Heritage House Project

We love traditions!

2007-07-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

If you want to be accepted by Ukrainians you have to have endurance, love for big meals and socializing. Whatever holiday it is - Saint Paul's day, teachers day, a birthday party - Ukrainians
prepare a program, set up a big meal and enjoy the crowd. There is always a good reason or occasion to keep this good tradition going.

The month of May marks the end of the school year. Not until recently Ukrainian schools would schedule graduation parties only for 9th graders or 11th graders. Having Finished 9 or 11 years of school a teenager could go to a professional school or a college. It was reasonable to have a graduation party, a big meal, a boat ride, dancing till 5 am and eeting sunrise. It has been a great tradition. A couple of years ago somebody decided that too many people get to be left out and came up with a new idea. From that time on the 3d graders have a graduation party in May and say farewell to the elementary school.

Two days ago our 3d graders from school-internot #4 had a great opportunity to say farewell to the elementary school. It started with an hour program that included reciting poetry and singing songs about
great three years of school, "thank you" poems and flowers to the teachers and supervisors, longs speeches of teachers and a director of internot. The children did really well. Dima Illin (he has a hip
problem) got dressed as a sister who really wanted to go to school and performed a wonderful dance. The bow on his head kept falling off and it looked like a sister was constantly beating herself on the head every time she thought about the school.

After the program everybody was ready for a big meal. A nice dinner at the restaurant was arranged by Harvest international. It was hard to see the children behind the high chairs. Little Oleg (the smallest boy in the class) pretended he was a king surrounded by knights and servants. Some of the knights were alive for him from the paintings on the walls. Everybody enjoyed the meal including the director of the internot. God really used her to make this party happen. The director of City Education Department called the day before and told that she would not give her permission to take the children out. The director
of internot found enough patience, wisdom and right words to defend two Americans and the children and get the permission. This was the first time she did such a favor for us and I made sure she heard our words of appreciation. I am glad I have enough Russian vocabulary to say something nice to people. The Lord really was with us on that day.

Every child in the third grade got a nice watch. That was a very valueable present for them. We told the children that those watches are meant to remind them about a different starting point in their life when they have to be responsible for their personal things, words, actions and decisions they make in their lives.

Tomorrow is the last day of school. In a week all of the children will go the the summer camp. This is an important time to make plans about the work with the children during the summer, remodeling of the
classrooms, bedrooms and playrooms, making decisions about the next school year. We would like to stay with the same 47 children and 12 people on the staff. Please join us in prayers for the "Heritage
program". Right now Tania and I, need God's guidance, wisdom, right decisions and enough funding for the next school year. We do not have any of that yet.

Making a Wish

2007-01-05T01:45:00.000-08:00

A WISH OF A CHILD FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE

The New Year's Eve preparations in Ukraine are not about picking the right Christmas present or the right size Christmas tree. For months a regular Ukrainian is preoccupied with picking the right company for his New Year's Eve party. My wife says that Ukrainians secretly believe the people from the New Year's Eve party will be around you for the next year. For this reason everybody traditionally celebrates with the family and close friends. Tania's high school friend met her future husband at a New Year's Eve party and many people would agree that it just confirms the funny belief.

Tania and I had plans for a quiet New Year's Eve dinner at home, just the three of us. After weeks of Christmas projects with the children and close friends we really needed some time alone. Tania was fixing Olivier salad and golubtsi (stuffed cabbage) in the kitchen when the telephone rang. It was Olesia Vladimirovna, the main supervisor in the 5th grade at the orphanage. She said that all the children except for Andrew and Aliona left for Christmas break. Every child at the orphanage hopes to spend New Year's Eve with a grandmother or an aunt, or a godmother. Nobody came for Andrew or Aliona. Andrew's grandfather was doing remodeling in his apartment and did not want Andrew around. Aliona tried to call her godmother but there was no answer. The two children felt very sad and deserted.

For a few seconds everybody at the orphanage heard a scream of joy. Andrew and Aliona were very excited about coming to our house. At some point Andrew hesitated and then asked the supervisor if we could invite Tolik, too. Tolik is Andrew's old friend who was moved to the 6th grade this year. Andrew could not think about having a good time and leaving his friend behind. What a good friend! The children could not hide their happy spirit when they entered our house. Before Andrew had a thought of taking off his boots, he yelled, "Tatiana Michaelovna, tell me what I can do to help!"

Since it was Sunday evening we all went for the evening service which was being held at our friends home. Following the service, we then had a walk to Primorsky boulevard to enjoy the street celebrations and came back home to finish preparing and enjoying our New Years Eve dinner. We were all very happy and thankful to God for the opportunity to share love.

The children eagerly waited for midnight to make a wish for the upcoming year. They all grew silent as a serious look came over their young faces. I, in my heart made a wish for each of these sweet kids, too. I know that "the Lord hears the desires of the hearts of those that fear Him...and watches over all who love Him." ( Ps145:19) This is what we try to teach the children. As the children were leaving for the orphanage the next afternoon, we assured them that the Lord heard their wishes.

On January 3 Aliona gave us a call. She was happy to let us know that she was with her godmother for the rest of the week. I think I know what Aliona's wish was and I am happy it came true very quickly. Everybody needs to feel loved and cared for. The children should not beg for this basic right.

According to the Ukrainian belief this is going to be another year with our 40 wonderful children and 12 people on the staff. We hope that the Lord will provide enough funds and resources for us to be able to make these children happier. We pray it is God's will and He keeps encouraging us that everything is in His hands.

From Tania, Aby and all of the children, our hope is that the Lord fulfills the desires of your hearts and that you have a wonderful New Year.

Love,
Paul, Tania and Aby

mailto:beck@real.ua

or mail to our

alternative address:

paul_becker49@yahoo.com

How Children Learn to Love

2006-12-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

" For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. "
John3:15.

