Beauty from Ashes – Ruin Restorers

In Isaiah 61 the prophet talks about being sent in the year of the Lord's favor to "bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion —to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated"

I met Anya Goliakova in 2008 in a summer camp for orphans near Alushta, Crimea. She had joined our orphan outreach team.

Anya Manchuliak

Anya is now a ministry leader overseeing a ministry initiative called Ruin Restorers at Tabernacle of the Living God (TLG) church in Kyiv. Anya leads worship alongside Oleg Manchuliak (husband), John Goliakov (brother) and his wife, Natasha, and David Goliakov (her youngest brother). The purpose of Ruin Rebuilders is to help their neighbors in and around Kyiv rebuild. They call it “Ruin Rebuilders”.

Here are just a few of the ways they minister to their neighbors:

1. Purchase building materials for destroyed homes

2. Provide food, clothing, and essential supplies for the families whose homes have been destroyed by reckless shelling

3. Manually remove debris, salvage building materials (i.e. bricks, block, timber, steel), clean and restore living spaces and furnishings.

VIDEO: (https://youtu.be/lqbIbbJHv1I)

Some of you may recall the story of how they took shelter in basements in the suburbs of Kyiv in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine. Together with a number of youth, Anya and Oleg’s children, as well their pastor, Valeriy Alymov emerged after 5 or 6 days without power of communications to the outside. Later they took refuge a church camp location near Rivne in the western region of Ukraine. Afterward they relocated southwest in Kamenets-Podilskiy toward the Romanian border and settled there for several weeks. Now that most of the fighting has moved to the eastern Donbas region and southern Kherson region some, like Anya and her fellow believers are returning to Kyiv to help rebuild.

But in war-torn Ukraine fuel, food, and building materials are scarce and expensive. They need gas to travel to nearby villages. They also need to feed their work-teams and hungry residents.

At Twelve3One Ministries, we are already partnering with Anya and Ruin Restorers. We have donated $1000 toward their initiative. We’ve also received an additional $500 for them. We are asking for matches of $500 - $1000 (or any amount). Please partner with us!

Here’s how you can help:

Donate ONLINE using your favorite pay app – @twelve3oneministries (Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp)

By Check: Twelve3One ministries, 2221 June Drive, Nashville, TN 37214

MEMO your gift: Ruin Restorers

Together with the Lord's help we can rise up beside Anya and all of Ukraine to rebuild her from ruins We can help Anya bestow on her neighbors "a crown of beauty instead of ashes."