Liosha was born in L'viv, in 1996, in a poor family. He was the youngest of two boys living with their mother and grandmother, who were both alcoholics. The place where they lived was filthy, with no heat or electricity. Often, Liosha's mother and grandmother would have bloody fights with each other. Young men would come over to drink and use drugs, and beat Liosha's mother before his eyes. Their beds and heads were full of lice. The importance of good hygiene was never introduced to them. They never brushed their teeth, and showered maybe once a month. At night, when they slept, their drewams were full of nightmares.

Because all the money was spent on alcohol and drugs, Liosha and his brother ate just stale bread and water, for weeks at a time. They would look for food in the dumpsters on the streets. By approximately age 3, the two boys, for survival purposes, started their own business of finding empty bottles, and selling them. Imagine one of your children, or some child you know, at the age of 3, in order to survive, living on the streets, in harsh winters, where you could easily freeze to death from too much exposure to the cold.

Liosha was 6, when one of our girls found him begging on the street, on a very cold, winter day. She invited him to come to Joshua House for a hot meal. Each day after that, Liosha would come, bringing his older brother with him, to receive a meal. And they would stay all day, into the evening, when they would slip away, and sometimes sleep in abandoned cars somewhere, and return the next day.

It didn't take long for the Lord to place these two boys strongly in our hearts. One day, while on a prayer walk, we saw them at a park. And we asked the Lord to open the door, for us to bring them into our family. When they came to us again for a meal, we inquired more about where they live, and why they were always alone. After learning about their situation, we found the open door we had sought, to bring them into our home.

Liosha, however, has been diagnosed as having a lack of a certain growth hormone. And the doctor sare saying he will only grow to be about 4.5 feet tall. We are praying and believing God to do a miracle. Also, we know God uses people, and the medical profession. So, if any of you reading this are familiar with this type of disease, and have any good, medical resources available to you, or know of any doctors familiar with this disease, who could prescribe the proper medicine, or treat him; this woul dbe a great blessing. 

Even though Liosha is so young, he loves the Lord. He prays and fasts for unity in the Body of Christ, and helps us in our outreaches to other orphans, the poor and the needy. Sometimes, he has given all the money he has, to help other children in similar situations like he was. Please pray for Liosha, that God's perfect will will be accomplished in this little boy's life, who was once treated as the trash of the world, but now has become one of Jesus' little, bright, lights; shining for our Heavenly Father's glory and honor.