Hello Friends,

We hope that you and yours had a wonderful holiday season. This Christmas was quite different for our family, as we were all apart. I’ll explain, but we are all now home after 22 days in Ukraine. Rich, Teresa, Artur and Haley all went to Ukraine, while Dallas and Lydia stayed back in the states. The purpose of our trip was 3 fold: first to adopt our daughter (preselected), secondly, distribute humanitarian aide (His Kids, Too!) to hundreds of children, and thirdly, to visit with our dying friend, a wonderful artist of 37, single mother of 1 daughter.

Two years ago while visiting Ukraine on a His Kids, Too! humanitarian aide distribution trip, we spotted a little girl, that we decided that we would make a concerted effort to find her a home. We prayed and prayed that someone would come for her, and on each trip I would visit with her. Visit after visit she was still there. We took prothesis to her in summer 2002, and played and visited with her. In September of 2002 our local newspaper even did a story on her, 3 people called about her, but no serious results. At that point, Rich and I (after much prayer), decided, this was ‘our’ calling, and we started the paperwork.

We started our paperwork for our daughter in October, sending everything to Ukraine early Dec., and received a travel date for December 23rd. Yes, I stated that our daughter was preselected, and she was. We did not break any rules/laws, etc. in Ukraine, but what we did do is speak directly with the new Adoption Center director and get her approval to adopt this beautiful child. Our daughter is not medically perfect, and that is why we could do this. During my trip to Ukraine in October, I had the pleasure to speak with Mrs. Parienko, Director of the National Adoption Center of Ukraine and the psychologist. I expressed the interest to adopt Alla, from the Donetsk Baby House orphanage in Donetsk. They were very agreeable, and said, ‘no problem.’ Let me say, and stress, we were able to get this approved preselection, due to our daughters medical situation; she has no feet, and only 3 fingers (total). Mentally, she is sharp, and developmentally delayed just slightly!

We traveled right in the middle of the Christmas holidays, and only had a total of 2 days of delays. This is due to our facilitator and he did a beautiful job of rushing paperwork through the system.

All was fairly smooth concerning the adoption, and we are home, and Alla is thriving, doing beautifully, and I do attribute this to our knowledge of Russian, (additionally, we have a Ukrainian friend living with us, which is a huge benefit) and continue to encourage people that are adopting children 3 and older, to learn some Russian. Pictures of our daughter can be found on the ‘Summer Photo Gallery‘ in the section, ‘Alla,’ and our adoption journey photos are on the December 2002, ‘Alla’ section.

Our second mission was Christmas gift distribution, which went quite well. Pictures of this can also be found on the Photo Gallery Dec. 2002 section. With a huge thanks to all the many donors to His Kids, Too! we were able to provide a wonderful assortment of gifts of clothing, toys, shoes, and essential life items (toothbrushes, sheets, medicine, etc.) for over 600 children. In part, our big donors for this trip were the 6th grade Geography students at Raa Middle School (Tallahassee, FL), and Elementary students from Florida High (Tallahassee, FL). They rallied at for the cause, and in addition to their material donations, they collected over $650.00. Truly, their donations made an impact on the lives of hundreds of children/orphans. Additionally, we were able to provide a wheelchair for little Natalia (see Fall 2002 trip photos), and much needed medical supplies for Bogdon (see same photo area). We had the wonderful opportunity to see 2 Christmas Programs at orphanages, which brought tears to our eyes to see these children perform. Our daughter, Alyssa (Alla) was a Snowflake in her program, and it was just wonderful! The staff warmly welcomed us, and we were treated as special guests. We were thrilled to leave your gifts with them for the Alla’s roommates and the other children.

Alla was able to play ‘Miss Frost,’ and Artur ‘Father Frost,’ when we visited the local Orthopedic Hospital. Each of the 60 children in the hospital received a toy, and additional toys, clothing, shoes, orthopedic equipment, and medicine were left for children as needed. It was quite interesting for Alla to be the one to ‘give’, and she was delighted to able to help these children. Please review the photos on the Photo Gallery (December 2002) for this distribution.

Our son, adopted 3/99, from Mariupol, was able to return to Mariupol and be ‘Father Frost,’ passing out gifts to all the children in the orphanage (about 75). The photos of this and other children at the Mariupol orphanage can be seen on the December 2002 Photo Gallery. We were also able to take packages that other adopted families sent with us. Getting from place to place was a challenge, as weather was not the best, snow, ice, rain, mud, sleet, but the Lord was with us, and our goals were accomplished.

Our time was limited to visit each facility that His Kids, Too! is assisting, but we are blessed to have willing servants in Ukraine that are able to take your donations to the orphanages, hospitals and widows. We were able to leave items for later distribution, of:

1. Aids (Baby Home) Hospital of toys, clothing, medicine, and blankets
   
2. 3 large boxes of adult clothing for the local mental hospital, along with some additional sheets and pillow cases
   
3. Provide sheets, pillowcases and crib sheets, infant clothing, medicine, toys and misc. baby items for a local ‘maternity hospital.’
   
4. Funds were left with our staff members there to continue the diaper, juice and other ongoing programs.

Lastly, our dear friend, Valentina. Well, unfortunately, when we arrived in Ukraine, we received the news that she had passed away during our flight over there. It was a very sad way to start the trip. She was a talented local artist,

Valentina with her Daughter

and, a mother of one 15 year old daughter. We solicit your prayers on Sveta’s behalf, as she now make some decisions concerning her future without the guidance of her mother.

