Heart of Ukraine Ministries / Б.О. Вінниця - Серце України

27/08/2026

VOLUNTEERS AWAY FROM THE SOUP KITCHEN
A number of our volunteers keep busy during the summer with activities related to their main ministries.
Here are what our routine volunteers . . . Pastor Andre, Archie, Katia, Leonid S, Leonid Z and Pastor Vadim . . . are up to.
And many of our occasional volunteers are involved in different ministries as well.

27/08/2026

TESTIMONY AT THE SOUP KITCHEN
Slava is only 24 years old and God is changing him in dramatic ways. He gave his testimony at one of our soup kitchen feedings in July. “. . . .and, when I understood this, God gave me such an opportunity. He just introduced me to a person, about who I knew only two things. I knew he was a believer, and I knew he could bring me to God. And that’s it. So, I turned to him and he just said to me, “Come.” At that moment I lived in the city of Kyiv. I had some work, that is, I had some kind of life set up, somehow.” “And in order to come to God and start changing something (in my life), I needed to leave everything and just trust the person and just go there (New Life Rehab-Adaptation Center in Vinnytsia). The only thing I knew was his phone number and that I would be met at the (train) station. That’s all. What I will be, where I will be, how I will be, I did not know. And ‘boom’ these were my steps.” “And when I did this, these were things I did . . . . First, I realized that I needed to seek God. Second, I was ready to believe, and third, I was ready to do something about it. Then there was meaning in my life.” Slava goes on to share that without coming to God there no was sense in his life and that the same is for everyone. Then he reviews those 3 steps as he tells the guests that that is what they can do in their lives to bring meaning and to be with God. He did an excellent job of sharing his testimony, the Gospel and what steps to take while accepting what Jesus did on the cross. God is working a great thing in Slava!

Slava is only 24 years old and God is changing him in dramatic ways...

27/08/2026

END OF JULY GARDENS
So what do our gardens look like after a month? We just posted a video from early July and here is a video near the end of July.
Things really grow fast in July especially this year with all the additional rain.

So what do our gardens look like after a month? We just posted a vi...

27/08/2026

ALL THE GARDENS
Here are some pictures of our different gardens, from the barley to the veggies to fruit to flowers. Some are comparison photos from early July to late July to show how things progressed. Also, some other side-note photos.

27/08/2026

GARDEN STARTING OUT REALLY GOOD
Laura gives you a tour of our new vegetable garden space as well as the flower beds. We expected a struggle since we had raspberries and lots of weeds & grass, but the new veggie garden is doing well.
Spring flowers are fading and summer flowers are in bloom with fall flowers starting to grow.

Laura gives you a tour of our new vegetable garden space as well as...

27/08/2026

FROM THE GARDEN TO THE ANIMALS
Quite a bit of what we grow goes to the animals. The large fields are used for barley, which is all for the animals. The smaller garden also provides food for them. Our chickens absolutely love the summer & fall because of this.

27/08/2026

PREACHING
On our last monthly visit to New Life Church, Mark preached about walking in the footsteps of Jesus by serving others. He showed our short video on the Living Hope Soup Kitchen and then Laura shared how everyday skills can be used to serve . . . cutting up vegetables, talking to people, etc.
Sergey, who helps out with the New Life Rehab-Adaptation Center, read Scripture for Mark to start things off and Natasha translated for him.
Senior Pastor Vova was out of country and during his month long absence, Associate Pastor Vitaliy set up some guest preachers.

27/08/2026

RAIN AT THE START OF CAMP
American and Ukrainian cultures are pretty different in many ways . . . Mark shares each culture's response to rain at a major outdoor event.

American and Ukrainian cultures are pretty different in many ways ....

27/08/2026

SERVING AT A CAMP
We were privileged to be able to help again at a Noah's Ark camp for mothers, wives and children of fallen soldiers.
The camp was Wednesday thru Sunday, however we had to leave on Friday mid-morning as we had to get home to care for our broiler chickens.
We drove to the site and set up camp, then served desert during the opening of the camp through a food festival. Laura prepared cherry and apple cobblers.
We then helped the kitchen volunteers prepare breakfast on two mornings for the camp: 250 attendees & 100 volunteers. The first morning was frittatas and the second was a quiche. We also helped peel potatoes, fix a shelf in their fridge, and set out meals. They have an amazing set of volunteers in the kitchen!
Slava, one of the men from the New Life center joined us in serving. He is always a joy to be around.

25/08/2026

ANOTHER FIRE IN OUR VILLAGE
Just a short time ago this month, a family in our village lost their house to an electrical fire.
Tonight, the village store is on fire. It is just down the street from our house. Actually it is a building with two parts. We are not sure what is on the left where the fire seems to have started, but it soread to the right side where the little side is.
Praying for the safety of those trying to rescue things from inside. And, for the firefighters who have responded; they seem to have knocked the fire down quickly.
Not much we personally can do to help right this minute, but we will find out if we can help later. Just as we are doing for the first fire.
Our electricity kept flashing on and off, so Mark had turned off our breakers for the time being. Assuming the fire affected the electrical lines hanging along the street nearby.