New Fields Ministries

In 1997 a ministry named Project Hope was founded when Esther McCauley went to St. Petersburg, Russia and saw the tremendous need for a ministry to children living in the streets and sewers of that city. God blessed and funds came in to start a day center for these children. The goal of Project Hope was to meet the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of Children living in crisis in St. Petersburg, Russia. The ministry flourished under the Directorship of Vera Zhuravleva and hundreds of children were ministered to and taught the Word of God by the loving Christian staff. Many children accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and were born-again.

In the 1990s a Russian man named Jack Kerbs had the desire to build an orphanage for children living in crisis in St. Petersburg, Russia. After much hard labor by Jack to get the funds and build a beautiful building, Children’s Ark was started in 1997. The ministries of Children’s Ark and Project Hope were very similar in nature and started at about the same time. Throughout the years Vera Zhuravleva, the director of Project Hope, got to know Jack Kerbs, the president of Children’s Ark Foundation, and the staff of Children’s Ark. Vera has a doctor’s degree in teaching teachers to work with children and she has held many seminaries in the different cities of Russia teaching people how to minister to children living in crisis. Children’s Ark was in need of someone to counsel and work with some of their children who had been abused in one form or another and they asked Vera if she could come and help in this area.  Vera spent several hours each week counseling many children for two years before the two ministries merged. As a result, Vera became very close friends with the Children’s Ark staff.

In 2007 the Orthodox Church told Project Hope they needed to have the building back that Project Hope was using for their day center. This meant that Project Hope would have to find another building. The staff of Project Hope and many others in America and other countries started to pray about this situation. When the staff of Children’s Ark heard about Project Hope needing another building, they told Vera that they had some extra space and Project Hope could move their ministry there.

Esther McCauley, one of the founders of Project Hope was in St. Petersburg, Russia at this time. This offer from Children’s Ark sounded like it was of God to Esther and also to Vera and the staff of Project Hope.  Esther’s biggest concern was about Children’s Ark having the same spiritual goals as Project Hope. Children’s Ark and Project Hope had a meeting to talk about the details of this possible move. Esther was thrilled when she heard Jack Kerbs ask, “Do you have the goal of bringing a child to the life changing experience of being born again through Jesus Christ?” Esther and Vera quickly answered, “Yes we do.” After this Esther had no concerns about where Jack stood on spiritual matters. The details of the move were worked out at the meeting and shortly after that Project Hope moved their ministry to the Children’s Ark building.

Vera continued to be the director of Project Hope but she also worked under the leadership of Jack Kerbs. The staff of both ministries blended together very well. Then in 2009 Vera’s father passed away and her invalid mother moved into Vera and her husband Sasha’s very small apartment. Sasha’s 85 year old mother was already living with them. Vera’s mother could not walk or care for herself at all. She had to have constant care. Finding dependable in-home care in Russia is nearly impossible. This put a tremendous pressure and responsibility on Vera and Sasha. Since Vera was the director of Project Hope she had to be at the orphanage every day. Sasha was also part of the Project Hope staff so both he and Vera were spending long days ministering at the orphanage. This meant that Sasha’s 85 year old mother was caring for Vera’s mother every day while they were gone and this was very difficult for her.

When Esther and I, Bob McCauley, arrived in St. Petersburg in November of 2009, we immediately saw how Vera and Sasha were in an almost impossible situation. They had to have some relief and we went to prayer about it. We felt God was leading us to merge Project Hope fully into Children’s Ark and for all of its leadership to come under Jack Kerbs. This would relieve Vera of the responsibility of leading Project Hope and give her and Sasha more free time to care for their elderly parents. We all felt this was God’s leading. We had a meeting with Jack Kerbs and some of his staff and told them what we wanted to do. Jack fully agreed to this plan. We decided to fully implement this starting on January the first of 2010. We would not renew Project Hope’s Russian license in July of 2010 and it would officially cease to exist.

Vera and Sasha are now working at the orphanage about two days a week which gives them time to care for their parents. We have full confidence in Jack Kerbs and the ministry of Children’s Ark. They are meeting the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of children and orphans living in crisis in St. Petersburg, Russia. Also they are teaching and mentoring them in the Word of God which is very important. Children’s Ark is a wonderful ministry and we encourage the supporters of Project Hope to now support Children’s Ark by sending their funds to “New Fields Ministries Inc., PO Box 12552, Overland Park, KS 66282” with a note that it is for Children’s Ark in Russia

In His Service,

Bob McCauley

The Children’s Ark was founded In 1996, three employees of Logos International (now To All Nations) have begun to seek out street children in St. Petersburg and offer them tea and hot food.

In 1997, a shell was purchased from the city of St. Petersburg and expanded by more than 500 volunteers from various countries. The building materials were donated by 80 German and Russian companies. The result is a dwelling with bedrooms, washrooms, common rooms, library and a commercial kitchen. In November of 1998, the Children’s Ark was opened by the Mayor of the City of St. Petersburg, whose wife, Irina Ivanovna, took over the patronage. Since 2002, the second building is completed, in which are workshops, a sewing room, a computer lab, a gymnasium, a conference room and 13 rooms for staff and guests.

Russian street children in major cities are now part of the cityscape.
Most of them are so-called “social orphans” - they do have parents, who do not care about them. The cause of the rapid increase of street children lies in the decline of the economy, the schools and social welfare system. This is seen in a rising alcohol and drug use and in the disintegration of Russian families. When family problems are worsening, many children have no choice but to live on the streets. There are thousands of homeless children In St. Petersburg. They stay in the basements of empty buildings or subway stations. They get money and food by begging, stealing and other criminal activities at street level. They suffer from malnutrition, lice, scabies and infected wounds. More than 50% of these children take drugs or sniff glue that causes irreparable brain damage.

1. We want to help the children and provide for their basic needs.
- A bed in a room with seven other children
- Regular family meals
- Medical care by a professional nurse
- Psycho therapeutic care
- The opportunity to play sports.
In the long term we seek to establish contact with the families of the kids and encourage the search for foster families who are willing to accommodate a child.

2. We want to educate the children: All children living in the Children’s Ark will attend - often for the first time - a public school. The older children learn a trade in the workshops. They work with wood and metal processing machinery, repair bicycles and cars, or become trained tailors. In this way, their professional career can start and their placement chances improve.

3. We want to exemplify the love of God to the kids. We place great emphasis on Christian education because we believe that a real change and healing of mental injury is possible only through a personal relationship with God. Here, the child may learn that it is unconditionally accepted and loved, and no further demotion has to be feared.

4. We want to be a model for other children’s homes. Compared to the large number of street children, our work may appear insignificant. But for the children in our house, it is lifesaving. Our vision is to create many similar projects across the country. Unfortunately, in Russia, state support is not available. We depend on individual people and churches to support the ministry That’s why we want to pass on our experience and approach you.

Currently 50 children are residing in the Children’s Ark. If you conceder a work and witness trip to St. Petersburg we would be glad to get in contact with you... May God richly bless you.

Jack Kerbs - Administrator “Children’s Ark” - St. Petersburg