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A report from Doug Brendel to all who support or follow New Thing in Belarus...

 

Yeah, you may be homeless — but youÕre

Looking GOOD!

 

Last summer, I posted a couple photos after ÒThe Great Kozovaya,Ó leader of our ÒResponse of the HeartÓ team in Minsk,
invited hairdressers to volunteer their services to the homeless at our soup kitchen.

 

The experience made such an impression on Anton and his team that they determined to keep coming back — and finding other places in Minsk to serve as well.

They were back at the soup kitchen last week!

 

I thought you might like to see them in action!

We can hardly imagine what a gift this is to the homeless ... a measure of dignity, a source of joy.

 

Anton & Company are totally mobile; they bring all their gear, and set up in the hallway outside the dining room.

 

When our team first met Artuom, he was living in the woods. Today he works at the soup kitchen.

And now, thanks to the hairdresser-volunteers, heÕs looking better than ever!

 

Head chef Valery (left) runs the whole operation with gusto.

He brings in speakers and musicians, to make lunchtime a time of spiritual as well as physical refreshing.

 

Valery also hustles donations of food and goods from farmers and grocers.

On haircut day, by coincidence, a huge load of fruits and vegetables arrived from Eurotorg, the largest private employer in Belarus.

 

Valery freezes the food to make soup, borscht, sauces, and more in the subsequent weeks. ÒHe will not lose anything!Ó Kozovaya says with a laugh.

The week before, he traveled to the Mogilev region, in the east of the country, and brought back more than 4,000 lbs. of potatoes, free of charge from a generous farmer.

(Kozovaya awarded the farmer an official certificate of recognition.)

 

More adventures to come!

Thanks for journeying with us!

 

Much love,

Doug Brendel

 

Photos by our dear friend Oleg Yarovenko

 

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Thanks again!