Grace Transition House

The Grace Baptist Transition House rises over the concrete fence in the small village of Fontanka on the outskirts of Odessa. This house is being built as a shelter for the children over the age of 18 who have to leave the Shelter at Grace Baptist Church. At the age of 18 they must leave, but they are not prepared to live on their own. Here they can live with adult supervision while finishing college, trade school or obtaining their first jobs. The property was bought from a project abandoned by the regional government. At the time there was only a basement and the first floor.

This picture shows the size of the building with two adults in the foreground. Until the roof was needed, the congregation of Grace had provided all the materials and labor for the building. The stones were brought from the demolition of the old cabins at the Black Sea Camp, cleaned and used again. The interior is now being built out. Much work is being done on the first floor with teams coming from Great Britian, Wales and the United States to help the Ukrainian workers. Much is yet to be done to complete the work in the next two years.

Men from six churches in Wales came to work at the Transition House in late May. Some of them had been there before last September and had gone home telling others of the work they were doing. They have helped to hang sheetrock, done ceiling work, tiling, plumbing, electrical work and the supplement of construction supplies.

The Ukrainian government has ruled that the heating plant for the Tranisiton House must be placed in an area outside the main building. This photo shows the foundations dug for the new heating building. Bricks have been bought to begin work on the foundation work. Bids have been let for the electrical, water and heating plant construction. It will take funds that are not yet available, so prayers are requested for this need.