Dip of Faith February 14, 2012

Have you ever dipped into icy cold water in the middle of an abnormally cold winter? Me neither! Who in the world would do such a thing, you’d ask? Every winter, on Epiphany Day in January, many Russians choose this extreme way to be baptized. It takes Faith to do it, no doubt! A couple weeks ago eight grads from the Ivanovo Ministry Center led by our coach Valery took that dip of Faith in the Ivanovo City park. And if you think that one dip is enough you’re wrong! The tradition calls for three submersions, and our Ivanovo young men didn’t fall short of the challenge. There are several rules to be observed before performing this dangerous act, including making sure one is healthy enough, choosing the place wisely, changing into dry clothes immediately, and most importantly, DO NOT go in the water without a prayer. I admire the faith that our Ivanovo young men showed that cold day. By God’s grace they’re all healthy today.

You know what they were feeling June 17, 2011

A couple months ago our two volunteers Audrey and Halee led JA (Junior Achievement) seminars in the Kostroma Ministry Center and one of the assignments was a service project. After inquiring about local needs, the seminar participants decided to make cloth diapers for abandoned babies. Last week they finished making the diapers and brought them to the maternity hospital where these babies stay before being transferred to baby orphanages. As I look at this picture I can only imagine what these women were feeling at that special moment. Two work every day to care for abandoned babies with uncertain futures. Two know exactly how that future has and can be changed. What a moment, made possible by people like you, who shared that they might grow and share alike.

Hear what they say… December 15, 2010

Recently a team from Pennsylvania visited the Ivanovo Ministry Center and here’s some feedback from the kids:

“This is my first year at the Ministry Center. I try to come here every day. This November was a special time for me: I met Americans for the first time. Every day they led fun and useful activities for us. I really appreciated our visit to a summer house. I’d like to learn how to make thing with my hands. I’m greatly thankful to my new friends for spending a whole with us.” (Slava)

“This is my second year in the Young Family Program. This is a great program where I always find real help, advice, and encouragement. This time I enjoyed the activities that the team provided for our kids. During that week I also made a stuffed teddy bear for my daughter. The whole week was great” (Katya)

 

 

 

“I like to sing but I don’t play musical instruments. I enjoyed the concert performed by Lise and Sarah very much. They have beautiful voices” (Lena)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I regularly come to the Ivanovo MC gym to work out. We have a very good coach. Valery helps us be strong and determined and always comes up with interesting ideas. Some of his students dare lie on the nails with their naked backs which impressed me greatly. Their example makes me want to continue my training” (Kolya)

51 participated in Ryazan Orientation Day October 13, 2010

Orientation Day in Ryazan MC engaged 51 participants in creative, educative, useful and fun activities. They cooked together, learned about the ministry in a play format, went to play bowling and planted flowers in the Ministry Center. As usual, the goal of the Orientation Day was to introduce the new graduates to the Nadezhda Fund programs and encourage their future participation.

50 new participants at Ivanovo MC October 13, 2010

Ivanovo Ministry Center welcomed fifty new participants during the September Orientation Day. The Orientation included the tour of the city infrastructure, introduction to the ministry programs, fellowship with the staff and the older participants, dinner and skating and rollerblading at the city Sport Complex.

Daily life… April 7, 2010

We don’t hear much about the daily life of Ministry Centers and we often wonder what kind of events take place there on a daily basis.  You’d be surprised to know how intense the schedules are. Monday is a busy day for the staff as they have meetings to plan the week and report for the previous week. On any given day, including Saturdays in all regions and even Sunday in Ivanovo, various specialists are there for the orphans. Dentists, computer instructors, coaches, crafts teachers, case workers and educators work several days a week and the counselors are there pretty much every day. They all follow their curricula and schedules and engage the young people in interesting and meaningful activities.  Celebrating holiday may sound like mere entertainment to a person who isn’t familiar with orphans’ challenges and that sharing a festive meal together not only creates a family experience for the orphans whose life was deprived of this important and basic family tradition but also teaches them a sober and fun way of celebrating.  In addition that’s a chance to learn and practice cooking skills! Ivanovo kids are especially good at it. Next time you’re there – ask for cabbage pies!



Antonina’s class March 26, 2010

Look at those toys and home decoration! These are all hand made by the girls who attend Antonina’s Creative Arts class. Well, this is not all – the girls also make a lot of things for their practical use: babies’ booties, mittens, pillows, socks, etc.  Antonina, a former orphanage director, leads the class twice a week and while teaching the art skills, she shares her life experience with the young ladies and engages them in meaningful conversations. Antonina helps them feel at home and to open up.

“We sat together, sewed, chatted, and then had tea. We felt so happy…Now I try to come to the Ministry Center more often even though I live far away”, says Vika. Natasha agrees with her: “Antonina loves all of us and she always gives us good advice and helps us.”
The girls donated many of the toys they made to the orphans at a St. Petersburg shelter and they also made gifts for their American friends as an expression of gratitude for remembering them and coming back to spend time with them.

