House of Mercy (written by Jen)

In my last blog post, I briefly mentioned a ministry to the homeless that we visited during our last trip, the House of Mercy (Miloserdiya).  Here is the promised follow-up post, with more information about this ministry and how YOU can help bless the needy in Ukraine!

Miloserdiya (House of Mercy) is a ministry based in the city near our small town, lead by Vova (front right).

Please take the time to view this video (below) that the Miloserdiya team created to inform others about their ministry.

We were excited to watch the[above] video when our Ukrainian friend sent it to us some months before this past summer's trip. But when we had the opportunity to visit and help this mission one afternoon, we were even more excited about this ministry and encouraged by what we saw!

A free yet hearty meal is available for those in need every Saturday and Sunday.
We were told that in the wintertime, so many people come that there isn't enough room in the house!

Sanitary and hygiene services are provided.

Used clothing and shoes are available to those in need. (The clothing Miloserdiya offers is in worn condition because items that are in good shape could be sold by clients rather than used.)

Medical assistance is also offered.  This man was at the House of Mercy during our visit.  Walking without shoes during a rainy period caused this to happen to his feet.  

The House of Mercy also celebrates holidays with the needy.

Additionally, the House of Mercy offers:

-a "hot line"; anyone in need or who knows of a need can call the House of Mercy

-assistance to poor families

-assistance to the families of Ukrainian soldiers

-help to the disabled

-temporary shelter

-rehabilitation course

From what I've gathered, if there's any sort of need, the House of Mercy will try to meet it!

This man (right) had a fire in his apartment (pictured below).
The House of Mercy helped him clean out his apartment.

If you go to Miloserdiya's Facebook page (here), you can read about the other cases which the House of Mercy has been helping.  They help alcohol and drug addicts, victims of abuse, victims of terrible accidents-- even a man in a war-affected part of the county (far from the House of Mercy!) recently called the Mercy hotline! 

While this mission seeks to meet people's material needs, they also seek to share God's love with others.  The day we visited the House of Mercy, there was a man who was talking with Vova.  This man's wife had just recently been killed in a car accident.  Before the man left, Vova prayed with him and gave the man what I believe was a New Testament and some money.  
The greatest need every single person on earth has is a need for salvation and a relationship with God. Not only are needy people receiving help and warm meals from Miloserdiya, but they are also witnessing the love of God-- something they may never have seen before.

You can aid the Mercy House and bless the needy in Ukraine!  

We are collecting USED men's coats in SMALL or MEDIUM sizes. These will supply the House of Mercy with coats to offer those who are in need of one this winter. If you did not receive my Dad's brief email about this, please see below:

Hello Friends,

It's been a while since I have last wrote and many of you have asked if I will been sending out a new update letter soon.  There have been a variety of reasons why I didn't send that letter out yet, but I will try to send something out soon sharing some of our experiences from our latest trip to Ukraine this summer. 

In the meantime, I am asking for your help with something.  We will be doing a very quick coat collection this fall.  This time it will be a little different than collections we've had in the past.  This time the coats will not be for children, they will primarily be used for homeless men in the city near our Ukrainian hometown.  Friends of ours in Ukraine are involved with organizing and running a homeless help center in the city and are in need of men's winter coats and jackets.  Also different this time - we DO NOT want new coats.  We are collecting ONLY USED COATS because new ones may be sold rather than used for their intended purpose. 

So we are collecting clean, used men's coats in functional condition.  We need American sizes SMALL and MEDIUM only.   We plan to ship these in early-mid October, so give the closets a quick check and let me know if you have any coats to contribute.  We are collecting only coats at this time.

So if you have coats that fit these specifications, please contact one of us soon! We hope to ship them out in a couple of weeks.

Thank you once again for your prayers and support! God is working in amazing ways in Ukraine! All praise and glory to Him! Вся хвала і слава Богу!