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конференция "Обними-не отпускай"

WE CAN SEE MORE THAN WE CAN EVEN IMAGINE.

In 2008 my wife and I visited an orphanage in Vorzel for the first time. There were 10—15 special needs children who impressed us especially. I remember how desperate I was to realize that no one needed those children. I suffered thinking that they had no future and their lives will end in the institution. We could only visit those kids, involve our local church into ministering to them, to share with some Ameicans our grief and bring them to that orphange to visit.

For the last three years I have been witnessing miracles though they are still hard to comprehend. Most of those kids were adopted into families. Today they have parents and become socially adjusted. It is an honor for me to even touch the lives of these children and to the work of God He is doing in them and for them.

I want to introduce three of those kids to you.

Igor.

A boy who you always want to visit because he is so friendly and outgoing! Despite his desease he is brilliant and has great memory! Today he is adopted into a wonderful American family.

Ruslan

Nadya, Sasha and Dima.

We met these kids in 2009. All 3 of them lived in Vorzel's orphanage. Nadya was 6, Sasha was 3 and Dima was 1. They knew very well they were the only family for each other. It was so sad to know that Nadya was moved to a boarding-school. The boys were so upset and depressed not to have their older sister around. An incredible miracle happed. One family from Almaz church in Ukraine fell in love with these kids during one of the ministry projects. They were praying in secret for two years about adopting them. Our Lord Jesus promiced to give to those who ask Him.

Dear Friends!

We long to let you know that the miracles God does in lives of many people become evident in our family in Ukraine!

It is hard to put into words what we experienced when the doctor said that Liza’s nose was broken. We heard it from a well-qualified doctor and the X-ray proved the diagnosis.

We tried to stay calm and confident in the Lord. We trusted Him in everything we had to face. It was so encouraging when we heard from all of you!!! We were so moved that so many people prayed right away about our daughter!

We were broken before God and got ready for the surgery. We got to a hospital early in the morning and we knew it was all in God’s hands. We had to stay in line for 2.5 hours to see the doctor. It is an average situation in Ukraine. We had prayed and asked God to bless us with a good doctor. An we did met a professional. He looked at the X-ray and he commented angrily that we were not attentive to let it happen. Then he had several tests and with a great surprise he said the nose was not broken just hit. We asked him to test Liza again to make sure he was absolutely right. He said that in his opinion there was no fracture. It is hard to tell how happy we were to hear that. But from the other hand we got suspicious. Why would it be so?

The next day we went to the institute of otolaryngology to hear the third side’s opinion. We wanted to make sure the nose was ok and did not need a surgery. The professor there proved that the nose was hurt but not broken and Liza did not need the surgery!

What a relief!

So today we can confidently say that God healed our daughter! It is unbelievable but true.

Today instead of sitting in the hospital and suffering from pain after surgery we are able to keep on serving the Lord and His church.

Please, share our joy with us! Tell us that our Lord is the Lord of healing and He is merciful to the families who labor for Him.

Today we are in awe but joyful!

Skripaks

Sasha
Olya
Liza
Herman
Martha
Tereza

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.

Friends, keep our family in prayer!



Working the last few days is very hard and productively, with big plans for the next few days got a call today from my wife, and learned that my eldest daughter Lisa had fallen in the street while walking and broke her nose.



Visiting the doctor she was scheduled for surgery tomorrow and the next 3-5 days I should spend in the hospital with Lisa.



Please pray for our family that this situation brought us closer to God, to better understand His plan for us to trust him more than ever before!



Pray for my pastor, because in the next few days, so much would have to happen!



Sasha

Healthy Church ~ Healthy Families

For 9 years Pastor Sasha has been serving families providing premarital counceling. When Almaz Church first started in 2000 it had only 4 families. Today there are more than 30 married couples. 22 of them were married by pastors in Almaz.

These are the pictures of some of them.

Valera, Natasha and Angelina. They have just celebrated 5 years of their married life. God saved Valera when he was deep down in sin working as a head of a strip bar. He was the first one in his whole family to believe in Christ. Natasha was raised in a Christian family but only in Almaz she was able to find a joyful life in Jesus. Today they both serve children in Almaz Sunday school.

Sasha and Julianna. They got married in 2010. Five years ago a person from Almaz brought a depressed young man to church service. Sasha used to live deep down in depression constantly thinking of suicide. He had no desire for the reality. He spent more then 10 years in his room hardly ever going out. Some of his schoolmates became believers and joined Almaz. They brought Sasha to Almaz. He heard the Gospel and grasped the idea of the true sense of life. Both Sasha and Julinna are the first in their families to accept Christ. Today Sasha is leading worship in Almaz and coordinating the ministry of worship group of 16 people.

Pasha, Ira and Georgiy. They got married 3 years ago. Both Pasha and Ira were the first ones in their famlies to come to Christ. Unfortunately no one in their families believes in Jesus. But all their relatives have to admit that Christ changes lives when they see the changes in Pasha and Ira. Today these young people serve as coordinators for Childrens' ministry that Almaz started in 2010.

Today Dima and Tanya go through premarital counseling with Sasha. They are so exited and amazed to see that Bible is very clear and practical about marriage, about the roles of a husband and a wife. They cannot wait to get married but they highly esteem the counseling they are getting and want to finish it first.

SERVING ORPHANS IN THE SUMMER OF 2011

During June 2011 in an orphanage Vorzel will be serving orphaned children of the church "Almaz".

Those wishing to participate must submit an application responsible for the project Skripak Alexander, e-mail: skripak2007@gmail.com

Seats are limited, hurry to register!

Tentative date of project: May 27 - June 8 and June 17 - June 24

Praise God they are home Safe!