At Christmas time it is only natural for us to think about love, love of our friends, love of Jesus Christ and love of God the Father.

How children learn to love?

I love my ten-month old daughter. I can not wait for her to learn how to speak. There is only one reason: I am waiting to hear her say, "Daddy, I love you!" I know that Aby will say, "I love you" quite soon because she hears those words from me a hundred times a day.
How can a person say, "I love you" if they never heard those words as a child? It really hit me to hear from our program psychologist about the number of the children in both of our ninth grades who had never heard the words of love from their parents.

Tatiana Vasilevna is a strong Christian counsellor with a lot of experience in working with difficult teenagers and drug addicts. She used to be a drug addict herself but the Lord saved her 10 years ago and she has been a great witness of God's grace ever since. She has been a real gift from God to our children.

Katia and Tania are sisters and they are both in our program at the orphanage. Katia is 16 and Tania is 15. They never heard their mother, or father, or grandmother say to them, "I love you". The two sisters could not say those words to each other this afternoon during their hour with Tatiana Vasilevna. Katia never said ,"I love you" to anybody and she just did not know how to do it!

Katia and Tania came to us from an orphanage in the village last year. They both are very nice and sweet girls. Every weekend they go to visit their alcoholic mother. They do it because she needs their help. This woman has never said to her daughters, "I love you"! They have never heard the grandmother say these words to their mother either. Some people spend their entire life waiting to hear these words and it never comes. I am reminded of the verse from Exodus 20 where it says that "the children will be punished for the sin of their fathers to the third and fourth generation of those that hate Me". Katia had to make a choice this afternoon if she wanted to carry on the hatred in her family. Will she be able to love people and her own children in the future even though she had never been taught love? Tatiana Vasilevna prayed with the two sisters at the end of their session and gave them an assignment. For a few days they have to try to say in their minds and then whisper to each other, "I love you!"
A lot of the children at the orphanage-internot #4 in Odessa hate their parents and this hatred destroys their lives. What we put a lot of our energy and time into is helping them forgive their parents. It is very hard to talk about God's love and loving God to the children who were not raised in love. From working with the street children and orphans I have learned over the years that before teaching them to love God and others we need to help them learn to love their parents. This is why we have 10 staff members working with our 45 orphans daily, and we appreciate your daily prayers for our dear children, psychologists, tutors and supervisors. God has to change the future of these children!

Sveta S., who has been in our program at the orphanage for 6 years and, for the first time, told her mother how much she loves her. Sveta met with Tatiana Vasilevna many times talking about anger and hurt in her heart. Sveta has 3 older brothers, a grandmother and an alcoholic mother who just got out of prison and is dying from lung cancer. Sveta would not spend even five minutes in the room visiting before her mother would start kicking her out. Tatiana Vasilevna tried to explain to Sveta her mother's behavior, pointing out the fear, guilt and pain the mother could possibly have towards her own children. Sveta was encouraged to make the first move and tell her mother the words of love. The next day Sveta went to visit her mother. We prayed. A few hours later Sveta was running up the stairs to our new methodology room. The door opened and she yelled, "You were right, you were so right about my mother, Tatiana Vasilevna! My mother and I cried for a long time and then she said that she loves me!"
Vika G. is not in our class anymore. Because of her age she was moved to a different class this Fall and she is in the 6th grade while her old classmates and friends are in the 5th grade. You can still see her most of the time in the 5th grade playroom in the afternoon because she feels love there. She recently turned 14 and it was the most touching birthday in her life! The two 5th grade supervisors saw the girls putting stuff together to give to Vika on her birthday. The girls had very little to give and the supervisors gave Olia, Sasha and Aliona some money to run to the store and buy a little gift for their friend. At the store the girls loved a beautiful card but they found out they were short on money. Sasha came up to the saleslady and told how much they wanted to buy the card for their friend but they were 10 kopeikas short (one American cent). The woman discovered that these girls do not have mamas and papas but they love their good friend Vika. She did not just let them buy this card but also offered to pick one more card. Vika could not wait to show us the birthday presents from her old friends when Tania and I walked into the playroom. The supervisors were smiling. We took Vika to the store and asked her to pick a birthday present. Vika said, "Please, buy me a box of laundry detergent!" It was hard for me to hide tears in my eyes. Vika was happy and grateful to get a bag full of cleaning supplies. But there was only one thing that made her birthday very special - knowing that so many people love her!
Thank you for showing God's love to our 45 orphans through your prayers, gifts and financial support! For the last few months we have been able to buy a lot of clothes, school supplies, medications, books, Christian movies and new furniture for them. The children love their new methodology room where they can spend time with their psychologists and tutors who help them shape their future in Christ!
Merry Christmas and our love to you!
Paul, Tania and Aby Becker

...and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins . MT 1:21
--
mailto:beck@real.ua or paul_becker49@yahoo.com

Tax deductible contributions can be made out to :

Chapelgate Presbyterian Church
2600 Marriottsville Road
Marriottsville, Maryland 21104
memo on check: Account # 9284M Paul Becker Orphans Ministry
or
Ukraine Children's Aid Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 2047
Ellicott City, MD 21043-2047
attn: Becker- Odessa

Discovering Freedom

2006-11-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

Friday night four of us were driving back to Odessa from Kiev: Tania, I, Lisa and Aby. The girls had worked hard to make two weeks of classes possible for over 90 pastors at Ukraine Biblical Seminary. Lisa and Aby were asleep on the back seat. Tania and I were discussing details of the plan for the next morning, October 21.
Over a month ago our 9th graders at the orphanage-internot received an invitation to attend a Radooga Christian conference for teenagers in Odessa on October 21. RADOOGA (All-Ukrainian Charitable Camp Resource Fund) is a unique ministry for teenagers in Ukraine. They do summer camps and conferences around Ukraine to show the guidance and life in Christ. We were surprised that 19 of our children raised their hands and showed their desire to go. We have never taken our children from the orphanage to Christian conferences before. The director gave her permission and it was a great blessing! The conference seemed like a great opportunity for the kids to learn more about freedom in God and have fellowship with other Christian young people.
Tania was on the phone making arrangements for transportation, lunch and permission from orphanage administration to take the children to the conference. She got off the phone with Ludmilla Vasilevna, 9-B class supervisor, and turned pale. According to the supervisor, we had to cancel our plans as the large group of state officials from Kiev were coming to the orphanage to see the children. I could not believe what I heard and decided it would be best to call the director for clarification. She apologized and said no. It was very important for all the children to stay at the orphanage all day. Then she changed her mind and said, "Ok, five children can go". We thanked God for His mercy.

