May 2010 MUCH Newsletter

Hello family and friends,

I have arrived safely in Ukraine as my Austrian Airlines plane passed through a window of opportunity, although the volcanic ash continues to cause havoc for European flights. The four flights that took me from Greensboro, NC to Odessa, Ukraine were uneventful and pleasant. I chatted with a couple of women about my work with children in Ukraine during two of my flights. I never know where God’s provisions might appear.

Throughout my journey in America, many people have been very generous to MUCH. Their sincere interest in the needs of the children continues in the midst of their own financial challenges. God continues to bless the children, bless the giving hearts, and to direct me, which is a blessing of its own.

My three months of fundraising and visiting family and friends have come to an end. Now it is time to set into action the new information and contacts that I have found. It seems that each year new opportunities arise to help specific children in addition to the 400 children in three cities and one village that we help on a monthly basis. Sasha, the little girl whom Ira wrote about in the March newsletter, was the topic of conversation at a number of the dinners that I attended in Florida. Another child whom I have not written about yet, lives with his single mother in Marganets. There is limited medical help for him there, and he has some severe disabilities. I will be looking into his situation by phone and when I visit Marganets in September. At this point, I believe that these two children will be the focus of our additional outreach this year.

As MUCH grows in different ways each year, what I do also changes. Social media on the internet has been suggested to me. If you are on Facebook you can now find me there, also. I will be developing a number of new concepts to share MUCH with the world at large. It will take some time, but I am encouraged. I will have some help figuring it all out, but I see that there are many people, old friends and new, to say hello to.

Ira and her husband, Platon, were happy to meet me at the airport in Odessa. Here is more from Ira.

My greatest need remains. Without prayer, I am very limited in my ability to flow through the situations that my daily events offer. Please continue to pray for the children and me.

Blessings of loving and healing,
Mark