Little Lambs Ministry
was established to reach out and touch the lives of those who need the
most but have the least, the orphaned and abandoned children in Ukraine.
ROVNO, UKRAINE
In Ukrainian orphanages, though the kids are said to graduate, they
do not get the equivalent of a high school diploma and thus it is impossible
to find a way to make a life for themselves. They cannot find jobs and
cannot enter any sort of post-secondary training. With this problem
in view, Renate and her Kiev staff found themselves once more burdened
to find a way to help these kids. We started our Rovno home in 1998
with a small apartment for 5 orphaned girls from Kiev who had just left
their orphanage at the age of 16. Two years later we built a 10-bedroom
home in Rovno, and today we have 24 children there. 11 children are
in high school, 7 are in college and 6 have already graduated college
and are working part-time. Our housemother Olya is working hard in preparing
them for life outside the home and depending on God for everything they
need. Out of the 24 children, 15 have accepted Christ and seven are
members of a local church. God has transformed many lives in our Rovno
home, and we are thankful to to not only provide them with a nice home,
but with the opportunity to follow God.
DUNAEVTZY,
UKRAINE
Our baby home opened in 2001 after God provided the funds for a home
in Dunaevtzy, Ukraine. The Ukrainian house parents, Tamara and Valik
worked in Little Lambs camps and desired to take in orphans that needed
a loving, Christian home. Four years ago we started with three babies
and today we have 12 children. Seven of the children were brought to
the home as babies. When the government asked us to take Katya she was
only four months old. Her mom died and she was living with an alcoholic
grandmother. Two years later we learned that Katya had a brother Vadim
and a sister Alina, who lived with the grandmother too. When we heard
they were in the process of being sent to an orphanage we took them
into the home too. All of the children have similar stories of God’s
provision. We are thankful for how God brought this family together
and for the care given to them by their heavenly Father and earthly
family.
Last year
the baby home, Dunaevtzy, applied for government funding as part of
these efforts. Starting March 1st, our home in Dunaevtzy will be funded
for the children’s care. Though the government is funding the
children’s daily needs in Dunaevtzy, both the houses and property
are still owned by Little Lambs Ministry. Therefore, we are still in
charge of its upkeep and tending for the physical needs of the property
to ensure a safe environment is kept for both Dunaevtzy and Rovno.
