Dear Friends!

On behalf of Almaz church and also from us personally we want to thank you for taking part in the ministry to orphans in Ukraine! Knowing how much you are willing to support us our family moved into Vorzel for 2 month to serve the orphans here!
Sasha Skrypak, the pastor of Almaz church and the family of Olya, Liza, Herman and Martha.
Vorzel, 2010. What is new?
Week #1
We all were looking forward to start working in the orphanage in Vorzel this summer! Today there are about 100 kids. How does is happen that these children are in the orphanage and not home with their families? Some parents abandoned their children right after their birth, others were trying to take care of them and gave up, some were deprived of parental rights. Our mission is to take care of children and of the care takers in the orphanage. Most donors want to help kids but often forget about people who live and work with these children (half of them are disabled) day by day and get them ready for their difficult life.
So, we are we doing in Vorzel this summer?

We break the old.
We broke down a 50-years old restroom in building 5. More than 60 kids and care taker were using it for years. Children have no idea about using a comfortable toilet and having a shower or a warm foamy bath. We will not go into the details explaining the conditions for the nurses who work there day and night. Financial support of Ada Bible church, Michigan, USA made this construction possible.




We started the reconstruction of the early intervention therapy room or as we call it the "sensory" room (room for developing sensory skills). Here they have classes for children with Cerebral Palsy, for mentally and physically retarded kids and for kids who need rehabilitation after serious surgeries. The physical and mental development depends very much on the conditions of the classroom and learning tools. The better kids are developed the more chances they have to be adopted. Also they will have a better quality life in the institutions where they are sent when they turn 6. Unfortunately life in these institutions greatly differs from life in the orphanage for little kids where the atmosphere is nicer and more friendly. Financial support of Ada Bible church, Michigan, USA made this construction possible.


We also started remodeling of another room where 20 kids live. They sleep, eat, play and learn in one room. These children get sick more often than others because of the old wall papers that spread around the old infection. We could not leave it the way it was! Faithful members of Almaz church support this project financially.

This ruins will be replaces with new remodeling and construction that will bring lots of joy to children, nurses, doctors and care takers. Some of them work at this orphanage for more than 50 years.
We are building a play ground.
If you have ever been to the post Soviet territory you khow how this terrible metal constructions called "playgrounds" look like. It is scary even to think about children playing on this playground, They are in absolute decline. Children are not able to spend time outside where they can play, learn and get exercise. It breaks your heart when you see kids wondering around outside having nothing to do and losing their opportunities.
For the first time our ministry got a chance to build a playing ground for the orphans!
We are planning to build a playground of 135 square meters covered with a rubber layers. We want to have there a track, sandboxes, swings, a pool and place for rest for the care takers and children.
This is how children spend time outside today.



This is the beginning of the reconstruction of the old playground.





We spend time with children and share our love with them.
For the first week our multinational team was able to reach out with love and care to more than 30 kids. We were able to take them out, help stimulate their intellectual and physical potential and just share our love and joy! It is not much but how grateful those kids were!





How you can participate in the mission ministry to orphans in Vorzel today.
Tell everyone who is interested in adoption.
Tell everyone you know that Kati needs a family.

This girl is 13 months old. Her mom gave her away because Kati was born hydrocephalic and had a myelocele. Also she has dislocation of her thighs joints. She was operated on and had certain medical treatment. Kati is recovering right now. It is amazing but her brain works well and she is doing very well intellectually.
Please, support the ministry in your prayers.
Please, pray for the physical, emotional and spiritual state of people who have been serving in Vorzel for 3 weeks now. They still have 5 more weeks of a hard labor ahead.
Pray for us to have wisdom how to share the Good News with the personnel. This year as never before they ask so many questions and want to know more about our life and our faith. It is a unique opportunity to share Christ with them!
Pray for the patience and wisdom in working with children. The children are special and so different. Most of them have special needs and have lack of discipline.
Help finish construction of the playground in Building 5
Thanks to the CBN ministry in America and in Ukraine and to the Christ Community Church, in New Smyrna Beach in the USA we got the funds that made it possible to start building a new playground, build the foundation and a fence. We need to continue working on this playground.
We are planning to purchase:
135 square meters of rubber covering (1 square meter is $45). This rubber cover will allow the disabled kids to move around independently. We will be laying the covering step by step so even if you decide to help with 1 meter it would be a great investment.


A swing set ($500).

A swing set ($600).

A swing set ($300).

A slide ($500)

A sandbox ($300).

2 benches for the caretakers ($300 X 2 =$600).

A swimming pool ($120)


If you consider helping the ministry financially you can send the donations to:
Account Name: Friends of Ukraine
Bank: Fifth Third Bank
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Routing Number: 072400052
Account Number: 7165237749

Checks sent to office.



Phone 616-954-2000
Donate quickly with PayPal : www.almazgo.com/donate/

Plea for funds...

Pastor Sasha and his family are in dire need of help to pay for a van that is coming in from Germany very soon. They are taking the cheapest way in Ukraine to acquire this vehicle. The van will be a work van instead of a passenger van to cut costs dramatically.. Someone there will cut the windows and add seats & carpeting to accommodate the family. It is beyond their scope of finances to pay for this van by May when it is now necessary. We are asking for you to share in this burden with all of us that have committed to a monthly goal already, and give what you can afford to raise this $9000 that they Skripak family needs. I know some of you will be getting a large tax return and want to donate to a charity or tithe to something worthwhile. This is your chance...The van will be used for Sasha's family and also for the mission groups that come to Ukraine in the summer time. The car that they were driving has been sold, and Thank God..I almost fell out of the back door while driving..it opened on it's own..So very unsafe for their children to be back there, not to mention they don't fit with the 3 car seats and baby gear needed for Theresa.

Please pray about this and if you feel it is something you can do to help this family and The Orphan Outreach missions to Vorzel. Email Pastor Sasha at the above address and he will guide you where to send the money. Thank You all for praying, donating, following the blog & visiting the Almaz Church while in Kiev. You can receive a tax deductible donation if needed.~

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~~~~~Bearing Each Others' Burdens~~~~~

Galatians 6:1-5

Dear Father, lift of our heavy loads,
Fill my heart with love for my brothers and sisters in Christ. If someone is overtaken in some misdeed, help me to assist in restoring that person, in a spirit of gentleness. Let me watch out for myself, lest I also be tempted.
Help all of us to bear one another's overloads, and so fulfil the law of Christ. But help us not to deceive ourselves, thinking we are something when we are really nothing.
Let each one of us test our own work, so that our reason for pride may be in what we do and not in what our neighbor does. Teach each of us to bear our own fair load.
May we who are taught share all our good things with the person who teaches us.
In the name of Jesus I ask all this and that you will give me a Spirit-filled life resulting in eternal victory! Amen.