UPDATE ON KATYA

OUR TEAM IN UKRAINE IS WORKING WITH THE US EMBASSY TO BRING KATYA BACK TO THE US... SEE THE BLOG FOR THE UPDATE:
http://www.ildcua.blogspot.com/

Please keep us informed of your interest to help - as we get closer to bringing her back, we will need a home for her - let's keep working toward a successful placement for Katya. Blessings to all.

The LAMb team

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS - MAY YOU ENJOY THE CELEBRATION OF HIS BIRTH AND THE JOINING OF YOUR FAMILIES FOR CELEBRATION!

OVER $50,0000.00 RAISED FOR THE MATCH

FUNDS ARE STILL ARRIVING - AND WE ARE BLESSED BY YOU ALL
over $10,000 was raised for LAMb - Christmas for 2000 in Kyrgyzstan (see blog below)
over $40,000 was raised for designated use for LAMb
matched funds of $25,000 by anonomyous donor
THANK YOU SO MUCH - WE WANT YOU TO STAY TUNED TO WATCH THE FUNDS BEING USED - WATCH OUR TEAM MEMBER BLOGS AS WELL TO SEE THE WORK OF MINISTRY IN ACTION:

www.actofkindness.blogspot.com
www.dandjschooler.blogspot.com

THANK YOU = SPACIBO, OBRIGADA, GRATIAS
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

MINISTRY IN BRAZIL - LAMb on the MOVE

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM BRAZIL! FELIZ NATAL (Português)

LAMb is in Brazil for Christmas and New Years. Lynn and Ruby are visiting family and ministry does not stop. We have shared here in Uberlandia (NOT FAR FROM BRAZILIA) with the English church about the ministry and on January 2, 2011 we will share again with the Brazilian church. Ruby will give a 10 minute overview of LAMb International and Lynn will preach the service for the church. This is a church of about 1000 and has been in existence for just 6 years.

And of course we are checking out the orphanages and will give a full report soon.

CHRISTMAS FOR DAYSPRING IN KYRGYZSTAN

Carrie and Jen - blessing Dayspring with a GREAT CANDLE BUSINESS! RAISED OVER $2800 TOWARD THE DAYSPRING FAMILY LIFE RESOURCE CENTER!

check out the Schooler blog:
www.dandjschooler.blogspot.com

TEAM MEMBERS PASTOR DAVID AND JAYNE! have been actively seeking support for Dayspring Family Resource Center in Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan and through their efforts of sharing - have been blessed by their friends from Ohio - Jen and Carrie have been making candles for sale, giving profits to Dayspring. They have helped LAMb reach the matched funds. In fact, their $2800 turned into $5600! What a gift.

THANK YOU CARRIE, JEN, DAVID AND JAYNE. YOU ARE TRUE LAMPLIGHTERS FOR KYRGYZSTAN

- blessing Dayspring with their friends from Ohio.

CHRISTMAS IN KYRGYZSTAN - SHARING AND GIVING

Sergae helping children with a new delivery for their orphanage - a new tv. Thank you Sergae for serving children for us in Kyrgyzstan in our absence!Thank you John and Julie for setting it all up!

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS ARE BEING SENT TO KYRGYZSTAN....

We want to thank you so much for the donations that have arrived for the sharing of Christmas with our dear families and friends in Kyrgyzstan. Our team has great helpers on the ground in Kyrgyzstan getting ready to deliver the love of Jesus to 2000 orphans. Watch our team members blog and get all the updated details:

http://www.actofkindness.blogspot.com/

We have raised over $10,000 specifically designated for the Christmas for 2000 - coordinated by LAMb Team members John and Julie Wright - way to go team!

MEDINA STORY - ONE YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS

PLEASE SEE JAYNE'S BLOG: http://www.dandjschooler.blogspot.com/

LAMb INTERNATIONAL THANKS YOU - FROM MEDINA AND HER FAMILY...

The story of Medina is awesome. A family that has shown how hope and dignity restored makes a difference in their lives. After the make over in their tiny apartment - done by a team from Barrie, Ontario, this family continues to stretch for change. We have dropped in on them unexpectedly many times - and find the children well cared for, the home neat and tidy and of course continued needs everywhere. They do not have running water in their home, no bathroom, no real refrigerator, no cooking stove and a very small space for them. Yet, they OWN their apartment. We have given them beds, bedding and kitchen supplies like dishes and pans. We painted walls, doors, windows and put down new carpets, new curtains and made changes in the poor broken floors and walls to bring a fresh look to their surroundings.

Yet - little Median needed more - she needed a surgery to change her appearance - to keep others from laughing at her - to keep her in school and from being sent to a home for disabled children! Now - as Jayne's blog reports - it is done. Our staff - Natasha has done a great job coordinating this in our absence. We are blessed and honored to have donors who step to the plate when needed - just as this need was met. We thank you!

Our team in Kyrgystan is awesome - John and Julie Wright with their girls, Pastor David and Jayne Schooler. We work together to serve - "just showing up and stopping for the one in front of us."

YOU CAN JOIN A SHORT TERM MISSION TEAM THIS SPRING - WANT TO HELP US BUILD A PLAYGROUND? DAYSPRING NEEDS A DONOR FOR THE PLAYGROUND AND FOR WORKERS TO PUT IT TOGETHER!

$33,662.93 and RISING!

$33,662.93

AND GROWING

LOOK AT THIS - MATCH MET AND THE FUNDS CONTINUE TO RISE. PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GRACE AND MERCY.

KATYA INFORMATION

Dear Friends,

 

I am taking this format to answer all of you who have sent information to me or to John about Katya.  Let me tell you what I know.  There are several people working with her in Krivoy Rog. She claims her adoptive parents sent her back to Ukraine - but gave her two options before sending her back - go to a "boot camp" or go back.  She choose to go back as she did not know what a "boot camp" was.  She identifed lots of conflict between herself and her parents. 

 

The US Embassy contacted the orphanage.The director said she planned this herself and is very manipulative.  No matter if she is or isn't manipulative, she is 18, has not finished high school and was sent/allowed to leave the country of her citizenship with a few hundred dollars in an envelope.  She is wanting to return to the US. 

 

I have talked to her mother and the situation has been difficult there in the home for 6 years.  Her mother claims she has an attachment disorder and a personality disorder.  She was a good student for the most part - although she did not apply herself.  She had only a few friends and seemed to be able to make friends but not keep them for long.  Her mother admits she does not want her back into the family.  She also admits she put her on the plane after a "blow up" in the family.

 

The people working with her in Ukraine say she is a nice girl and really is distressed over what to do with her life.  She knows she cannot do well staying in Ukraine since she does not have the language, connections or even the desire to be there.  For someone to care for her - they would need to understand this might be a very difficult situation.  If indeed she has an attachment disorder - she might be very distant in the relationships in the family and this can be extremely stressful for someone wanting to serve and give of themselves.  This is a situation where LOVE DOES NOT take care of all the issues.  I want to be as accurate and upfront as possible when sharing what I know and what is being shared with me.  

 

I have talked to Katya and can hear her confusion, and her desire to be settled.  And talking to her mother for a very long time does give another side of the story that clearly identifies Katya as having been difficult to live with.  Please do not be discouraged - she needs someone who is realistic and will work with her for a time to get her settled and through her high school education.  I don't want to paint a rosy picture where there will most likely be some very stressful days should one of you decide you want to move forward and help her. 

 

And it appears that EVERYONE is telling the truth - both sides of the ocean. 

 

Thank you - please let me know your thougts.

 

Ruby

 

--

All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words;  freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.                               Sir Winston Churchill

 

<^)\\\\><
Ruby M. Johnston
Director of International Field Operations
Institute for Human Services - Canada
and
<^)\\\\><
J. R. Lynn Johnston
President
LAMb International Canada
BN817007042RR0001
Lynn and Ruby Johnston
406-33 Ellen Street

Barrie, ON  L4N 6E9

705 252 7312 or 705-727-8203

Primary Email Address:  lambinternational@gmail.com
www.lambinternational.blogspot.com
www.lambinternational.org

WAHOOOO - CHECK THE MATCH

WE ARE MOVING TO A 100% COMPLETION OF THE MATCHED FUNDS

YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO GET IN ON THE FUN! WHO WILL TAKE US OVER THE $25,000?? Remember - you can dontate for our PIE IN THE FACE CHRISTMAS PROJECT FOR THE ORPHANS OF KYRGYZSTAN AND THIS COUNTS TOO!
see: actofkindness.blogspot.com
or just hit the button and tell us it is for the PIE IN THE FACE PROJECT WITH JOHN AND JULIE WRIGHT....

THANKS SO MUCH...

KATYA UPDATE

KATYA HAS HER PASSPORT. She is with one of our partners in Ukraine, staying in an apartment with another young woman. We have her there until the US Embassy can meet with her. They will let us know about bringing her back to the US. The US Embassy has offered to buy her ticket home - we would just have to pay them back for this. This is what she wants. Keep in mind - she is 18 - likely functioning at an emotional age of 12 - the age when she was adopted. She is likely not able to figure all this out by herself - she is still a child.

Our next step is to continue to hear from you all - about her situation. How might you help? We have been receiving some suggestions of where she might live once she returns to the US. Let's keep in mind she will undoubtably need counseling and help working through the education system. It is not going to be an easy road with her once she is back and with a family. We can all work together to do the best we can - ultimately Katya will need to take some responsibility - as she settles and stabilizes. But first - we need commitment from a family, a place for her to return to - one that is realistic in their expectations. This might be a very difficult placement for a time as all the issues are worked out.

She is in good hands right now in Ukraine. She no longer is under the "rule" of the orphanage. Our staff will work with her to extend her stay in Ukraine until we work out the US return with the US Embassy. The Embassy will do the investigation on the situation - that is their job, not ours. We are focused on Katya and her needs at this time.

Thanks to our partners in Ukraine, our team members John and Julie - together we will not be stopped.

A SITUATION - CAN YOU HELP

HER NAME IS KATYA.
We have been working on a difficult sitution here in Ukraine. There is a young American girl who is presently at an orphanage not by her choice. She was adopted from Ukraine when she was in grade 6. She turned 18 in August of this year and in October 2010 her adoptive parents put her on a plane and sent her back to Ukraine. We have heard her story and it is sad.
She is receiving help from a church in Krivoy Rog as well as other individuals in Ukraine. She now has no place to return to in the US and had no idea of what she will do. The US Embassy has been contacted and they are aware of the situation and are planning to do a thorough investigation of the situation.



Our staff are doing what they can do as well. We have found a place for her to stay here in Ukraine until she can return to the US, but she is running out of time to leave the country. Foreigners can only stay three months and then need to leave and then they can re-enter. Although she was born in Ukraine, she is now considered a foreigner. Her citizenship is US and she wants to return, but has no one to help her in the US.

This is where we place the call to our friends, family and bloggers. Is there anyone out there willing to take a risk and help? Her story is one of constant conflict, verbal abuse and lack of emotional support. She claims she was a Magna student (can easily be confirmed). She was to graduate this year, but was sent back before this could take place. She will likely lose most of her school year. She claims she was sent back with only hours notice - afraid of what the alternatives were for her.



All persons working with her in Ukraine claim she is a nice girl - very upset at this, does not know the national language of Ukrainian and speaks "weak" Russian. In fact her Russian is at a grade 6 level. She wants to return home to the US. She sees no hope with her adoptive family.



Please consider this, pray for this siutation and let us know if you have any ideas. You can contact us at our email address - we believe this young woman deserves to have this help. One cannot make decisions alone when you are 18 - in a foreign country - facing the unknowns - and just plain scared.

CHECK OUT UPDATED MATCHED FUNDS

Wow....we are almost there - join the fun!

UPDATE ON NATIONAL ADOPTION IN KYRGYZSTAN

FAMILIES CHANGED - TRAINING IS THE CATALYST

As we have reported before, we trained four different persons to do a standardized, best-practice training program for prospective adoptive parents. This is something that has never been done in Kyrgyzstan before.

The program we use was developed by the Institute for Human Services - our partner in Ohio. This training program prepares the adoptive parents for adoption and promotes a better understanding of the issues children have who are coming from orphanages, child abuse and disruption in their birth families.

The four trainers we developed in Kyrgyzstan are professionals who have a great desire to change the present process for national adoption. The director of a baby home, her Social Worker, the local state Social Worker and our team member are all trainers for this program.

This is a great update from our "on the ground" person in Kyrgyzstan.

I want to update you. The adoption training ended very well. The parents were very appreciative and grateful to all the trainers. A couple of them said that the training changed their thinking about a secret of adoption. They said they would tell their babies the truth as soon as they begin to understand. They said a lot of warm and good words about the training. Also they said that from the training they got answers to their questions that they had and didn’t know whom to ask to and that now they are completely ready to adopt a baby and don’t have any doubts. We gave them certificates and Janell said that with them the parents wouldn’t have any problems at court, a judge will give them permission with no questions. I took some pictures but when I got home I found out that the pictures didn’t come out, I think the batteries were weak. But Dr. Tatyana promised to take a few pictures for you when the parents get their babies.

THIS ONCE AGAIN - HELPS US BELIEVE - KYRGYZSTAN WITHOUT ORPHANS - PLEASE BELIEVE WITH US!

UKRAINE - GETTING READY FOR A CHANGE

Anya and Oleg presenting to potential partners of ILDC.

ADOPT UKRAINE IS ALIVE AND WELL!
We are excited about the work of Adopt Ukraine. This project/activity of LAMb has been very inspirational and successful. Vika Melinchenko is our person on the ground in Ukraine that keeps this moving. Right now she is working with 10 families -helping them understand the special needs of the orphans and helping them make an informed decision about adoption. We will be gathering her pictures and stories this week as we work together to make our next plans for promoting adoption through presentations in the churches.

Lots happening in Ukraine this week and the weeks to come for the rest of the year!

1. Leadership Training - for the NGO Every Child.
2. Strategic Planning with the NGO - Alliance for Ukraine Without Orphans
3. Working with ILDC staff in preparing for training, consultation, etc.
4. Preparing for the upcoming training with the NGO - AGAPE in Kherson, Ukraine
5. Presentation of numerous trainings around the country - now BEING DONE BY TRAINERS WHOM WE HAVE TRAINED - NATIONALS DOING THE WORK!

Finally, we return the end of the week from Ukraine and then are heading to Brazil to be with family over Christmas. We pray blessings for each of you during this wonderful season celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Stay tuned for another update from KG and the following of the matched funding! Watch our growth on the left side of the blog! We are moving toward a successful completion of the match - there is still a need for more to join in - might you want to take the challenge? Here is how:

FIRST - meet the pie challenge of our team members John and Julie Wright - go the their blog and donate or join the challenge: www.actofkindness.blogspot.com

SECOND - hit the Canada Helps button on the left side of this blog and donate here.

ALL GO TOWARDS THE MATCHED FUNDS - REMEMBER THIS FUNDER IS ANONYMOUS AND HAS OFFERED $25,000 in matched funds. So, we raise $25,000 and the funder puts in another $25,000.

Thanks for your support!!!!