We get together and minister as the light
Churches of Ukrainians continue to minister with greater zeal and courage despite the difficult life circumstances. We are convinced that the snowdrifts, worsening or absence of mobile communication, Internet, and electricity are not solid obstacles for the ministry to God and people.
As for now, their missiles and drones have damaged several hundreds of vital infrastructure objects. We are trying hard to save electricity whenever possible, which today is supplied by short time limited cycles.
Power plants, enterprises, and residential buildings were hit. But we are still alive and can work with incredible gratefulness to the Lord for every day we have.
He still sits on His throne, and all the leadership, power, and further history’s writing belong to Him. He will not let Ukrainian people go through trials beyond our strength, so we entrust our current difficulties to Him.
Ministry at liberated Kherson
There is a humanitarian disaster in Kherson due to the lack of water and electricity. There is a lack of medications and bread because the bakeries can’t bake without electricity. So the problems with food are still acute.
The senior pastor of the Kherson region (Pavlo Smoliakov) had already visited the churches of the city three times since the Kherson was liberated (on November 11).
Visiting Kherson is still a difficult task. The curfew hours are from 5 pm to 8 am. Many objects in the city were mined by russians, and they damaged the energy, gas, and water supplies before leaving the right-bank parts of the Kherson region.
Kherson was occupied from the beginning of March, and leaving the region during the occupation was a difficult and scary quest. Most of the members of our churches became refugees of internally displaced people (IDPs). There are many new people in these churches now. They came looking for help and hope.
Even though light and water are absent and no there is not enough food, the life of churches continues. People thank God for everything! And everyone is happy that the flags of the occupant are now not hanging all over the city as they used to be not long ago.
Pavlo Smoliakov shares the experience of the life of the Baptists during the occupation of Kherson: “The occupants have not had enough time to pay closer attention to the churches. They were coming regularly, arranging checks, ordered to re-register. Out of eight Baptist churches in Kherson, every one of them survived undamaged. Churches with their own premises (that were not rented) were allowed to continue their regular meetings and worship services. The churches were actively involved in humanitarian aid distribution and were helping people a lot throughout the occupation time. Some stuff we were purchasing locally, we were transferring funds when it was possible. Every single day after the liberation Christians are coming here with some aid.”
Extreme poverty and cold in the de-occupied villages of the Kherson region
Free life gradually returns to the de-occupied towns and villages. People return and try to live in their homes despite severe destruction in their settlements.
The house of prayer at Vysokopillia village is not yet suitable for holding meetings. The village was on the conflict line, so every other house here destroyed. Worship meetings today are held in one sister's flat, on her kitchen.
All of the windows in the house of prayer at Novovorontsivka village were blown out.
Pastor Serhiy Kostin says: “The church is still meeting, and unbelievers are coming too. The population lives in severe poverty. There is no natural gas supply, so people are looking for firewood to heat their homes using even small bourgeois ovens. We are trying to help people somehow survive through the winter. I saw a 20-year-old girl last Sunday. She became an orphan during this war. Her house is broken, and her roof leaks.
These people turn to the church for help. We try to feed them with what we have at the church. Their needs are huge, but we don’t have enough workers to minister to them.”
This pastor travels to hold meetings at two villages.
He says: We are not getting discouraged because we are with the Lord.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated 179 settlements in the Kharkiv region (on the right bank of the Dnieper river) within the last ten days. Yet there are dozens of towns and villages still occupied and experiencing pain, suffering, and tortures.
The Russians took away three more Baptist houses of prayer in the Kherson region at the end of October. First, they robbed the churches and took away all the church property. After that, they converted two prayer houses into barracks for their military. And keep the third one locked up.
Novotrojitske, Cairy – the church building was taken away and turned into barracks for military personnel.
Gornostaevka – the church building was taken away and closed.
Please, pray for God to preserve the lives and health of people still amid the horrors of the occupation.
The first children's camp in Izyum during the war
Children in liberated Izyum were rushing to the New Life church volunteer center’s territory for three days in a row. Worth to note that the occupiers burned down the house of prayer of this church in April, so the church today is ministering through the volunteer center. A team from the Rivne region held a camp there on November 9-11 for 30 local children.
Because of severe distraction, the residents of the whole city are having severe problems with sewage and goods supply. Children have no opportunity to study in school or even remotely due to damaged power lines and the absence of the Internet. Children of Izyum cannot go to their favorite places to play because of mines, and every part of the surrounding constantly reminds them of the terrible days of destruction and occupation. Therefore, the ordinary children’s day camp became to them a source of great pleasure and joy.
Adults also received encouragement besides the joy that children had. We could hear people whispering to one other: “we didn't know there were still so many children left at Izyum!” They were watching the children play with volunteers, warming themselves with hot tea, listening to the Word of God being preached, and enjoying children's laughter.
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