Marika, Ilya, Denis, Nastia Samoylenko, Nastia Shemiakina, Katia Gavva and Zina Michaelovna (the supervisor) were getting off the van smiling from ear to ear. After kissing the sixth set of cheeks Tania yelled, "You are six, not five! How did you manage to bring one more?" Dear Zina Michaelovna got the biggest smile and said, " I trust my children more than the administration when it comes to counting!"

The children had a fantastic time at the conference and also buying their own lunch at

McDonald's!

Yesterday we had a group meeting with all of the 9th graders. Everybody got a chance to hear of the conference highlights:
Denis said, "The music was great and I liked the skit!"
Both Nastias asked if the director of Radooga could give them a copy of the script from the skit. They all really wanted to do a skit about freedom at orphanage talent night.
Marika summerized what she had learned in this very mature statement,
"Freedom is not a goal, it is a privilege from God. Our freedom is in Christ and not in having everything we want!"

As always, we thank God and you for your continued interest and support of our children.
Paul, Tania and Aby Becker

Tax deductible donations can be sent to one of two locations:
(100% of your donation goes to our ministry)

Chapelgate Presbyterian Church
2600 Marriottsville Road
Marriottsville, MD 21104-1628
memo: Becker acct # 9284M

or
Ukraine Children's Aid Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 2047
Ellicott City, MD 21043-2047
attn: Becker- Odessa
--
mailto:beck@real.ua

Transformation from a Horrible Childhood

2006-10-01T03:22:00.000-07:00

This Sunday morning Tania read a verse from the Scripture. She could not wait to read it to Laura after church.
The verse said,
"...You may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Laura is an orphan girl who is grateful to God for taking her out of the dark. It may sound strange for any American or even a Ukrainian but Laura attends three church services every Sunday. It is Laura's way of thanking God. I admire this girl. What God should do in my life to make me go to three different churches every Sunday?

As a child Laura has seen hell. She was the third child in the family raised by an alcoholic mother who used to leave the children alone in the house for days while having fits of hard drinking. When this woman starved her older son to death, the state removed her parental rights. At that time Laura's sister was placed in the orphanage where two girls would meet again many years later. Little Laura lived with her grandfather for a while. One day her mother showed up and took off with the 5-year-old child. Two of them went to live at the old cemetery for about 2 years. Laura remembers that on rainy days and at night the two of them would hide in the mausoleums. The place was perfect for Laura's alcoholic mother as visiting families would always leave a glass of vodka and some food for the dead relatives. The child would walk around graves looking for a slice of bread. Laura said that one late evening she scared an old man as he saw her sitting on the grave covered in dirty rags and eating bread crumbs. He thought he saw a demon and ran away.

We met Laura at the orphanage-internot a few months after she arrived in 1999. The child was totally anti-social and, according to our psychologist, was a classic mental case. But we believed in God and His power in Laura's life. The daily hard work of Laura with our staff members (supervisors, tutors and a psychologist) would bring satisfying tears to their eyes many years later. Laura had seen hell but found love in her life. She is a totally transformed person now, beautiful and caring for others, still very special to God and us.

Approaching the church Marika yelled, "Look, here is Laura waiting for us!" Laura looked beautiful. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail opening her pretty smiling face, she was wearing a new skirt and a jacket she had bought at the market herself with her first 200 grivna ($50) stipend. After Laura left the orphanage and went to a trade school in September, her life has changed. She turned 15 last July and has a new home, new friends, a new "mom".

She is living in a Christian home with a new mother Lina and five other girls Laura's age. Laura has her own room that she shares with Lena. Lena came to this house from an orphanage, too. This Christian home for orphan teenage girls is run by a Canadian missions organization. They just started this project last summer and were looking for another girl. The Lord sent them to us through our American friends in Odessa. Of all four of our graduates from the 9th grade Laura needed a Christian home and supervision the most. We did not want her to go and live together with her alcoholic grandfather in one apartment.

Laura left the orphanage-internot in May and was getting ready to go to a trade school. She was allowed to be at the state summer camp with all other children for the summer. We could not wait to tell Laura about the great news but did not find her at the camp. Her older sister Gala ran away from the camp and took Laura with her. We were looking for Laura over a month . Nobody knew where the girls went. We began to worry for Laura. The children said that Gala had a boyfriend who did drugs and that she got hooked on that, too. We almost gave up on opportunity of putting Laura in a Christian home. In August, a day before we left for the trip to US, a friend visited us who had seen Laura walking down the road in Sukhoy Liman, a village an hour away from Odessa. What an answer to weeks of prayers!
Three weeks later we returned to Odessa and called the staff meeting at the orphanage. Zina Michelovna, a 74-year-old supervisor, immediately volunteered to go in the village and find Laura. We all took off: Tania, I, Abygail, Zina Michaelovna with her 4-year-old grandson. We were one bunch of determined people. After two hours of driving around the village and talking to local people we finally found her. A cute six-year-old girl from the street lead us to Laura. She said she was Laura's friend and that they met in the park where Laura spent many days. She also told us that Laura and Gala were staying with a lady that Gala knew. The lady, her husband, three children, Gala and Laura spent nights in one tiny room. The girl was not sure about the address so Zina Michaelovna had to check quite a few houses before we found our Laura. Laura looked terrible: skinny, filthy, wearing a huge size skirt and a T-shirt. She burst out in tears and fell into Zina Michaelovna's arms.

