Charlevoix Family of Faith

Children in State ran Ukrainian Orphanages
Strength, wisdom, and resources as we continue to develop a Christian crisis center for abused children in Ukraine
Pastor Brugosh and his congregation
Continued vision for our church-FOFM as we reach out and help support missions
Clear understanding of this years calling for us as missionaries
Church of God World Missions projects and missionaries

One of our immediate projects is the coordination of an education seminar for youth pastors, social workers, missionaries, and scholars. The seminar will focus on topics of working with children in crisis. We have a couple of guest speakers we are in the process of contacting, and we are looking at some existing education programs that are being taught in other parts of Ukraine and Eastern Europe. We hope to host a week long event here in Uzhgorod. Please join us in prayer as we begin planning for this event.

Now that we have returned to Ukraine, we will continue the development process needed for the creation of the abuse crisis resource center where our ongoing efforts toward defending the rights of children and moral laws will be coordinated. This year we hope to finalize the paperwork for our NGO status, develop relations with our expanded network of partners, and secure a permanent building where our growing education library and administrative offices will be located. Please pray for funding for resource books, office supplies, rent, legal fees, and operating expenses.

Michigan Bridge News: We are pleased and excited to announce that we have been given associate missionary status with Church of God World Missions!!! We are no longer acting as independent missionaries. We are grateful for this opportunity to perform our missionary functions under the guidance, recognition, and leadership of this incredible organization. They are the legal receiving agency for our funding and all donations to Michigan Bridge Ministries are now tax deductible through them. We are expected to submit a budget for the year ($40,000), give regular updates and progress reports, and as a result we are recognized as being completely transparent to our partners and sponsors. This is an incredible privilege and we are so blessed to have been invited to be apart of COG-WM. We thank the Lord in advance for all the great fruits of the Kingdom which will be harvested through this merger.

The Homeless in Hungary project has moved from the think tank onto the activities table. We have begun assigning project directors, received completed customs applications, and are prepared to begin receiving donations. The project will take place in Debrecen, Hungary in January 2009. We will be distributing 1600 backpacks filled with warm clothes, blankets, eating utensils, and a bible. We will be gathering the goods in northern Michigan and shipping them over seas. There we will partner with Hungarian Protestant Aid and help their evangelist team distribute the bags while inviting the homeless indoors to the many shelters and soup kitchens around the city. There are opportunities for short term mission’s teams if you are interested. Also, we will need help gathering supplies and collecting donations at the Michigan drop off site. If you are interested in helping to volunteer, or if you want to sponsor a backpack ($50), please contact me.

Personal News:
I am writing to you now from our flat in Uzhgorod, Ukraine. Our travel prayers were completely answered. Again we wish to thank our friends for helping us as we traveled. First we want to thank the private donor who generously offered us enough of their frequent flyer miles so that we were able to get both of our tickets. As if that was not enough, we flew out of Pelston regional airport where the line was fast, easy, and close to home as opposed to the long drive to a crowded major airport. We checked our bags in Pelston and they all met us in Budapest, no delay, nothing lost, nothing damaged. We were met at the Budapest airport by a dear friend of ours who drove us to our room. We stayed the night in the guest rooms at a Christian elderly hospital ran by the diakonia of the Hungarian Reformed Church where we were met with open arms and warm food. The next morning a close friend, Gustav Fodor (who we are partnering with for the homeless in Hungary project) picked us up and drove us to the next city, Nyiregyhaza. Here we had wonderful fellowship, dinner, and rest with friends who pastor a local home church. After Church the next day, another friend of ours who works in the Surte office for Dorcas Humanitarian Aid, took us the final leg of our journey across the border and to our front door in Uzhgorod. We are so thankful for safe and trouble free travel, for those of you who were covering our journey with sincere prayer, and for our dear friends who generously helped us get were we needed to go.

We have found a doctor here who will deliver the baby. Both Valeriia and the baby are healthy and we are told to be expecting anytime after the 15th of May. We will send pictures and praise reports as soon as he is born...

Michigan Bridge Ministry is a Christian organization dedicated to supporting missionaries and the projects with which they are involved. Our Goal is to do what we can to help unify the body of Christ in all parts of the world. Our mission partners are both overseas and domestic.

It is our desire to be able to “bridge” the gaps of distance, language, culture, and doctrine by supporting disciples who spread the Word of God and share the Love of Jesus Christ with the world.

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Psalms 82:3 (NIV)
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“The Committee for Sexual Protection of Children in Ukraine is committed to developing and maintaining a program that equips this country with materials and resources for a thorough understanding of the moral and social implications of sexuality as we strive to defend the Ukrainian Moral Laws. The programs two fold agenda teaches health, birth control, and abstinence while providing information and access to sources for abuse prevention, Christian rehabilitation counseling, and legal recourse. This goal is being realised by cooperating with both Christian and secular organizations at the international, state, regional, and local levels.”

We have received wonderful response to this campaign and I am thankful to all of you who have taken part in supporting this organization.

If your church is willing to join efforts with us for the bottle drive, or if you have any questions, please contact me for more details or go to the PRC web site.