Our work is on going in Ukraine, and, Lord willing, I plan to travel again in early April for aide distribution. We still have many needs to fill, and programs to monitor, and have just taken on another orphanage of over 200 children that are in desperate need. We can not begin to thank you enough for the outpouring of love you have shown for the widows and orphans of Ukraine. Each time we go, we wish each of you could be present for the joy and gratefulness expressed by these folks for your kindness. They tell us over and over, ‘please tell your friends, thank you!’ And I tell them, I will… and I do, though many of you, I do not know, but what I do know is that the Lord has impressed upon your heart a tenderness for these wonderful deserving children. We, at His Kids, Too! hope that each of you had a blessed holiday season. Please feel free to forward any comments or questions.

Sincerely,
Teresa Fillmon
Director/His Kids, Too!

Dear Friends,

God continues to do great things in Ukraine, and your help is so appreciated! I arrived home safe and sound from a ‘whirlwind’ 9 day trip to Ukraine. The main purpose of this trip was to help a friend with her visa to the U.S., but I was able to combine the trip for the benefit of His Kids, Too!

Upon arrival in Kyiv, I stayed there until our friends’ visa appointment. During the wait, I was able to meet and visit with the director of a local Cerebral Palsy group. We visited several clients of this facility. I was told of their plight, and how they try to earn a living. Many are VERY talented, and made several types of handmade items for me to try to sell for their group. These items can be found on our new Gift Shop soon to be posted and all proceeds will benefit their group. We were able to provide a wheelchair for clients of the group, and it is presently on loan to Masha, a paralyzed 5 year old. Our goal is to provide several more wheelchairs, and other medical equipment, along with other personal essential needs. The director was very open to working with His Kids, Too! and invited us back again and again.

After the Embassy appointment, I had a scheduled meeting with the new director of Adoptions for Ukraine. She is a wonderful and gracious lady, who was very helpful, and open to our questions concerning future adoptions in Ukraine. She speaks some English, so it was quite a pleasure to visit with her.

Then off to the train, to the oblast. Arriving the next morning, dropped my luggage at the house, and then off to the Internot. The director was so happy to see us. We provided the children with the stocking caps, socks and coats. The children were thrilled, and loved the colorful caps.

Thursday I was off to another city, leaving VERY early in the morning. I spent the day with 2 board members, Nikka and Lynn, at an orphanage, Orthopedic Hospital and then back to the small village. Had a great time at the orphanage, and the director loved the hats, and sweaters. We even had the opportunity to sit and play with some kids.

Friday was spent purchasing food for the widow bags, and attending a teachers program that the Internot personnel insisted that I attend. Friday night I had the sisters over to the house, and provided food, fun and fellowship. It was a very pleasant time for us all.

Saturday was spent delivering food baskets and visiting my dear friend Nadia, who is very ill. Time was so short, and it was time to catch the train back to Kyiv to start the journey home. Sunday and Monday was spent traveling.

Overall, though the trip was short, it was time well spent. We accomplished all our goals, though our friends’ visa was denied, we know that God’s timing for everything is best. We shall try again soon. I was able to make new contacts and the Lord provided avenues to meet some needs of the people, children, orphans, and others.

Thank you for your continued prayers, support and encouraging words. It is always hard to be away from the family, but when you have a wonderful support system of praying people it is enormous comfort. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to forward them.

Sincerely,
Teresa Fillmon
Director/His Kids, Too!
www.hiskidstoo.org

We have arrived home safely from another wonderful trip to Ukraine! We serve a great and powerful God that blesses us with our every need, and protects us from harm. We were able to serve the orphans, widows, school children, internot children, mental patients, Aids children and other hospitalized children. Our travel goals were to:

1) spend a week as part of a team teaching local school children, orphans and internot children, Bible stories, and how to use these stories in their everyday lives

2) do follow up Bible studies, and have nightly Bible studies with the local church members

3) sharing the love of God to orphans, widows, etc., via providing food, medicine, clothing, toiletries, etc.

4) providing orthopedic equipment to several children

5) delivering 2 wheelchairs to the local orthopedic children’s hospital

Goals Met: All goals were met, and even more!!!! Thanks be to God!

Because we want to be the best stewards the gifts so many of you have provided and funds you have sacrificially donated, below I will give some highlights of the trip followed by a more inclusive list of what was provided to each facility.

Our family arrived in Kiev June 20, and were off to the train, to the Oblast. The week of June 24 was just great, and the 2 Bible camps went very well. Children and facility directors were thrilled with the curriculum, Bibles, crafts, songs, and the enthusiasm of the team members. All was well received, and they are eagerly awaiting next years program.

His Kids, Too! has been working at the local internot for a while. This facility is not only a school for over 475 children, but home for up to 100 orphans. For the Bible camp, we were able to provide each child with new socks, sandals, bars of soap, toothbrushes, a large amount of play equipment, a Bible for each child, and school supplies. Medical supplies were left with the director for the entire facility.

