During May, as the 2010 holiday season approached at Kompas Park (KP), Khreshchatyk deep in Ukraine, the annual pilgrimage of work teams from the UK took place. Their task was clear, to further improve the facilities and help prepare for the many planned summer camps.
John Richards and Ian Creek from Locks Heath Free Church, Mark & Pat Scott from King’s Church, Hedge End and Peter & Jane Rackham from Shirley Baptist, Southampton defied BA strikes, volcanic ash and potholes to travel to KP. The task list was already planned by KP Director Alla Kostyunina and Coordinators Frank & Lyn Collier, so the team had a good idea what it was facing. As always, the final interpretation of the tasks became much clearer when on–site!
The task list included: • Digging out, shuttering, laying hardcore and mixing many barrow loads of concrete to create a path around the older buildings, protecting the foundations from water penetration and frost damage. • Cleaning and repainting corridors and bedrooms in the main building. • Breaking up old walling and concrete bases no longer used at the rear of the site. • Generally clearing piles of rubbish and waste. • Mounting the covering on the arena area.
The team set to and developed a work pattern and it was amazing how soon a momentum built up. With helpful interventions by Andrey Boyko, local pastor and maintenance expert and lots of support from Frank, the major task of developing the path got under way. Lots of hard work, mosquitoes and cups of tea and team encouragement ensured all the tasks were completed ahead of schedule. Pat and Lyn concentrated on the redecoration needs and did a sterling job!
Underpinning the whole time there was a real sense of the presence of God in all we did. We shared precious times around His Word, praying together and Breaking Bread. We visited a Hope Now sponsored orphanage/school, attended the Hope Now Bible School Graduation ceremony and ate ice cream in McDonald’s in Cherkassy.
What is most encouraging is to see the site now – unrecognisable from when it was first acquired. KP is now a credible conference centre, holiday centre and truly a place of blessing. God is at the centre of all that takes place at KP and our prayer is that this summer many will be blessed, encouraged and find Jesus as Saviour and Lord! Please PRAY for Hope Now and Kompas Park!
Dealing with disappointment, while never easy, says something about who
we are. Now there are a group of Ukrainian musicians who are having to
do this as they come to terms with the decision of the British Border
Agency to refuse them visas for entry to the UK in October to help us
with the Silver Jubilee tour.
I first got to know about Hope Now 20+ years ago at St Helen,
Bishopsgate. Working in the nearby Lloyd’s Building, I would go to
their Tuesday lunchtime services.
My name is Alyona. 9 years ago me, my parents and all our big family (I
have three sisters and one brother) came to Ukraine from Moldova.
Because of some difficulties with the language, I missed one year at
school.
We had, at the Hope Now Bible School, a very rich graduation service of
sermons, testimonies, poems and songs. Everyone serves the Lord, as he
is able. The Lord blesses, He uses His clay vessels as He wants.
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
