Recently we had a possibility for a small chat with our friend John Whittemore. He arrived to Rivne carrying his ministry – working with kids from orphanages and orphanage graduates.

What was the most pleasant thing about this trip?

– New kids, I guess. I haven’t been here since summer. I was glad to meet orphanage graduates, whom I haven’t seen for a long time. Some of them are already married, and some have their own babies. It was also pleasant to meet 10 boys, who are studying in college in Rovno.

What did disappoint you the most?

– Kids in general. They spend almost all their time near computers. I went to Alexandria and, 2 years ago for example, they would be playing football all the time or doing other outdoor activities, but this time they were playing computer games. This situation is typical for most of kids nowadays.

Did the political situation in Ukraine influence your ministry?

– Not really. It’s only about dentists’ ministry here. They were supposed to come last spring, but they didn’t manage. Then – this winter, but now we are expecting them to arrive in April. Their wives are really worried about the situation here and they don’t let them go.

What are your future plans concerning the ministry?

– First of all, it is a winter camp, in December. We hope for God willing to spend this camp and especially to spend time with older kids. Most of them don’t know they’ve heard the Gospel. I like to work with younger kids (12-13 years old), because they are open to listen and understand. It’s more difficult to speak to older – they’ve heard a lot so far, but they still don’t know what it is about.

We thank God for His blessings in this ministry and for sending such a devoted minister as John to help sharing the Gospel with children from orphanages. We ask you to pray about kids’ hearts, that they were ready to listen to the God’s Word and to invite Jesus in their lives. We also ask you to pray about ministers, who serve in this field. They need your support so they could develop their ministry even more to the glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

God bless you,
Olya Denysiuk