We took Laura to our house and she stayed with us for a week, until the first day of school. We could not take her back to the camp after what she had gone through. She almost got raped by two drunks in the village, ate a bowl of potato soup a day, did laundry and babysat the children during the day for over a month. Her sister Gala would spend all days with her boyfriend in the city and come home at night. She promised every day to take Laura back to the camp but never did. Laura did not have money for the bus to go by herself and she hoped that we would come for her one day. She said that in her heart she knew we would find her.
Our week with Laura went by quickly. Besides Laura, we had two additional guests. But she was such a tremendous help around the house taking care of people's needs. She would always initiate to do something before we even thought of asking her for help. One night we had a few friends over and Laura quietly sat in the room playing with Aby. Then, when people got up to leave, she rushed to take the plates to the kitchen and wash them. We walked in and saw clean and dry dishes. It is just what a good daughter would do! And one Saturday morning Tania and two other girls from the 9th grade were going to the market to buy fall clothes and school uniforms for the 5th and 9th graders. Laura was ready at the door at 7am. Tania even did not have to wake her up. At the market for four and half hours Laura was happy to carry heavy bags. The girls almost had a fight over the bags because Laura wanted to carry everything we bought. What a grateful and caring heart!
The power of Laura's story is that despite the rags, abusive mother, drug addict sister, despair and pain in her life, love and faith do come out of misery. She learned to be strong, hard working and caring. Laura is off the street, she overcame a lot of mental and learning problems, succeeded to forgive her parents and love people. Now she is trying to help her sister Gala to stop destroying herself. We are so proud of Laura and grateful to God for the opportunity to take care of this child over 6 years.

I can not finish this letter without answering the question 'Why Laura attends three different church services every Sunday?' The answer is simple. At 9am she goes to a Baptist church with her new "mom" Lina and the girls. At 11am she is sitting in our church next to Tania and Aby. And there is nothing more touching then hearing Laura whisper into Marika's ear during music worship time, "Hey, this is another favorite hymn of mine! You will like the tune!" At 5pm Laura runs to another evangelical Baptist church to be with the young people. Laura likes her Sundays with God and close family.

God bless you,

Paul, Tania and Aby

Tax deductible contributions can be made out to :
Chapelgate Presbyterian Church
2600 Marriottsville Road
Marriottsville, Maryland 21104
memo on check: Account # 9284M Paul Becker Orphans Ministry
or
Ukraine Children's Aid Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 2047
Ellicott City, MD 21043-2047
attn: Becker- Odessa

Last Bell in Odessa

2006-05-31T02:48:00.000-07:00

It was 11am on May, 31. The bright sun was hurting the eyes of about 200 children and teachers. The fluff from the poplar trees was circling in the air like snow making everybody sneeze, blow their noses and smile. Finally, the music started and a boy from the 11th grade picked up a little girl who was holding a huge copper bell with a red ribbon in her tiny hand. He sat her gently on his shoulder and marched inside the lines of students in the courtyard. The sound of the bell signified the end of a school year at the orphanage-internot #4 in Odessa. The ceremony of "The Last Bell" began.

The 4th and 8th grade children looked beautiful at the ceremony. They wore nice white shirts that Tania and I power bleached and the children ironed the day before. Twelve children were holding bouquets of roses that we bought for them to give to their teachers, supervisors and the director. In Ukraine flowers symbolize grateful hearts of the children. They love to give flowers and get a kiss in return!

The director of the orphanage made a nice speech encouraging the graduating class, the 11th graders, to be productive and grateful citizens. She said, "Never be afraid to thank someone too many times, be afraid to forget to thank!" Tania thought that the director was speaking from the bottom of her heart, the heart that the Lord has been changing for the last three years through our and your prayers. We remember the times when she tried to demand control over our finances and how we were very close to quitting. Now at the meetings that we have with the director of the orphanage, she never forgets to give thanks to our God and to many Christians for their love for the orphans in Odessa.

As I was watching the poplar fluff in the air, I was thinking about our Vadim, Laura, Katia and Nina. These four children are leaving us this summer and going to trade schools. Just as the poplar fluff that circles around you, touches your face and makes your eyes tear, these children have been a big part of our lives for 6 years. Where will they end up? What is going to happen to them when they "touch the ground"? Will the shower of life's challenges destroy them or will they find good soil in which to take root and grow?

Our dear friends, please continue to pray for our Vadim so that he would make wise choices and find good Christian friends at the trade school.

Please pray for Nina who, just like her mother, can be easily influenced by very wicked men. She is a very needy and abused girl who looks for a father's love and approval in everybody who is after her. Nina can quote a lot of Bible verses. Please pray that these verses would be her guidance and comfort. Please pray for Katia Suslova. Her mother killed herself when Katia was very little. Her father got out of prison and died from lung cancer recently. Katia has a good but sick grandmother. Please pray that the Lord would give Katia a new heart and grant her wisdom to build a nice loving family in the future.

Please pray for Laura who learned to survive while living at the cemetery with her mother for two years as a child. Laura has a good heart but prone to mental instability. We pray she will be safe on her own.

We (Tania, I, our supervisors, psychologist and tutors) will always be a family for Vadim, Laura, Nina and Katia. We remember when these little kids were brought to our program (at the state orphanage) from the street. We are grateful that the Lord has enabled us over these 6 years to provide a nice family atmosphere at the orphanage and in our home for these children, to teach them good values and love which has helped to keep them away from the street and crime.

