Yan and Nadya: What We Do
September 28, 2011
Weekly Orphan Outreach:
Our passion is to reach orphan teens, making relationships, building trust and sharing our lives with them. We spread the gospel and study the bible with many of them in creative ways.
We have been praying to expand this work through Russian churches, building teams of volunteers to help orphan kids to know our loving God, His commandments and blessings in Jesus Christ. I (Yan) also use my barber skills and eight years of studies in soccer school in the orphanages so that helps me to find new ways to get teens to open up.
Special events and birthdays:
We prepare birthday celebrations for each of the orphans we work with. We try to create events that bring more personal fellowship to the individual.
What would stay in orphan’ hearts? Perhaps the fact that they are loved and someone rejoices with them on this special day.
New Start for Orphan Graduates:
We continue our fellowship with kids after they graduate from orphanages. They like to come to visit us.
We have several young mothers as well that we came alongside to mentor and encourage, teaching them life skills. Ministering as a couple we have a great opportunity to show them how to live their lives differently then they have experienced in their dysfunctional families.
We share with them what God has done for us and how He has been changing our lives and relationships.
Summer Camps and Mission teams:
We bind our efforts with different mission teams and church volunteers to minister to kids during summer.
Nadya also works with ladies that she trains throughout the year to help them with their summer camp outreaches. She also volunteers to work in different camps as a creative director and teacher of the children.
Creative workshop seminars:
Nadya teaches evangelism through different craft projects to ladies of the church so that they can use it in orphanages, summer camps, Street centers, Sunday schools etc.
We travel to churches outside of the city that want to host theses events with women from their region. Nadya coaches and mentors the leaders of these outlying churches on how to set up the event effectively, speaks and teaches workshops at these events.
I work with Nadya to assist her with the seminars and coordinate with pastors and volunteers to make special preparations before and during the seminar.
If God leads you to Support HEART FOR ORPHANS read HERE
More picture of Summer camps
September 25, 2011
Writing a prayer to God
GOD is LOVE
Worship time, So good to praise Him!
Story time and songs
Read more
The Boldyrevs — Summer Camp Ministry in Russia
September 23, 2011
«The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple»
(Ps. 119:130)
This summer has been filled with many joyful events. We participated in ministering to orphans in summer camps with several US teams doing vacation bible study with kids and also visited kids who stay in orphanages for some cause.
The Lord has brought together many Christians from different churches from Russia, USA, UK, Estonia and missions.
Because of God, your prayers and support, His ministry has been fulfilled as we served as one Body of Christ. Here are a few illustrations:
We worked with a team from the USA that has been coming to do summer camps for orphans for the past three years. Over the years team built a good relationship with director and staff of the camp. In this camp were children from normal families and orphans.
We were praying for God to open the door to us to distribute Bibles in this camp. The team leader asked camp authorities to have permission for us to do that and the answer was “yes”.
So I was able to get Russian bibles for free and 200 kids and 20 caregivers got the Bibles. Praise to the Lord!!!
Our last camp we did for foster care kids in Estonia with team from UK. God gathered talented team members and used all of us to bring truth and light of God. Kids had fun time through creative skits, sports, crafts, music and worship time. It’s helped us to build relationships with them and sowed the seeds of God’s grace and His Word to many children’s hearts.
God is so good!!! Please remember all of them in your prayers that His Word does change their lives.
The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. (2 Ti 4:22) To see more picture click here
With love, Yan & Nadya
If God leads you to Support HEART FOR ORPHANS read HERE
Heart for Orphans ministry support
September 22, 2011
If God leads you to support our ministry and you consider joining us in this work.
