Caring for
ORPHANS
Our work is focused on showing the love of Jesus to orphans in Ukraine. We work with orphanages to meet children's basic needs while building loving relationships with them.
Renewing
FAMILIES
Most Ukrainian orphans we meet are connected to relatives who often live in challenging circumstances. We try to engage with them to renew their faith, by providing practical and spiritual support.
Growing
COMMUNITY
God wants us to live in community. We connect children & families with local Cherkassy camps, schools and churches so they can build a relationship with Jesus and the Christian community.
Danny and I had the opportunity to go back to Kompas Park Youth Camp in Ukraine this summer, and it was an encouraging week for many reasons. Both of us have volunteered at camp multiple times over the years (this was Danny’s 12th year!), and we praise God that He’s allowed us to be a part of this ministry over the years. There is something truly relaxing and peacefully familiar about driving through Khreschatyk Village into Kompas Park.
As we reflected on this year’s Youth Camp, we both felt encouraged by how we saw God at work - through the volunteer leaders, campers, staff, and activities. This isn’t to say there weren’t challenging moments, as well. Lack of sleep, a lot of vigorous activities (especially for Danny), and the ever-present language barrier led to moments of frustration and the increased recognition that our bodies are getting older and less resilient every year! However, we left camp feeling encouraged and spiritually revitalized.
Created to love like Jesus, but I’m still learning how
I was thrilled to return to Ukraine again this summer to serve at Hope Now’s Kid’s Camp. I wanted a break from my normal routine and to be with my Ukrainian friends again. I desired to be in a different culture and to see the children I’ve gotten to know over the years. I was excited about the normalcy of going to Ukraine again in the summer. But I wasn’t necessarily ready for conviction…
So often I fail at loving people the way Christ calls me to. I am quickly thrown off by my own selfish desires, focusing on my own agenda rather than the needs and wants of others. Truthfully, as Christ followers, we should be constantly in a state of loving others. Unfortunately, it’s a lot easier to dislike people who are different from us rather than love them. But Jesus told us to literally love our enemies (which is way easier in theory than in practice, but yet I am called to do this). He modeled what real love looks like; He is love. If I’m honest, I fail every day at loving people like Jesus did.
Great Reasons to Give to Charity
Today, this simple verb is treated with a degree of tension that is often quite palpable. We live in an age of self-identification where knowledge of your personal story and self-awareness are perceived as strong character traits. Modern themes about being your own self, saving for retirement and looking after Number 1 resonate throughout social media as though our ancestors never really knew what was important.
Hidden within the disturbing meme is the emerging truth of who we are becoming as humans while the fabric of society wears thin.
How did you spend your Spring Break?
Hope Now Ministries in Ukraine - Sponsor Orphans from the US
Hope Now Ministries is a USA based Christian charity focusing on the orphan community in central Ukraine. We continue the work that our founder and missionary Rev. Vic Jackopson started in 1992. Again and again, God shows His deep abiding love for widows and orphans throughout scripture. In everything we do, all of us at Hope Now aim to bring glory to God while serving His most precious ones. Our attention is centered around orphans, families and community.Over the years, Hope Now USA has a developed a special relationship with Shpola Orphanage – including the Directors, as well as the 140 children who call Shpola home. We partner with the staff, in their own words “to help them realize their dreams for the orphanage.” Together, we have improved the physical living conditions of the children by sponsoring several building projects and implementing a school uniform program. Our teacher training curriculum was greeted enthusiastically and continues today. Our volunteer teams are welcomed anytime, especially for our regular Sunday School Days and numerous camps. Our child sponsorship program offers Hope Now donors a unique way to connect the love of Christ to His children in Ukraine.
We all need a loving family to thrive. Frequently, Shpola families have been broken apart by life's challenges, but some of these families can be renewed. Hope Now cares for many families of orphans who struggle to live a full life. The Lord guides us to mothers who desire to raise their own children, but who need the loving support of Christ, a mentor and a hand up.
Children graduate from Shpola at the end of 9th grade and their life at the orphanage comes to an end. Hopefully, with encouragement, most continue on to Trade School education but this means moving to a new city, living in a public dormitory and being assigned a social worker. With the help of several talented and dedicated seminary students, Hope Now Ministries has developed a thriving Youth Group for Shpola graduates that meets each week in the town of Cherkassy, where many graduates relocate from Shpola. They can relax with familiar faces, share each other’s burdens, form relationships with Christian mentors, all while learning about God’s great love for them. Here, they are eased into a caring Christian community.
To facilitate our efforts, Hope Now USA partners with local churches and charities in the Cherkassy region. Each organization offers opportunities for orphans and families to connect with their local community. Christian leaders are active in the organizations we support and they bring the strength of community to the lives of the lost.