to the left, then into the first door on the right, then a jog to the left. Read more
Cooking, Museums and Cows — updated w/pictures
April 2, 2010
News from Spring of Revival director Olga Goncharenko –
Dear friends, here is the update from Belarus.
First of all, I’d like to start with the cooking class the orphanage. Teenagers from our church are very interested in helping out.
Not only they became friends with orphans, but they are a great help in cooking classes and playing sports with the kids.
During those cooking classes, orphans learn basic skills of cooking a plain meal, as well as how to set the table and even how to make a dessert.
They love it when they can do it themselves and we love to teach them how to do it as well as bring all the necessary ingredients.
Second, we had a great time with a group of orphans at the Belorussian Nature museum (it was my first time there as well).
The children learnt about the animals that live in our country. After the museum we all went to McDonald’s for lunch.
The Minsk Family Home girls joined us, helping with orphans. It was the second time for Katya, who is 18 years old to be there.
After McDonald’s the girls as well as the orphans went to a Christian Youth conference dedicated to Love. The day was full of good impressions.
Another thing that we wanted to share was a visit to a foster family with 8 kids. SOR is getting a cow for that family. Nina, who is a mom, a single woman in her 60, is a new believer and loves the children dearly.
For our visit, she invited 3 other foster families from the area. She was an inspiration to them to start taking kids out of the orphanages.
It was surprising to see two kids from Stankovo, whom we met before, to be in one of those families.
Last year SOR provided pigs for all those foster families, this year it’s a cow and we would like to get them chickens as well.
We shared a meal together and heard a lot of sad stories about each child: the girls of 3 years old were not walking yet, and the boy of 10 was not talking; some kids had scab.
But the joy is that now they are all doing well, talking and walking, healthy and feel safe in a healthy Christian atmosphere.
Here are our prayer and financial needs:
1. Please pray for summer programs and camps. We want to take 40-50 kids to camps this summer. The cost for 1 child to go is 215$.
2. We would like to get chickens for 5 families this spring. One chicken is about 3$.
Thank you for all your help and support that allows us to continue the good work in Belarus. May God bless you abundantly and fulfill the desires of your hearts,
Olga and SOR
Driving Up Central Europe
April 1, 2010
The latest from Christina Melton:
Around 6 AM on March 14, I hopped in the car with Mike and Olga and we started the drive from sunny Montenegro to cold, snowy Tallinn, Estonia.
In case you are not familiar with central Europe, take out a map.
Find Podgorica, Montenegro. Find Tallinn, Estonia. Yep, we drove that.
Rather, Mike drove, Olga navigated, and I mostly slept in the back seat and woke up occasionally to take some pictures.
Here a a few:
We stopped for a couple of days and spent some time with missionaries Jerry and Jan in Budapest, Hungary. Here we are sitting with Jerry and Jan and Juli, who works at the ministry center there, eating Chinese food (of all things!).
And this is one view of Budapest, split in half by the Danube.
After that, we left again at 6 AM and drove straight north. Central Slovakia looked something like the Sound of Music, except the buildings were too colorful.
We stopped in Poland at Auschwitz, and I think that is enough said.
After staying at a hotel in Poland, we finally finished the last leg of the drive and made it to Tallinn. The Bay of Finland was basically cold water covered with ice chunks.
We had our Stoneworks Retreat in a lovely house with a sauna! Here are the attendees, representing Russia, Belarus, and Montenegro. (We are very serious.)
Tallinn has a beautiful, well-preserved medieval town full of shops and cafes. Here we are trying to figure out where to go:
And this is old Tallinn, in front of new Tallinn…
I flew back to Podgorica on Tuesday (after connecting in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Belgrade) just in time for sunny spring weather!
I will be purchasing knock-off brand sunglasses at the pijaca today. 
