Hello family and friends,
Happy New Year 2010 to each of you! We have begun the new year in a positive frame of mind. We worked hard to make the Christmas Challenge a success, and we did meet our goal of $5270. It was close, but we made it over the top. The entire MUCH staff and the children who will benefit from these programs send you a very big THANK YOU!
In preparation for my visit to the states on February 17, I have been shooting some video and taking pictures of the children who are receiving massage this month. Of the five children who are receiving treatment from Tanya, one of our masseuses, four children are less than five years old. I wrote a few words about Sasha in the December newsletter. She is seven years old. She has the sweetest personality and it is clear that her mother loves her very much. Sasha has a good mind, but it will break your heart to see her body. She has a very noticeable curve in her spine. Between her right and left rib cage, her chest is sunken in. Her feet are twisted inward. If she could walk, and she is working toward that end, she would walk on the sides of her feet.
I met Sasha last year during her massage treatment. I see some progress this time, and will video her at the end of her treatment this month. She is one of the many children who have severe physical challenges that can be altered significantly. This year we will work with twelve children every month. The more often each child can receive a twenty day massage treatment, the better the chances are that the child will have new abilities that will last a lifetime. Thanks to the success of the Christmas Challenge, at least four additional children’s lives will be changed because of massage.
I visited the Dobromel Orphanage early in December on my return trip from Warsaw, Poland. Pastor Volodya continues his outreach work with the children of this orphanage. As a pastor, he works hard to touch their spiritual lives. As a humanitarian, he wants to help the children improve their quality of living. This may mean a new pair of shoes, clothing, or even a much needed pair of socks. This is where MUCH makes his work possible through the Christmas Challenge. Even though he lives in Borislav, two hours from the orphanage; his passion for these children continues. I saw and photographed the evidence of the relationships that he built with the children during the past eight years. I see it in the eyes of the children. One of the boys wants to go to the Borislav seminary and study to be a minister. He is always sharing with Volodya some scripture that he has been studying. I see hope in the eyes of the children; hope that they can have a life of purpose.
Let’s see what Ira has to share with us about another child named Sasha!
I do not have the gifts that each of my team members in three different cities has, but I do my part to make it possible for each of them to do what God has called them to do. That is what MUCH is all about. We are helping the people of Ukraine help themselves. What a joy it is to see the people of Ukraine receive the opportunity to do what they were created to do!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Ira's Insights (January 2010)
Stories That Touch Your Heart
How often are you overwhelmed in your life? What can stop you from thinking about yourself, but cause you to think about others? All people have vital needs – they want to eat, drink, and they want to be happy. But I am sure that in your life you have met special people who want to be as “everyone else is.” Their needs are special. They want to be healthy and do what other people do without any limitations.
Last week Mark and I visited one family where there is a special girl. Her name is Sasha L. She will be 5 years old in the end of January. She is the second child in her family. When she was born, no doctor told her mother that this child had some problems. On the contrary, they assured her mother that everything was well with Sasha. The mother saw some strange things in the physical development of her daughter and she addressed the doctors not only one time, but they didn’t see any serious problems. In spite of the assurances of the doctors, Sasha’s mother continued to show her child to doctors. When Sasha was 2 years old, the doctors had to acknowledge that this girl had the special disease that is called Cerebral Palsy. In her second year, she couldn’t walk and jump as children of her age. At that time Sasha’s mother learned about the massage clinic of MUCH, and she joined it. Also they started to visit “Gold Angel” – the rehabilitation center in Odessa. It was the beginning of a new life for Sasha’s family. They knew with what they had to fight. In her small cozy flat where her family lives, there is some nice equipment for Sasha’s physical rehabilitation that her father made with his own hands.
Sasha has had much progress since she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Today this girl is “a ball of fire”. She likes to dance, do crafts, learn poems, and walk. Although her balance is still developing, every new step is a great joy for her mother. Looking at this girl and her mother, I was overwhelmed with the progress that this girl has, with her desire to move forward to have better results.
Each little bit of progress, her new steps, are a great gratitude to those who support the massage clinic for such children as Sasha. I am sure that Sasha will have a nice future because in my city there is a massage clinic from MUCH!
Until next time,
Ira
Thursday, December 24, 2009
December 2009 MUCH Newsletter
Hello family and friends,
It is the happiest season of the year. Around the world, people pause to celebrate Christmas. Some celebrate for a whole season, some for a day, and some, only for a few hours. There are many different faiths and beliefs about God, but there seems to be a common season of joy around the season some call Christmas. Children, most of all, look forward to this time. There is such mystery and anticipation of what Christmas morning will bring.