There are four ways you can help us:
1) Through prayer and encouragement (sign up for our prayer letter so you will know the needs)
2) Through monthly giving;
3) Through one-time gifts
4) Through giving to specific projects as we share these needs in our prayer letter
Donations can be mailed to MIR’s primary US partner Stoneworks International:
Stoneworks International
PO Box 464839
Lawrenceville, GA 30042
write “MIR/Herat for Orphans” on the memo line of the check
If you give online (Paypal) go HERE
and choose MIR: Heart for Orphans from the drop-down menu
or on the same page you can find and choose Donate Button MIR: Heart for Orphans Yan & Nadya Boldyrev
Thank you very much,
May God bless you!
News from Spring of Revival
September 14, 2011
Greetings dear friends,
We are glad to share with you some of our news.
The rest of our summer after we finished the camp wasn’t very busy for us. It was a time of learning.
I attended a conference dedicated to problems of orphans in Belarus, as well as shared our experience in running family home with other church group, who are thinking of the same idea.
As most older orphans were at camps, we got to visit younger children in the orphanages and shelters. We brought diapers for them with some drinks and fruit, and in August we delivered school supplies to the shelter, as kids needed to get ready for school. We played, made some crafts and drew pictures. It was a lot of fun. We also brought some watermelons for them. They love it and don’t get it at the orphanages.
Meanwhile, we visited foster families, spend some time there, went fishing with the boys, watched milking the cow, pigs. One of our purchased pigs had piglets and it’s great to see how the ministry is expanding through that. The foster family is giving away one pig to a needy family in the village. That’s so wonderful.
Now, as the school year began, we are planning to do some big events in orphanages, such as clown program tomorrow. After that we’ll plan a few birthday parties and cooking classes.
We also would love to start a cooking class program in the shelter in Stankovo. They have a separate room for it, but it’s not equipped for a kitchen. To do that we’ll need a stove, cabinets, fridge, pans and pot, dishes and cups, and a sink.
Please pray with us for all the programs and for our land. It’s really a difficult economical time here now.
– Olga Goncharenko
Minsk Family Home — New Faces
September 14, 2011
The summer is over and new school year began for the girls. They had good rest in the summer time and also were able to work.
Alona was in Russia working as a cook-helper in a summer camp. (That’s what she plans for her future profession.) Masha and Alla were councilors at a camp for orphans and unprivileged kids. Alla is also went to driving school in the summer time. Our girl Katya is out of the family home as she is getting married in a few weeks.
We also have three new girls. September is a a trial period for them. One of them Is Dasha (17) who is Masha’s biological sister, they used to be in the same orphanage, but were separated years ago. Dasha is studying to be a hairdresser.
Two other girls are Lena (15) and Nastya (15) were is a shelter and then in the same foster family. They both are learning to be a seamstress. We are taking them to the church, home groups and to participate in other programs. We hope that this month of trial will be good for them and they will have desire to change their lives and to stay in Minsk Family Home.
Please pray for them.
Welcome to Yan and Nadya Boldyrev
September 14, 2011
Yan and Nadya Boldyrev have been ministering in St. Petersburg, Russia for many years. They’ve been on staff with a US ministry named CASMI, and are now expanding their work to include a closer relationship to MIR. Their new program is called Heart for Orphans. We’ll be hearing more from them in the future. Here’s a little introduction:
Yan and his wife Nadya Boldyrev are a Christian couple with a daughter Anastasia who is 8 years old. In 1995, they came to know Christ as their Savior. The Lord put a desire into their hearts to serve and spread out Gospel for the glory of God as they were growing in Christ.
In 2002 Yan graduated from St. Petersburg Christian University with a Bachelor of Theology degree. Nadya has State University degree and also she finished Christian counseling course. From 1995 to 2004 ministred in church and summer youth camps.
After they gave their lives to Christ they began to share their faith with their family members; as a result Nadya’s mother and brother and Yan’s sister and cousin all become Christians. God has used them to share Gospel with their friends and other people, some have become strong leaders in the Church ministry.
When Nadya and Yan came to know Christ as their Savior they began to dream of the day when they could minister together. Beginning in 2004 God gave them a great privilege to do God’s work in St. Petersburg Russia among orphans and orphan graduates. They have a passion for those kids, to save these orphans from a life of crime and hopelessness and help them to know the loving God, His commandments and blessings in Jesus Christ.
