May, June, and most of July have come and gone. We here at Hand in Hand quite often find ourselves looking around, wondering how the time has passed so quickly.

“Is it really July, already?” we ask ourselves as our groups of volunteers slowly begin to head back home after two, three, four, or even seven + weeks on the mission field. We wait so long for the chance to travel half way across the world, and the time spent overseas passes in the blink of an eye.

We are almost all back home now, and will not begin our official weekly meetings until September. Until then we have the chance to take it slow… but oftentimes it’s hard to get back into the rhythm of things. Hard, because you know that those little children you left behind are now completely on their own. You imagine where the future might take them, and the thought of what may lie before them brings a dull ache to your heart, a quiet sob to your throat. You find yourself waking up having dreamt about Masha or Victor or Mila.

And so you pray– not because it’s all you can do, but because you know and believe in the power of prayer.

We ask you to continue to pray for these little ones. And we ask that you pray for our mission– that the doors of Belarus, Siberia, and elsewhere will continue to stay open.

Thank you for all of your help. Thank you for all of your prayers. Because you cared, we were able to once more bring the Gospel to the ears of little ones.

Please pray for the 40+ young people who will be traveling to Belarus this coming weekend. We will be working primarily with children, but our hope and prayer is to touch the lives of all those we encounter with the love of Jesus Christ.

We will be in Belarus for most of June, and then continue on with a smaller group into Siberia. While we hope to provide a safe, loving and nurturing “camp” environment for the orphans, our main hope and desire is to introduce them to our Savior. Please pray for these little hearts to be open to receive the Good News!

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Please join us for a Russian Dinner on Saturday, May 1st, at 6:00 pm!

First Russian Baptist Church

211 Mosher Road (Route 237)

Gorham, Maine

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Cost: Donations!

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-Raffle

-Russian Cake Auction

-Short video about the work done with orphans in Belarus and Russia

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We hope to see you there!

Hand in Hand might be in your neighborhood on the 20th!

If you would like us to stop by your home and lighten your bottle load a little, please email Oksana at OksanaGorelov@handforyou.org.

You can also leave bottle donations at :

First Russian Baptist Church

211 Mosher Road (Rt. 237)

Gorham, Maine

Hand in Hand will be hosting its annual mission’s seminar on Friday, April 9th, beginning at 10am at First Russian Baptist Church in Gorham, Maine.

All are welcome, but the seminar will deal primarily with preparation for Hand in Hand’s summer camps in Belarus and Russia. If you have never been on a mission trip, or would like to find out more about Hand in Hand’s camps, we encourage you to attend as well. Please dress comfortably, as we have a “hands on” approach! Lunch will be provided.

Please contact Anatoly at akushnar@yahoo.com for more information.

(This post will remain at the top of the page through April 9th. Please continue to scroll down for news and updated events).

It has been over a month since we first received the news that Inna and Valeriy Slavinski’s home had burnt down, and in that month, the outpouring of love has been tremendous. Brothers and sisters from across America have done so much to help this young missionary family get back on their feet! We would like to thank you for your prayers and your help on behalf of Valeriy and Inna. Please continue to pray for the Salvinski family as they begin to rebuild their life; there is still so much work ahead of them!

Today there are over 130 million orphans in our world. Today there are 127,000 orphans in America alone. Today 25,000 children will die of hunger and preventable diseases. Today is here. Today is not yesterday: it is not too late. Today is not tomorrow: it is not too soon, or too early.

Today you can do something; today you can begin the process of changing a life.

Are you and your family considering adopting? Visit Focus on the Family’s I care about orphans initiative to learn about adopting one of the many legal orphans in our foster care system.

While you’re there, we encourage you to watch the Rosati family’s story.

Don’t forget the Russian Dinner tomorrow, Friday, March 20th at 6:00 pm at First Russian Baptist Church in Gorham, Maine.

There will also be a raffle, cake auction, and lots of other goodies, like homemade Russia pelmeni for sale!

Inna and Valeriy Slavinski, November 2009

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This week Hand in Hand received the news that the home of Valeriy Slavinski, our missionary in Belarus, had burnt down. Thankfully, Valeriy and his wife were in a neighboring town, and their children were in school when the house caught on fire. However, we ask you all to pray for them. As many of you already know, houses are very hard to come by in Belarus. Valeriy has been working with Hand in Hand since 2004, and he and his family have opened their hearts and their home not only to us on our trips, but also to scores of orphans as well.

…If you feel God calling you to help this family, please contact Anatoly at akushnar68@mail.ru

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Please join us for a Russian Dinner on Saturday, February 20th!

Where: First Russian Baptist Church, Gorham Maine (211 Mosher Rd./Route 237)

When: 6:00 pm

Cost: Donations

…We will also be showing a short film from our December 2009 trip to Beslan and Belarus. Hope to see you there!