1. Evacuation from the East is getting more complicated
The aggravation of the situation in Eastern Ukraine has made it difficult to evacuate local people. Volunteers, risking their lives, try to take humanitarian aid there and take people out of dangerous places.
The other day brothers from Cherkasy took another 90 people out of Lysychansk. Vitaliy Andriyets, who has organized the column of vehicles, says that this may be the last trip for the coming weeks.
Our brothers volunteers need our prayer support.
2. Our prayers were not stopping
Oksana and her son from Mariupol miraculously escaped from the city under fire. The Lord Himself has helped them.
At first they were in the basement and constantly repeated Psalm 90. They asked God to stop the enemy's attacks and become a wall of fire around the basement where they stayed.
Oksana says, ‘One day our houses were shelled with "grad" (multiple rocket launchers) four times, and we were ready for death, but the shelled miraculously flew over our basement and exploded nearby. My son said, "Mom, let's pray the prayer of repentance," and we prayed.
Next morning we heard someone calling us. It was our friend who managed to break through the shelling to pick us up and take to the evacuation site. We could hardly believe it. In a minute we grabbed what was at hand and left.
We were taken out by strangers. All the way we continue to pray asking God to accompany us on our way, and we again recited Psalm 90. We just prayed and prayed…
When we arrived to the safe place at last, my son said, “Mom, it's a miracle. God has created so many miracles in our lives!”. It was so true. I wept.
The next day we learned that after our leaving a bomb had hit the basement where we were hiding. The Lord brought us out and took care of us through the people that we never met.
We still have relatives that stay in Mariupol till now, and we do not know anything about them for two weeks. But we believe that God can and will save them, because the only hope is in Him.
3. Churches of Sumy region after the occupation
Sumy region slowly resumes its life after de-occupation. More than ten churches of the regional association could not hold usual services. And we cannot even mention about any social work in
the circumstances in which the churches of Okhtyrka, Trostyanets and Konotop were for a long time.
Thank God, after the liberation from the occupiers, dozens of volunteer teams from different regions of Ukraine started to bring humanitarian aid to local people.
So far, almost all churches have resumed their services and are praying that all areas of Ukraine will freed from Russian troops.
4. The city administration promotes the social work of churches
Chernihiv has already been unblocked, and a lot of work is being added to the churches. Volodymyr Vysotsky, head of the Chernihiv Baptist Association, says there is a huge shortage of people to work here. The pastor encourages young people who have such opportunity to return home.
"People here is in great need, both physical and spiritual. With this in mind, have opened the fourth and fifth Baptist humanitarian sites, on April 8th – one in a local church building and another in the City Garden area, where the city administration has proposed a large space to help people..
Churches are gradually resuming church services in the cities and towns liberated from the occupiers. The consequences of Russian aggression in the form of destroyed houses and burned equipment add black color to all we can see here. There is still a threat of rocket fire, but the fact that such a large territory was liberated from the Russian aggressors is giving new strength for the further service.
The first Chernihiv church began to hold services just in the churchyard. The church building, which was seriously damaged by the enemy shells, has not yet been repaired.
5. Ministry to the Gypsies
Six months ago in the village Mykhailivka, Kirovohrad Region, began a ministry for Gypsies. With the help of churches and sacrificial people, they bought a house for the church building, rebuilt it and started working with children and adults.
Pastor Vasyl Bezushko, regularly comes here 15 km away. He is always accompanied by his wife and three children. Today the worship service is attended by about 70 people.
6. The Bible Church of the New Districts in Irpen will rebuild a new church building
A year ago, a young church in Irpin bought a building that it rebuilt into a church in eight months. This church building remained intact for almost the entire period of hostilities in the city. After the occupying forces left Irpin, they carried out a massive bombing of the city, which completely destroyed the roof and burned the second floor of the house with all property, equipment and musical instruments.
The pastor of the church Andriy Meleshko says: “The situation itself very upset us, because we miraculously bought this house in March 2021. We did repairs during the whole warm period of the year and completely finished it on the second floor.
But if we look at it from the other side, we are glad that members of the church, parishioners and their relatives were saved and taken away in the first days of the war.
We believe that the Lord will give us the opportunity to rebuild the church building after victory and make it even better and more convenient to serve the Lord.
But most importantly, we pray for our people in Irpin and try to serve them so that they will see in action that in the most difficult times, the Lord is near.
7. Irpin-Bucha: dangerous and extremely necessary process of restoration works
The team of volunteers of the Irpin Bible Church did not leave Irpin during the whole first stage of the war. And now here, as well as in the next Bucha intensive work goes daily: to the people who have survived, brought food. They help to clean and in every possible way help sappers to demine city territories.
Pray that God will give them moral and physical strength and save their lives.
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