Here in Ukraine, Christmas is celebrated twice, on December 25th and then again on January 7th, the traditional Ukrainian Christmas. At Marganets, we have been giving small bags of candy to the children for Christmas. When I visit, some of the children, carrying their treasured bag of candy with them everywhere they go, always want to share a piece or two with me. They certainly have the Christmas spirit deep within their hearts. In the midst of all of the problems of their everyday lives, they still have an innocence that has not been crushed by the troubles of this world.
Earlier this year, I visited little Sasha, 7 years old, at the massage clinic. As I think of Christmas for her, I think of the wish for her scoliosis to be corrected and for her legs to be straightened and untwisted. For her, Christmas is a time of hope. When I visited Vladik, age 2, he was already seeing the results from the massage clinic. His once bowed legs are now straight and he is walking very well. For him, Christmas is a time for rejoicing. Seven of the children who received services from the massage clinic are attending regular school for the first time, because they can walk. For them, Christmas is a time of great joy.
Every group of children that has been helped by MUCH is entering the Christmas season with a little more hope than they did in the past. I see smiling faces on the children that I visit in the three cities where we serve. God is doing great things through MUCH with your gifts throughout the year, and there is still time to give to our Christmas Fund Raiser. Not only the children are being helped, but here is the story of how one of our own, Anatoliy, has been helped. For seven years, this Ukrainian man in retirement has served the children through MUCH. Ira tells the story of his rejoicing this Christmas season.
We wish each of you a very blessed Christmas season. May it continue with you throughout the year. May God bless you as you in turn bless others. From Ira and me, and all of the MUCH team on two continents, may God be with you, protect, and guide you throughout 2010.
Blessings of love and healing,
Mark
It is the happiest season of the year. Around the world, people pause to celebrate Christmas. Some celebrate for a whole season, some for a day, and some, only for a few hours. There are many different faiths and beliefs about God, but there seems to be a common season of joy around the season some call Christmas. Children, most of all, look forward to this time. There is such mystery and anticipation of what Christmas morning will bring.
Here in Ukraine, Christmas is celebrated twice, on December 25th and then again on January 7th, the traditional Ukrainian Christmas. At Marganets, we have been giving small bags of candy to the children for Christmas. When I visit, some of the children, carrying their treasured bag of candy with them everywhere they go, always want to share a piece or two with me. They certainly have the Christmas spirit deep within their hearts. In the midst of all of the problems of their everyday lives, they still have an innocence that has not been crushed by the troubles of this world.
Earlier this year, I visited little Sasha, 7 years old, at the massage clinic. As I think of Christmas for her, I think of the wish for her scoliosis to be corrected and for her legs to be straightened and untwisted. For her, Christmas is a time of hope. When I visited Vladik, age 2, he was already seeing the results from the massage clinic. His once bowed legs are now straight and he is walking very well. For him, Christmas is a time for rejoicing. Seven of the children who received services from the massage clinic are attending regular school for the first time, because they can walk. For them, Christmas is a time of great joy.
Every group of children that has been helped by MUCH is entering the Christmas season with a little more hope than they did in the past. I see smiling faces on the children that I visit in the three cities where we serve. God is doing great things through MUCH with your gifts throughout the year, and there is still time to give to our Christmas Fund Raiser. Not only the children are being helped, but here is the story of how one of our own, Anatoliy, has been helped. For seven years, this Ukrainian man in retirement has served the children through MUCH. Ira tells the story of his rejoicing this Christmas season.
We wish each of you a very blessed Christmas season. May it continue with you throughout the year. May God bless you as you in turn bless others. From Ira and me, and all of the MUCH team on two continents, may God be with you, protect, and guide you throughout 2010.
Blessings of love and healing,
Mark
Ira's Insights (December 2009)
From the first lines of my article I would like to congratulate you with the coming wonderful Christmas season and the New Year, 2010. May it be a time when you can reach out to many around you, and also personally experience the presence of our wonderful Savior and Lord.
Usually, December is the month when I begin to dream about the New Year and review the year that almost has passed. It brings to my mind how many good things I have done, and how many I haven’t but could… It gives me a strong desire to work better in the next year. Because of my work I have to read, speak and listen very much. I am always encouraged by good examples of other people.
I would like to tell you about one person who is not a child, but he helps children in need. His name is Anatoly Vlasov. If I am not mistaken he was the first person through whom God attracted Mark’s attention to the children of the Marganets orphanage. Since that time God has done a lot through the MUCH organization. Anatoly is one of the vessels of God. God does His work through this person there. Anatoly’s house is always open for strangers and his family is very hospitable. He is that person who knocks on the hearts of people of his small town where he lives.
