This has been a historic week for God’s Hidden Treasures and here’s why!
21 years ago God gave Nita Hanson a dream to build a village for orphans in Ukraine.
https://www.godshiddentreasures.org/the-village-dream
Over the years she has built strong relationships with local mayors, pastors, the orphanage directors and even signed a 50 year lease on land to build the village. However, the time to begin building never came. Over the last 21 years our wheelchair ministry has grown from 3 wheelchairs brought in on a Delta flight to large containers bringing 300-500 wheelchairs ever year. Each one is personally delivered and fitted to the recipient, offered with a Bible and prayer. So many of our most meaningful relationships began with a mobility aid personally given.
While this ministry and others multiplied and thrived, the village dream had been simmering for over 20 years until God’s timing was right. Little did we know just how much God was working behind the scenes preparing a very important meeting last week. Last year, Kurt and Cindy Petrich who are planning on coming to Ukraine as full time missionaries were introduced by a friend of Nita’s to the personal adviser of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The advisor, Nickolai Kubela has been charged with reforming the orphanage system in Ukraine.
This led to a meeting in Kiev last month with Nita, Kurt, Cindy, and Nickolai. Nickolai shared his vision for orphanage reform in Ukraine and Nita shared the dream of the village. The adviser was intrigued by Nita’s dream, but was leaning toward a similar plan of his own.
The first meeting (left to right, Kurt, Nikolai, Cindy, Nita)
Nikolai asked for another meeting, and asked if Nita could gather some Pastors from the Bila Tserkva area and some local mayors, to discuss the idea of reform a little further. Nita in just a week was able to gather, the mayor of Fursy, the Kiev Region, three orphanage directors and two pastors.
This time the meeting was held at the President Poroshenko’s Office building. The adviser again shared his vision and plan for the orphanages, point by point. But during the meeting, the mayors and orphanage directors all shared about the dream for the village, and how Nita has been in Ukraine so long helping people, and she keeps her promises, Nita really didn’t need to open her mouth to share about her dream for the village. Nita showed that in our region, all the pieces are already in place, to do something about the orphans in our region. The local government, churches, orphanage directors, are all willing to do something. Nita wants this village to be an example, that all other regions in Ukraine can follow, getting orphans into small homes, with adopted parents who have been educated in how to care for children with special needs.
Meeting #2
Well, a week after the meeting, Nita received this email from Nikolai, the President’s adviser in Kiev.
Thank you so much for the wonderful time we have spent together. We (in Kiev) are ready to go forward together with you. Think please about the pilot project being in the region you take care of. At the meetings, we realized that there is an amazing potential in your region and that all resources are already in place, i.e., your organization, the churches and the authorities are ready for these changes.
Meanwhile any project should be started with the assessment of the communities, children and family’s critical needs. Together we can define the priorities for your region, take the first steps in reforming the child care system and create a successful model for the rest of regions all over the Ukraine.”
Nita’s own words
“To say this is amazing doesn’t come near to telling the immensity of all of this. To think that God’s Hidden Treasures is going to be used as the pilot project for Ukraine’s reform of the orphan system is beyond my capability to comprehend. God has been orchestrating all of this these past 21 years since He gave me the dream to build a Village. And He has steadfastly been putting all the pieces, including governments, in place. I am rejoicing and more than humbled to be allowed to be a part of this. So many people have faithfully prayed over the years for the Village to be built. Wow!!! I have found myself praying the words that King David wrote in Psalm 8 throughout the day:
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