Over the last two grant cycles, we have been able to assist a group of women in Kyiv who started a center for those who are widowed, or have lost everything,

Their focus revolves around the importance of cultural preservation, access to education. Ecology, mental health, family upbringing, while supporting inter-generational connections.

The center started in June of 2019, and with the war becoming more intense, so have the number of people that have found their way to the center. These women rented a  building, and have supplied everything including a small loaf of bread and hot tea for everyone who walks through their door. Last year, they lead 314 events, all on a volunteer basis. 

But then Russia kept bombing their electrical grid and they only had electricity several hours a day. They needed an inverter (generator) and heavy duty batteries so they were not dependent on their non-operational national electrical grid. They sent us a request via a friend of mine who goes there four or five times a year with wheel chairs, medical supplies, refurbished ambulances and winter coats for the orphans.

He knows of my activity with the United Women in Faith and thought we could help, not knowing about our grant program. To shorten the story, we were able to give them the money for the generator and batteries that kept their center open. They pray for us every day and talk about how we have helped them during their greatest need.

For the next grant cycle, they have started a program, now in the third year of the war called “I Am With You” for those who have lost relatives, others that have been displaced, veterans who have been maimed and can no longer serve. The need is so great. They still have to pay for psychologists, craftsmen to teach people, including children and those without arms and legs, how to function at this time in their lives in a war torn country.

We gave them warmth and lights in the winter when it was most needed, and they were asking for funds for support for materials for this new program that is so desperately needed. We were able again to help them.

I have attached a picture from them to us and a thank you message so you can see where their heart is.

Nataliya Fedorchuk writes:

Christ is Risen! Happy Holidays to all your families. Because of the United Women in Faith and our Faith in God, we are surviving today, because He is on the side of good. It is He who unites people all over the world to stop evil. I thank God for bringing all of you into our lives. We are doing good deeds and seeing hope returning to people. During this month we taught children, displaced persons, and women to color Easter eggs with a message to send to the front lines along with some medicine that was also donated by others.

On April 11th, we organized and held “The Way of the Cross” in Sofia, Kyiv, for the return of prisoners and their families, where representatives from all churches walked together with mothers, wives, and those released from captivity. This was the biggest exchange, before Easter, that has even taken place. It was such a joy for 277 families, and another 908 families who received the bodies of their relatives and will be able to bury them on their native land. And hope has reappeared in thousands of those who were waiting.

You can look at the list of those we have assisted from around the world through these last two grant cycles and feel such pride in those that felt so strongly about the United Methodist Women that they left these endowments through the years. And that brings me to another source of pride in all of you: This year so many donated to the UWF Day of Giving, to the tune of $2,761.35. 

A big thank you for all that contributed and don’t forget you can continue to give all year. The form is on the website VAUWF.org, scroll down to officers and under the treasurer, find a list of current forms. The Legacy Giving form is there. 

These funds go towards our national endowment with a goal of $60 million dollars so we can be assured in the future, with that interest or market share, that the United Women in Faith will carry on, helping women and children around the world and here at home. 

So I encourage you when you stop to get that $8 cup of coffee or those fast food meals, might you consider giving some of that up some part of every month and give that money to those who are desperate? Let’s not ever forget how much we are drowning in our own blessings, and how much our missionaries do without to make sure those who need it most, to survive hunger, imprisonment, death, lack of a Bible in their language, and as we all get older, we know our eyesight fails. What if you were a minister in a foreign country and you just heard about Jesus, learned about salvation and were given your first Bible in your own language and you couldn’t read it. If you have magnifier glasses you no longer need or prescription glasses that need to be upgraded, do not throw the old ones away, get them to me and we will get them in the hands of missionaries.

Another picture I am sharing is of Svetlana, a young orphan in Ukraine, who lost her whole family, her home, her school, her community, her church. If you would like to knit or crochet hats, scarves, mittens in the colors of the Ukraine flag for the children, they will be well received. No deadline until the war is over. Invite your friends and neighbors to assist and tell them about the UWF and what we are all about. Remember one is not required to be a Methodist to be a member of the UWF. Any pattern, size or style would be welcome, it’s the colors that are most important. Blue for their big sky and yellow for the wheat that they grow. Ukraine has always been known as the bread basket of Europe.

We have so much to be proud of and such a great story to tell. We should be overwhelmed with members, if only we could get these stories out.