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Subject: Hello from Ukraine   March 24, 2005

Hello dear Joseph,

   I also was glad to read your letter. Thanks for desire prays for us. Your letters very much support us. We feel that we not alone. God has given us the big family.

   Continue prays for our work. We want to have a meeting with the wife of president. She is very much interested in programs for children who lives on the street and for orphans. At us now in the country few social programs and frequently there is no legal protection.

   Several days ago the girl who lives in a cellar has given birth to the boy. She was pregnant 7 month. The girl every day escaped at night to walk and when it was necessary to leave with the baby from a maternity hospital she has left the child. We have found the grandmother and now she makes out guardianship. We search for this girl. Without the permission of the grandmother we cannot take away the child and give to other family. And the girl should write refusal of the child because she has told that he is not necessary for her. So, we got a lot of work.

   We continue to feed children on the streets but now we have a constant problems with our vehicle. Each month we have to repair something in there and this takes a money which we could spend for the ministry.

We will glad to hear from you.

Lora and Valeriy

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Thursday,      February 3, 2005      

Hello  Joseph:

   Thanks for your letter. All of us thank you and we pray for you. I know that you have a trouble time. But leave all excitements and give it to the God. He listens you and when other people prays for you that all walls will be destroyed.

   I tell you a little what occurs in Ukraine. We need a time that life in our country began to change and now faces of people has shine that God have heard us and started to change Ukraine. I want to tell about one day of our service and about God`s work. Also I send some photos.

   We pray that God give us a time to see you again some day. I would to continue to have a friendship with you.

   Thank you that you introduced to people our work. At least they will pray for that and God will do His work. We have do our work God will do His. It is like about the sower. We have to sow but God will grow.

   We fed about 20 street kids. The kids knew we were coming and wanted to be their best for us. They had washed as best they could, but were still filthy. We have been the only other people who have ever been interested in them. We hug them, talk to them and give them a smile. So little means so much here. The volunteer was crying as she thanked us for showing just a little kindness. Two sandwiches, chips, soda and instant mashed potatoes for each. We also passed out several pairs of winter boots. Those were quite literally, life savers.

   One boy, Sasha, told us that someone had stolen his coat. He was shivering and very upset. Tomorrow, we will get him a new one. I prayed he makes it though the night to receive new one. We were looking for another boy we had seen before, Maxim. We were told that Max had gotten picked up by the police and taken to a "shelter". The shelters are like jails. The kids are mistreated and run back to the streets as soon as they can escape. They have to be awful to prefer life on the street.

Now the hard part...
We made it back to the apartment building where the kids live underneath. We had two flashlights. We crawled in through the little 2 x 2 door. Again there is raw sewage. There are many pipes, several leaking sewage and waste water. Be very glad that emails do not carry smell.

   The trek is about 100 feet, over, under and around pipes and holes in the concrete support walls for the building. We had to be very careful, as the standing cesspools were up to 8 inches deep, the rest is nasty mud. Keep in mind that we had 2 flashlights and a candle. The kids do this in the dark. The room where they live is about 10' x 12' and about 6' high. I was barely able to stand up.

   10 kids live there on a mud floor. They have dragged old mattresses and blankets down there to lay upon. There is garbage everywhere. Mosquitoes line the ceiling. Another "room" is their toilet. If possible, that place was even more repulsive. One of the boys borrowed a flashlight and looked into that room. He said he had never seen what it looked like in the light. What few possessions they have are kept in little niches, high on the wall. A candle, empty bags, paper a razor. They have rigged a bare light bulb to wires pulled down from above. Very scary looking arrangement.

   Words cannot describe how bad this place is. I was there and I can't process it. The police had seen us go in and were snooping around. If we had been caught, we would have been in trouble and the homeless kids would have lost their "home". We were told later by the people who had stayed above, that the police looked in the "doorway" and perhaps couldn't figure out where we went. They eventually got tired of waiting and left. We were left only with a very surprised, confused and amazed old drunk to greet us as we came out.

Hello  Joseph:

    I and my family have the joy because our country has the new democratic president. Last 3 months were very bad. We had many problems. People have got tired of what occurs. But God made a miracle. All churches prayed for President Jushchenko.

    That struggle which occurred in our country has divided the people. We trust that now all will change. A lot politics from Russia are not happy about our choice. They expected to make community of countries in contrast to European Union.

    It seems like Russia has an imperial arrogance. But God have made us the free country. These days we have many visitors in Kiev. People began to trust that will have for itself and children a new life. For us the important event will be acceptance of social programs which will protect children, old people and invalids. Continue to pray for us.

    We continue to work with children. Yesterday we were at the meeting in children's home. There many children we have a cold and we have brought them a fruits. We had a dialogue with them. We prepare a fairy tale with our helpers to show these children. We want to make a new program. Also some girls from our team wants to be engaged to teach them to make different beautiful staff for themselves and friends. I think we we shall bring them several times in a month.

 Lora and Valera

from Ukraine
                         Lora Pavlenko
         
January 21, 2005

Hello, Joseph Patterson:

   I want to tell thanks that you have published our address. I believe that God will answer us through your help. We pray for you and your church. Also we want to send interested you or someone else information.

   I know that frequently people do not answer to not familiar people but when we wrote the letter we prayed that God gives us good friends. We would love to have a fellowship with a people whose heart opened. I believe that true friends can be not near only but even at the other side of the world.

   I know that not a lot people knows something about our country. We live in Ukraine, Kiev city. Ukraine was a part of the former Soviet union. Here is very good and welcome people but frequently they have in the heart fear since former time. I remember 15 years ago if I received letters from other country, my name was in the list at the KGB. They considered that I'm danger for the country.

   My parents did not allow me to write the letters to other countries and also to receive letters. This time referred to as time of the Iron Curtain. Now all has changed. It is fine. When we came 12 years ago to the God, we tried to learn more about Christians from other countries, about a life style, about traditions. But contacts was not.

   I thank the God that now I have this opportunity to write you. As in our family the English language is known by our daughter Renata, my husband Valeriy helps me to write letters. I just began to study English language and already I can speak a little. I would tell about our family. I`m 41 year old, Valeriy 36. Our daughter Renata 21 year old. Valeriy worked as the journalist at the newspaper and was the assistant of editor. I have graduated the university and worked as the teacher at the high school.

   When God have touched our hearts Valeriy and I have finished Christian seminary. And we have devoted our life for service to the Lord. Our church does not belong to some denomination. It is Christian evangelical church. Two years ago God told us go and serve to homeless children on on the streets of Kiev. We carry out a little services on the street. We have created the charitable organization which helps this children and teenagers who lives on the streets. Also if we have a material possibility we support and visit the 2 orphanages.

   We very much like to spend time together and though it is not enough of it. We like to travel but while only in Ukraine. I very much like to draw pictures with national traditions. I write verses and Valeriy likes creates a songs. Also he very much wants learn to fly on the little airplane.

   Our daughter is a student at the University of Law. She have finished school with a gold medal.

   We live in the big and beautiful city.
Our city called the capital of thousand churches. During revolution 1918 a lot of churches in Kiev were destroyed by communists and all priests have been killed. But now praise the Lord, we have a freedom.

   Tell more please about you, your family, and your church, your city.

   If you have more questions, I shall be glad to answer them.

Love,

Valera and Lora

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