Ministry to the Roma People

Husband & Wife: Lola and Arkady. They have a ministry serving the Roma people (or Gypsy) of Transcarpathia. They provide food, clothing, medicine, and also work with Pastor Viktor and the Roma Church in Uzhhorod to share the love of God with them.
Another valuable service they provide is getting passports for Roma. Traditionally, the Roma have been a people without a country, living on the fringes of society (both socially and physically). Unfortunately, this  means that when it's time to get government supplied healthcare or travel or anything else that would require some formal ID, they are at a huge disadvantage. In Ukraine, anything involving the bureaucracy is often a long, frustrating and discouraging process. Lola's team have opened up new opportunities by recently obtaining citizenship documents for 68 Roma people!

Lola and Arkady's team meets on Monday afternoons to fellowship and also to pray for the families they provide for during the week. Our friend, Timea, (in the red-checkered shirt) translated for us. She has worked with this team for 3 years.

Solomiya and a member of Lola's team!

The whole team: Pastor Viktor is 5th from the left. During our visit, Pastor Viktor shared on the delicate balance of providing material help and the need to share the Gospel and bring long-term tranformation. He has a tremendous love for the Roma and is filled with joy that God, too, loves them!


We are really looking forward to working with Arkady & Lola!