When you give...
Through a variety of ministries, CBF field personnel Gennady and Mina Podgaisky minister among children in Kiev, Ukraine.
“Through the giving of God’s word and our story as God’s people, the children of Kiev are experiencing joy and transformation. But only in heaven will we know the harvest from the seed of giving one children’s Bible. Only in heaven will we know how many lives we touched with God’s love and care through our
Mina Podgaisky, one of CBF’s field personnel
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oon after Gennady and Mina Podgaisky returned to Ukraine from their one-year furlough in the United States, a young boy stopped Mina outside her home. “I finished the book!,” he said. Mina did not recognize the boy, nor did she have a clue what book the child had read. Her expression was one of complete confusion. “Remember, the book you gave me? I’ve read it all,” he said. “The Bible! I have read it all. You came to our Sunday school class in church and you gave us children’s Bibles. So I read it.” Finally, Mina remembered. Serving as CBF field personnel in Kiev, Ukraine, Gennady and Mina Podgaisky held a special program at their church, where they minister among orphans, runaways and chil-
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lives and ministry.”
dren at risk on the streets of Kiev. Through donations from Fellowship Baptists, the couple purchased children’s Bibles for more than 100 children in the church. Although the Podgaiskys cannot remember each child who received a Bible, the children remember them and their gift. “Through the CBF Offering for Global Missions, we are able to be the presence of Christ for the children of Kiev,” Mina said. “The offering allows us to proclaim the good news through giving God’s word to children and adults. It allows us to live into God’s call on our lives to minister to the ‘least of these’ in Ukraine. And when we feed those children, literally or spiritually, we embody Christ.” With support from the CBF Offering, the Podgaiskys form relationships with street children, assist in providing them
with basic necessities and help those who want to leave the streets. Through the Village of Hope, a foster care facility operated by the Ukrainian Center for Christian Cooperation, the couple seeks to foster families and up to 100 children, while also providing retreats and camps. Mina said that the child she encountered is only a small glimpse of God’s work in Kiev. “This child was able to read and get the word of God, and he will never be the same,” Mina said. “He can’t stop sharing the good news he has discovered, and he will impact his family and the lives of so many around him. This is just one example of how, through the faithful giving of Christians, God can work all over the world. We are grateful to Fellowship Baptists for allowing us to participate in that work.”
Your support of all the Fellowship’s mission and ministries makes possible countless stories of lives changed. To give, go online to www.thefellowship.info/givenow or use the envelope provided in this issue.
February/March 2013