It was recently reported that the American Dialect Society in Portland, Oregan had decided that the “word of the year 2011” should be “occupy”, easily beating the acronym “FOMO” (Fear Of Missing Out) which describes the anxiety of being inundated by information on social media.
Previous years winners were “app”, “tweet” and “bailout”, which to many mean nothing at all! At least the word occupy appears in my dictionary and means something to most people. The “Occupy Wall Street” campaign quickly spread around the USA as a call against the unequal distribution of wealth and other related issues. Similar protests were made in the UK, the camp outside St Pauls in London was one of the most reported.
One of the frustrations of working overseas is the lack of a true understanding of the spoken word. Having a translator is all well and good, but often it is important to read between the lines to be able to fully assess a situation. During my January visit to Ukraine I, along with Misha visited several internats that Hope Now had supported in the past. I was shown toilets and showers that we had installed some years ago but were no longer usable because of a burst pipe. At another place it was explained that 26 very young handicapped boys were having to share rooms with older girls because the empty rooms nearby simply lacked lino and blinds.
Both had been told some time ago that Hope Now were not taking on any new projects. One of the directors of an internat shared with us that only 9% of the medical needs were covered by government funding, and only 25% of the food bill! The rest was up to him to find from local businesses and charities.
On another visit I heard that 180 children had never seen a dentist, was there any way in which we can help? At the time of writing I do not have all the answers, but the word that I consider the most important ever, the Word of God, clearly tells us that we should do all we can to alleviate the suffering of those we serve. “For if one part suffers, every part suffers with it” 1 Cor 12:26
On a brighter note I also visited an internat with the music group Zozulenka, the children there were just as thrilled with the song and dance as we were in the UK in November. The members of Zozulenka along with Natalya had taken part in a concert at the town theatre the night before, and on a cold and snowy night gave up another evening to bring joy to some very lonely children. It was another opportunity to share Christ’s love, and you know, we were blessed just as much as the children by seeing their laughing and smiling faces. Thank you for your continued support, we really are making a difference.
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
