Hello family and friends,
We received $3,060 for our Christmas Fundraiser. Our goal is $7,500. Thank you to all who gave to sponsor the massage therapy program for the children with disabilities. We are hoping that other friends of MUCH did fundraisers on Facebook.
We have been blessed with snow, temperatures as low as +1F for a week or so. We think that is enough of that kind of blessing!
In November, I promised some pictures of what we completed on our second floor project. Here are pictures of the two roofs, doors and windows, and the inside. Sveta and I floored the attic with OSB and covered it with RockWool insulation.
This spring we will complete the roofs with soffit and facia.
There is plenty to be done on phase 2 of the project. For now, the plan is to save, save, save!
Mark’s Moments
Nadya in Ovidiopol
Ira is the MUCH manager in the Odessa Region. She is also the wife of the pastor of our church, here in Ovidiopol. She introduced Mark and Sveta to Alla, a second massage therapist, and me in my home in Ovidiopol, west southwest of Chornomorsk, in 2019. Later that year, Alla and I were students at the massage therapy training course in Odessa.
Alla and I began working as massage therapists in our town of Ovidiopol in January 2020. MUCH sponsors four children a month for each of us.
I decided to work out of my home. I have three children. My son is 15, my daughter is 13, and my youngest son is 7 years old. In August of last year, my husband died of a heart attack. This loss, of my husband and father of three, added to our challenges of life in Ukraine.
How does being a massage therapist for MUCH change my life?
I feel and know that I can be useful for my loved ones and especially for people who do not have money. For me it is very pleasant to give them warmth and hope. Massage therapy for children is a very good avenue to tell parents about God, that He loves them in a special way, and He cares.
My three children have begun to have a different attitude toward me. They respect me more. They always ask, ‘Mom, can you help my friend with certain physical problems?’ Not only do they ask for help with massage, but now, they also ask for my advice.
I really enjoy improving myself. I find a lot of useful information about massage therapy and special exercises through various videos. I use this knowledge in my practice.
For everything, Glory to our Merciful Lord!
Marganets Transition Home Winter Needs
The children who live at the Transition Home are often taken from their parents without much warning. Many times they are taken with only the clothes on their backs. In some cases, the clothing they are wearing is all that they have.
During the Christmas Season, the director asked for funds to provide indoor foot wear (slippers) for twenty-two children. They may live in the Transition Home for up to nine months. An extra five pair were purchased for children in the day program. The children of the Transition Home thank you, sponsors of MUCH, for making their winter a little brighter.
Sveta’s Journey
What do you think can cause attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity in a child? ADHD has a number of causes with a variety of reactions, such as social maladjustments, lack of calm physical movement, and low self-esteem. Below is a story of two brothers who struggle through life in this way.
Alex and Stas
The mother of six and seven-year-olds, Alex and Stas, had difficult pregnancies with prolonged labor. The doctors believe that these two problems are the cause of the diagnosed ADHD.
The boys have very tense neck muscles. This, in turn, does not allow the nervous and vascular systems of the brain to work normally. They cannot concentrate on learning new things, and are restless. When they start a game or some activity, the boys cannot complete it, and quickly switch to another interest.
Alex and Stas’s mother turned to Nadya, the massage therapist of Mission Ukraine Children’s Hope, for help. During the first days of the massage, it was very difficult for Alex and Stas to just lie and enjoy the massage.
They tried to get up and had to run about the room. But gradually, when the tense muscles began to relax bringing a calm experience. The boys felt peaceful and seemed to pause a little in their need for movement. After a ten-day course of full-body, relaxing massage, the boys’ mother and Nadya saw results. Alex and Stas became calmer and more attentive. Three months later, Nadya recommended that the parents repeat the massage treatment for the brothers.
Maria
Nadya gives children massage therapy at her home. The room that she specially equipped for massage is not as warm as the rest of the house. For the winter season, she moved her massage treatments to another room. For little patients like Maria, it is important to keep warm. At the age of four months, Nadya was already giving her massage therapy. Maria had a pronounced flexor hypertonicity of the extremities. At eight months old, she was receiving the second ten-day massage course. By the end of this second course of massage, the problem was solved. The child’s parents are very pleased with the result. In addition to the massage treatment for Maria, her body was being stimulated to initiate crawling. For this, the muscles of the child must be strong enough to support her body weight. When a child crawls, it develops memory, spacial orientation, and visual-spatial perception.
Exercises on the ball delight Maria! This is a great workout for the inner ear and balance, (vestibular apparatus)! When she started to crawl a little, this surprises her! The world around Maria looks completely different! It’s so wonderful to reach the goal by yourself, to crawl, and take what you want!
Katya
How important it is to detect a problem in a timely manner and immediately begin to solve it. Katya had first degree scoliosis. When her parents discovered this problem, they came to our massage therapist, Nadya. A fifteen-day course of massage therapy and exercises on the ball helped correct this diagnosis. After the first therapeutic massage, Katya said to Nadya: “I fell in love with you very much, I like the way you give me massage.”
All of these problems seem insignificant at first glance. But massage treatment today, for these children and many others, is the solution for how their health will be when they become adults.
Many thanks to everyone who helps us carry this ministry to children in Ukraine. Thank you for your prayers and financial assistance! God bless you and your families!
Living my dream,
Sveta
Blessings of love and healing,
Mark and Sveta
You can see all of our videos at our YouTube channel.
