Help the needy children across Russia this Christmas!

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Russian Ministries appeals for urgent help to distribute 50,000 Christmas gifts of hope

By Peter Wooding
Special to ASSIST News Service MOSCOW, RUSSIA (ANS) -- Russian Ministries is appealing for help to reach their ambitious goal of distributing 50,000 gifts of hope to needy children across Russia this Christmas.

Project Hope Director Paul Tokarchuk

Moscow-based Project Hope Director Paul Tokarchuk says last year they distributed 30,000 gift-filled boxes, which include children's Bibles. "This year we are hoping to arrange at least 50,000 Christmas gifts for Project Hope.  More than 150 churches across Russia are involved in preparation to fill the boxes as well as present the Gospel.
"We are working with Western churches and individuals who are helping us to provide an empty box and a Bible and we are partnering with national churches in Russia to fill the boxes.  On one hand it's a sacrifice for individuals but on the other hand it's a blessing that they can share through their little gifts that provide a hope for the children."
Russian Ministries Senior Vice President Sergey Rakhuba says they first launched Project Hope three years ago as a creative way to avoid growing restrictions by the Russian government on Western humanitarian aid: "Project Hope is a partnership with the evangelical church in Russia in order to reach out to as many at risk children as possible during Christmas time.  Three years ago the Russian government put lots of restrictions on charity aid that was coming in from abroad especially from the UK and the United States. 

Russian Ministries Senior Vice President Sergey Rakhuba

"While Samaritans Purse still ships hundreds of thousands of their shoeboxes to the former USSR countries and around the world, three years ago they were restricted some sending them to Russia.  In response Russian Ministries approached the evangelical churches in Russia, who were receiving these shoeboxes and said 'because of the Russian government lots of needy children won't get anything this Christmas and why don't we try and still do something?'"
Paul Tokarchuk says Project Hope opens many opportunities to help disadvantaged children hear the hope of the Gospel: "We are always happy to see how they receive the gifts but also how they hear the Gospel through Christian puppet theatre and Bibles for them and that has an eternal impact."
"Many of these abandoned children are the victims of abuse as a result of alcoholic parents and face extremely poor conditions in orphanages and real hope should be proclaimed to all of them."
Paul says time is running out to help them reach their goals of impacting 50,000 children this year: "The Russian Orthodox Christmas is January 7 so the deadline for people to donate is the first week of December so that throughout the rest of the month arrangements will be made for packing and distributing the shoeboxes.
"Over the next few weeks we will start driving to all the cities and regions of Russia so they can start filling the shoeboxes. 
"We would really appreciate more partners from the West that together with the national churches of Russia we can take 50,000 gifts to the needy kids so we can bring the orphaned and abandoned and abused children the hope of the Gospel who are in real need who are hopeless."
Sergey Rakhuba is urging Western Christians to make small sacrifices to help them reach their ambitious goal: "I encourage people to look forward to share what they have over this Christmas with needy children in Russia.  If we don't give the $2 to provide Bibles for them there will probably be opportunities missed to tell them the story of Jesus.  To give $2 towards this project to provide one Bible, that's a great opportunity.  People could miss a lunch at McDonalds and can probably give $10, which will provide 5 Bible for needy children in Russia.  But if people can give more than that and help Russian Ministries to make those boxes and Bibles available and help with the distribution costs, we would greatly appreciate it." 
For more details go to: www.russian-Ministries.org/how/ProcessDonation.php

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Peter Wooding is a TV, radio and print journalist and media consultant having spent 10 years as news editor with UCB Radio in the UK. He has traveled extensively reporting from countries including Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Dubai, South Korea, Zambia, Gambia, Mozambique, Croatia, Israel and India. He reports regularly for CBN News, KCBI radio, ASSIST News and Sorted Magazine. Peter and wife Sharon live in North Wales, UK with their three children. Passionate to see God's Justice and Mercy impact lives, Peter is director of a new UK ministry Mercy Project International (www.mercyproject.org.uk) to help at-risk young people in Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Kosovo, the Middle East and beyond. Contact Peter for consultation at woodingpeter@hotmail.com or tel. +44 1244 549167/+44 7500 903067.

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