A good friend of SGA and partner in ministry, Pastor Igor Bandura, shared the following account of how Grace Shelter, Odessa came through the past difficult months with the Lord’s help.
The years 2020-2021 have been the most difficult for more than 20 years of our ministry to orphans. We had kept all the children in good health for almost a year but then it started! Almost all the children went to hospital for serious Covid-19 treatment.
We were able to provide the children and adults with sufficient medical hospital care and needed medicine, oxygen and food. Our hospitals do not provide food while you are at hospital, and we had to prepare meals and deliver them to three hospitals simultaneously. We went through a horrific month!
Praise God everybody is safe now, but we have to deal with some consequences that followed the sickness in the health of several children. It creates a challenge to our Shelter’s budget. Â
The entire educational system was transferred to distant education. We transferred all our children to a good school with well-developed on-line platform. We have developed several protocols how to react in case the children or staff would be infected. We had to minimize all the contacts with the outside world.
There were also some difficult decisions we had to make. Five of the children taken from the same family were finally diagnosed with serious mental issues. We have been working hard to help them using different methods but, in this situation, unfortunately we have not succeeded. The children must be put in a special institution with professional care and special education that we are not able to provide.
We love these children dearly, but the officials insisted, and we had to agree. We are going to keep contact with these children and visit them as often as possible. For our team this will be a new experience of co-operation with the state system of special care and with this particular institution. We pray for wisdom and possibilities to serve these children in the new situation.Â
They do this with great joy!Â
Igor also shared that the Shelter team are in the process of taking three new children, two of them black boys – a first for the shelter.
He also shared about a new Shelter ministry which began nine months ago. Every Saturday a 30-minute programme is streamed to the old and neglected people in a city retirement home. The children sing Christian songs, read Bible passages, and share the Gospel. The old people wait every Saturday with great anticipation!Â
This is a ministry of hope to the neglected and vulnerable. Several more retirement homes approached the team requesting a similar programme for them. Igor expressed his joy that they can teach the children to share the Gospel and learn how to serve others. They do this with great joy!Â
Igor finished his report by expressing appreciation for all the help that they receive:
All four families in our Shelter ministry, both adults and children are sending you and all the friends heartfelt greetings! We value the prayers of the saints for our ministry and for our children. In turn, we promise to keep all of our SGA friends in our hearts and prayers! May God bless you richly in Christ Jesus!
SGA was delighted to be able to send extra funds to help cover costs incurred due to the pandemic.Â