Eastern Europe
Andriy & Lyudmila Zolotaryov
Andriy and Lyudmila Zolotaryov are our longest-standing missionaries. Through a local team in partnership with local churches and Christian charities, they provide material, physical, emotional, and relational support to seniors, their families, church leaders, and their teams in Zaporizhzhia city and region.
Together, they lead the “Golden Years” Project. Andriy provides spiritual support to volunteers and Pastors, while Lyudmila collaborates with 17 churches and 40+ volunteers. She develops an annual program that churches use during monthly meetings. Once every three months, she meets with each volunteer to encourage them and coordinate city-wide events.
Now, based in Abbotsford, BC, in Canada they fully assist and support displaced Ukrainian families in the Fraser Valley, while still carrying out ministry in Eastern Ukraine. Their work includes emotional support, personal and family counseling, and spiritual care. Alongside dedicated Ukrainian newcomers, they have also founded a Ukrainian Bible Church in Abbotsford.
The Family Table
Declaring good News of Jesus Christ and bringing hope with a focus on widows and marginalized women and their children in Kyiv through means of Bible study, home care, home care and humanitarian assistance. Our national missionary in Kyiv, Nelli, provides regular counselling, mentorship, and friendship through personal meetings during the week. Weekly Bible Studies and foundational Family Table Dinners are available for women and their children at Nelli’s church.
The Family Table also provides help with leading a Golden Year project at a local church. Together with a team from the church, every two weeks Nelli runs seniors programs to encourage them and shares the Word of God. The seniors are so thankful for the opportunity to meet together.
Jen Kirkland (Romania)
Since 2022, Jen Kirkland has been a missionary with Firm Foundations Romania (FFR) in the Transylvanian city of Brasov. She is a supervisor at the local children’s hospital, where she spends time playing, feeding, loving and praying for abandoned children, as well as overseeing other volunteers. She splits her time at the FFR Agape Center, where currently there are 300 children ages 3-14 enrolled in an after-school program. She is also the teen project manager, to work with teens who have aged out of the Agape Center and help guide them to remain in school and towards a life of faith and love.
Hope For The Nations - Romania
Hope for the Nations – Romania was founded by Mark and Coreen Biech and began as an outreach near the Black Sea in Constanta in June 1998, initially serving local orphanages during Romania’s economic struggles.A Christian Music Recording Studio was established, to provide Romanian worship leaders and songwriters free recording opportunities. The weekend outdoor Christian Music Coffee House nights created a space for local musicians and community engagement. We were honored to baptize several new converts in the Black Sea.In 2003, the ministry moved to Brasov, in the heart of Transylvania, and continued its work in orphanages and hospital. A critical case involving a child with severe organ malformation, and the lack of funds to send the child to Germany for surgery, led to the creation of the International Medical Workshop. This initiative brought top pediatric surgeons from Germany and Austria to train Romanian doctors in performing these complex procedures. Since then, over 150 children have received life-changing surgery in Romania at no cost. More details here.For five years, the organization also supported the Brasov Infectious Diseases Hospital with a Mobile Medical Unit to test for tuberculosis.
Our current projects include Ukrainian Front-Line Provisions, the International Medical Workshop, the Mobile Classroom, a Back-to-School Supplies initiative providing socks and shoes for over 70 children, and Christmas Hampers for over 300 people.
Firm Foundations Romania
Firm Foundations Romania (FFR) believes all people are made in the image of God and are worthy of love, respect, and dignity. They are dedicated to supporting the Roma (Gypsy) community in Romania by providing access to education, essential resources, and the Gospel.
FFR began in 2005 when co-founders Sarah Vienna and Steffi Vogel visited the Brasov State Children’s Hospital and found rooms full of babies wrapped in rags. They started providing disposable diapers and care, which soon grew into an international volunteer program that now supplies over 35,000 diapers annually.
The majority of children in the hospital came from the nearby Roma village of Budila. To address abandonment issues, FFR launched educational programs for preschool through 8th grade. Currently, 230 students are enrolled, receiving academic support, life skills training in hygiene, manners, and responsibility, and most importantly, learning about Jesus and the future and hope found in Him.
In 2022, FFR opened its own educational building, the Agape Center, allowing for program expansion. More students can enroll and hear the Gospel, new initiatives will support parents and families, a youth group will serve high schoolers, and, prayerfully, Sunday church services will begin in the community. God is moving in Budila, and FFR is grateful to serve His people there.