After the Bible camp, the team moved on to Kiev for a singing school, but we remained in the Oblast for 3 weeks. During this time we were able to accomplish many of the goals and objectives of His Kids, Too!. Life in Ukraine is difficult, and this trip was no exception. But God blessed us with great lodging, food and all our needs… remember I said, ‘needs’, not wants :-). Of course seeing and visiting with our dear friends was a complete joy!

Many days were spent visiting facilities and assess the needs, purchasing items and returning for delivery. Some days were spent delivering the items we hand carried from the states. Medical equipment unavailable in Ukraine, but life changing to many precious children.

One day we were off to the Children’s Orthopedic Hospital. The director there is wonderful, and very gracious and welcoming. The children are in great need of so many things, that unfortunately Ukraine just cannot provide.

We had the tearful experience of seeing children walk who had never walked before, with the aide of the walkers provided by Whitmyer Biomechanix, Inc. (www.whitbio.com), and Joe and Annette Northrup. Video footage of this will soon be on the sight. His Kids, Too!, with the donation, from Whitmyer Biomechanix of 7 (but only 2 went on this trip) wheelchairs, saw children, once tied to chairs, placed in a wheelchair for new found freedom. The children were so excited to receive these life changing gifts. Truly words cannot express the joy we felt by watching their faces ‘light up’! The orthopedic equipment for this facility was very appreciated and in the coming trips, I will deliver at least one more wheelchair per trip. These chairs are the property of the facility, for use (borrow) by the parents.

One day was spent driving to another city, to distribute aide to an orphanage. The orphanage welcomed us with open arms, though the director was gone on vacation. The head Doctor, and friend to His Kids, Too! warmly received our gifts of clothing, medicine, walkers, and orthopedic equipment. We already provide diapers and high vitamin juice for this facility so they know we are accountable to our word, when they have a need to will do our best to provide for the children. A need was expressed for help with a child with orthopedic problems, and we delivered, thanks to the Northrups. We had the opportunity to witness a child without feet receive prosthetics (thanks to Medishare, Gainesville, FL), and this same child draw pictures with the aide of orthopedic equipment, thanks to the Northrup’s. Video footage will soon be on the sight with her walking and writing! Needless to say, many tears were shed and the facility staff were thrilled at these gifts.

Each visit to each facility brought new and different experiences, since each facility has differing needs. The Specialized Baby Home was happy to receive crib mobiles, walkers, clothing, medicine, and wonderful crib liners (thank you, Zula McLeod). The babies were entranced by the musical mobiles and laughed and smiled as they played their tunes. All the His Kids, Too! staff members and volunteers thoroughly enjoyed playing and holding the babies, giving each special attention.

Another local orphanage we were able to visit several times. Bringing gifts of clothing, new sandals for all the children, ball caps (thank you Embroidered Apparel), medicine, sport equipment, a toy for each child, toothbrushes, and some Bibles; the children were very happy with their ‘presents’, and the director was equally happy for them.

For the local mental hospital we continue to provide sheets and pillowcases, clothing, soap and food, as this is a great need for them. This facility continues to house 30 male and 30 female, and the head Doctor appreciates any assistance. They still have a need of a consistent food supply, which we are working on.

Additionally we were able to supply 30 widows with food and toiletries in wonderful canvas bags provided by Florida Children’s Forum.

During our stay, 5 or 7 nights weekly, we had evening Bible study. Topics ranged from, Child Rearing, Sowing Seeds, Marriage Problems, Love, and Servanthood. There were both men and woman classes, with Rich teaching the men, and myself teaching the ladies. Average attendance for ladies classes was 20 per evening. During the first week in Ukraine, we had the joy of seeing 2 young people become Christians, Ola and Alexy. It was truly a blessing to see these young people make a decision to follow Christ.

When our time in Ukraine was over, and we believe that it was time well spent. God had blessed the trip, and were able to meet our goals. Please remember, that each ‘gift’ is given with a laminated card stating that the gift is from the local Church, it’s meeting place and time, and a local contact person. Below is the list of items purchased and the aid that was distributed to orphans, hospitals, boarding schools, the mental hospital and specialized baby home.

• Boarding School (local Internot ages 6 and up)
  
• New sandals for 65 orphans
  
• clothing for orphans
  
• new socks for all the children (475)
  
• toothbrushes and soap for orphans
  
• medicine for the facility
  
• school supplies for 100 children
  
• sport equipment for children

Local Orphanage (presently only 28 orphans ages 5 and up)

• new sandals
  
• new socks
  
• new clothing
  
• school supplies
  
• toothbrushes
  
• sport equipment
  
• toys for orphans

Local Mental Hospital (60 adult patients)

• sheets and pillowcases
  
• clothing
  
• food
  
• soap

Children’s Orthopedic Hospital (60 + children ages 4 – 8)

• 2 wheelchairs
  
• 3 walkers for children with CP or other disability
  
• socks for all the children and staff
  
• medicine for facility
  
• underwear for all the children
  
• Started – high vitamin juice program at facility

Specialized Baby Home (60+ children ages 0-5yrs. old)

• 12 crib mobiles
  
• 6 baby walkers
  
• crib liners for 17 cribs
  
• clothing for children
  
• socks for all children
  
• toys for older children
  
• medicine for facility

Orphanage (presently 75 children ages 0-5)

• walkers
  
• clothing
  
• socks for all children
  
• medicine for facility
  
• orthopedic equipment for child with special needs
  
• juice and diaper program in progress

Hospital in Kiev (200 beds)

• 200 sheet and pillowcases – these were provided as a thank you gift for the care they gave our friend, Oleg, and fellow servant for the Lord during his illness this past winter, and subsequent death.