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:27
Nadya
Nadya oversees all aspects of the ministry and coordinates all of the creative projects and workshops. She has been on staff with Come and Sew Ministries International, overseeing and directing their programs in St. Petersburg; she continues to manage their programs. She has a degree in accounting and has been sewing for many years for all of her family. She was instrumental in launching and refining the evangelical zipper purse project in 2006.
Nadya has deep passion to help the older orphans and graduate girls who have become pregnant. Nadya founded the New Start program for Read more
The Youth at My Church
September 8, 2011
When I moved to St. Petersburg I was focused on children’s ministry since I had just been ministering in the summer camps. But my church that I settled into had just a few kids on Sunday mornings, and no teenagers. I didn’t really have anywhere to bring the teenagers I’d met. We did a few McDonald’s outings and such. One girl and I went to the zoo. But really, what teenager wants to hang out with a random 20-something American lady? And furthermore, what Russian parent wants his or her children hanging out with a stranger from the U.S.? At least, that was what I worried about. The good news is that now a lot of those teenagers are grown-up now and it’s not as awkward to go out for coffee. But I remember one boy who took his own life. You only have so much time…
Doing ministry in a big city is different in that local churches don’t necessarily gain a reputation in the neighborhood. “Oh, I know that church, we went to a Christmas program there.” Nothing like that. Parents can’t ask around to see if other parents have sent their kids to such-and-such VBS. The Protestant churches aren’t really known around town, and the Orthodox churches are known more for their location/building than for fellowship opportunities. So it really takes a friend leading a friend for new people to be able to discover church life.
That brings us to the present. A few people in our church are involved in summer camp ministry, which is great. Our pastor talked about presenting the Gospel and all those little hands shooting up in the air because they wanted to receive Jesus. That brings back so many memories for me. Of course it always looks slightly questionable to an outsider, but I know what it’s like to be there and watching a person’s demeanor changing as the Holy Spirit works. Children are fully capable of understanding the need in their own hearts!
After coming back from these adventures, one young man in our church is totally broken over the future of our teenagers. Kids are in Sunday school now; then they sort of “age out” as Sunday school gets boring. After that we have Small Groups, which they could technically come to, but it would be a little hard for them to travel to a different neighborhood and stay out that late on a school night.
Do teens need a separate ministry? I remember being motivated to serve as I attended youth group and had fellowship with other teens who were facing similar life issues, growing up Christian while attending a secular school. But I’m not sure if it was the fact that they were peers or just the fellowship itself that helped me feel like a part of the Church. I know that I would have been terrified to speak up at a Small Group if there had been people of all ages…but then again, I always enjoyed the Russia team, which was mixed ages.
People argue that Youth Group needs to be “fun” to attract youth. I’m not sure how I feel about that. It’s fun to play games and unwind, but I’m not sure if they affect a person’s reaction to the Gospel. If he’s interested, he’ll keep coming regardless. If he’s not interested, he may keep coming just for the social aspects. But I agree that a person needs to be able to feel relaxed and safe in order to share about deeper topics.
There is also the idea of a shared commitment…doing something together. From a parent’s point of view: my child is going somewhere to play games with some religious fanatics. It doesn’t seem to have hurt him. But wouldn’t it reach a parent’s heart to see a child getting involved in volunteer work, getting priorities straight, maybe learning some practical skills? And the youth is getting more than a feel-good experience; he’s contributing to something bigger than himself.
So back to our church. Pasha pleads in a choked-up tone: We have to reach our teens before they’re gone. In a few more years another group of them will be teenagers, and then the others, and they will all gradually slip through the cracks and leave the Church.