Please consider joining us in our post graduate program next year! Your monthly support is also greatly needed in order for our "Ministry to orphans in Ukraine" to continue.

Ukraine Children's Aid Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 2047
Ellicott City, MD 21043-2047
attn: Becker- Odessa

or

Chapelgate Presbyterian Church
2600 Marriottsville Road
Marriottsville, MD 21104-1628
memo: Becker acct # 9284M

Spring in Ukaraine

2006-05-07T04:28:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we had an Easter night with the children at the orphanage-internot. The preparations took over a week. All of the 4th and 8th grade children (8-A and 8-B classes) were actively involved in a Resurrection mime skit, making Easter cards and cross-stitch work for adults, memorizing poems and painting Easter Pisanki eggs. The children spent time in our house making some of the decorations.

One Saturday afternoon we had Denis, Inna, Laura, Marika and Nastia Samoylenko to our house to make Easter cards and Pisanki eggs. Considering that these teenagers rarely leave the orphanage it was quite an event for them to ride a city bus to our house by themselves. I finally spotted a small figure of Denis behind the girls backs as they were entering the house and giving me and Tania a hug. I picked up this 15-year-old kid and said, "Denis, how come you are the only boy in this gang?" He looked up at the girls and answered, "Well, somebody had to bring them over".

It was exciting to observe the closeness and unity among the children during Easter time. The boys were not embarrassed to help the girls, the older kids had fun participating in a mime skit with younger ones. We really felt like resurrected Jesus was among us and His love warmed each heart. The skit turned out to be great! What a presentation of Creation, The Fall, The Death of Christ and His Resurrection! There were so many children involved in this skit that Inna had to ask, "Who would be the audience?" Vladik played Jesus part so well, that Vera Pavlovna, the Ukrainian language tutor, got emotional.

On Easter Sunday we took the forth grade children to church with us. Michelle and Lisa joined, too. Sasha did a great job singing hymns, Aliona and Olia followed the scripture during the sermon. Then we all walked downtown and had pizza at the Greek Mall. We all had a great time talking, playing with the baby and reflecting on what Jesus did for each of us.

Children's prayer needs and Praises

In a recent newsletter we asked you to pray for Marika, a 13-year-old girl who was once sold to the gypsies by her parents. We thank you for your prayers. Marika is doing better. She comes to our house almost every Sunday. Spending time in our family helps her to get away from her loneliness and bad influence of the orphanage teenagers. Marika has been less aggressive, spending more time doing school work and basketball. We bought Marika a few books as she likes reading. She read Harry Potter (part 4) in one week and cried over the last chapter. The Lord gave Marika a pen-pal friend from Nashville, TN. Marika was very touched to have a new friend. Please continue to pray for Marika and her problem with smoking.

Please continue to pray for Nastia S. (8th grade) and the family from Nebraska who want to adopt her. Nastia is a very, very sweet girl. She misses her friend Natasha who was adopted in December 2005. Natasha's family are friends with the family who want to adopt Nastia.

Praise God with us for the families who (since December) adopted Natasha (8th grade), Vera K. (4th grade) and Vika K.(4th grade). The children are doing fine. Please pray for Vera's health problems and Natasha's insecurity.

Please continue to pray for Seriozha Linkov. We brought him to our house and to visit his old friends at the orphanage. He is still very miserable at the other orphanage where he was moved in September. He really wants to come back.

Please pray for Alex S. (4th grade) and his emotional problems. Alex just spent over a month at a psychiatrical hospital. His anger attacks on the children and adults still bother us. We hope that the Lord will calm him down and show His love in a special way.

We thank you for your gracious donations this year which gave us the opportunity
° to buy glasses for Aliona, Vika and Tolik (4th grade)
° to finance the orthodontic care for Vladik (4th grade) and Kostia (8th grade)
° to buy school supplies, new underwear, clothes, brooms, laundry detergent and s hampoos, toilet paper, medications and food
° to take the children to church and bring them to our house
° to take the children to field trips (ice rink, Aqua park, picnics)
° to pay tutors and a psychologist
° to pay for a translator to assist Lisa's infant massage classes to 8th grade girls

To be continued .....

additional pictures http://www.flickr.com/photos/heritagehouseproject/

tax deductable donations can be sent to:
Chapelgate Presbyterian Church
2600 Marriottsville Rd
Marriottsville, MD 21104-1628
Paul Becker orphan account #9284M

55 Prisoners

2006-02-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been to prison? God gave us the opportunity to visit a
prison here in Ukraine. That is where we met babies who are prisoners.

There is a women's prison in Odessa that is home for over 1500 women
ages 18-73. There is however another group of 55 people that live
there only because of the sin of someone else. Much like we suffer
from the consequences of sin because of our father Adam, these 55
people are there because they are between the ages of 1 week and 4
years of age and their mothers are incarcerated. Their home is called
Odessa Chernomorskaya Women's Prison Baby House.

A lot of women in prison get pregnant. Some of them deliver babies in
prison because it gives them benefits. These prisoners do not have to
work for 3 years but they are cared for by the prison. Only
40% of these women visit their children. The babies are kept in a
separate building within this prison where they are entitled to
medical and social care. The baby house is supported by the prison's
manufacturing workshops but needs a lot of help. In 2003 Tania and I
visited the prison baby house for the first time. We were very
impressed with the needs of the facility and the babies. Our hearts
were broken. That is how our relationship with those precious babies
started. We have bought a lot of medicine, dippers, new baby tables and
chairs and donated a lot of used clothes.

I asked the chief doctor where the babies go when they turn four. She
said that they go to the orphanage. Then she showed us a nice painting
on the wall and said that the lady who did it is a mother of two
children from orphanage-internot #4. What a surprise it was to us to
find out that Alina from our fourth grade was born in this prison! The
staff still remembered her as a very quiet and pleasant baby. For the
many years that we have known Alina, she waited for her mother to come out
of prison. She loved her mother dearly. And a few days ago her mother
came to pick her up. What an incredible joy it was for Alina and us to
see her dream come true! The Lord answered Alina's prayers!