Widows (30 widow bags were prepared and distributed to local widows and needy church families)

• 2k. of flour
  
• 2k. sugar
  
• 1.5k rice
  
• 2k. macaroni
  
• salt
  
• eggs
  
• cheese
  
• soap, toothbrushes, toilet paper, and tylenol/Advil
  
• new socks for all family members

The trip was wonderful, productive and successful in meeting our goals. An added plus was that 5 of our 6 board members were all together distributing the humanitarian aide. I will return to Ukraine in October for a few weeks for humanitarian purposes as well as to continue to serve at the local church. We want to thank you for your continued support through prayers, encouragement and financial gifts to this ministry. Without your help, His Kids, Too! could not help these deserving people, and the seeds of Gods love for them could not have been sown.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments and may God Bless you as you serve Him.

Peace,
Teresa and the rest of the Fillmons!

Dear Friends,

It is a joy to bring you good news about my recent trip to Ukraine. My visit there was good, and I was able to get a lot accomplished.

When I reached Kiev successfully, and we were off to the region on the eveing train. Sunday morning we were off to the market, and among other things we purchased food for the 20 food baskets for the widows of the neighborhood. Returning home, 2 sisters, a visitor and myself made up the baskets so that the members could distribute them after Sunday services.

Monday morning I was off to the city to see how the work was going there. I was able to meet briefly with Lynn (our American missionary friend, from Memphis, and His Kids, Too! board member), and pick up the 4 boxes that I had shipped in December. (Four others still had not arrived, and we were very prayerful that they would, so I could distribute the items.) These boxes had items in them for the Boarding School, which we had collected clothing and socks for. On Tuesday I went to the Boarding School, after meeting with a city official about the items, and she accompanied us to the Boarding School. It was a wonderful joint effort, that the director and the city officials could see that the items were sent by His Kids, Too! for distribution by the local church. They were very warm and receptive to the items, and asked that we return to see the children wearing the items. Which we did later in the week. But at the inital visit we toured the facility, and accessed their needs, preparing for the ‘big shopping spree’. The church in Tallahassee had sent money for items to be purchased, and that money went towards, sheets, towels and pillowcases.

Throughout the week I went back and forth between two cities visiting directors of: orphanages, a shelter, orphan hospitals, the deaf school, a mental hospital, and the Boarding school. All were warm and receptive to receiving help, and our meetings went very well. The goals that we set prior to the trip were met and the relationships between director and myself and the church members seemed to be encouraging.

Our second set of boxes came on the following Sunday, thus we returned to many of the facilities bearing more ‘gifts’. The boarding school was thrilled with the shoes/boots, and the children proudly displayed their ‘wares’. Again the directors were happy to see us, and received our unexpected visit without a problem, which was a pleasant experience.
I had the opportunity to visit a mental hospital, where the director was warm and friendly. He allowed me to see the patients and photograph many, which gladly posed in groups, encouraging me to photograph them. After several requests for how we could ‘help’ him in the job of caring for these folks, he finally made a few suggestions, which we were able to accommodate him with.

Below is a list of the needs that I was able to fill (with your help):

1) shoes to 175 children – Boarding school, orphanages, and orphan shelter
2) 1000 syringes – orphan hospital
3) medicine – orphan hospital
4) juice – on going program – orphanage
5) diapers – on going program – orphanage
6) clothing – Boarding School, mental hospital, orphanage and shelter
7) socks – Boarding School and mental hospital
8) cutting boards and knives (theirs were stolen) – orphan hospital
9) cooking pots (theirs were stolen) – deaf school
10) VCR – orphan hospital
11) towels – Boarding School
12) sheets and pillow cases – Boarding school and mental hospital
13) providing food for 20 widows
14) 8 balls (basketballs and soccer balls) – Boarding school
15) 2 strollers – orphanage (will get more, store was out)

We are presently working in the following facilities:

2 – orphan hospitals
2 – orphanages
1 – Boarding School (120 of the 475 students are orphans, but we are trying to serving all the children, as many are in great need)
1 – school for the deaf
1- mental hospital (this is for adults)
1 – orphan shelter (holding facility between ‘street’ and transition to orphanage)

In addition to visiting several facilities, I was able to visit with several church members. Each evening (except Sat. and Sun.) that I was in the village we had Bible study for the ladies. We studied from the book, ‘Women of the Bible”, and they seemed to enjoy this, and asked that I continue these lessons during our upcoming summer visit.

As my trip concluded, I returned to Kiev with Lynn and a friend (so she would not return alone), and when we arrived it had just started raining. Within 4 hours, Kiev had become a winter wonderland, with probably 7 additional inches of snow. It was beautiful, though the roads were ‘bad’, our driver did very well.

In closing, I would like to thank you for your prayers and financial support for this organization and ministry. This continues to be a great avenue to show the people of Ukraine the love of God in addition to helping orphans and widows. Our prayer is that the Lord is pleased with the work ‘we’ are doing.

