Please join us in praying for Olexandr, a 14-year-old 7th grader who has dealt with much pain and loss in his young life. Even so, he is described as a communicative and kind boy. He loves to play checkers, ride bikes and roller skate, and also plays soccer on a local team. He wants very much to be adopted; let's pray with him for a forever family....May 08, 2012

Eight-year-old Yaryk loves bike riding and playing with his toys, but he had difficulty learning in the regular public school system. Providentially, he is now part of a homeschool program that includes individual study. He is much better suited to this style of learning -- he can now read and count. Praise God with us that Yaryk is in the process of being adopted and by summer 2012 will be part of a loving, forever family....May 01, 2012

Vitalik is an easygoing, active 12-year-old in Father's House orphanage in Kiev. He is described as an obedient, funny boy, a leader who loves to play chess, board games and soccer. He prays for parents and longs to be chosen as a special son. Won't you join Vitalik's prayers for a forever family to adopt him soon?    ...April 24, 2012

Brothers 9-year-old Danyk and 6-year-old Stasik are very curious, active boys. When they arrived at Fathers House orphanage, their joy was contagious, despite delays in their physical, emotional and cognitive development. They are fast learners who began to blossom under the care given by the staff. Their dreams of finding a forever family came true when a local family decided to adopt them both in February (2012). We thank God that the boys are able to stay together and are now part of a loving family.  ...April 17, 2012

Please pray as Christians in Russia prepare to participate in the Day of Child Protection (June 1) by promoting orphan adoption and foster care. Pray that many believers would be moved by the Holy Spirit to open up their hearts and homes to orphans....April 03, 2012

Two key organizations—The Alliance for Ukraine Without Orphans (UWO) and the International Leadership Development Center (ILDC)—are at the forefront of the move to change the thinking of the nation of Ukraine.  These two organizations believe that the church is the true solution for solving the orphan crisis in Ukraine, and they are working with Christian believers and churches across Ukraine to get Christians to adopt orphans. To date, Ukrainians have not adopted their nation’s orphans due to cultural stigmas against orphans—they are viewed by many as second-class citizens. Please pray as......March 27, 2012

Pastor Gennady and his wife Elena a have devoted the last 15 years of their lives to helping orphaned street children in Mariupol, Ukraine. Since they started this effort, they have fostered or adopted 29 children. They currently have 13 children living with them (including their three biological children). Unfortunately, the family was split between two one-bedroom houses that are located approximately 30 minutes apart. Ukrainian law dictates that a foster family home must meet certain square footage requirements per child. Hence they were not able to receive official documentation to adopt or foster one of the......March 20, 2012

Currently, one of the employees of the International Leadership and Development Center (ILDC) in Ukraine is serving as a child and family advocate in various parts of Ukraine. Though the Ukrainian government assigns social workers to families and orphaned children, there is little emphasis on getting children out of state institutions and into families. (The main reason for this seems to be that orphanages lose money every time a child leaves the orphanage.) Praise God that, during the past year, the ILDC family advocate legally assisted 11 children to be permanently placed in foster or adoptive families! Please pray that such influence would continue to increase....March 13, 2012

Please pray for the efforts of Lubov, wife of the president of the Ukrainian Baptist Union. Lubov has mothered about 17 orphans after they left their orphanages as older teenagers, and now feels that God is calling her to help spread the word and motivate Baptists in Ukraine to adopt, provide foster care, or help orphans after they leave the orphanages. She would like to organize a conference this fall for about 200 Ukrainian Baptists to encourage adoption and foster care, but lacks the funds to do so since most Union funds are designated for evangelism, missions and supporting Union churches. Pray that......March 06, 2012

Pray that Ukrainian government officials would have wisdom in dealing with (a) general issues related to orphan care and (b) Christian organizations who work with orphans and other at-risk children. In some parts of Ukraine it is becoming more and more difficult for Christians to provide direct services to children and families.  ...February 28, 2012

Young teen Vladislav lives in the Ukrainian Christian orphanage Father’s House. Gentle and shy by nature, he craves the attention and acceptance of adults but has the heart of a small child. He likes to play games that develop logic and thinking. Math subjects come easy to him, but other subjects are more difficult. Please pray that he will be adopted by a loving Christian family before he "ages out"....February 21, 2012

Pray that God would encourage Russian and Ukrainian families to foster and adopt special needs children (such as disabled, HIV, Downs Syndrome, and older children).  Some are already doing this, but the need is great....February 14, 2012

Praise God for the Isaevs, a Christian Ukrainian family with eight HIV-positive, adopted and fostered children.  Until recently, they lived in a three-room, dilapidated house. Doorways to Hope, an American organization that promotes adoption and foster care in the former Soviet Union, helped the Isaev family repair their roof, interior walls, ceiling and kitchen & entry way heat. Praise God for successful renovations and that the family can continue their minisry!  To see before and after pictures, please visit the Doorways to Hope projects page....February 07, 2012

ILDC trainer Lena Anduhovich returned in December from Kyrgyzstan where she spent 3 weeks training child welfare workers in Case Worker Core Program. Itwas the first time a ILDC trainer went to another country to train. Lena did a really good job in training a group of child welfare workers, though it was very intensive training both for her and for the participants. The participants took these trainings seriously and were very active and eager to learn.  Praise God that there are individuals who really care for their country and their country's children.  It was a blessing to meet such people......January 31, 2012

Please pray that the Ukrainian ministry You Will be Found will receive enough funds to host a training conference in Ukraine with guest speakers who have professional counseling experiences directly related to adopted and fostered children as well as professionals with experience in treating child trauma victims. A similar conference held in April 2010 provided parents with practical training on how to deal with cultural biases towards adopted children, how to tell their children that they were adopted, how to better relate to their adopted and fostered children, what to do when biological parents are still alive......January 24, 2012

Kateryna is a teenager in the Ukrainian Christian orphanage Father’s House. She loves to laugh and has a good sense of humor. She enjoys learning English, playing the piano and singing. She attends a music school and is also a member of the musical band and worship group, The Singing Hearts. Her dream is to become a famous stylist and hairdresser. Join her in praying that a loving Christian family would adopt her before she "ages out"....January 17, 2012

Please pray for future possibilities for expanding the outreach of the Directory: (1) The editor of one of the largest Christian Women’s magazines in Russia is interested in publishing an article about the Directory in her magazine, which could greatly increase its outreach! (2) The CoMission is in touch with a number of other ministries in Ukraine and Russia that are interested in distributing the Directory. (3) The CoMission is partnering with a team of Russian and Ukrainian specialists to develop a ground-breaking web technology that will allow the CoMission to disseminate the Directory and other orphan care resources like never before!...January 10, 2012

The Directory continues to expand -- its primary researcher speaks Russian, Ukrainian and English and has discovered a number of high-quality Russian resources. For example, Christian organizations in Russia and Ukraine have begun to concentrate on identifying and then translating the best English resources on orphan care into Russian. Many national organizations are also developing original training and other types of resources from their own experience. The Directory has now been formatted into an easily-printable, online PDF version that can be simply downloaded and printed by churches and orphan ministries across......January 03, 2012