What is more important? For the youth to have a program just for them, or for the youth to be included in the life of the church? Should they just patiently listen to the sermon and tag along to events with their parents, or should special attention be given? I feel the urgency too and once again I don’t have a solution, but I can see hearts being set on fire to reach the youth. The desire is being channeled into prayer, and surely the Lord will provide a way.
I’ve seen some discussion around the Internet about integrated churches, where there is no division of ministries by age. Again I cannot say what is best, but I love when ages are mixed, as long as no one is left out. While we don’t have a youth program, why not work with what we have? I’d really like to get some of the girls helping out with Sunday school. Other Sunday school teachers could be mentors and the teens would get a chance to serve. Of course they are helpful as it is, but having an official responsibility would be a chance for personal growth.
I realize that this was more of a personal meditation and not so much a response to a Bible passage or other body of text. Maybe I’ll come across some confirmation later as I read. Any thoughts?
When I moved to St. Petersburg I was focused on children’s ministry since I had just been ministering in the summer camps. But my church that I settled into had just a few kids on Sunday mornings, and no teenagers. I didn’t really have anywhere to bring the teenagers I’d met. We did a few McDonald’s outings and such. One girl and I went to the zoo. But really, what teenager wants to hang out with a random 20-something American lady? And furthermore, what Russian parent wants his or her children hanging out with a stranger from the U.S.? At least, that was what I worried about. The good news is that now a lot of those teenagers are grown-up now and it’s not as awkward to go out for coffee. But I remember one boy who took his own life. You only have so much time…
Doing ministry in a big city is different in that local churches don’t necessarily gain a reputation in the neighborhood. “Oh, I know that church, we went to a Christmas program there.” Nothing like that. Parents can’t ask around to see if other parents have sent their kids to such-and-such VBS. The Protestant churches aren’t really known around town, and the Orthodox churches are known more for their location/building than for fellowship opportunities. So it really takes a friend leading a friend for new people to be able to discover church life.
That brings us to the present. A few people in our church are involved in summer camp ministry, which is great. Our pastor talked about presenting the Gospel and all those little hands shooting up in the air because they wanted to receive Jesus. That brings back so many memories for me. Of course it always looks slightly questionable to an outsider, but I know what it’s like to be there and watching a person’s demeanor changing as the Holy Spirit works. Children are fully capable of understanding the need in their own hearts!
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After coming back from these adventures, one young man in our church is totally broken over the future of our teenagers. Kids are in Sunday school now; then they sort of “age out” as Sunday school gets boring. After that we have Small Groups, which they could technically come to, but it would be a little hard for them to travel to a different neighborhood and stay out that late on a school night.
Do teens need a separate ministry? I remember being motivated to serve as I attended youth group and had fellowship with other teens who were facing similar life issues, growing up Christian while attending a secular school. But I’m not sure if it was the fact that they were peers or just the fellowship itself that helped me feel like a part of the Church. I know that I would have been terrified to speak up at a Small Group if there had been people of all ages…but then again, I always enjoyed the Russia team, which was mixed ages.
People argue that Youth Group needs to be “fun” to attract youth. I’m not sure how I feel about that. It’s fun to play games and unwind, but I’m not sure if they affect a person’s reaction to the Gospel. If he’s interested, he’ll keep coming regardless. If he’s not interested, he may keep coming just for the social aspects. But I agree that a person needs to be able to feel relaxed and safe in order to share about deeper topics.
There is also the idea of a shared commitment…doing something together. From a parent’s point of view: my child is going somewhere to play games with some religious fanatics. It doesn’t seem to have hurt him. But wouldn’t it reach a parent’s heart to see a child getting involved in volunteer work, getting priorities straight, maybe learning some practical skills? And the youth is getting more than a feel-good experience; he’s contributing to something bigger than himself.
So back to our church. Pasha pleads in a choked-up tone: We have to reach our teens before they’re gone. In a few more years another group of them will be teenagers, and then the others, and they will all gradually slip through the cracks and leave the Church.