Peace and Blessings,
Teresa Fillmon

Dear Friends and Family,

We are home from Ukraine, safe and sound, and another 2 beautiful children now have a home. With the complete help of the Lord, Anita’s adoption was smooth and successful. She now has 2 children, a boy 2.5 and a girl 4 yrs. old. Both are adjusting to their new surroundings. The Lord heard and answered our prayer, and she adopted from an orphanage that we have been providing aid to for over a year. We would like to give special thanks to her wonderful adoption facilitator, who was proficient in all areas of the adoption process in addition to communicating well (in English) to us. We will be highly recommending their services, and please contact me, if you or anyone you know may have a desire to adopt, I will gladly help, and refer you on to them.

The work of the Lord continued via His Kids, Too!, and with your help alot was accomplished. Amidst all the running around with adoption paperwork I was able to visit and meet with the directors of: 2 orphanages, 1 baby hospital, the children’s orthopedic hospital, 1 children’s shelter, the boarding school, and the adult mental hospital. They were gracious and appreciative of the aide. Each also expressed their deep condolences for the terrible events of Sept. 11.
With your help we were able to provide the following:

1. clothing and shoes for many orphan children/toddlers
2. cooking pots for the deaf school
3. sports equipment for the boarding school (a constant need)
4. clothing for the boarding school
5. towels for the boarding school (a constant need)
6. sheets for the mental hospital (a constant need)
7. clothing for the adult mental hospital
8. a therapeutic lamp (which was requested by the director) for an orphanage
9. blankets and shoes for many children
10. diapers for orphans
11. clothing for almost all the church members in Dzershinsk
12. provide food for 30 widows for one week at ($1.67 per person)
13. upgrade computer software for orphanage computer (this improves the accuracy and speed at which referrals can get to the AC in Kiev)
14. provide laundry soap and bathing soaps for the hospital
15. socks for over 100 children (this is a big need, and we are still in search of a sock distributor in Ukraine, that will sell at wholesale)
16. toys for orphanage/toddlers
17. While there 400lbs. of dry milk arrived, and we were able to start distribution to the orphan shelter, and the mental hospital. (distribution will be on going)

Our present ‘wish list’ is as follows:

1. One of our biggest needs at this time is coats, shoes and socks for winter. Shoes in Ukraine, though inexpensive, are not high quality. If anyone has a good source of either of these items, please forward the information to me.
2. canvas bags for food bags for widows, this is what we deliver the food in, we prefer black, but any thing is fine
3. a Frequent Flyer ticket for my winter travel, a special thank you to the dear friend who donated the 2 tickets for this trip
4. Funds to continue the programs we have on going, and to meet some of the requests that we constantly receive.
5. Funds for the adoption grant program, which financially assists people adopting internationally. It is one of the goals of His Kids, Too! to help put children in homes. Through the aide we provide, this increases their chances of adoption, because they receive proper nutrition and developmental assistance; but without financial assistance many people who would like to adopt simply can not afford the adoption expenses. Through the His Kids, Too! International Adoption Grant program we try to offer this assistance. There are several ways to help, but earmark any donation, "Adoption Fund", otherwise all donations go into the humanitarian relief fund.

The needs are so great, and people are very thankful to you for the assistance. Many hearts were touched because of your generosity. Through your giving, we were able to purchase many much needed things from our ‘needs list’, and have ordered other things that will be picked up by our missionary friends and delivered to the orphanage and hospital. Presently, the supplemental juice program and diaper program are still intact.

Overall, the trip was very good, and I believe we met most of our organization goals. I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and financial help. I do plan to return to Ukraine in late Feb. or early March for 2 weeks to continue this work.

Please feel free to drop me a note with any questions or comments. Travel photos of the distribution of aide and photos of Anita’s children (under Adoption Help then Adoption Bank) will soon be on the website, www.hiskidstoo.org.

Sincerely Yours,
Peace,
Teresa Fillmon
Director/His Kids, Too!

Hello Friends,

We returned from our long journey to Ukraine very early (3 a.m) Wednesday, July 4th. The trip was wonderful, and I will give you just the highlights, as not to bore you, but do inform you of the great things that the Lord is doing in Ukraine, and how your help is so critical to the continued work in Ukraine.

We departed, June 10th, without problems, and arrived to our beloved host city on June 14th. It was wonderful to see our dear friends again, and they had arranged for us to stay in a ‘flat.’ Unfortunately, it was quite small, 1 tiny bedroom, and the living room, and tiny kitchen, and bath. We ‘farmed’ out 2 of the kids to 2 different church families, to ease the space strain of the small quarters. We had water from 6 – 9 a.m., and in the evening from 6-9p.m. Never did we have hot water. But I was able to boil huge pots of water for bathing. The weather was rainy, muddy, and cool (not cold), but many days were quite nice. Sun rose at 4:30 a.m., so each morning I was up at 6 doing hand laundry, sunset was around 9:30 p.m., thus making for very long days. Each day, we went somewhere combining the work of the church with the work of His Kids, Too! Things went quite well, and humanitarian aide was well received. The U.S. dollar remains fairly good, so funds ‘went along’ way and we were able to help many in need.

