Mark Koehler

In Ukraine, Harvest or Thanksgiving Day is celebrated only in the churches. Many people out of the church can’t tell you what it means. It’s very sad. God has given us so much to be thanked for and many people even don’t know about this! I have a great hope that those who love God…

Hello family and friends, I begin this newsletter with the sad news about a train/bus crash in Marganets. Forty-two people died. I ask you to join me in prayer for the families and friends of those who died. The story was carried by a number of international on-line newspapers. Our Christmas Fundraiser, announced last month,…

In my previous “Ira’s Insights” I wrote about a 7-year-old Ukrainian girl, Sasha, who is suffering from a rare disorder – arthrogryposis. (This congenital disorder is characterized by multiple joint contractures.) MUCH has helped with some money to buy plane tickets to Israel for Sasha’s examination. Unfortunately, Sasha and her mother couldn’t go there on…

Hello family and friends, I am writing from Marganets. I will be visiting the children at the orphanage and taking some videos of my interaction with them. We will combine these with video from Emmaus Food Program and the Massage Clinic in Illichevsk. The children in the video clips will help show the results of…

In our life, there are some moments which turn into stories that we collect, remember, and share with our friends. Such moments become very prominent for us and remind us how it is sometimes important to reach out your hand of help to another person in need. One of such stories has happened with me…

Hello family and friends, The last week in July and two weeks in August have been the hottest days that I remember since I moved here in 2002. Russia is having big problems because of the heat. Fields are burning and forests are being threatened by fires ignited by the extreme heat and dry grass.…

What fills us with warm memories when we think about our early days? People can think about their warm houses with many toys, big trees in their yards and delicious pies that their mothers or grandmothers baked. And I even heard that in the world there are museums of childhood where both adults and children…

July brings lots of sunshine, wonderful summer rains, the never-ending sea breezes, and some wonderful stories about the children. This letter will focus upon our activities in Illichevsk, where I live. Great things are happening! I will begin with the Massage Clinic. During the first six years of operation, there was a difference of opinion…

This story started in spring of 2010 when a group of young adults from the Baptist Church distributed sports shoes among children from difficult and poor families. I was a driver of that team who were going to special families, meet with parents, tell them about God’s love and give a small present to their…

Hello family and friends, It is summertime here in Ukraine. The leaves are on the trees; the children have completed another year of school; and they are enjoying the day camp programs that the city runs in June. The weather is in the 70s and mid 80s. Mixed with a rainy day, the cool sea…