is your love in action, inside the former Soviet Union

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

They brought the love...

YOU opened the door!

Nobody just rolls into Belarus.

It takes some serious work with the government bureaucracy to get permission.

And even more to bring in tons of humanitarian aid.

So when a great group like Chernobyl Aid Ireland makes its twice-a-year trek to Belarus,

with truckloads of donated goods for people in need, and a bunch of volunteers,

it takes our “Response of the Heart” team to get them into the country, and all the aid distributed, legally.

That’s where New Thing comes in.

We have the privilege of providing 100% of the funding for Response of the Heart’s entire operation.

Whether it’s the Irish or one of the many other groups supplying aid for folks in need...

When love knocks, you open the door! Thank you!

A school in Ireland was being completely rebuilt.

Chernobyl Aid Ireland arranged to get all the outgoing furniture for transport to Belarus.

Liam Grant is the founder and head of the group. He organizes volunteers to truck aid into Belarus every spring and fall.

I had the good fortune of being in Minsk this past week as one of their visits began.

Tanya was a Belarusian orphan. Liam Grant became her unofficial dad and brought her to Ireland.

Today she’s his assistant and interpreter — and interpreting is no small task, since none of our “Response of the Heart” team speaks English.

The Chernobyl Aid Ireland trucks are colossal.

The aid is packed in huge layers. I kept being surprised that more stuff could come out of one vehicle.

I’m impressed by how cheerful the Irish volunteers are, yet how hard they work — and they’re giving up their vacation time to do this!

From Minsk they were heading on to Grozovo, where they’ve been remodeling — transforming, really — an institutional facility.

Everybody pitches in — the Irish visitors, Belarusian volunteers, even our team’s Lydia Danielevna and “The Great Kozovaya.”

Maybe it looks like a circus, or a fun garage sale — but every ounce of aid must be scrupulously accounted for under the law.

This is a major part of the job for Kozovaya and Lydia Danielevna.

Some of the donated goods couldn’t help but bring a smile to Lydia Danielevna’s face.

I imagine two little Belarusian children, in a hospital, a shelter, or a foster home, are going to be very, very happy with the kitty and the piggie!

More photos to come.

Thanks for journeying with us!

Much love,

Doug Brendel

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Thanks again!