A few months ago a group of Christians from TN were moved by the
conditions that these children live in. The administration of the
facility requested that we donate funds so that they could purchase
"Pampers" for the children. We all suggested that with the amount of
money that would be required for a six month supply it would be much
wiser to provide them with two washing machines. Normally the babies
wear either no diapers or cloth diapers. The laundry is performed by
other women in a different part of the facility. Now with the washing
machines in the baby house the mothers will be able to take a more
active part in the care of the babies.

The mothers do not stay with the children in the nursery but are
permitted to visit them once a day. In one of the pictures you will
see the women in white clothes. They are neither nurses nor angels.
They are the few mothers who came to spend an hour with their babies. At
the door all the women get changed into clean white clothes to protect
the babies from infection. That is the regulation. I wonder if the
real reason for these costumes is not for cleanliness but to put some
continuity in the minds of the infants who usually only see the staff
members in uniforms and not the mothers.

Please pray with us for Alina and other children who are born and grow
up in prisons.

If you would like to know how you could help the children at the women's prison nursery
or orphanage-internot #4 please contact us.

May God bless you all who continue to support the children and our
ministries in Odessa!

Come, rest your head!

2006-02-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

Thank you for praying for our children at the orphanage-internot #4. We also thank you for your prayers for all of our projects and ideas to make these children feel special.

Thanks to the Lord's provision and generous hearts of several dear
Christians from Nashville (TN) we were able to buy beautiful new beds for 18 precious children of the fourth grade. These children had been sleeping on beds made of pressed wood and mattresses that were nearly 30 years old. These 10-12 year old children were too big for those infant size beds and we had to fix the beds all the time. That was all the Internot (boarding school orphanage) had available. A long time ago the state stopped funding the purchase of new furniture for the children.

To say that the children were happy to receive their new beds is not even close. The beds were made by a local company, they are steel (very durable) and came in bright colors. Most boys picked blue and green beds and the girls took yellow and red ones. The beds were delivered a couple of weeks ago, but I was able to get a few shots of the kids in their new beds just recently.

You will notice that in the pictures, some of the boys are in the
girls rooms. They sleep in separate bedrooms but for this occasion the boys all ran into the girl's room to get their picture taken. Alex (in red pyjamas) and Vladik (in a blue sweat suit) just love to be in every picture.

When these pictures were taken the orphanage had no heat and power for two days. The children were extremely cold. The school was cancelled. Tania went out to buy electric heaters and came home with nothing. The city stores ran out of heaters. We thought that Odessa was merging into the ice age!

The Bible teaches us that we must rest in the Lord... PS 37:7. And I add "It is great that the kids can rest their heads on nice beds".

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Paul, Tania and Abigail Becker

tax deductable contributions can be sent to:
Chapelgate Church
Ukraine orphan project acct. #9284M
2600 Marriottsville Road
Marriottsville, MD 21104-1628

Celebrating Christmas 2006

2006-01-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas party on December 29th. We all felt like a great big family of 52 people coming together: the staff and 4th grade and 8th grade children from orphanage-internot #4. We rented some rooms at the Christian retreat center downtown with a special Christmas dinner of my favorite holiday foods. The dinner was followed by a program prepared by the kids and adults, and then the exchange of presents. What was special this year is that we introduced the children to the idea of saving their money from the stipends (we give them $1 a week) to buy a present for their special friends. A lot of special people in the children’s lives turned out to be their supervisors, teachers, Paul and I, and even our taxi driver Roman. Singing Ukrainian and American Christmas carols was a great end to the evening.

This year the Lord provided funds to buy nice sweat pants for the 8th graders and warm pajamas for the 4th grade children as Christmas presents. Our friends from Panama City sent beautiful slippers for all the children. They enjoyed their presents very much and thanked the Lord for them that night before going to bed. Thank you all so much for participating with us in providing a wonderful celebration of our dear Savior’s birth for the children and staff. We know that we could never do these things without your help and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s blessings be upon you and your household!

Paul and Tania Becker

Can you pray for Marika

2006-01-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Tania and I would like to ask you to pray for a specific child this
week who is very dear to us. It is a Ukrainian girl from orphanage-internot #4,
she is 13 and she is in the 8th grade. Marika needs the Lord to help her
fight the anger and loneliness that is in her heart and fill it with the
peace and love that surpasses all understanding.

We have known Marika since 2001. We remember when the director brought this
skinny little dark haired girl with huge brown eyes into our playroom.
She looked like a scared puppy. It happened right after the police
found her sitting on the side of the highway crying. They turned the
child over to social services. Her stepfather and mother, two bums, had
sold her to gypsies for a bottle of vodka. Marika was only 7 years old. The
gypsies liked the girl who skillfully brought them a lot of money while
begging on the trains and in the market places. This went on for months
until the older kids became jealous and started beating her every day.
One day Marika ran away from them and that is when she was found by a policeman.

Marika continues to be a very determined and brave girl. She is very bright and
loves school. She wants to go to college and become an accountant when
she grows up. She has a good heart and fears the Lord. Last Thursday
many older children disappeared from the orphanage for the whole afternoon.
Marika said that everyone went to the church near by to get
Christmas presents. Tania asked Marika why she stayed behind. Marika put
her head down and said, "I couldn't. It is too embarrassing to go to
church just to get a present". That is the kind of "God's child" Marika is.

On Friday, after our regular staff meeting and birthday party for
Zena Michaelovna (8th grade supervisor) who turned 71, we went
downstairs to the playroom to see the 8th graders. There were only 6
of them. The rest of the kids went to spend the week with their distant
relatives. Marika looked very depressed and angry. Tania went to talk
to her for about 20 minutes. I saw Marika crying, then talking and
smiling. She was very upset because she did not have anyone to
visit, because she had no home to be at during Christmas holidays and
because her friend Nina took off.