Recently, it happened that this person needed help greatly. He needed to have an operation on one of his eyes. It was obvious that one of his eyes couldn’t see. When he wrote emails his letters were of a big size. The operation cost very much and he couldn’t raise enough money for it with his little pension.
I am very thankful to people who made it possible, who donated the required sum for his operation. You are a blessing for him. Today Anatoly can see with both eyes. On the day when he came back from the hospital he wrote to Mark and me to thank and to tell that he can see with that eye.
I know that God makes wonderful things and I am so praiseful to God that He has helped Anatoly to see a wonder.
Sometimes it is very difficult for me to see needs of others. Such help as this one always inspires me to do something for people in need. Today life is difficult and many people have locked their hearts and don’t want to see the needs of others. They need to have operations too, operations on their hearts. My prayer is for us to be able always to see needs of others and to be blessings for them…
Until next time,
Ira
Usually, December is the month when I begin to dream about the New Year and review the year that almost has passed. It brings to my mind how many good things I have done, and how many I haven’t but could… It gives me a strong desire to work better in the next year. Because of my work I have to read, speak and listen very much. I am always encouraged by good examples of other people.
I would like to tell you about one person who is not a child, but he helps children in need. His name is Anatoly Vlasov. If I am not mistaken he was the first person through whom God attracted Mark’s attention to the children of the Marganets orphanage. Since that time God has done a lot through the MUCH organization. Anatoly is one of the vessels of God. God does His work through this person there. Anatoly’s house is always open for strangers and his family is very hospitable. He is that person who knocks on the hearts of people of his small town where he lives.
Recently, it happened that this person needed help greatly. He needed to have an operation on one of his eyes. It was obvious that one of his eyes couldn’t see. When he wrote emails his letters were of a big size. The operation cost very much and he couldn’t raise enough money for it with his little pension.
I am very thankful to people who made it possible, who donated the required sum for his operation. You are a blessing for him. Today Anatoly can see with both eyes. On the day when he came back from the hospital he wrote to Mark and me to thank and to tell that he can see with that eye.
I know that God makes wonderful things and I am so praiseful to God that He has helped Anatoly to see a wonder.
Sometimes it is very difficult for me to see needs of others. Such help as this one always inspires me to do something for people in need. Today life is difficult and many people have locked their hearts and don’t want to see the needs of others. They need to have operations too, operations on their hearts. My prayer is for us to be able always to see needs of others and to be blessings for them…
Until next time,
Ira
November 2009 MUCH Newsletter
Hello family and friends,
As I write this newsletter, we are in the middle of grandmother’s summer. We had about two weeks of freezing temperatures, and now it has warmed up considerably. On Tuesday the 17th, I will travel to Poland to buy a new Ukrainian visa. I will stop on my way back to visit the children at the Dobromel orphanage.
Our Christmas Fundraiser is in full swing as December approaches!
Eastern Ukraine
In addition to our regular monthly support for clothing, shoes, jackets, boots, etc., four annual programs at Marganets Orphanage/School are changing the lives of our children. They are the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program, the computer class, the massage program, and the music and dance program. These programs began as pilot projects, but they have shown such great results that MUCH started the Christmas Fund Raiser to maintain them.
The Transition Home in Marganets is a small project, but it builds self-image and dignity in a most fragile period in the lives of these children as they pass from difficult homes to the orphanage system. The children come having such basic needs as underclothing, socks and shoes.
Western Ukraine
At the Dobromel Orphanage, MUCH supports a great program for special children that is eight years old. With our help to buy clothing, shoes and food, Pastor Volodya can continue to brighten the lives of the children and change their futures in a spiritual, psychological and practical way.
Southwestern Ukraine
In Illichevsk, our massage therapy program has been underway for a number of years with outstanding results. Yet, many children with disabilities are still not receiving services. We hope to raise enough money to add a few more children to our program this year.
The total amount of the MUCH Christmas Fundraiser for 2009 is $5,270. If everyone who reads this newsletter were to contribute $20, less than dinner for two, about 300 of the 400 plus children that MUCH serves will be able to continue to receive the services provided through our 2008 Christmas Fundraiser.
I have given my life, my future, to help these children. Even so, I need help. Please look to God this Christmas Season and ask Him his desire for your gift giving. Imagine the joy that it is when God blesses through you!
Blessings of love and healing,
Mark
As I write this newsletter, we are in the middle of grandmother’s summer. We had about two weeks of freezing temperatures, and now it has warmed up considerably. On Tuesday the 17th, I will travel to Poland to buy a new Ukrainian visa. I will stop on my way back to visit the children at the Dobromel orphanage.
