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Author: Emily

Nine years serving orphaned youth in Ukraine

Written by Emily on . Posted in Last Bell Blog, Orphaned Moms, Orphaned Students.

Dear friends,

After much consideration, and with deep gratitude, I want to announce my upcoming departure from Last Bell Ministries. My last official day is April 25th, though I’ll continue helping transition the ministry through the end of May.

I’ve been presented with a great opportunity to work as a project consultant with nonprofits and foundations in the Indianapolis area. This was a hard decision; I’ve loved working for Last Bell. While I sincerely look forward to narrowing my focus and honing my skills in this new role, I also feel the sadness of moving on from a wonderful community.

Last Bell Ministries has been an integral part of my life for the last nine years. As I was becoming a new mom, God opened up a perfect opportunity to work with Last Bell first as the Director of U.S. Operations, then a few years later as the Executive Director. When I first traveled to Zhytomyr, Ukraine many years ago, I saw immediately that our youth and our staff were extraordinary. I began building relationships with our Board, staff, and Last Bell friends. I felt drawn to all of you – faithful, generous people of God who provide the resources for serving orphaned youth. The frontline work in Ukraine and supportive relationships in the U.S. together make a strong, beautiful ecosystem.

Please rest assured that I’m committed to a smooth transition. And I’m tremendously encouraged by Last Bell’s current organizational health. The ministry is in good hands with a passionate Ukrainian team of 18 staff members, an engaged and gifted board, capable U.S. support staff, and a multitude of friends who give generously. I’m confident God has good things in store for our orphaned youth in Zhytomyr.

Thank you again for your support of Last Bell’s mission, now and in the years to come.

With gratitude,

Megan Hershey

Ukrainian Moms in the Netherlands

Written by Emily on . Posted in Housing for Orphans, Last Bell Blog, Orphaned Moms, Stop the Cycle, Uncategorized.

As we approach two full years of war, we wanted to update you on our refugees, especially in the Netherlands. Many returned to Ukraine, but some are still there. With missiles continuing to kill and injure people two hours from Zhytomyr, these families don’t feel safe at home yet. 

The year Last Bell opened, we met Angela K. Our staff offered her mentorship and help, and Angela has often given back. She’s now the leader of our group in Vriezenveen. The kids are all happy there, and everyone is beginning to speak a little Dutch! Volunteers arrange activities for them. 

A rare snow day; Angela baking with one of the kids

Angela’s car serves the whole group – for school pickups, or trips to another city for Ukrainian food. They miss Ukraine when they cook! Your donations helped Last Bell cover recent car repairs, plus Angela’s gas for all these trips.

Angela and the other moms have joined a community of Ukrainian Christians where a pastor preaches in Ukrainian and they pray together for their country. This year they also celebrated a big Ukrainian Christmas. 

We’re so thankful for Dutch Christian friends who provide for many of our
refugees’ needs and fold them into a caring community.

In the Netherlands, some people are questioning whether Ukrainian refugees should still receive support. Please pray for favor with the Dutch officials!

In those early years, many of you were deeply involved the lives of Angela and other orphaned moms through your gifts and prayers. Your support still reaches them. We’re thankful for Angela’s strength and endurance in the incredible challenge of this war, and we’re thankful for your role supporting her and our whole community.

The Ranch

Written by Emily on . Posted in Educational Outreach, Housing for Orphans, Last Bell Blog, Orphaned Students, Uncategorized.

You might have seen photos of our youth spending time at a new facility. But we haven’t properly introduced it yet!

The war brought about a disappointment for some ministry friends, which they turned into a gift. They’d just finished building a beautiful ministry house in a village near Zhytomyr. But the war prevented them from using it. So they gave it to Last Bell! The legal transfer is almost complete. 

Our staff and youth call this house “the Ranch.” Big bedrooms with many twin beds, as well as large gathering areas, make it perfect for group retreats. The Ranch is already hosting overnights for orphaned youth, staff meetings, and special day trips. Our Stop the Cycle families will use it too.

Our girls’ group baking in the spacious kitchen at the Ranch

We’re thankful for our friends’ generosity, and for God’s provision of this restful home outside the city. And we’re thankful for all of you who bless our youth with your gifts and prayers every day.

