In October of 2015 a dream of orphan girls was answered by God through ServeNow (read more here). The first two groups of young women have gone through the bakery program (read about them here) and now a third group is in the middle of their training. Here are three of their testimonies:
Gizella, 19 years old: I do not remember my parents. I was left at a children’s hospital when quite small. I grew up in an orphanage, then studied at another orphanage till 8th grade, and then moved to the next one. There I began to desire to bake. But it was only desire: we all graduated with being diagnosed as “mentally retarded.” That stigma prevents future education for us and to even generally be accepted as a valuable part of society. But after graduation I moved to Uzhgorod and heard that there is a bakery project at the local church. I immediately went and asked them to give me the opportunity to learn. And my wish was fulfilled and I am very happy! Thank you all for not being indifferent to my fate. Thank you to everyone who in some way is involved in the project. May God bless you.

Nina, 15 years old: I like to go to the Bakery classes, here I am able to learn a lot of stuff I have never done before. I really like to try to bake something new because I understand it will help me with future employment. I am very glad that I could be part of a Christian family now. Thanks to ServeNow I’ve got new skills and can have a job. Thank you for what you’ve done for me and for all of us!

Maria, 18 years old: My parents refused me at birth so I grew up in several orphanages. While I studied for 10 years, I dreamed to have a nice profession, and dreamed of how I would be able to succeed. I always had some interest to cook or bake, but after boarding school, I was not able to fulfill my dream. At our boarding school I was not able to receive even a full certificate (such as are in regular schools), so my dream remained a dream. After moving to live in Uzghorod, I heard about the ServeNow Bakery project which teaches girls, and I realized that my dream can come true! And so I have begun to study here and I really like it. I am immensely grateful to everyone who helped me in carrying out my dream. Thank you to everyone who helps orphans and makes them happy. God’s blessings to them.

***These testimonies have greatly touched our hearts! We have a great need however to secure funding for the cost of operating the bakery program. On a yearly basis it requires $29,606 for all costs associated (training, teacher salary, ingredients, rent, administrative costs etc). On a monthly basis that works out to $2,467. Per student it is about $374 a month. You might not be able to help at those levels, but would you consider a recurring monthly gift to help towards making the dreams of girls like these a reality through this year? You can donate online here, while noting in the memo “
Ukraine Bakery.”