November 2008 – Hearts for Ukraine
Hello Friends,
I spent two weeks in Ukraine in October 2008 ministering to orphans in familiar places and in some new places. In all I ministered in three regions, five orphanages, a church, a Christian school, and a rehabilitation center for recovering addicts. I preached the Gospel message to 200 children and 40 adults. I attending 4 prayer meetings and prayed over 2 cities in the Kharkov Region. I attended a 2-day conference in Kyiv on missions in former Soviet countries. Some wonderful connections were made, which I’m sure I will use again on future visits. But the best news of all is: 68 children and 2 men prayed to ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior!!! Here are some of the people and places along wish their needs and prayers…
ZHITOMIR: Pastor Viktor and his team take their puppet show and skits to orphanages in this region. He visits about 8 orphanages regularly, preaching the Gospel, having fellowship and bringing food, clothing, toys and toiletries to needed orphans. Some orphanages are more than 80 kilometers from where he lives. He does this all without a vehicle having to rent vans and use taxis & buses.
Needs: $3,000. for a reliable used car & $100/month to buy food & clothes for orphans
CHERKASSY: A new Christian school has just opened this fall in this city. It is the first in the entire region. Two churches have joined forces in the project and faced much persecution and spiritual attacks in the process. But God came through to provide this bright, clean and newly renovated facility!
This school needs your prayers and financial support. Many families (about 2/3 of them) cannot afford the tuition, especially if sending more than 1 child.
Needs: $150 – $200/month
UKRAINE: This country is about the size of Texas and has more than 100,000 orphans. An independent nation since the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine is now Democratic with a Christian President. However, there are many economic, social, religious and political problems. God gave me a burden for orphaned children in Ukraine, and gave me a passion to teach them the Good News of Jesus Christ; to assist others in their ministries of helping orphans receive the Gospel and live a decent quality of life; and to do spiritual battle in this region of the globe as God leads. Many of you prayed for me and this ministry and “sent” me to the nations to fulfill the Great Commission, and there was great fruit!!
Please continue to keep this ministry in prayer, as I look ahead to March 2009 for what God will do then!!
For more information about the Hearts for Ukraine ministry please visit my new website at www.hearts4ukraine.org or email me at heart4ukraine@verizon.net.
KHARKOV: I felt called to visit Eastern Ukraine this year and I did, where in Kharkov Region I was blessed with wonderful hosts and prayer partners including my hosting pastors and translator. Kharkov is a very large city and fortunately there are many good Christian churches here. However there are still remnants of old Soviet thinking, corruption, unfair labor and business practices, and of course, many orphans. I was invited and introduced me to many pastors, orphanages and a rehabilitation center for drug and alcohol addicts which I visited. Alina was my translator and an awesome Christian. Her sister works in an orphanage that we visited. We went to a hill overlooking the city to pray that God would tear down evil strongholds and open heaven over Kharkov!
Needs: As in any orphanage, the government provides the bare minimum for these children up to 17 y/o. A request was made of my ministry for $2-300. worth of school supplies, clothing and other needs for one orphanage. I was only able to give them $100. Please pray for the orphans and give as the Lord leads!
DONETSK: I visited this region not on this last trip, but earlier this year in May. I was told that this is probably the worst city for crime and drugs in Ukraine. And this is where I learned that the government, in many instances, decides what a missionary can and cannot teach in a public school or orphanage. It was here that I realized why God called me to Eastern Ukraine: to not only preach the Gospel to the orphans but to pray fervently and with authority for God to change the atmosphere over Ukraine and to allow the free preaching of the Good News and bring the Kingdom of God to Ukraine!
Needs: This school gets no government funding. It has a capacity for up to 60 children, but can only accept about 15 because their support is so low. I was told that many of the teachers here have not been paid for months! They need about $1,000 to pay their teachers back pay, and need about $300/mo to keep going.
Please visit our website for more information or to give a gift. To donate on line* go to www.hearts4ukraine.org and click “Donate”, or to give a tax-deductible gift that will go directly to help fund the Hearts for Ukraine ministry make checks payable to “Vineyard Community Church” and write “Ukraine Orphans” in the memo line. Mail to: Vineyard Community Church, 8 Hilltop Ave, Kingston, MA 02364 USA.
* Donations made on line directly to Hearts for Ukraine are not tax-deductible at present. However, once we reach 501c3 status (in early 2009), they will be. To get a tax deduction now, please donate thru the Vineyard Community Church as described above.
For His children,
Alfred Scoglio