In the 20 years that Tom Benz has been doing orphan ministry in Ukraine, he has built a “bridge of faith” between the Eastern European country and his home in Alabama.

Bridges of Faith, Benz’s Clanton-based ministry, works with orphaned Ukrainian children, helping to facilitate adoptions and cultural exchange programs throughout the year.

The organization is currently looking for families to participate in its Private Hosting program, which will begin June 10. The program offers some of the orphaned children a chance taste Southern culture, faith, and life in a kind and loving home.

Many of the children are social orphans, which means their parents are still living but are unfit to care for them due to addiction, abuse, and other reasons.

“They don’t see how a husband and wife, mother and father are supposed to treat children,” Nancy Hendrix, Bridges of Faith’s Hosting Coordinator, told Yellowhammer News.

Families from Atlanta to Alabama, Iowa, and Tennessee have hosted children in the past.

“A lot of people worry about the language but they understand love. They understand safety,” Hendrix said. “They pick up our English in a couple of weeks.”

Apart from the Private Hosting program, Bridges of Faith also operates a 140-acre retreat center in Billingsley, to which it brings 3o orphans each year.

During their visits, the children experience life in Alabama as host families take them camping and to various educational sites such as the USS Alabama. They also go to Atlanta Braves games and participate in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, along with both English and Bible lessons.

If you are interested in hosting a child, contact Nancy Hendrix at 205-586-1281