Moldova
Viktoria—Gift of Hope in Moldova
“My name is Oksana. I have had a disability since I was a child. I have two children, Viktoria, 5, and Vladislav, 12. We are from Mykolayiv and came to Moldova on March 20. So, we’ve been here for nine months. We’ve been living in the village of Ryshkova for the last six months. We have only one dream: for the war to finish and to be able to go back home and tightly hug my husband and my parents. “We have been to many assistance centers for refugees. But when we came to your Christian center, we received what other centers couldn’t give us-peace for our souls, hope, and encouragement that nobody can take away from us. “My children had such a wonderful day today, thanks to Mission Eurasia’s iCare team in Moldova. They took part in special Gift of Hope Christmas program for children and received gifts based…
A New Home for Natasha
“When we first met Natasha’s family, their home was in a terrible state,” shares Denis, one of our School Without Walls (SWW) coordinators in Moldova. “Their two-room house was too small to comfortably accommodate Natasha and her six children, very dirty, and insufficiently heated. Natasha and her partner often drank and left the children alone without supervision.” Denis and his team of young Next Generation Christian leaders started providing the family with food, clothing, firewood, and other aid as soon as they heard about their situation; however when authorities learned about the family’s situation they came and took the children away, explaining that Natasha’s parental rights would only be returned if she could provide adequate living conditions. Natasha was unable to find better accommodations with her limited resources, and started to lose hope of getting her children back. Saddened to see the family torn apart, the SWW students decided…
Yura’s Story
Our School Without Walls (SWW) students in Moldova met Yura three years ago when he was 12 years old. They met Yura through his sister Inna who had been attending church for a while and had made a decision to follow Christ. She then started inviting Yura to children’s events at church. Yura was always very shy and reserved and wouldn’t talk to anyone. Inna explained to them that he had speech impediments, and she gave some more background information about their family. Their mother worked in Russia to support the family and was almost never around. Their father was an alcoholic and was abusive towards his children. Yura’s speech was developing normally until one day when his father returned home drunk and his aggressive behavior scared Yura so badly that afterwards he shut down as a way of protecting himself, and his speech problems were one way that this…
Meeting Jesus at Summer Bible Camp
Sasha is one of our current School Without Walls (SWW) students in Moldova. After many years of rebellion and atheism, Sasha felt hopeless, and even attempted to commit suicide. But God intervened and broke through her hardened heart, bringing her to a Veritas summer Bible camp last year, run by some of Mission Eurasia’s SWW students and young leaders. In her own words she shares her testimony and how God is now using her to mentor troubled teens who feel the same fear and anger that she once felt: “If you asked me five years ago if I believed in God and in the meaning of life, I would have answered that neither one existed,” shares Sasha. “I grew up in a family with different views on faith. My parents never believed in God and still don’t believe in Him. Both of my grandmothers are Orthodox. One grandmother took me…