What is more important? For the youth to have a program just for them, or for the youth to be included in the life of the church? Should they just patiently listen to the sermon and tag along to events with their parents, or should special attention be given? I feel the urgency too and once again I don’t have a solution, but I can see hearts being set on fire to reach the youth. The desire is being channeled into prayer, and surely the Lord will provide a way.
I’ve seen some discussion around the Internet about integrated churches, where there is no division of ministries by age. Again I cannot say what is best, but I love when ages are mixed, as long as no one is left out. While we don’t have a youth program, why not work with what we have? I’d really like to get some of the girls helping out with Sunday school. Other Sunday school teachers could be mentors and the teens would get a chance to serve. Of course they are helpful as it is, but having an official responsibility would be a chance for personal growth.
I realize that this was more of a personal meditation and not so much a response to a Bible passage or other body of text. Maybe I’ll come across some confirmation later as I read. Any thoughts?
News from Estonia
September 1, 2011
Pastor Artur Pold, director of Camp Gideon in Estonia, wrote the following update from Estonia:
Dear Friends!
We have completed our 19th season of camp ministry. This was a special year. We had 14 events that involved 1300 people including children and adults. Below are some testimonies of children from our church who have experienced camp.
One other special thing is that we had orphans from Russia who were adopted by Russians or taken into foster families. I was talking to staff of the charity organisation «MIR» and they have told me that the kids were crying for three days wanting to come back to camp after they’ve left it. [Stoneworks, Love Russia and MIR partnered together to make this camp happen.]
This summer ministry teams from Brazil, USA, Russia, Britain, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Australia, Denmark, Latvia. God id expanding our horizons making this camp international and cross-denominational.
Mike Cantrell from a United Methodist Church in Athens, GA who has been serving as a missionary to Russia for 10 years, has become the true friend. He is helping us collect funds for our ministry and is bringing teams to serve at camp. With God’s help we are hoping to rebuild the guard’s house and turn it into a house for missionaries. We hope this house will be a recreation for missionaries who serve in Russia and other places and who need a break. We’d like to build two apartments, one on each floor, so two families could stay there at the same time.
Now that the camp sessions are over, we still have builders, mechanics, water and heating system operators and an artist working at camp. We are finishing up walls in our main white housing. We’ll continue the work until the cold is here.
We are waiting for the missionary bus from Germany and we’ll do outreach in Johvi. The driver and the bus will stay at the camp.
We thank you all for your prayers and support.
Special thanks to:
- Asbury Methodist Church
- Ludmila Plett from Germany
- Saint James Methodist Church from Athens, GA
- Estlandskomiteen, Norway
- The leadership of Methodist Church of Estonia and Taavi Hollman and many more faithful friends!
Respectfully, Arthur Pold
Children’s Testimonies–
Amina: I liked being in the camp. God has changed me in the camp. I want to come here again.
Gabriella: I like camp Gideon. I spent really good time in the camp. I liked to take part in the games, competitions and skits. During the camp God taught me to pray and it became easier for me to do it. God has changed all the kids. I would really like to come here again.
Natasha: I really liked camp Gideon. It was very funny. I liked everything in the camp. God was helping me. God’s changed my attitude to all the people during the camp. I’d really like to come in the camp Gideon again.
Martha: My name is Martha and I liked the camp, it was really funny and wonderful. I really liked the games and crafts. God has been working with me in the camp, He kept giving to me strength and energy to play every day and pray more confident. God’s changed the kids in the camp their obedience and mood. I’d like to come here every year, because I liked it here.
Dasha: I liked the camp very much. It was funny interesting and nice here. I liked that we had played every day, been doing different crafts. Every day God has been helping me in different activities. God’s given me the new friends in the camp. I would really like to come back here.
Nikita: I liked being in the camp. God has touched me in the camp. I began to obey the adults. I’d like to come here again.
Yanek: I liked the camp. There was no fighting here. The crafts were interesting. I’d like to come here in the winter.