Healing the hearts of orphaned youth in 2023

Written by Emily on . Posted in Camps, Educational Outreach, Housing for Orphans, Last Bell Blog, Orphaned Moms, Orphaned Students, Restoration Project, Stop the Cycle, Uncategorized.

Because of your support, orphaned students are finding a place to belong. Young moms and dads are learning from role models and making a better life for their kids. Youth whose society discarded them are getting jobs and giving back. 

God is taking care of orphaned youth in Zhytomyr through the compassion of His people. Take a look at what you helped accomplish in 2023!

Our Educational Outreach team befriends new orphaned students in Zhytomyr. Last year, they touched the lives of 179 youth! Many came to the Day Center for friendship and help. Eighteen students received advocacy for untreated illnesses or injuries. Your gifts made sure all our students were clothed and well-fed. For some students, sharing a need and receiving help was a new experience.  

Our Restoration Project meets two needs: housing and marketable skills. The crew, all orphaned young people, learn the home renovation trade by repairing the homes of fellow orphans. Orphaned student Masha was one beneficiary this year. The crew fixed up her unlivable apartment so she won’t be homeless when she graduates from college.

Stop the Cycle helps orphaned parents break the cycle of abandonment and abuse in their families. In 2023, 44 moms and dads participated in the program, and 25 families came to our in-depth monthly parenting classes! Camp was a special week for our Stop the Cycle community, where our staff invested deeply in young families every day. Many camp families have stayed in touch. 

As the two-year anniversary of the war draws nearer, our hearts are breaking for our country. But we’re thankful you keep investing in the future of Ukraine’s most vulnerable youth. God is always at work!

Mending the Broken at Christmas

Written by Emily on . Posted in Last Bell Blog, Orphaned Moms, Stop the Cycle.

Merry Christmas from the Shelter – and from all of us at Last Bell!

In late October, a big storm came through with high winds. A few orphaned moms bravely came to the Shelter for a moms’ meeting anyway!

This evergreen was damaged, so it became the Shelter’s Christmas tree. 

Orphaned youth, including those young moms, have weathered incredible storms. But because of you, they aren’t left outside, broken and suffering. Their lives can become something new and beautiful, something that even cheers and encourages others.

This season, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, God’s loving message to the world. Thank you for shining that love into the lives of our youth!

School and More for Sasha

Written by Emily on . Posted in Educational Outreach, Last Bell Blog, Orphaned Students, Uncategorized.

After collarbone surgery, Sasha had another problem. Because of the operations, he was too late to enroll in a state-run college. 

Many orphan teens don’t know the next step for their education. They grew up on the margins of society. No one asked them, “What’s your dream for the future?” Without job skills, many can’t get work, and some end up on the street.

But because Sasha had found Last Bell, it wasn’t too late for him. We partner with a Christian IT academy, and they accepted Sasha mid-semester. He’ll learn computer skills and start on a path to independence.

We’re always seeking new vocational opportunities, because education gives an orphan the skills to break their family’s cycle of poverty. You can be part of that in 2024!

Your generosity transformed Sasha’s life. You gave him the medical care he needed, and new friends who helped him enroll in a school where he can thrive. 

Those are all important, practical gifts! But you helped Sasha in one more important way: you invited him into God’s family.

At camp, Sasha was a student leader. Some of the students on his team struggled to participate. But Sasha united them and helped each student find their strengths. Sasha’s magnetic personality could have easily led his peers astray… or to a loving God.

We’re grateful to God that Sasha was interested in Christianity. He began soaking up our care and attention. After camp, he started attending church with us. Then he decided to follow Jesus!

We’ll meet many new orphaned youth in 2024. Will you give so these precious young people will hear how much God loves them?

Give Today

My interview with Sasha & your impact on his life

Written by Emily on . Posted in Camps, Educational Outreach, Featured, Last Bell Blog.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sasha about his life and experience with Last Bell. He’s really smart, and it’s always interesting to talk to him!

After they graduate from orphanages or foster care, most young people like Sasha are left alone with adult problems. They don’t know where to go, where to turn. Sasha was living with a really big problem, too – a broken collarbone. Then he found Last Bell. He tells his story in the video below:

Give for orphaned youth in 2023

Just when Sasha needed it most, your gifts provided him with mentorship, medical help, and a path forward.

