Timothy House — A New Home In Minsk
April 26, 2011
We are very excited to announce our next project in Belarus: a home for young men we hope to open this Fall.
In 2009 Spring of Revival and Stoneworks opened the Minsk Family Home, a home for young ladies who are leaving the orphanage system and need help making the transition to life on their own. Timothy House is a natural extension of this ministry to graduate orphans.
If you would like to donate to help establish this home, please send a check to Stoneworks or donate online.
You can see and download a brochure here: Timothy House Brochure.
Here is an open letter from board member Jill Tyson:
Dear friends,
From the first days when I met Olga Goncherenko in Belarus I understood immediately that hers was not a casual relationship with the orphans in her country. I knew from the way the children smiled and hugged her while we were there that what she and her team were building special relationships that would last through the years.
Indeed, the commitment of our dear Christian friends has yielded much fruit in the lives of 100s of orphans in Belarus. One result of their discipleship and devotion to the children was the beginning of the Minsk Family Home in the fall of 2009, a home for Christian women who have graduated from the orphanage system in Belarus and want to continue their studies in a safe place.
Spring of Revival and Stoneworks International now announce the next step, the founding of a home for men. We will call this home Timothy House, because we feel these young men will truly become Godly examples in Belarus.
Please see the attached brochure, and pray about your involvement in this endeavor. We are committed to raising 80% of one year’s support before we give the “go – ahead” to begin in fall of 2011. A Christian Belorussian couple is willing to parent the home, and we already have several young men in mind to live there. If you are able to help distribute the brochures or raise awareness for the need, we would sincerely appreciate it, and we would also be grateful for a one-time gift or commitment for monthly support in any amount.
We are excited to be a part of revival in Belarus, one life at a time. Belarus is under-served in World Missions from the USA, partly because no American missionaries are allowed to live there. The environment for ministry is hostile to Christians, and no private orphanages are allowed. The government watches everything, especially foreign help which makes legal cooperative efforts at times impossible without God’s working miracles (which He has done on a regular basis!) Praise God that He doesn’t depend on rulers or laws to accomplish His will!
With a thankful heart for your interest and concern,
Jill Tyson
Eco Camp Week: Bugs Can Tell You More.
April 19, 2011
A good report from MIR, our Russian partner:
The best way to know spring is here is to watch the nature wake up. A beautiful opportunity like that was provided by Simon and Sue Young in the course of the Eco Camp visits to Tolmachevo orphanage. Together with the children we went out to check the the trees and the nearby stream to find out the condition of environment.
Sergey Tovstopyat, our camp Elama administrator is taking a lead on this project in Saint Petersburg and the area. Love Russia UK has provided a connection with the Youngs, who contribute all their knowlege, resources and love for kids to bring them closer to God’s creation and by that — to God Himself. Some great specialists from Mendeleev Institute participated in development of the Russian visual aids and professional British publisher printed those aids out.
Simon and Sue brought simple tools and colourful charts that equiped boys and girls as they searched and categorized the lichens and the animals in the water based on how sensitive they are to pollution.
The girls found out that some most sensitive lichens live on the trees around the orphanage which means that the air is very clean. Both teams realised when it comes to the water in the nearby stream — only the least sensitive bugs and warms survived, so this is a bad sign.
Children immediately remembered there is a factory that runs it’s condensation waters into this stream. This simple experiment shows it doesn’t take much to be attentive to the world around you.
It is especially important to the kids who survive in the tough orphanage world, because their God-given skills and reactions are very often damaged and perverted. We were glad that for the 2 hours they spent with us nobody left for a smoke. It is a great way to connect with the children and share God’s love with them.
We’d like to see growth of this project and do follow-up visits to orphanages and shelters. We’d like to make and leave some simple equipment with the children in the orphanages as well as design and publish results of the researches children do.
Support for MIR can be mailed to Stoneworks on sent through the Support page on this site.
Care After Care: what disabled children really need
April 13, 2011
From Project Director Tanya Zaikina, at MIR in St. Petersburg, Russia —
We have information about 5 children with Cerebral Palsy are in big need of surgery and aftercare treatment. Andrew, Dmitry, Vitaly, Anastasia and Eugeniy need surgeries, then — aftercare time with some individual assistance and finally — for many months these kids would have to wear special equipment to let the body heal properly.
The director made a very careful pricing of the equipment, found the most affordable, so more children can have a chance to get it.
The surgeries are provided by the government funding, but unless there are funds for an aftercare program, the director is not starting this long and painful process. Each part is equally important to reach the final goal — a different life quality for these little ones who only start their life journey.
Each of the 5 children needs 59,116 rubles per person or $2112 (at 28 rub per dollar exchange rate) for the special equipment to be built.
We already have donations from “Love Russia UK” Charity for two children: Andrew and Dmitry – they both have Cerebral Palsy.
At this moment we are still looking for funds for other children who need surgery and aftercare equipment soon.
They need help getting on their feet!
As Many Wheels as They Can Get
April 11, 2011
From our Russian partner MIR:
Last week we visited the Red Sunset Internat School (Krasniye Zori). We delivered two wheelchairs and children’s clothes to Red Sunset School for disabled orphans and home kids at Peterhoff. Love Russia UK pays special attention to disabled children and this place is in big need of such care. There are 165 children at the internat, 57 of them have physical disability.
The school director Olga Nickolaevna and the chief doctor Nickolay Victorovich were so glad to greet us. They received the wheelchairs and distributed the clothes to the children with alot of gratitude. The kids enjoy these nice and colourful socks so much — so different from what they usually get in the school. The children sent us a hand-made gift — a painted cutting board.
Recently the orphanage invoiced us for a set of 2 walkers and wheel chairs.
But the biggest need of the school for disabled will relate to transportation and remains to be the purchase of mini bus. The school owns a large 50 seat bus, but is able to use it only several times a year, since it is very expensive. They are currently using a Gazel mini-bus for hospital visits, small field-trips and running the arrances. The orphanage needs to replace it badly.
Below is a picture of a group of kids from a fieldtrip.
The size of the world for these disabled kids is very often what they are able to see and where they can go.
If you would like to support these children, we have two ways:
1) By check, make payable to:
Stoneworks International
PO Box 464839
Lawrenceville, GA 30042
write ‘MIR’ and the purpose of the gift on the memo line
2) Visit the Stoneworks website to make a donation using PayPal.
Belarus — Hospital Ministry, Providing Food
April 6, 2011
more from Olga Goncharenko —
Hospital
We continue to help orphans, but not only the ones in the orphanages, but to those, whom we meet in hospitals.
This month one of our SOR members was in the hospital with her child and there happened to be 3 orphan boys, (one came for a surgery, two –for cure) but they didn’t even have a set of underwear for a change, so the boy after surgery had to be naked.
We found some clothes for them and some food as well. When orphans get to hospitals, unfortunately, there is no one to visit them and take basic care. We were blessed to minister in this way.
Fo
od packages for 60 families
Here in Belarus the beginning of the spring is accompanied with a nice holiday “ Women’s Day”. We made it special for 60 families, by giving out food packages to families with three and more children. We said nice words of encouragements to the moms and we hope to do such packages next year again.
Ministry in Stankovo, Belarus
April 6, 2011
Update from Olga Goncharenko — director of Spring of Revival
Please continue to keep us in your prayers and please pray for our new program of Family Home for boys that we would love to start in September.
Shelter at Stankovo
We continue to run weekly Bible lessons at the shelter. There are 17 kids there now. We use the program “Lamb” that we used last summer at camp. It has 10 lessons, we have done 7 by now. Alla from the Minsk Family Home is in running the program. She does a great job.
During the spring break we prepared a Fair for the kids from the shelter. We brought sweets, soft drinks, socks, toys, school supplies. The kids used their coupons to buy the goods. It was fun.
Orphanage at Stankovo
Cooking day out in Stankovo is always a great opportunity for learning and fellowshipping with kids. Together with other believers we cooked for all 5 groups of the orphanage. Lasagna was the main dish.
Over a few years that the kids have been learning to cook, I can tell that many have much better skills in cooking now.
We also gave chocolate bars to each boy for Men’s holiday (February,23d) and to each girl for Women’s day.
During the spring break 18 kids went to the children’s theater program and to McDonald’s as a reward for the end of the school term.
Also we have been helping them to sell birds houses that they made. We sold 21 of them.
Please pray for Stankovo orphans as we are taking them to the camp and we need a lot of prayers. Read more
Minsk Family Home — Trip to Poland
April 6, 2011
by Alesya Kuleshova, MFH Counselor —
In February, the girls made a wonderful trip to Poland. It was to happen last year, but due to some circumstances it only happened now.
This was a great life experience trip for them. For Katya it was a first time to go abroad.
We visited a nice old city of Lublin, then we visited Maidanak concentration camp (it is the second largest in Poland), and we also visited The Death Camp in Belchec. It was a great trip to get to know more about history and also to get to meet some new people.
Also in March we had two birthday girls Masha and Alona, they both turned 20, so we did celebrate their birthday in a nice cafe downtown Minsk. They got their birthday gifts and were happy to turn 20 years old.
Time goes so fast, it seems that we just met them. (we met at Slytsk orphanage 7 years ago).