Our first visit was to the orphanage, where the director was pleased to see us. We assessed the children’s needs after the tea and ‘lunch,’ and we were off the Boarding School, where the director there was also very pleased to see us. There were 55 of the 450 children there as many had left for the summer. These 55 are true orphans, as the others come from extremely impoverished homes where the parents take them to the boarding school to be fed and taught, as they are unable to provide these basic needs. We performed a needs assessment there and ensured that the goods previously donated to this facility were being utilized to their maximum intention. After an extensive, productive meeting with the director we came away with the future needs, and had a wonderful time of sharing with the director and our family. Please keep in mind, we walked to all of these places, after arriving at the orphanage via trolley bus.

Keeping in mind that the goal of His Kids, Too! is helping orphans and widows, we have continued to find that the mentally ill are also in dire need of assistance. These often forgotten people in society are in desperate need of the basics, and we were able to provide much needed bedding and clothing. This aide has been a cooperative effort in conjunction with the local Church of Christ. The director of the mental hospital was happy to see us and graciously invited us for a short meeting in which the director stated that they were in desperate need of linens for the patients. We were able to immediately meet that need, as His Kids, Too! had previously purchased a large quantity of linens in a neighboring city. Thus, meeting the need and stimulating the depressed Ukrainian economy.

The next day, we caravaned off to another city about 1 hr. away, where we stopped at the orphanage, as it is right on the way into town, and the orthopedic children’s hospital. We visited with the children at the orphanage for well over 1 hour and didn’t have to perform a need assessment as we already had lists of needs for the facilities from our board member who lives in this city. This board members continuous contact with the director of the orphanage enables us to meet the children’s needs on a more immediate basis as most items necessary are available in this city. The needs request from the director included strollers, playpens, and other larger items. Then we were off to the Central Market to make many purchases. Personally, I’m not a big shopper, but you can get so much for so very little $, it is quite interesting. We loaded down the cars with so many items it was difficult for us to sit, but were able to get most of the list items along with the items for the needs in our host city orphanage, boarding school, and mental hospital. Additionally, all the boxes, that I had sent ahead full of humanitarian aide, awaited us at our board members flat, which we loaded and took with us back to our host city for distribution.

This is the lists of needs we were able to meet with your help:

Medicine for the orphanage for the entire summer camp (48 children)

6 strollers

2 bikes

2 playpens

3 huge bags of legos

3 basketballs

2 soccer balls

10 jump ropes

several boxes of board games

several boxes of sidewalk chalk

several reams of paper

sheets for 30 beds, along with pillowcases

shoes for 48 children

clothing for 48 children

1 baby swing

socks for 48 children

underwear for 48 children

a set of new clothing for 60 mental patients

hats for 100 children

clothing for several children at the VBS

clothing, soap, and shampoo for the church members

food for 15 widows (see below)

food for many street people

I realize that the items on the above list may appear to be trivial items, i.e., sidewalk chalk, board games, etc., but if the orphanage has food provided for them, the children still have many needs left unmet. The chalk, for example, is to help with motor skills for disabled children in the hospital, and board games for the older kids in the orphanage, etc. who have NOTHING to do…….thus they get into trouble. They were really excited when they saw the games, and on another visit, they were playing them. Jump ropes may seem trivial, but when all you can do is sit all day, a jump rope is a wonderful gift.

We also left funds with our board member to continue the juice and diaper program ongoing at the orphanage. In addition to providing funds to purchase much needed cooking pots for the deaf school, 2 computers for 2 different facilities for record keeping compliance, and funds for items needed for the elderly folks home in Donetsk we left exhausted but assured we were truly making an impact on the orphans quality of life.

Departing this city, we then dropped off the items to the orphanage and children’s hospital, where they were happy and surprised we were able to work so quickly to meet their needs.

Once back in our host city we were ready with items to be delivered to several different facilities. The next day we delivered those items, and they were well received. We were also able to provide food to 15 widows at a mere cost of $1.87 per person for 1 week! Yes, that is correct, with your help we provided food for 15 widows for 1 week for less than $30.00! Each donated canvas bag consisted of: bread, salt, flour, sugar, rice, macaroni, cheese, eggs, soap, shampoo, and hand lotion. In addition, we consistently saw children, adults and the disabled in need along the streets, subways and alley’s, and we would carry with us some sort of food (bananas, juice, cheese, bread, etc.), and distributed it as needed.

Nightly we had Bible study, and Rich would teach the men, I the ladies. The church had started lessons on the gifts of the spirit, 1 Corinthians 12, so in keeping with this theme, we covered many of the gifts. The studies were well attended, and it was a great time of fellowship.

Once the rest of the team (there were 22 total on the team) arrived, we went into full swing for the VBS. It was a great outreach to the community and God moved in the hearts of many.

We departed Ukraine on June 30 and were off to Warsaw, Poland. At many stops along the way, we saw hungry children begging for money. We never give out money, but always food or clothing. We gave food, though we had little to spare; as one must bring their own food on the trains, space is extremely small (5′ x 6′ for 4 people + luggage), so the little food you take, is usually just enough for the travelers (which there were 6 of us), but we would give out bread and cheese and some of our fruit. They eagerly excepted it. When we did get to Warsaw, though we did not experience children begging, but disabled adults needing assistance. With your help, we were able to give several of them food bags, which they were very appreciative.