This seemed like a good reason to bring Marika to our house for a few days
even though Tania was due to give birth this past Friday. Marika seemed
so happy and appreciative. This morning we all went to church. Marika
enjoyed the sermon and worship time. During the prayer time her lips
were moving. I think she had her own special prayer to raise to the Lord
and I know He was listening to her.
Thank you for your prayers and support!

donations to the program can be made to:
Chapelgate Presbyterian Church
2600 Marriottsville Rd
Marriottsville, MD 21104
Account # 9284M Becker Orphanage- Ukraine

Zeanida Michaelovna, Marika and Alla

2006-01-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

2005-12-02T03:14:00.000-08:00

Last week we had a special field trip. On Saturday our 4th and 8th graders were extremely happy to visit "Aquapark" followed byMcDonald's on the way back to the orphanage-internot. There were a fewchildren who cried. They were the ones who did not go because of theirbad behavior during last week. But now they know that Our Father in Heaven, just like parents, rewards us for good behavior and obedience.We prayed and thanked Jesus for a wonderful day and "happymeal" beforewe entered McDonald's. The children and the staff all prayed togetherand thanked Jesus for His love and gifts.

Our thanks to you for your continued love and support.

Paul and Tania

everything is wet

2005-12-02T03:05:00.000-08:00

Ukraine is a typical matriarchal society where boys are usually raised
by mothers who teach them that "real" men never cry. It is much better
for her son to have a fist fight or later in life to have a drink
rather than to show his tears. There are only two acceptable occasions
for a Ukrainian man to cry: from laughing at a joke and from being
happy to see his mother.

Seriozha Linkov is a tough 15-year old boy. He never had his mother or
father teach him to be tough but he is a fighter. He was placed in the
orphanage-internot #4 four years ago. When he and Vitaly were in the
4th grade I decided to place them in karate class. Three times a week
we would take the boys by car to a karate school and then bring them
back. It was a fun experience for them. Last year Seriozha showed a
great interest in boxing. He even asked me to buy him a pair of
gloves. Last summer a boxing coach started working at internot #5
(facility for the kids from very poor families with single parents)
and twice a week he would come to the summer camp to take some boys to
boxing class. The coach liked Seriozha so much that he decided he
would move him to internot #5 and make a professional boxer out of
him. Then Seriozha left us in September. We heard that he was doing
fine but have not seen him since.

After Tania and I were in the US in September, a family from Panama
City, FL sent Seriozha a package. Seriozha wrote to these people a few
times after they gave him a Christmas gift last year. One day I
decided to take the present to Seriozha on my way to the Lastochka
Children's dental office. I volunteer as a dentist at this facility
twice a week. The first problem for me was to find Seriozha at his
school. The second was talking the director into allowing me to see
him as he was supposed to be in school at this time. As only the Lord
would arrange, the children had an unusual break (today only) when I
arrived at the school. The head of the faculty met me as I entered the
building and nicely escorted me and my translator to the director's
office. Within a few minutes the door opened and Seriozha rushed in to
give me a long hug. When I say "long" I mean rib crushing long. I
tried a few times to make his arms let go but the head would still
stayed glued to my chest. As we visited I looked into his red eyes and
thought for a second that this big tough boy was having an allergy
attack. Seriozha was crying. He could not stop crying the entire time
I was there. I never saw Seriozha cry before. Then I remembered the
second allowed occasion for a Ukrainian man to cry. Seriozha was very
happy to see his uncle Paul. I was happy to see him, too.....

Our thanks to you for your continued love and support.
Paul and Tania

Tax deductable contributions can be made out to:

Chapelgate Presbyterian Church
2600 Marriottsville Road
Marriottsville, Maryland 21104
memo on check:Account # 9284M Paul Becker Orphan Ministry
--

2005-11-28T06:12:00.000-08:00

last picnic of autumn

2005-11-28T06:10:00.000-08:00

Dennis, Costya and Illya

Dinner and Discussions

2005-11-14T02:25:00.000-08:00

In September Tania and I visited with Katia and her new family inBaltimore. For six years we have prayed for Katia "The General" to have loving parents and in July the Lord took her away from our orphanage in Odessa. Now Katia has a wonderful family with 8 other brothers and sisters, and she is doing great! I asked Katia howAmerica was different from what she had imagined. She smiled and said,"The swings! I imagined many more swings for the children in America!"

It is funny how Katia's answer made me think of my first few moments in Heaven some day. How different Heaven will be from my present picture of it? These thoughts inspired Tania and I to have a week of Bible groups in our house for our 4th and 8th graders from the orphanage.

Every day 4-5 children (separately boys and girls) came to our house for Bible discussion and dinner. It was a great time for this idea since the children were on Fall break from school. Michelle, our newstaff member, helped us by bringing the children from and back to the orphanage-internot. The first night we had Lionia, Pavlik, Tolik, Alexand Vladik from the 4th grade and we discussed The Creation story. The confusion started when we got to the point of what God made our bodies from. Tolik gave a smart answer and said, "we are made of a lot ofwater". Pavlik remembered the word from the Bible "dust" but could not explain what material it was. Finally everybody got excited about being made out of dirt, especially because Pavlik never made more than a whole out of it. We all laughed, and then got markers and drew different creatures from Paradise. As a result of "The Fall" one of the creatures had to be eaten for dinner. It was a delicious chicken.

Everybody enjoyed the afternoon so much that nobody wanted to leave.When we were all standing at the bus stop Vladik decided to cheer everyone up. His idea was to get dressed in disguise as Vera Kazakutsa and come back the next day. All five boys had a good laugh imagining how they could come to our house instead of Vera, Vika, Vika Goltser,Olia and Vera.