In 2024, we’ll meet many new orphaned youth like Sasha. If a significant adult doesn’t appear in their lives, they’ll be alone in a world at war. But you can give them a place to feel safe, get support and advice, and receive the necessities of life. You can make sure they aren’t facing life alone.

Give Today

We are extremely grateful to each and every one of you who support Last Bell. Here in Zhytomyr, your gifts mean orphaned youth can be healthy, well-fed, well-dressed, receiving all the help they need—even in wartime.

With gratitude,

Yulia Nesterenko

PS: All of us on staff see that Sasha’s peers respect him and follow him. Because of your support, Sasha’s tranformation will ripple out to many other lives! This December, will you give unexpected hope to our youth?

A repaired collarbone gives Sasha hope

Written by Emily on . Posted in Camps, Educational Outreach, Last Bell Blog.

When I met Sasha this summer, he had a problem—a broken collarbone, which the doctors in his small town hadn’t fixed correctly. It was always inflamed, and the scars were oozing. It affected his whole arm.

Because Sasha didn’t have any money, he was delaying medical care until he could find work. But it would have been too late to save his clavicle. He might have been disabled for life.

Sasha needed immediate medical intervention. And friends like you gave it to him!

Sasha asked one of Last Bell’s staff members for help. “We chatted, drank coffee,” Sasha said, “and literally two days later we went to the hospital… I had my first operation. And all this time everyone gave me moral support.”

So little was needed to change Sasha’s life. All those surgeries totaled $580.

https://lastbell.org/donate

Sadly, Sasha’s story is not unique. Every day, kids just like him age out of orphanages and have to face the world on their own, without family support.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Will you make sure young people like Sasha have the support they need to thrive?

  • $25 can provide two weeks of groceries for an orphaned student
  • $75 can pay for visits to six families to learn about their needs
  • $500 can help cover emergency medical bills for someone like Sasha
  • $1000 can help an orphan-led family have safe housing in 2024

Though I may never meet you in person to say “thank you,” here’s what you do: you give orphaned youth in Ukraine a sense of value. You give them hope that they won’t repeat the fate of their parents. I’m so thankful.

May God bless you,

Yulia Nesterenko
Director, Educational Outreach

PS: You’re across the ocean; we’re here. But our team always feels your support. If you haven’t yet, would you join our friends with a gift before December 31?

Photos: A Year of Restoring Home

Written by Emily on . Posted in Housing for Orphans, Last Bell Blog, Restoration Project, Uncategorized.

During a time of national suffering, our Restoration Project crew has such an important job. They build in the midst of destruction. They restore stability to those in doubt.

Orphaned youth make up the crew, apprenticing in the home renovation trade with staff member Sergei. All their work benefits their fellow orphans.

In 2023, the crew kept showing up even as the air raid sirens sounded. These were their biggest projects from the past year:

Shelter Renovations

The crew spent part of 2023 renovating the Shelter, our crisis housing facility for orphaned moms. They totally remodeled the kitchen, replaced the roof of the “gazebo” (an outdoor eating area), and renovated bedrooms. Thanks to their skills, the Shelter is even more warm and welcoming for moms who just need to be safe for a while.

Day Center Renovations

Our crew worked alongside a contractor to renovate the Day Center. Now this hub of activity for our orphaned students has a full kitchen where staff and youth can cook together.

Masha’s Home

Like many orphaned students, Masha didn’t have a safe place to go after college. But she’d inherited an old apartment that needed many repairs. Our crew fixed her bathroom and kitchen, making her apartment a safe place to live after graduation.

Alina’s Kitchen

Nothing goes to waste at the Restoration Project! Former Shelter resident Alina had a bare kitchen with no cupboards at all. So our crew hauled the Shelter’s old cupboards to her house and installed them. They added a stove a few months later.

At Last Bell, we believe everyone deserves a safe place to sleep at night. Your gifts make it happen for orphaned youth. Thank you! 

Last Bell State of the Union

Written by Emily on . Posted in Housing for Orphans, Last Bell Blog, Uncategorized.

Dear friends,

Greetings from Indianapolis on behalf of those faithfully serving in Zhytomyr, Ukraine.

It’s hard to believe the people of Ukraine have lived for one and a half years under threatening skies. Our long-suffering friends know first-hand what it is to wander in the wilderness with God. There is no sign that an end to the war is near.