Overall our time in Ukraine was a rich blessing. The Lord did great things, and many, many seeds were planted. We continue to pray that the church in Dzerzhinsk will do the follow up on this planting, and ‘water’ the seeds. Of course, we extend our great thanks for your financial support of His Kids, Too! and for your prayerful support of the work in Ukraine. Only with your continued prayers, help and support can we be the ‘feet’ that delivers the aide to these wonderful, loving, but terribly deprived children, teens and adults. Thank you for the opportunity, we pray that we are Godly stewards of the funds you have entrust to us, and that God smiles on the work that is going on in Ukraine.

Peace,
Teresa Fillmon and family

Dear Friends,

I returned home Monday, and wanted to drop you a note of thanks for your continued prayers for our efforts in Ukraine. We (remember my friend Anita came along for this trip), had a very good visit with orphanage directors, and the hospital administrator. Our trip started a little bumpy, but God opened many doors, and the path was smooth.
Our first ‘stop’ was Kyiv, where I met with some contacts concerning purchasing clothing. We placed an order, but later canceled it, due to a cost increase, that were not notified prior to. We then traveled to the region that we are working, where we were met by church members who had a ‘trailer’ for our luggage. We traveled back and forth daily from village to city with Victor (who goes to the Bible school there). Since we canceled the order for the clothing in Kyiv, I spent the 4 days going a major shopping spree! I searched out prices and vendors who would give us a discount for bulk orders. I very BIG thank you goes to the sisters (Lynn and Linette) and especially to their translator, who without her, we could NOT have accomplished our goal. We were able to find a vender who was willing to give us a discount, and we purchased most of the clothing from her. Additionally, we ordered 25 musical crib mobiles, and 8 basketballs and 6 soccer balls (for the village schools). By Thursday we had much of what we needed to start delivery.

On Wednesday, I spent time at the orphanage, and the director and I had a wonderful visit. She graciously allowed us to give the toys and gifts to the children, and photograph their joy. Anita and I were able to spend time with the children, especially the little ones (18 months – 2 1/2). They are still in need of a hot water heaters, and I will be working on the purchase and installation of this, when I return in the winter. I had some difficultly with translation, and didn’t want to ‘tackle’ the hot water heater without proper understanding. We brought gifts for the director, and the workers, thanking them for their continued work efforts with these wonderful children. Overall, things went very well, and they are looking forward to my return. Also, while in the village, each evening we had Bible study. Though very tired, we looked to the scriptures for encouraging words on, striving for Godliness, being taught – who is teaching you – who are you teaching, preserving through difficult situations, the Beatitudes, and the story of Mary and Martha. I do not know how the lessons ‘came across’, as translation was somewhat questionable, but I’m prayerful that I was able to communicate something effectively. We are so very grateful for the wonderful hospitality that the people of this tiny Ukrainian village gave to us.

Thursday was delivery day! We started early, and were off to pick up items ordered. Then off to the orphan hospital, where we were greeted warmly and enthusiastically. It is always very sad to see the babies and conditions they live. But the hospital director seemed very pleased with the crib mobiles, clothing and toys. We are still searching for bulk prices on medicines, and will address this in the next month. We brought gifts of cheese for the workers, and a special gift for the director and all seemed pleased. We were invited back, whenever we are in Ukraine.

Friday, was another big delivery day. We headed for the orphan shelter, and gave out clothing, balls, art supplies, and toys for the 87 children there. The director and workers seemed obviously pleased and a big thank you goes to Lynn and Linette for continuing this relationship and nurturing it. We have sent several boxes of clothing designated for the orphanage, so that the children will have clothes and Lynn and Linette will take the clothes over upon their arrival. There is still a need for larger clothing, which we will send. The director graciously invited us back, whenever we were in Ukraine.

Additionally, we went to an orphanage in this region, and met with the director. When I was there before the director was not there, thus an introduction and explanation of who I was and what the organization is was necessary. The director understood, ‘His Kids (translated, ‘children’) Too!, and was pleased we came. We received a warm greeting, and had a good meeting with the director. We were invited back anytime we are in Ukraine. We sorted the toys by age group, and the huge bag of clothing needed to be labeled and then the children would receive it. We then went room by room and hung the mobiles (which the children just loved), put toys in the ‘playroom’, and visited with the children. It was a very nice visit, and I look forward to returning.

Overall, through your giving, we were able to purchase many much needed things from our ‘needs list’, and have ordered other things that will be picked up by our missionary friends and delivered to the orphanage and hospital. Presently, 12 (this is all the director feels they need) baby walkers are ordered, diapers are forthcoming, medicines are being searched for and a supplemental juice program is being coordinated.

We ended our trip by returning to Dzerzhinsk to spend time with the church there and had the wonderful joy of seeing Natasha be baptized! Then off to Kyiv, where Anita and I took in some sight-seeing of Kyiv. I had some business meetings with a friend and had dinner with a wonderful sister that lives in Kyiv. Overall, the trip was very good, and I believe we met most of our organization goals. I can not thank you enough for your prayers and financial help. I do hope to return to Ukraine in late January for 2 weeks to continue this work.

Please feel free to drop me a note with any questions or comments and I will let you know just as soon as I have the website complete which will be complete with photos.

Sincerely Yours,
Peace,
Teresa

Hello Friends,

We're home, after 4 weeks in Ukraine! We had a great time, though there are always a few glitches, i.e., no water, bad weather, etc. A very big thank you to all of you who prayed for us in our absence, we serve a great and powerful God, and your prayers were answered!