Every night we had a different group of children and a different topic related to our life on Earth and in Heaven. The best part for the children was to be at home, have a loving atmosphere, drink soda and have an adult to talk to. Can Heaven be better than this for the children?

On Sunday we took Denis, Kostia and Ilya to get their hair cut after the Bible discussion, have pizza for lunch at the Greek Mall and then attend the church service. It was the first experience for Ilya to bein a protestant church. His grandmother was orthodox and he thought that it was the only right church to go to. Ilya has been with us for 3 months now and has proven to be a very good 14-year old boy. We thank God for bringing Ilya to us.

We all enjoyed the week of Bible classes so much that a picnic seemed to be a logical finale. The children loved to be in the woods, making a fire, fixing hot dogs and arranging the plates, playing games andlaughing with their supervisors and tutors. Somehow a poor street dog got attracted to our great crowd either by noise or a piece of a hotdog from little Vika's plate. The dog lives at the orphanage-internot now.

Maybe Katia has not seen enough swings in America so far, but our children at orphanage-internot #4 have definitely had enough time onthe best playground in Odessa since September,1. The Lord touched the hearts of one family in Baltimore and they donated money to build a super playground for the children at the orphanage. It was a 2-month project for us and 11 Ukrainian welders but we all enjoyed every step and minute of it.

We pray that God will provide enough "swings" in your life and that you will be drawn closer to Him this week in a very special way. Thankyou for your love and support of the children.

God bless you,
Paul and Tania Becker

Reunions

2005-10-24T02:38:00.000-07:00

For the last six years I have seen hundreds of street children in Odessa, Ukraine. Every time I see a boy in the street, shelter or reformatory school, I realize how little chance I have to ever see him again. These kids get moved around a lot, some go back to their homes, some to the orphanage, some to prison, and some die.

Igor was my English student at the boys reformatory school called Fontonka. I had about 10-12 boys in my class each week. I taught these boys English using Bible stories and my love for God on Mondays for about three years. The atmosphere in this school was so depressing and dull that my English classes turned out to be the highlight of the week. Seeing the boys who were picked from the street for stealing and bringing meaning into their lives became a fun part of each week for me, too.

I said "good-bye" to Igor about two years ago. What a surprise it was for me to see him again recently! The state moved him from the reformatory school to a shelter, and then from the shelter to our eighth grade class at Internot #4, a boarding school orphanage. I know that the Lord brought him into my life again and I need to help this kid. The look of "shock" on both of our faces when we first saw each other was amazing. The spell was finally broken when I opened up my arms and he fell into my chest with the biggest hug you could possibly imagine. It was a truly delightful moment. Our staff members gave him a good"welcome", clean underwear and clothes.

Last week several friends from Nashville,TN visited us and the children at the orphanage. One of the ladies asked Igor what Bible story he liked best. He immediately said that he loved the story of Joseph. Igor said that most of Joseph's family hated him and either wanted him dead or to go away from them. They wanted no part of Joseph just like Igor's father wanted no part of him. It is just like whenyour mama dies and your father is drunk all of the time and he has a new girl friend. Igor then described how Joseph's plight, even thoughcaused by others sins, was all under the control of God. Joseph was later used not only to save his family but all of Israel.

Please pray for Igor and his healing. This boy has a lot of pain and bitterness in his heart. Nevertheless, he is seeking God and comfort in his life. Pray that he would trust our staff and children in the class enough to find his new family.

Thank you for continually walking with us on this journey.

Paul and Tania Becker

First Bell in Odessa

2005-09-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

This year was no exception. "First Bell" or the opening of school was held on September 1st at the Internot #4 in Odessa Ukraine. Everyone was present to hear the director welcome them back from summer camp. For those who are not familiar with the system here in Odessa, beginning on June 1st the children leave the boarding school orphanage (Internot) and are bussed to a camp on the sea shore where they remain for the entire summer. Most of the children are delighted to return "home" perhaps not for school to begin, but to just be back to a familiar and safe setting. This picture is of most of our children in the 4th class and the two eighth grade classes.

Field Trip to the Odessa Karavay State Bakery

2003-12-08T05:07:00.000-08:00

I have a favorite smell when I get hungry. That day the smell stayed in the air for about an hour. The noise of the machines and shouting of an enthusiastic guide were hurting my ears. Six adults and twenty four children (5th graders from internot-orphanage #4) were watching how beautiful delicious rolls and bread get made daily at the Odessa Karavay State Bakery. We followed the dough through the process from the moment it was mixed until the oven would throw the loafs out on a big table in front of you. All the children were thrilled with the process.

Everybody except little Katia.

Katia seemed to be away in her thoughts from delicious rolls and the crowd. She smiled and whispered in my ear "I am going to be adopted". My wife Tania asked Katia to say the news again. We were very surprised to hear about the adoption as that was the first time that we had heard that information. The supervisors confirmed that an American lady came to spend time with Katia several times. We were very happy for our little "general in a skirt".

Several days later I heard that the American lady turned Katia down and adopted a girl from another grade. That was heart breaking news. Katia was told about the decision. It was just one more cruelty from an adult. I came to the internot that day just to see Katia and to be with her. I pulled her out of the playroom so that we could talk. She was smiling and climbing all over me as usual. I told her that my heart was broken for her and that she is a great child to love. Katia looked into my eyes and said "Why would I be hurt? Lena in the sixth grade got adopted and I am happy for her!"

This is the kind of person that Katia is. She got me to think about the
love of God the Father for us. It would be horrible for me to find out that He turned me down. I know that he never will. Twelve-year-old Katia knows that, too. She is going to wear an "angel" costume for the Christmas party and sing about baby Jesus that loves her so much.

We wish you to have "a Christmas joy" shine through the whole next year!

Love,
Paul and Tania Becker