Christmas is a wonderful time of year. It is a time of celebration, joy, sharing, and giving.
Streets, shops, and homes are decorated for the season. Anticipation of family gatherings, delicious meals, presents, and joy in the celebration of the birthday of Jesus grows as Christmas nears. For many, this is the most joyous time of the whole year. It is a holiday where we spend time and money to make the celebration something very special.
While we celebrate with decorations, presents, and feasts, the people in the village of Afanasyevka will be praying for heat and water to make it through the winter. You may remember that Russian soldiers blew up the Kakhovka dam and flooded many villages. The village of Afanasyevka is one of those villages. Eventually the Russians were driven back after nine months of occupation and after the flood waters destroyed lives, homes, and entire communities.
The homes were made of stone and clay. The flood waters softened the walls and exposed the bare stone. Most of their contents were destroyed. Drinking water was contaminated, crops were destroyed, and jobs lost.
Christmas this year will be very different for these people. There will be no family gatherings, no decorated trees, no gifts, and very little water and food. Their prayer for a joyous Christmas is that they receive enough water, food, and heat to make it through the winter.
MUCH has been supporting these efforts to send drinking water to Afanasyevka. Three times a week, 480 gallons of clean water is being shipped to the village by a borrowed van, equipped with tanks. It cost $588 a month to deliver water.
MUCH needs to raise enough money to give 30 families a wood burning stove for heat and cooking. The stoves cost $80 USD each.
Our goal is to raise $8,000
for stoves, water delivery, and to continue our mission to help as many people as possible.
You can help these people have a warm Christmas with clean drinking water to make it through the winter. Please donate to support these families who desperately need your help.
A donation to MUCH in honor of someone makes a great Christmas gift.
Email us at muchhope1@gmail.com and let us know that your donation is in honor of a recipient. Include the physical or email address of the person you’re giving the gift to, and we’ll send them a notice that a donation was made as a gift to them.
And Give the Gift of a Warm Christmas.
