Sergey Rakhuba in Ukraine (MNN photo)

Ukraine (MNN) -- Election watchers in Ukraine say Sunday's presidential run-off election was fair. That's pressuring western-leaning Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to concede to pro-Russian opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych.

The opinion of international monitors carries great weight in Ukraine--a country with a history of rigged voting. In order to mount a successful battle to overturn the outcome, Tymoshenko would almost certainly have needed some ammunition from the observers.

But they gave her little, calling the voting "an impressive display of democratic elections."

Vice President of Russian Ministries Sergey Rakhuba is concerned with the results. "He [Viktor Yanukovych] will, in most cases, copy what happened in Russia in terms of religious freedom. That's where our concern is and that's what we'd like all our supporters to pray for: that the unlimited freedom for evangelism, ministry and church growth will continue to remain there."

Yanukovych has already attempted to pass a restrictive religion law two weeks ago. "Evangelicals pushed back, and they took it off their agenda at the parliament. But, we're very much concerned that it will come back," says Rakhuba.

Rakhuba says as Yankukovych receives more power, he expects this bill to receive even more support. However, he has an uphill battle. "I doubt that this new president will be able to accomplish a lot. Half of the country is not supporting him, but he will get some of his agenda through."

Even if religious freedom is curtailed, Russian Ministries is confident their ministry will continue as Ukrainians are the ones doing the work.

One example, says Rakhuba, is their Schools without Walls program. "We provide basic biblical training. We help them with character formation, with skill training. We help them to get involved more actively involved in outreach on behalf of their churches and to mobilize their churches to get involved in the community."

Schools without Walls focuses on university students who are getting a secular education to help them earn a living, in addition to wanting a less-formal education to help them use their profession as a way to share their faith, and more importantly, to become leaders in the local church.

This training is needed because many are unable to work in ministry full-time because they can't support their families on ministry salary.

If you'd like to financially support Schools without Walls, click here. You can also find out about their Vacation With a Purpose this summer to learn more about what God is doing in the Ukraine.

Sudan (MNN) -- 2010 marks the fifth year since Sudan's North and South signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The accord ended civil war, but unrest proves the mood is anything but peaceful. 

Over the past year, there has been a significant increase in the level of tribal violence in the South. In fact, about 2,500 people were killed, and 350,000 fled their homes in southern Sudan last year.

Tensions are high and are likely to stay that way. Matt Parker with Kids Alive agrees. "In the coming year, a referendum is planned to decide whether the north and the south of the country will split."

 In April this year, government elections are scheduled, and this is causing increased tensions within the country. The major referendum is slated for January 2011.

Poverty and war have already created a wasteland. As refugees return to their homes in southern Sudan, the problem of street children becomes greater. An estimated 10 percent of Sudan's children are orphans, left to fend for themselves on the streets. Education takes a back seat to finding enough food to stay alive.

In fact, Parker says, "Statistics produced by the UN show that the South is so underdeveloped that a 15-year-old girl is more likely to die in childbirth than finish school."

Kids Alive is helping more than 300 children through Children's Homes, Schools and Care Centers. They recently launched a children's home in the town of Wau. "We started up a small home in a rented accommodation. We just bought land in the town, and our goal over the next year is to raise the money that we need for construction and to work with more children in that town."

Pray for Kids Alive's work in Sudan. It literally is the difference between life and death. "We provide a safe place for these children to live. We provide medical care. We provide education. One of our key goals, as Kids Alive, is to reach these children with the Good news of Jesus Christ." 

Pray that tribal tensions in the South would cool. Pray too, for the church in Sudan - that it would have an impact in society. You can help. Click here for details.

Michael and Lolla Agwanda. (Photo courtesy The Mission Society)

Kenya (MNN) -- Over 400 people contract HIV/AIDS in Kenya every day, swelling the number of infected men and women to one in ten. As if hundreds of thousands of deaths from the disease were not enough, HIV/AIDS has left millions of orphans in its wake in Kenya alone.

One of these AIDS orphans is Michael Agwanda. Agwanda's mother died when he was seven, followed soon after by his father, who was a victim of HIV/AIDS. Agwanda had to take care of his siblings, growing up all too quickly with all too few opportunities.

With these trying experiences in his childhood, Agwanda was determined to make things better for other orphans. He worked in an orphanage for a while, but found that the success rate of graduated orphans from the orphanage was not very good. Many orphans weren't sure how to conduct themselves in society without being told what to do. As he assessed the situation, Agwanda became certain that there was a better way to approach the orphan dilemma.

