Opportunity to PRAISE

Stephanie is recuperating from knee surgery and doing well.  We are grateful it was accomplished with day surgery.

Donna has recovered from the illness she developed on the last mission trip.

Penny is doing well with a decrease in the cancer markers.

Victoire has made a miraculous recovery from her liver transplant.  She has gained 15 pounds!!!

Dr. Joe is back to his practice and pain free!  His new knee is doing wonderful.

We are truly grateful for God's mercy in all these lives.
 

Opportunity to SERVE

Everyone has been asking, "When is the next team trip?"  Simple answer, we are waiting on the Lord.  Our "plans" are looking like December 26, returning in January.  This past December we made our winter business trip.  It was a wonderful time to visit.  Only the "true" orphans were at Barskoe.  Some of the kids have families, which are not able to care for them. 

They were special for a day! 

Treasures' dentists are planning to return to Barskoe for their second "office call".  It will be at the beginning of  summer 2005.

Opportunity to PRAY

God has provided us with a grant writer, Margaret Somers.  She has been working non-stop to plea our case to fund some of the large projects He has placed before us.  We have grown to the point a full time employee is needed to manage the many opportunities we have been offered.  Of course, this would necessitate a salaried position.  We are seeking outside groups whose mandate is to fund overhead for non-profit organizations.

We covet your prayers.

Opportunity to HELP

Do you have air miles you would like to donate?

We could make additional mission trips with these miles and you will receive a tax deduction for the gift of miles.  Donation must be equivalent to the mileage needed for an economy ticket.

Airlines flying to Moscow are:
Delta, British Airways, Swiss Air, Northwestern, American and Lufthansa

Barskoe Gorodische Orphanage in Suzdahl, Russia

Indoor restrooms & showers for the kids.

We have been working on Barskoe for 4 years, providing above average conditions for the kids.  They now have new beds and bedding, warm, dry bedrooms, and toilets in the dorms.  The cafeteria now has a a fully equipped commercial kitchen. Due
to their farm animals and fruit and vegetable gardens, they no longer lack for food.  They now have two playrooms which would be the envy of any American school.
 
The staff members are good stewards of the dorms. To prevent the common occurrence of theft, they lock the doors during the day, preventing outsiders from entering when the rooms are empty.  However, due to the toilets being in the dorms, this presents a new problem.  The kids are left with a filthy, unsafe outhouse or the "great outdoors" during daylight hours.  We would like to give them clean restrooms and a new shower.  Another organization started the project, but was stopped due to government fees.  We were going to help them complete the project after they had worked out their problems with the fees.  On Tuesday, the other group pulled out and signed the project over to Treasures! 

We view this step as an answer to prayer, as we have an excellent relationship with the government officials over Barskoe. We believe we can have the fees removed or greatly reduced.  Due to the change in circumstances, we need to make an unexpected trip to Russia to get the project started before the kids endure another winter.  The donation of air miles would help make this possible.
The foundation is in place, bricks, and piping have been given to us.  This is an outstanding start.  A bonus room has been developed under the shower/restroom for a workshop and a new laundry.  We are negotiating with vendors to purchase a commercial washing machine. We will begin saving for a dryer. Our goal for this trip is to reduce the fees, find competent craftsmen, locate the fixtures, and get the project moving again.
In His service,
Stephanie, Donna, Barbara, Jim, and Howard
Board of Treasures of the Heart

If you would like to donate to this trip or project, please call:
Stephanie (409) 898-2847 or email: stephanie@treasuresoftheheart.org