Our Christmas Fundraiser is in full swing as December approaches!
Eastern Ukraine
In addition to our regular monthly support for clothing, shoes, jackets, boots, etc., four annual programs at Marganets Orphanage/School are changing the lives of our children. They are the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program, the computer class, the massage program, and the music and dance program. These programs began as pilot projects, but they have shown such great results that MUCH started the Christmas Fund Raiser to maintain them.
The Transition Home in Marganets is a small project, but it builds self-image and dignity in a most fragile period in the lives of these children as they pass from difficult homes to the orphanage system. The children come having such basic needs as underclothing, socks and shoes.
Western Ukraine
At the Dobromel Orphanage, MUCH supports a great program for special children that is eight years old. With our help to buy clothing, shoes and food, Pastor Volodya can continue to brighten the lives of the children and change their futures in a spiritual, psychological and practical way.
Southwestern Ukraine
In Illichevsk, our massage therapy program has been underway for a number of years with outstanding results. Yet, many children with disabilities are still not receiving services. We hope to raise enough money to add a few more children to our program this year.
The total amount of the MUCH Christmas Fundraiser for 2009 is $5,270. If everyone who reads this newsletter were to contribute $20, less than dinner for two, about 300 of the 400 plus children that MUCH serves will be able to continue to receive the services provided through our 2008 Christmas Fundraiser.
I have given my life, my future, to help these children. Even so, I need help. Please look to God this Christmas Season and ask Him his desire for your gift giving. Imagine the joy that it is when God blesses through you!
Blessings of love and healing,
Mark
Ira's Insights (November 2009)
Expecting a Miracle
In our life there are some seasons or Holydays that bring us the sweetest memories and warm feelings. Christmas is one of those Holydays. When I turn my memories back to my childhood I smell oranges and tangerines that my father brought. And the smell of tropical fruits is still associated with Christmas season in my subconscious. And of course the memories about this season bring me some kind of feeling that I call expecting a miracle. I liked that Holyday because it bound the members of family. I am sure that every reader can tell something wonderful about this miraculous Holyday. It can happen simply because we are from the same country called “Childhood”.
My childhood was during the Soviet Union and at that time Christmas was as a background. The biggest accent was on the New Year. People were preparing for this event very thoroughly. Everybody was in hurry to get a Fur tree by the 31st of December, to buy presents for their family and friends and they were waiting for coming of the Old Man, Frost. People said: The way you meet the New Year the same way you will live the year. And of course people were trying to do their best to meet it as they wanted to live the New Year.
During the Soviet Union period people didn’t speak much about Christmas. In my memories this Holyday was candies and cakes that had been bought for children who came to the door and sang Carols. Those songs were not as Christian songs that tell you about the birth of Christ but as Folklore songs. Also during that time some children visited their grandparents and Godparents to bring them kalatch (kind of fancy loaf of bread) and to get presents. Christmas was celebrated according to the Old Calendar - on the 7th of January.
I am very glad that many things have changed in my Country and today you can go to the church without any fearing to be thrown to the prison. And the attitudes of many people have changed toward the Holydays too. Now many people know that according to the New Calendar Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December and they know what this event means. Christmas has become more important for many people of my Country than meeting the New Year. We live in some kind of transitional period. Today many Christians in Ukraine celebrate this Holyday twice – in December and in January. Do you know who are the happiest ones – children! Now they can get more gifts on this wonderful Holyday. It is great for me to realize that this double Holyday can help more people, especially disadvantaged children– from orphanages, homeless children and special ones. And of course it can help us to become kinder and more soft-hearted.
Today God opens many doors for us, and the name of one of them is virtue. That calls us to help those who are not able to reward you for your kind heart. In our lives we meet many those who are not able to do this, those who are in despair and need a piece of hope. Believe me, even your little help can change the attitude of such a child toward life, can bring real delight to his little world, and can fill him with feeling called “expecting a miracle”… .
Until next time,
Ira
In our life there are some seasons or Holydays that bring us the sweetest memories and warm feelings. Christmas is one of those Holydays. When I turn my memories back to my childhood I smell oranges and tangerines that my father brought. And the smell of tropical fruits is still associated with Christmas season in my subconscious. And of course the memories about this season bring me some kind of feeling that I call expecting a miracle. I liked that Holyday because it bound the members of family. I am sure that every reader can tell something wonderful about this miraculous Holyday. It can happen simply because we are from the same country called “Childhood”.
