On a relatively mild day in early January a team of 8 set off very early for Heathrow airport to board a plane to Ukraine, to give some older people a Christmas that they will never forget – and one that we will never forget either.
The plan was twofold - for those who could get to the Church Hall, there would be a party to include a traditional English Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. Then for those who couldn’t get themselves to the Hall, we were to split into teams to visit them in their homes, taking a Christmas dinner and a bag of ‘goodies’.
So, the first task was to make up bags of gifts, both for men and women, so that we could hand them out to our invited guests to take home with them at the end of the afternoon. The next day we went out to buy a Christmas tree and some decorations so that we could make the hall of the House of Gospel really ‘Christmassy’. We also met with the cooks/catering team to tell them how we wanted things cooked – and to show them how to make up things that were unheard of in Ukraine because they couldn’t be bought there. Thankfully, we knew in advance about this, and went over with packets of Bread Sauce, Custard, Gravy Granules, Christmas Puddings and we each had in our hand luggage at least one Christmas Cake!
Christmas Day, 7th January, arrived and first we joined others in a Christmas Service, lasting nearly three hours! Then we made finishing touches to the hall ready to welcome our 80 expected guests. We had a live band playing Christmas music as we ate our meal by candlelight. Everyone was chattering so excitedly, enjoying their new experience of an English Dinner followed by pudding. Also we taught them to play ‘Pass the Parcel’, and Mark Scott gave a short seasonal message before Santa (alias Philip Mutton) arrived with the gifts for them to take home – along with a slice of Christmas cake. As they left to go home, we were asked to please return again next year!
The next day we delivered hot Christmas meals to shut in people, along with a bag of gifts too. Splitting up into 9 teams, we all went with our translators to bless these people, mainly living in the poor area of Cherkassy. I, personally, had the privilege of sharing with a family where the man had reached his 103rd birthday – almost unknown in Ukraine as very few men live that long! We returned to Alpha House to share our experiences with each other, and all found it such a blessing to be so welcomed into the homes of these people.
Although we had the privilege of preparing these events, and seeing firsthand the joy in each face as we blessed them with food and gifts, we couldn’t have done it without the help of our very generous supporters. And so, on behalf of our Ukrainian friends, a very big thank you to all who donated gifts, food or money towards these - you are as much a part of the team as those of us who went, for without your help we couldn’t have done it. Nearly 800 individual gifts were received, and each one has been used!
And finally . . . If we are to repeat this again next year, please start putting away those little things that can be used as gifts - now! I feel that if we do return during next year’s Christmas period, numbers will increase – word does get around quickly. If you are able to join us for the Annual Weekend in March, you will be able to see photo’s of the whole adventure! Brenda
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
