My name is Ivan Makarov. I was born in a village called Chervone in Talnivsk region. I lived with my parents until I was three, so I hardly remember them. Then the policemen came and I was taken to Kaniv internat. I liked it there, warm building, nice food, many toys and many friends. I studied there for three years at school but one sunny day I was called to the director’s room to be told about their intentions to transfer me to another orphanage. Immediately the sun was darkened and I could do nothing. They didn’t ask me, they just took me there. I wanted our car to break down on the way to Shpola. It worked! It took almost two hours to fix the puncture.
When I got to Shpola, I didn’t like the place. I missed my friends and those who cared for me. I tried to run away a few times, but I was always taken back. When I was in 6th form, Sergey Koval came to visit me for the first time. I was told I had a brother, who was taken to a family. How I wanted to be taken into a family as well. They came again, gave me a ball, trainers and 50 hrivnas (£5). I was so happy and started waiting for another birthday to have all the Kovals visiting me again.
A group of Christians used to visit us from Cherkassy. They taught us how to pray, to sing songs and brought us some gifts. In the orphanage, I started going in for soccer. I like this kind of sport very much and for three years, I took part in regional competitions.
After I finished 9th form, Christians helped me to go to Cherkassy to study. I wanted to be closer to my brother. I lived in a hostel, sometimes with Larissa Vovk, from Hope Now; I visited church and Bible study. First, we studied a book: “Marriage without regret.” The second one was: “How to keep balance, when your dreams collapse.” Now we study the book of James about living faith.
I wanted to live with Kovals and told Larissa Vovk about that. It was arranged sooner than I could have dreamed. Already I have been there for 18 months. I have learned many interesting and useful things here. Sergey is very strict but also fair and cheery. He encourages us to study, and especially to study the Word of God. We are studying the 1st Book of Corinthians in the church now. In the evenings, we come together to practice the songs we sing in church.
I am happy with Kovals and I am very thankful to Larissa Vovk, my British sponsor and all brothers and sisters who prayed for me, to the family that welcomed me, but most of all to my God Who is so kind and merciful to me.
In 1996 a group of 10 brothers and sisters from First Baptist church,
lead by Valerii Belyaev started the work to create a church in Malyi
Buzukiv village.
This is a story about how Hope Now has made a significant difference in
our lives as a family, but further than that getting to know Vic
Jackopson can be really quite dangerous!
hurch life is alive and well in many of the villages around
Cherkassy. Having spent 5 days visiting several villages, progress
was evident in many of them.
01.05.2012 Pray for the music group Zozulenka, and their teacher Natalya, as they busily practice for their return tour here in November
02.05.2012 Pray for preparations that are being made for the cycle tour this summer, and for opportunities for the participants to share their faith as they cycle around the villages
03.05.2012 Pray for Brenda and Ksenya as they speak today at the meeting of the Oasis Group at Locks Heath Church
04.05.2012 Pray for Jon and Ali as they attend the Baptist Assembly annual meeting in London until 7th
05.05.2012 Pray for our students at Universities and Colleges as they complete their studies for this semester and take their end of year exams
06.05.2012 Pray for all those who receive food packages through the feeding programme, that no needy person/family is overlooked
07.05.2012 Pray for David John as he completes his preparations for the teaching sessions at the Pastor’s Conference next week
08.05.2012 Pray that we will have full teams of volunteers for all the camps that will take place this summer at Kompas Park
09.05.2012 Pray for the young people from Rainbow House in South Africa, and for Margaret Ferguson as she supports them in their studies
10.05.2012 Pray for the work of the mobile medical unit, and for Dr Doreshenko to fully recover following his recent illnesses
11.05.2012 Pray for the ongoing support of the Mission Fund, which undergirds all the various projects that we have, that adequate funds will be received each month
12.05.2012 Pray for Larisa and the work she does with the family support group, which encourages mutual sharing and prayer
13.05.2012 Pray that the Humanitarian Aid system that we use to send money to Ukraine becomes quicker and more efficient
14.05.2012 Pray for Anastasia Vovk as she plans camps in various villages around Cherkassy, and pray she finds a team of helpers to assist her
15.05.2012 Pray for safety in travel for Jon, David Reddaway and David John as they travel to Ukraine for the Bible School Graduation and for Ksenya as she returns to Ukraine to help Alla at Kompas Park
16.05.2012 Pray for the ongoing work of Cherkassy’s first sheltered accommodation, especially now plans to renovate the house have been drawn up and the costing received
17.05.2012 Pray for the Church twinning programme, that more UK Churches will offer to twin with a Ukrainian Church for mutual support and encouragement
18.05.2012 Remember before God all our children in cottage homes, thanking God for the security and love they receive from their foster parents as they grow up in these Christian families
19.05.2012 Pray for the work party travelling to Ukraine today, to prepare Kompas Park for the summer season
20.05.2012 As Jon, David and David return to the UK, pray for the newly graduated students as they take up their responsibilities back in their churches
21.05.2012 Pray for the children in the orphanages we support, and for Larisa and Misha as they oversee our work in them
22.05.2012 Give thanks for all our volunteers who come in and help with the monthly mail out, and do other jobs so willingly, often without being asked
23.05.2012 Pray for Jon and Ali to be refreshed as they take some time off together and have a break
24.05.2012 Pray for ex-prisoners who are now leading churches and serving in their communities that they will be faithful to what God has called them to do
25.05.2012 Pray for the young people in our pre-independence homes, that they grow in confidence as they study and plan for their future
26.05.2012 Pray for Vika Lavrenko and Stanislav Dyachenko, sponsored children who celebrate their birthdays today, also for the quiz at Ashley BC this evening in support of our work
27.05.2012 Thank God for our Board of Directors, whose support of the work of Hope is so encouraging; pray especially for the two new Directors to become more familiar with Board matters.
28.05.2012 Pray for Alla Kostyunina and her team as they prepare in detail for the planned camp activities at Kompas Park during the summer
29.05.2012 Pray for Misha in
all the work he does at Alpha House and in the Ukrainian Office of Hope Now; pray also for the plans he and Lena have in using Alpha House as a summer day camp in August
30.05.2012 Pray for Vlad Serdyuk, one of
our sponsored children, as he celebrates his birthday today
31.05.2012 Pray for Cyndee and Darrel Knight and the Hope Now supporters in America, especially in their plans to visit Kompas Park this summer