Safe Travels Home....You will be missed!

Pastor Sasha, Olya & Teresa and Pastor Skopich are on their way back to Kiev! It was a treasured time for all those who were able to join them in Virginia hosted by The Daulton Family. We are praying for your safe return! Go back with a refreshed outlook on your ministry and your church and God Bless all that you do for the orphans and the community you serve in Ukraine. Special Thanks to Dave Daulton for setting it all up..wonderful family serving God through their ministry and children.

1 Peter 4:10-11

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Pastor of Moldova blessed by our Sermons and passes blessing to others.

Certificate of fruit Ministries spread God's word "Almaz"


Andriy Kucher, pastor of the church in s.Burlacheny, Cahul district, Moldova

"I want to thank you for the materials that are on your site. January 15, 2011 I am in my church held a workshop for young people," Choosing a life partner. "It was a great blessing for us. The most important thing is that throughout the workshop focuses God-centrism and Bible-centrism. Following the seminar, a young girl turned to God in prayer of repentance.

Also, I used the material from the conference "How is practical sanctification." I spent this seminar in the four churches ! Again, the blessing of this seminar is that it powerfully exalted God. At first I felt special blessings, learning material and teaching it. Also, many Christians express their special gratitude.

And I took the material "The greatness of a path and practice of salvation." This seminar is turned, first, my attitude to the gospel, and, secondly, those who listened to him.

So I want to thank you and special thanks to the Lord, Who is using you (N. Skopicha-ed note) in his ministry of spreading the Word of God. "
New!

Double Click Click Map to Enlarge

What a great and wonderful potential Ukraine has, since this country has an excellent geographic location, Ukraine shares borders with 10 countries.

This is very similar to ancient Ephesus or Corinth.

Pray for Ukraine's thousands of people who have been exposed to the truth, that all cities will preach the true gospel, that Ukraine would be sold in practice its potential to save millions of souls for the glory of Christ!

My ministry

Almaz means Diamond...

...A diamond is the hardest natural substance known, having been created by intense heat and pressure. We see believers becoming like diamonds, created the only way possible, through fiery trials…and then, the final precision sculpting by the Master Jeweler as He cuts them into priceless gems. I believe this is not just a metaphor, but a true “last days” vision, for, as these diamonds are prepared, and as the light of Yeshua begins beaming through them, we are seeing thousands of rays of light impacting this darkening world around us…all for His glory!

Don’t despise the discipline, the intense pressure you are currently under, the testing of your faith. Rather, as hard as it can be, try to embrace them in light of what they truly are — the very method of God’s forming you into a priceless diamond for the world to see, and be amazed at the beauty of Yeshua shining bright and clear as crystal through your very life!

School News

The session, scheduled for March 26, 2011, was postponed to April 30, on which we continue to explore the theme of the Holy Spirit!

May 28 will be the last session of the first level of the school "deep foundation of faith."
Additions to the homework will not be at this level. Therefore, students have the opportunity to complete all tasks to complete first level of the school.

Graduation plan on May 29, which will be awarded diplomas ... Evidence, sweet and a lot of communication included:)

News for February 2011



Feb. 26 session was held in the format of the conference "The Holy Spirit, His nature and actions," which brought together around the study of God's Word nearly 280 people from different cities of Ukraine. This was a record number of participants from previous conferences of the church "Diamond", which says on the one hand that many Christians today are interested in biblical teaching about the Holy Spirit. On the other hand - a tendency to increase the number of participants also spoke about the longing to study God's Word and know the truth. And it's certainly cause for celebration.

Conference on "The Holy Spirit, His nature and actions" took place in the course "Pneumatology" Church bible school "Diamond". Throughout the day, was considered the biblical teaching about the personality and divinity of the Holy Spirit, his actions and manifestations in the Old and New Testaments. Given the many serious perversion of biblical teaching on this subject in the contemporary Christian world, we also stopped in detail on important issues such as baptism in the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and His role in the rebirth of man. It was noted that a proper understanding of the Third Person of the Trinity and His action is extremely important for a successful spiritual life as an individual Christian and the whole church. And all sorts of deviations from the truth of Scripture in this matter could lead to the collapse of a Christian's spiritual life.

The study of the personality of the Holy Spirit is not limited to this conference, but will continue at the regular session of the Church's Bible school "Diamond", to be held in April 30 and will focus on the Holy Spirit in Christian life.

You may ask us, Why do we serve the orphans in Ukraine

This is a beautiful video of Pastor Sasha and some of his team members that travel across the ocean to do what they are burdened to do for the orphans in Ukraine. Once you are there and have experienced the tremendous tug on your heart, saying no...is not an option any longer. You want to know true religion? This is it friends...Orphans...I remember one Christmas out shopping for my children and suddenly losing the desire to buy things that were un-necessary for them because I was overwhelmed with reality by the faces that came into my mind in the Ukraine orphanage. Simple gifts of things they liked were going to be enough...We have so much, and not just materialistic things, but family and relationships and love. These orphans are loved by their care workers and visitors for a short time, but they really need a full time family to love them. We are so blessed to have the basic foundations of family & love but we rarely stop to even think about that. At minimum support Pastor Sasha's team and efforts by donating to them to keep them able to do what they are doing. If you can do more, then join them on one of their missions trips to Ukraine this summer. If you can do even more, then adopt...These special children are longing to be held and touched by a Mama & a Papa. You will be blessed and fulfilled like nothing else you have done in your life..

For more information on a missions trip or adoption or donating..contact: Dave Daulton at: Father's Heart, Inc.

Phone: 757-513-1819

E-mail: daviddaulton@fathersheartinc.com