My childhood was during the Soviet Union and at that time Christmas was as a background. The biggest accent was on the New Year. People were preparing for this event very thoroughly. Everybody was in hurry to get a Fur tree by the 31st of December, to buy presents for their family and friends and they were waiting for coming of the Old Man, Frost. People said: The way you meet the New Year the same way you will live the year. And of course people were trying to do their best to meet it as they wanted to live the New Year.
During the Soviet Union period people didn’t speak much about Christmas. In my memories this Holyday was candies and cakes that had been bought for children who came to the door and sang Carols. Those songs were not as Christian songs that tell you about the birth of Christ but as Folklore songs. Also during that time some children visited their grandparents and Godparents to bring them kalatch (kind of fancy loaf of bread) and to get presents. Christmas was celebrated according to the Old Calendar - on the 7th of January.
I am very glad that many things have changed in my Country and today you can go to the church without any fearing to be thrown to the prison. And the attitudes of many people have changed toward the Holydays too. Now many people know that according to the New Calendar Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December and they know what this event means. Christmas has become more important for many people of my Country than meeting the New Year. We live in some kind of transitional period. Today many Christians in Ukraine celebrate this Holyday twice – in December and in January. Do you know who are the happiest ones – children! Now they can get more gifts on this wonderful Holyday. It is great for me to realize that this double Holyday can help more people, especially disadvantaged children– from orphanages, homeless children and special ones. And of course it can help us to become kinder and more soft-hearted.
Today God opens many doors for us, and the name of one of them is virtue. That calls us to help those who are not able to reward you for your kind heart. In our lives we meet many those who are not able to do this, those who are in despair and need a piece of hope. Believe me, even your little help can change the attitude of such a child toward life, can bring real delight to his little world, and can fill him with feeling called “expecting a miracle”… .
Until next time,
Ira
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Survival for the Elderly
In Ukraine, the pension does not provide much money, so many of the elderly create some type of work that may help with their income. Some sell flowers that they grow at home; others sell sunflower seeds and nuts. Many will collect the things in their home that they no long use and try to sell them. They will choose a well travelled path, put a sheet down on the ground, and lay out their goods to sell.
I have been living in the same apartment here in Illichevsk, Ukraine for six years. Some people in my building have died, other have sold their apartment and moved away. There are a number of older women that I see as I go in and out of my building who are pleasant in conversation with me. Not a lot of words, but we have communication.
There is one woman on a pension who lives on the fifth floor that I interact with from time to time. It is difficult to know the ages of people here; many look much older than they are. This particular woman caught my attention one day when she was returning from her work. She had a small hand truck with three nylon bags stacked and strapped to it that she was dragging up the stairs, one backbreaking step at a time. Immediately, I grabbed hold of the bottom of the truck and helped her carry it all of the way to the fifth floor.
Over the years, I have helped her up the steps numerous times. Each time, as I hear her wheezing with every breath that she takes, I realize the reality of the cost of freedom for the people of this country. This woman, like many others, gets up early in the morning, takes her goods to a place in the city, and sits and waits. She may sit in that same spot all day. I have seen her with her item set out and clothes hung from a line between two trees.
I don’t know much about this woman, but I see that she has a life, she has purpose, and she moves forward every day. I have seen her apartment that she shares with another woman, or maybe one of them owns only one room. It is dismal, dark, and very depressing for me to experience, but I wonder what it looks like through her eyes. I wonder how she sees her life. Most of all, I wonder what her life was like prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
I have been living in the same apartment here in Illichevsk, Ukraine for six years. Some people in my building have died, other have sold their apartment and moved away. There are a number of older women that I see as I go in and out of my building who are pleasant in conversation with me. Not a lot of words, but we have communication.
There is one woman on a pension who lives on the fifth floor that I interact with from time to time. It is difficult to know the ages of people here; many look much older than they are. This particular woman caught my attention one day when she was returning from her work. She had a small hand truck with three nylon bags stacked and strapped to it that she was dragging up the stairs, one backbreaking step at a time. Immediately, I grabbed hold of the bottom of the truck and helped her carry it all of the way to the fifth floor.
Over the years, I have helped her up the steps numerous times. Each time, as I hear her wheezing with every breath that she takes, I realize the reality of the cost of freedom for the people of this country. This woman, like many others, gets up early in the morning, takes her goods to a place in the city, and sits and waits. She may sit in that same spot all day. I have seen her with her item set out and clothes hung from a line between two trees.
I don’t know much about this woman, but I see that she has a life, she has purpose, and she moves forward every day. I have seen her apartment that she shares with another woman, or maybe one of them owns only one room. It is dismal, dark, and very depressing for me to experience, but I wonder what it looks like through her eyes. I wonder how she sees her life. Most of all, I wonder what her life was like prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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