"It will take tons of money to support now 2.5 million orphans in Kenya," says Agwanda. "My point is: there should be a better way to take care of the orphans, and a cheaper way."

Agwanda, a Kenya native, says African families take family matters seriously. If one brother dies, the other will take care of his children. But when half of the country lives on less than one dollar a day, it becomes difficult to feed even one family, no less extraneous relatives. Although they want to help their orphaned nieces, nephews, grandchildren and cousins, they simply cannot afford it.

Agwanda says, "The question is, what if we don't take care of them? What's going to happen to them? They'll end up on the street where girls will get into prostitution as early as eight or six sometimes, and boys will get into drugs, and they will die very prematurely."

Not willing to see children fall prey to these circumstances, and certain that family connections were the best thing for AIDS orphans, Agwanda created his own ministry. He began the Life for Children Ministry and became a missionary with The Mission Society.

In his ministry, Agwanda created a sponsorship program for Kenyan AIDS orphans. The program sends children to live with relatives but promises to take care of all of their needs.

"We'll make sure that [each orphan] goes to school. When he's sick, we'll take him to the hospital and give him treatment. We'll buy clothes for him, we'll buy a uniform (in Kenya you cannot go to school without a uniform). We'll make sure that this boy is taken care of, and also have an opportunity to share the Word of God with him."

The sponsorship program essentially supports the whole family. If Life for Children Ministry provides a bed or a mosquito net for the sponsored child, the whole family is able to benefit from the it. This creates more incentive for a family to take a child in, and provides the child with a structured family environment in which he is given responsibilities and role models.

Currently, Agwanda's program sponsors 131 orphans, but he hopes it will reach 200 this year. The success of the program has been exceptional.

Agwanda reflects, "There is nothing that is satisfying like going to the village and seeing people sing and cry because they know that these kids that had no hope will one day be somebody in the future."

$65 a month takes care of every need for an AIDS orphan, including schooling, food, clothing, medicine and Bible fellowship. Sponsorship possibilities include sponsoring a child, sponsoring just a portion of the $65 amount for a child, or sponsoring Michael Agwanda and his ministry directly. To take part in any of these options with Life for Children Ministry, click here.

Learn more about Agwanda and his ministry at The Mission Society Web site.

International (MNN) -- What do wedding rings and water wells have in common? It's Living Water International and a partnering ministry called "With This Ring." 

By working together, they have brought clean drinking water to some 20,000 Africans.

Couples from around the country donate their wedding and engagement rings to WTR to convert into fresh water wells.

It's a fairly simple process. Rings donated by couples will be sold to those seeking to participate in the cause by purchasing them.

WTR's Web site walks a donor through it step-by-step. Essentially, a potential donor takes the ring to a jeweler to get it appraised. There's an IRS donation form on their Web site. Then, after filling it out, send the jewelry in to WTR along with the appraisal, appraiser's signature and the IRS form.

From there, they put it on the auction block. This year, Valentine's Day Ring Auction proceeds go to LWI to rebuild wells destroyed by the earthquake in Haiti. By providing clean water, teams can also share the "living water" of the Gospel. The auction will be open until February 9 and can be accessed here.

People are encouraged to share their own story of making grand gestures on the With This Ring blog and also to consider purchasing a ring as an act of radical generosity for their loved one and for the people of Haiti.

Haiti (MNN) -- Global Aid Network has sent counselors to Haiti, but not primarily to counsel victims. Instead, these professionals are training pastors to counsel people who have been through trauma.

Pastors are especially key in this process since many Haitians are asking big questions about God.

"There's a unique opportunity--a narrow window of time--for us as believers to come alongside the believers and the churches in Haiti to help meet not only the physical needs, but also the spiritual needs because people are asking the ‘why' questions," says GAiN USA president Duane Zook.

Besides trauma counseling, GAiN USA is also providing food, water and medicine, thanks to its various sponsors. GAiN USA now plans to stay in Haiti long-term.

In the meantime, prayer is needed for the counselors there. Continue to pray for Haitian pastors, workers, believers and the spiritual state of Haiti in general.

"Pray that God would be lifted up in the midst of a crisis and that out of that rubble, hope would arise and people would look to God and would trust Him," asks Zook.

To support the efforts of GAiN USA in Haiti financially, click here.

To view a video on GAiN USA's work in Haiti, click here.