Winter trip to Russia February 19, 2010

This team barely came together at the last minute.  We had no idea from where the funds would come.  Six of us came from four different churches, two different states.  But God had a plan.

We started off the week with worship at a Russian Protestant church.  While we all have our worship style preferences, there’s nothing like worshipping with fellow believers, halfway around the world, in different languages.   It’s a little picture—just a taste– of what heaven will be like.

Group shot

We spent the week at the Ivanovo Ministry Center, relishing in the fruit of relationships that God has allowed us to have with these students for years.  Even now that they are young men and women and out of the orphanages, they came, knowing we would be there.  We took every opportunity to hear about their lives, share their joys and their struggles:  infants and toddlers, job searches, rough relationships, new challenges, triumphs, vices.  And then we shared our own stories, hoping to teach and give new perspective, and sometimes spare them the mistakes we’ve made.   We shared our faith and hope in the One who is worthy of such things, and encouraged them to do the same.

working on a banner

Encouraging student involvement at the center is important to the survival of these young folks.  The center and its staff will be there long after we’ve gone home, and so we tried to learn as much as we could about how to help through them.  It was inspiring to our own hearts and ministries at home to hear the hopes, dreams and plans that the staff have for those who frequent the center; truly they are God-given partners in this ministry, and we cherish them as brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as personal friends.

God offered us more opportunities to share faith with translators, students and staff, give and receive gifts, cook and share meals together, engage in conversation, take a fieldtrip to Kostroma together, to work, to play, to learn about each others’ faith and lives.  We saw new relationships form between the church’s drama ministry and the center, and Orphan’s Tree.  We rejoiced over the chance we had to celebrate old relationships as we spent the whole afternoon with our younger friends from the orphanage, and we mourned over the news of the tragic and untimely death of one of them.

And so we’ve learned.  More about the life and challenges of an orphan once they’ve left the orphanage.  More about what kind of support they need and how we can pray and act on their behalf.  More about the Orthodox faith, and what we share with it.  More about how much more there is to do.

We know it makes a difference.  They continue to come, expecting hugs.  They want to see pictures of our families.  They ask about Americans who have visited in the past by name.  They write letters for us to take home to others.  The young men talk of their goals of “a good job” and “a healthy family” when the male life expectancy is 58 years old, due largely to alcohol and unhealthy lifestyles.  Young mothers, usually intensely protective of their little ones, allow us to play with and hold them.  They are interested in the world outside Russia – of travel, and different languages and cultures.  They trust.  They seek support.  They ask questions of faith.

And we are changed, too.  We leave Russia, not considering this is the end of the trip, but what the next trip will look like.  We’ve experienced highs and lows mentally, physically, emotionally, and certainly spiritually – all in a period of 10 days.  God is working in us as He calls us — and translators, and students and staff members, and all the people we meet along the way.  Surely God works in mysterious ways.

But we can be sure that these ways are good, and that He’s far from done.

(impressions by Lise Sentell)

Orientations underway September 20, 2009

As the new school year has begun, orientation are taking place in the Youth Centers for the newcomers. Here’s a short update from the Ivanovo region:
A Welcome Party for newcomers at Ivanovo Youth Center took place on September 12. 50 grads participated in this event, among them – 15 grads from Komsomolsk, Ivanovo #1 and some of them – from foster families. These young people are now freshmen at techschools and colleges.

The staff and older members of the Ivanovo Youth Center gave the newcomers a tour of the facilities and made a presentation about the programs and services offered to the orphans.

Everybody was happy to see each other, the grads interacted a lot sharing impressions of their summers. Aleksey Shakhovsky told everybody about his summer practice at the horse farm in Moscow which was organized by “Nadezhda” Fund
staff. At the end of the party everyone was served some treats: pizza and sodas.

The orientation for the newcomers will continue. The next event will be an excursion around the city with the Ivanovo staff with the goal to introduce them to the city infrastructure: the city administration, law enforcement agencies, first aid center, hospitals, railway and bus stations, city post-office. Of course, a tea party at the Youth Center will follow.

And still another activity of the orientation, which will aim at creating a habit of visiting the Youth Center and introducing the grads to healthy life style will be an outing to the sports complex in the city.

New school year has begun September 9, 2009

We’re a week into the new school year. The Youth Centers of Nadezhda Fund, our partner ministry in Russia, are busy preparing to accommodate new participants and new programs of Orphan’s Tree. This year we’re expanding our Young Families program to include Ivanovo and Kostroma regions, adding a teacher of crafts in Ivanovo Youth Center, developing and expanding the Job Preparation program to offer internships and teach Junior Achievement materials, and much more. Also, Orphan’s Tree is preparing to begin working in St. Petersburg and Moscow.