Needs

MEETING Needs 07 Dec 2007 Charitable Fund index
Charitable "Children’s Fund"
Charitable "Children’s Fund" is the only charity in a Muslim republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, with all the staff members being Christian believers, parishioners and leaders of an evangelical "Union of Christians" church. The fund was set up in April 1999 and reaches out to about 915-920 children in ten orphanages of the area. Our policy is to help the most needy rural homes located far from the capital. Our first steps were research of the material and technical situation in orphanages, identifying the crucial needs and problems, meeting with the working staff, and what is more important, building bridges of trust with the children. Then prayers for the fatherless and for the specific needs of each orphanage followed. It was with God’s favor that the fund was able to begin its activity of supplying children with medicines, toiletries, stationery, toys, & sports equipment. One children’s home received a good washing machine and 500 orphans received a gift of fine quality tennis shoes and boots, & several orphanages received humanitarian aid clothing from Germany. Also, Annual Christmas Gift projects were done. Meeting everyday essential needs, the fund at the same time negotiated with orphanage directors about the possibility of implementing some big-scale vital projects. These include the building of a mini-farm and an agricultural summer base for work and recreation that would be of big help to the orphanage. Also being considered are the construction of a bath and laundry complex, a medical clinic, and a gym.. The list of good projects is long, but one really spoke to our hearts: a bakery in the Aurgazy home with the prospect of opening a training center to give the girls basic baker’s trade-skills. It appealed to our American volunteers Dale and Janice Marcum-Spurgeon who at that time worked with the fund too and thanks to their help it became a reality. Now this neat bakery brings everyone joy by its beauty and the girls by their tasty cooking . This year we have undertaken and keep working on the following wonderful projects: Underwear, socks and tights supply Shower remodeling in the Yumaguzino orphanage in a more modern style. International pen pal project with 70 kids from each side already involved and 60 on the waiting list. This one is valuable since it brings special joy to our children and inspires their creative abilities to draw, compose poetry, as well as expanding their imagination. Through letters from another continent they explore a new world, and in turn have a chance to share their lives. As a result, good friendship is built. All pen pals from American side are from families of believers and their letters shine with love and faith. It is an inspiring way of reaching out to the orphans with the Good News. Our kids are making first steps in spreading the Gospel to Americans, enclosing tracts in Russian. Our future plans are to raise funds for the above mentioned projects that are still on the waiting list but are all very essential to the children. Besides that, we ourselves have been in close pen-pal relationship with the children who send us amazing letters: kind, touchy and funny with drawings and pictures which they must have struggled to give away, since those were the only ones they had in several years of orphanage life. They write about faith in God and their first spiritual experience, enclose encouraging Bible verses, and assure of their prayers for us. Another major focus of our work has been supporting orphanage graduates after leaving the ‘nest’, especially students of colleges in the city of Ufa. We are praying and working on the issue of post-orphanage transition: last fall a charity welcome party was held for the new incoming post-orphanage students, where Good News was shared and everyone got a gift of a Bible. Three young people accepted the Lord in church. Many of the long-term pen pals of ours became believers. Several attend local congregations. Today’s world lives in the age where violence, drugs, alcoholism and prostitution run rampant and a lot depends on the environment the kids find themselves in. We try to bring God’s love to the fatherless, opening treasures of spiritual values and truths. Our goal is to assist in this spiritual development of the orphans. Our future plans are to raise funds for the above mentioned projects that are still on the waiting list and are all very essential.
For almost two years support for all our administration needs came through a blessed American couple Dale and Janice Marcum-Spurgeon. It has been harder for them to do since at the moment their main focus is steered at other projects in the former Soviet Republic of Belarus. With their blessing, we appeal to all who are willing to support our work and help financially to be able to rent an apartment for an office space and meet all our administration needs. Why do we need an apartment? The thing is, our office serves as a guesthouse to host many orphan kids, feeding them, giving them a chance to have a bath and even do the laundry. It is also a temporary warehouse to keep the purchased stuff to be further delivered to children’s homes. For these purposes, our expenses are $520 per month.
Our ministry is comprised of a small team of three nationals:

Director Mark Ignatichev	Assistant director Lydia Moldovanzeva
You can contact us at: blagoufa@mailandnews.com Mendeleev St 201-97, 450071, Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia Tel. 011-7-3472-39-77-68

Giving Guidelines for Russian Short-Term Missions
Connie Robbins and Rodney Hammer

1. Before arriving in Russia think about what commitments your church may wish to make.

2. You will be presented with great needs, both on a personal and church level. Your Christian compassion will make you aware of situations that could be helped by your generosity. Many are legitimate, but not all, and rarely is money a real solution.

3. Some Russians view foreigners as sponsors. You will likely be asked to assist in some needy project. Both culture and language have played a part in foreigners making promises they were not able to keep. Know how to say no if you are not absolutely certain you can fulfill a promise.

4. Some individuals have been known to present heartbreaking situations to every foreigner who would lend them an ear. Others, including church leaders, have presented the same need to many potential donors without informing those donors of duplicate gifts. Because cases of this sort are not isolated, it is best to first talk to a missionary. Assist those you feel led by God to assist, while at the same time being a wise steward of God's money.

5. If you choose to give money, please check with the missionary you are working with or a head pastor to be sure the gift fits into long-term strategy. A loving, well-intended monetary gift may be counterproductive to a church-planting missionary strategy and may have unintended negative results. Giving directly to a local missionary who can help distribute the funds is one alternative. Using a missionary as a middleman can provide some on-site accountability.

6. Give money only when it is possible to track its use for the purpose specified. Many national churches have become dependent on Western funding and do not do ministry on their own. Any gift may tend to perpetuate this cycle of dependency.

7. Giving subsidies quickly breeds the negative result of dependency, non-reproducible methods, and non-indigenous strategies in the field.

8. Funding large projects without consultation can lead to difficult situations. Large projects have their place (i.e., assistance in building training facilities), but sometimes prove counter-productive.

9. Do not plan projects that endanger the future of the work. Missionaries face dangers gladly because of the call of God upon their lives, but wise missiology demands prudent planning. In many countries, public evangelistic events are legal and often helpful. However, in some situations a public campaign may prove ineffective, lead to the expulsion of missionaries, and endanger national believers. Again, consultation and coordination with national church leaders and missionaries is vital.

10. Russians are very gracious people. In the Russian context, hosts will often answer in the affirmative to save face even though they may not understand the request, it is not appropriate, they do not know how, or are unable to do what you ask. If possible, seek advice from a longterm missionary. We encourage you to be sensitive to the cultural mores and to focus on being people-oriented rather than task-oriented. 11. Many groups see the opportunity to help a national by providing an educational opportunity in the West. This practice is sometimes warranted but should be coordinated very carefully through indigenous church leaders and missionaries. Training in a distant context is often a mistake.

12. When you have had a life-changing experience in a warm and hospitable Russian home, it is natural for you to sayto your Russian host family, "Come and stay with me some time." This politeness is often misunderstood to mean you will help a Russian family get to the West to visit you. A Russian international travel passport has numerous restrictions and is very costly. You will often be expected to pay all of the costs, including travel expenses. We suggest you avoid a good bit of pain and financial burden by carefully weighing what you say to your hosts.

Connie Robbins, Khabarovsk, Russia, and Rodney Hammer,
Prague, Czech Republic, are missionaries with the International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention.