How God is using our team…
Since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, our day-to-day lives changed dramatically. Our team has dispersed geographically for this season. However, we have still been able to help IDP families relocate and send supplies to those we know who are now serving on the front lines. Many of the graduate orphans with whom we used to study the Bible and play ping-pong are now serving their country in the military. We are able to help pay rent for local families who find themselves in difficult circumstances and spend time at the toddler orphanage in Western Ukraine with Shade for Children caring for the tiniest ones who have been forgotten. While we all hope and pray peace will soon come to Ukraine, we will not give up and continue to fight for a better future – especially for the children who haven’t been given a chance.
House of Compassion’s involvement throughout the years…
Orphanage Outreach
Every week we would join Galya Pomerlyan and her team visiting the children at a large orphanage outside of Zaporizhzhia, sharing the love of Jesus with the ones who would graduate soon and need to know there was someone who cared. We would play games, organize competitions, crafts, and always end with tea and snacks and a story from the Bible to discuss family-style. When Covid hit, the children were sent to live with whatever relative they had and we began buying groceries and household goods and delivering them to their mostly broken and poverty-stricken homes.
The Drop-in Center
For several years we partnered with New Hope Church and provided a safe place for graduated orphans to come weekly, play ping-pong and foozeball, listen to music, have a hot meal, and learn about Jesus and the ones who knew Him to be challenged in their faith. Many of the kids we had already known from the different orphanages would come join us and feel like they had some stability in the new world they were learning to navigate.
The Home
House of Compassion will be a home for orphans and children facing difficult life circumstances. The main house will accommodate up to twelve children and feature a large living room, kitchen, dining room, music room, study, and veranda on the first floor. Long-term plans include additional homes on the property, each housing up to eight children and equipped with a kitchenette, bathroom, and small living room. The main house will always serve as a central gathering space for cooking, studying, and sharing meals family-style.
Outside, the property will include expansive therapy and vegetable gardens, sports courts, and space for farm animals, alongside the wild hedgehogs and rabbits that already call it home. Designed to foster responsibility, life skills, and healthy relationships, House of Compassion will provide a nurturing environment where children can heal, grow, and prepare for adulthood – knowing they are never alone.
Our building project, which began in 2017, has provided work for many graduate orphans over the years between security guard shifts, putting up the over 500-meter fence, taking care of the trees and flowers on hot, dry summer nights, and learning skills such as being on time, responsibility, and putting together stick-build structures from scratch.
For years we worked diligently to get the property rezoned and ready to build our Home – despite changing laws and other hurdles – we finally received our documents and permissions on February 16, 2022! Thank you for all the prayers and support! The full-scale invasion happened eight days later and our property became dangerously close to the new front line. It has since been used in ways we never imagined, but we are still confident it is God’s property and He will use it to bring healing to orphans and give them a place someday to call home.
On a technical note, the local engineers have 90% of the plans finished, they have only to connect with our HVAC guys and make notes on placements, etc., and we hope that as soon as it is possible, we will build the physical House of Compassion.
