Heaven Sent Help

by Jaimee Langeland
Co-Director of OPERATION LAZARUS

We are so excited to announce a new addition to the Op Laz team. Anya and Sasha Zelenenko, 22 and 25, a precious Christian married couple, have officially joined Operation Lazarus. Anya is a very gifted interpreter with strong business and administrative skills and Sasha is a jack of all trades. They are both extremely anointed in their ability to minister to the kids we have been working with. They joined our third team to Mt. Gorney for orphan summer camp ministry and the progress they made in just 4 days with the kids was astounding.

Our biggest hindrance for the past two years has, without question, been our lack of perfect fluency in Russian. Although, we have both made incredible progress in the language there are just some conversations that can’t be had without complete fluency. In just a matter of days, Anya and Sasha have begun to minister to various kids, explaining to them why they must forgive their parents for abandoning them, the reasons they should give up smoking, the power that prayer has over their unsaved family members, how to make choices so that they don’t end up repeating their parents’ mistakes, and the list goes on. It is thrilling to watch them in action and to see how incredibly responsive the kids are to them.

Anya and Sasha will be helping us with a multitude of things such as researching orphan rights, researching the necessary procedures for becoming a non-profit organization in Ukraine, participating in our weekly gatherings, and interpreting when needed. They will also assist us in the development of the transitional home and the purchase of land and building for this project. We are so happy they have joined our team and we are looking forward to the many ways God is going to use them in the future.

Pray with us for an increase in support for Operation Lazarus, since expanding our team requires an increased financial commitment.