Meet Ruslan Tkachenko...

Ruslan Tkachenko was born in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 9, 1994. Ruslan has lived in our transitional living center since October 2008 when the Social Services Department in Mariupol asked us to take him and his younger brother into our care.

Ruslans parents lost their parental rights due to heavy drinking and child neglect. His father was fired in 1999 because he missed work. He hasn't worked since. His mom has never worked telling everybody she was taking care of the children and did not have time to work. Ruslan and his younger brother lived with their parents and their grandma who was also a drunkard.

Ruslan has finished the 7th grade and started going to a Sailor's Club at school and really enjoys it. Now he will have the opportunity to go to a Sailor's College in Sevastopol, Ukraine following his 9th grade year of school.

Ruslan will be living in the transitional living center for 2 years and needs a sponsor (or a couple of sponsors). Would you consider helping sponsor this young man?

Ukrainian Orphan & Youth-At-Risk Conference...

Last week, Jeremiah's Hope hosted a conference titled the "Ukrainian Orphans & Youth-At-Risk Conference." The conference attracted over 45 missionaries & local Ukrainian Christians who are involved in ministry to orphans and juvenile inmates in the Ukrainian prison system. John Kinsley (Straight Ahead Ministries in Boston, MA) and Andrew & Jenny Kelly were the speakers. John held main sessions addressing the psychological nature, etc. of children who are at risk and then each of the speakers had "breakout" sessions addressing Orphanage Outreach, Running a Post-Orphanage Home for Teens and Juvenile Justice.

Maxim (left) translating for John (right) during on the main sessions.

Over 45 attended the conference which lasted Wednesday to Friday.

There was a great deal of fellowship and networking during meal times.

Maxim Arzhanov Needs a Sponsor...

Maxim Arzhanov is one of the new teens who will be moving into the TLC in July of this year. He was born in Donetsk, Ukraine on November 3rd, 1992 and lived with his parents and half brother (Boris - who lived in the TLC from 2006-2008) till 2000 when his parents were stripped of their parental rights due to heavy drinking and alcohol abuse.

Since 2000, Maxim has lived at the orphanage. He plans to study to be a welder while at trade school. He enjoys sports and embroidering.

It costs a total of about $300 a month to provide for one of the teens in the TLC. If you would like to fully or partially ($25, $50, $100 or more) support Maxim, please email donations@jeremiahshope.org

TLC Kids...

This past weekend, Andrew and Jenny traveled down to Mariupol with some guests from Australia and the US. They spent 3 great days with the kids and house mom, Alexandra. The kids are busy getting ready for the end of the school year and working hard in their internships in their particular trades. Please keep the kids in your prayers over the upcoming weeks.

Here is a photo of all of the kids in the house with Alexandra...

Ivankiv Orphanage Girls Learning to Cook...

Each week, Jenny Kelly spends one evening visiting with the oldest girls at the orphanage. Our co-workers, Sasha and Olha also spend another evening visiting and teaching the younger girls and the boys. This week, Jenny decided to take a break from just hanging out with the girls and sharing the Bible with them. Instead, she invited them into our home for dinner.

Today, Jenny picked up four girls a little after 4 PM to bring them to our house at the camp. While here, Jenny taught them how to made Southwest Chicken Pot Pie, Salad and Chocolate Chunk cookies. They all had a great time...I could tell, I was outside the kitchen & living room windows putting our fence up while listening to the laughing and fun being had in the kitchen.

Oksana making cookies.

Yanna cooking.

Jenny with 4 of the 5 oldest girls from the Ivankiv orphanage.

Left to Right: Tanya, Lyuda, Jenny, Yanna & Oksana.

Ugligorsk Birthday Outreach...

Today, Tanya Burak (our administrator in Mariupol) spent the day at the orphanage in Ugligorsk, Ukraine. Tanya loves traveling to this orphanage each quarter to conduct a "Birthday Party" for the children there. Tanya first became involved in this orphanage after some of the children from the Mariupol orphanage were transferred there 3 years ago.

Today, Tanya was accompanied by Marina and Julia, two girls from the TLC in Mariupol. Julia has a brother who lives in the orphanage in Ugligorsk and both girls enjoy the trip with Tanya and the time helping the younger children. It is a great opportunity for the teens in the TLC to learn to "give back" a small portion of their time.

Tanya, Marina and Julia brought with them Birthday cake, fruit and drinks for the children to enjoy. Additionally, the girls each received a small stuffed animal and the boys received a toy car. For these children, that is the only Birthday gift they will receive.

Kids Changing Kids Lives...

For the second year, the Kingwood Church of Christ children's ministry has spent the month of February collecting spare change in order to help the orphans of Ukraine. This year, the children raised $3,100 to help us towards the furniture for the new camp in Ukraine.

I flew down to Houston last month while in the US fundraising. I spent a Wednesday with some of the ladies in the church who helped me prepare a Ukrainian meal including: Borsht (soup), Potato Pancakes, Macaroni-po-flotski (macaroni with ground beef and onions) and salad made from cabbage and carrots. In all, we fed over 80 people that evening before I did a presentation on the camp progress.

Thank you to the children of Kingwood Church of Christ!