Our youth and staff constantly weigh decisions against the possibility of attacks, air raid sirens, and the potential of being drafted to the front lines.

Those of us who care deeply, though, continue praying fervently for peace to be restored, for God to relieve suffering, and for our ministry to continually renew our focus on loving and restoring orphans towards life and community.

The leadership of Last Bell is committed to shifting gears from the first shock of war into the needs of the present.

In this time of suffering, there is also profound joy. Our extraordinary staff continue to serve hundreds of youth practically, emotionally, and spiritually. You’ve been reading about young women like Karina who’ve experienced true life change.

I’m thrilled about having a full staff in wartime! Although several of our staff evacuated during the start of war, openings were quickly filled by dynamic, compassionate new team members.

The Board and I have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure the long-term health of our ministry. We want Last Bell to keep serving for decades to come.

One of the biggest needs we see right now is for safe housing, especially for the young moms in our Stop the Cycle program. We’ve taken major steps toward adding transitional housing apartments. I look forward to sharing more news about that next year!

We’re expanding our youth tracking system to provide objective data about outcomes, confirming the meaningful change we see in the lives of those we serve.

We’re also preparing to better address the expanding vocational needs of our youth beginning in early 2024, especially those in our Educational Outreach program.

We continue to provide humanitarian relief to those in our community impacted by war, including military helmets, generators, medical kits, and other survival items.

We still need you! I’m thankful for your financial support, generous partnership, and your faithful prayers.

Bless you for your tender hearts for our vulnerable orphaned youth in Ukraine.

Together in this good work,

Megan Hershey
Executive Director

Chess and Conversation at Camp

Written by Emily on . Posted in Camps, Educational Outreach, Last Bell Blog, Orphaned Students, Uncategorized.

Please refrain from sharing this story on social media. Thank you!

Youth camp was in late August, and your gifts made it a wonderful week! Our Facebook photo album is here, including notes about special camp activities.

Youth Camp 2023 Photo Album

For orphaned youth, camp is more than just a week of fun. Krystya, a member of our Educational Outreach team, shared this story about a student named Nadia*.

Until camp, Nadia had always been very private, and suspicious of our staff’s motivations. She couldn’t understand why people would help her. At camp, after the last evening service, Nadia was visibly emotional. When Krystya asked if she was okay, Nadia just burst into tears.

They moved away from everyone and sat down at a table near a chess game. Krystya gave Nadia a big hug and let her be quiet for a while. Then Nadia picked up the chess pieces and began using them to tell the story of her life.

Krystya shared, “I don’t play chess at all and know very little about it… I just started praying that the Lord would lead me in this conversation.” Using the same chess pieces, Krystya was able to help Nadia think through her questions, and tell her how much God loves her and is near her.

*Not her real name

the chess table at camp

Since then, Nadia has been in touch with our staff constantly, asking for advice and working to make her life better. 

Your generosity brought Nadia into the Last Bell family, where she’ll receive the support she needs for a healthy life. Thank you!

DRUZI gave Karina a safe place to live.

Written by Emily on . Posted in Housing for Orphans, Last Bell Blog, Orphaned Moms, Stop the Cycle, Uncategorized.

If you watched the video in the last post, you’ve had a sneak peak at this story! Karina was safely living in the Shelter, and she had job skills. She’d begun to follow Jesus and learn about good parenting. But she and her little girl Evelina had nowhere to live after the Shelter. 

DRUZI gave Karina a safe home.

Karina had received an apartment from the government. But it wasn’t livable. Karina didn’t have the funds for repairs, or any help from her family.

Thanks to DRUZI’s recurring givers, our Restoration Project crew had funding available for a new project. Crew members painted, added counters and a sink, put down flooring, and moved in furniture.

After Karina moved in, she said the apartment gave her a “feeling of security, that you won’t be kicked out tomorrow, that you now have your own home.”

When the next orphan-led family is facing homelessness, will you step into the gap? $100/month can pay for a month of rent. Any amount can help with home repairs! https://lastbell.org/druzi/

On this last day of our Friendship Campaign, we want to say “thank you” to all of you who give, pray, and volunteer. You are restoring orphanage graduates to life and community.

PS: Don’t miss this message from Ruth, a monthly giver from Indianapolis. Ruth shares why she loves giving through DRUZI.

Link to the video about Karina