We departed on June 14th, and arrived after a few connections in Kiev. Rained for the next 4 days. We stayed in Kiev and saw the sights (St. Michael's, St. Andrews, St. Sophia's went to the Museum Under the Open Sky which is the largest mus. in the world, and the kids got to ride the metro several times, and shop for souvenirs), between rain drops, then on to the Crimea, where we visited an orphanage there, and made a list of various needs. I have been told that there is an American woman helping this orphanage, but after seeing this place with my eyes, I have some very serious doubts that the money she is collecting is getting to this orphanage. Sad, but true.

The next day we on to Yalta and the Black Sea. Though the weather was NOT cooperating, all was fine, and Yalta is very nice. The next day, we were on to Sevestapol, seeing the sights. Went to some place where treaty was signed with Roosevelt and Churchill, Rich, the history buff enjoyed that. On June 22 we headed for Mariupol to Artur's orphanage. We rented a van to take us there, and though a long trip (9 hrs.) we got to 'see' Ukraine. Artur was able to visit with 'his friends' (as he calls them), the orphanage director and his caregivers. It was a tearful reunion and departure. We took several photos. Then we were off to the village of our friends, and arrived very late and exhausted!On the 23rd. the rest of the mission team arrived. There were 19 of us in all. We all got acquainted, and worship on Sunday was a blessing. It was great to see everyone again, and many new faces! I think we had about 70 people there. Seating is a problem, as there is not enough room anywhere to seat that many people, thus we sat under the grape vines at the minister's house, which was so beautiful, and the weather was good. Monday started VBS, and all was ready. The college students from Valdosta did a good job, and so did Judy from Tallahassee. All was a success, and I think we had 137 in attendance. Each evening we had Bible classes, which Bill taught the men and I taught the ladies. We worked on 'having Godly' relationships, and being Imitators of God, Eph. 5:1.

We went to the orphanage on Wed., Thursday (2x), and it was great to see the director and she graciously accepted our gifts of medicine, shoes, and clothing. We made a list of some of her needs, and hope to collect some funds to purchase these items. One thing, the director came to church, which was great! And then she came for a visit on the day we left. This is the first time she has ever done this, and we are prayerful that she will continue to come to church. Her mother had just passed away, and when she heard that we were in the village, she made a special trip back to see and visit with us.

We took the bus, on Sunday, to the city for the singing school, which started Monday. We met with 5 more Americans which conduct the singing school. There were about 120 people there to learn, and then the team from America, about 19. Monday after the first day of the school, I could plainly see, that my kids were not going to 'make it.' Classes were long, and 'over their heads'. Thus I went and got the necessary permission to go to orphanages to visit.

I contacted the local missionaries, Lynn and Linette from Memphis (these ladies were such a blessing and servants to us in many ways), and they gladly agreed to set up the appts. and travel with us. Thus, Wed., Thurs. and Friday that is what we did, going to orphanages and orphan children's hospitals accessing needs and making lists. We have decided that it is probably best to purchase the items in Ukraine, vrs. trying to take items there. The U.S. $$ goes a VERY long way there, and our purchases will help generate their economy. If any would like this list of items and the specific costs (purchasing them in Ukraine), I would be happy to forward it. My plan is to return in the fall with funds to make these purchases and to hand deliver them. I will NOT just send or give money to directors of the orphanages.

The 2 greatest needs seemed to be in the orphan hospital and a shelter for kids in-between street and orphanage. The hospital was deplorable, and the children lay on plastic mats in leotards and tee shirts. Not toy, one. They were starving for affection, and 'something' to do. We decided that crib mobiles, toys, diapers (they had none!), and walkers, and various medicines were going to be most helpful, and the staff fully agreed. The shelter had children 3 – 18 (too big a group), but they were in terrible need of clothing and shoes, and 'something' for the kids to do. But I must tell you that it was a blessing that we were able to see and photograph the children. The directors were VERY humble and gracious it our offer to help, and gladly welcomed us. In Ukraine, things could have been very different, but again, God was working on their hearts, and they knew we genuinely want to help these kids.

We left the singing school after tearful good-byes with the many wonderful Ukrainian friends we had made, and then boarded the train for the 13 hr. ride to Kiev. (By the way, each evening at the singing school there were Bible classes, and I was asked to teach the ladies there, which I did, and we worked on 'relationships', and then they wanted a class on confronting sin in the church, 2 Tim. 3:16, wow, was that hard, but God gave me the words to say)

Well, our trip concluded with our return to Kiev and more sight-seeing. Our group was still 13 large, and many of them wanted to see the sights. I got terribly ill on Sunday, and was 'out' for 2 days. Tuesday we left for Paris, and stayed the night there (if you are ever going there, drop me a note and I'll be happy to forward you some information). Wed. a.m. we took a great bus tour and saw the sights, and then we were off to Atlanta. We arrived back at 11:45 p.m. after a very long day!

Thank you again to all who prayed for us, and donated funds for our trip. It was truly a blessing, and we can see God working in several areas in Ukraine. If you have any questions or comments, or would like the list I mentioned, please drop me a note, as any support will go directly to the children, not for any of our expenses.

Serving the Savior,
Teresa Fillmon

Director/His Kids, Too!