is your love in action, inside the former Soviet Union

Curious about where NewThing.net came from?

A report from Doug Brendel to all who support or follow our New Thing ministry in Belarus...

Final stop

Almost like home

It’s a boarding school for children with physical and mental disabilities, in Chekhovshchinskaya, Belarus.

We’ve been supporting the workers here longer than director Tatiana Nikolaievna has been the boss!

It takes more than 70 teachers and workers to provide round-the-clock care and a complete education for 70 or so children.

Tatiana and her team have worked hard to make this place as warm and home-like as possible.

The children’s disabilities range from mild to severe.

Education is tailored to each level.

For some, it’s good exercise and/or therapy to separate seeds.

For others, assembling letters of the Cyrillic (Russian-language) alphabet can be a real and valuable challenge.

The teachers carry a particularly heavy load here. But they are unfailingly patient and loving.

Our consistent support reminds them ... You are not alone.

We tried to sneak in during naptime to leave gifts, but we were too noisy and woke these guys up.

It’s hard to stay cranky when the person who woke you gives you a toy!

Thanks to several generous friends of New Thing, we were able to provide completely new kitchenware for the boarding school.

“Everything that’s shiny, is what you gave!" Tatiana announced.

Among the many new accessories: thermometers. For the first time, the cooks will be know the internal temperature of meats and other foods.

Here’s 3 minutes of totally unedited video from the kitchen — mostly Kozovaya, Lydia Danielevna, and Tatiana marveling at the new stuff!

It may be difficult to imagine what a beautiful gift we’ve given. All-new kitchenware will change the entire meal-prep and mealtime experience, for workers and children!

And so ends this Belarusian adventure.

Thanks for journeying with us!

Much love,

Doug Brendel

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