War Relief Updates - May 10, 2024

Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People

1. On May 8, Russia targeted Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure with a massive wave of 55 missiles and 21 explosive drones, according to CNN and AP reports. This largest attack in several weeks struck 6 different geographic regions. Although Ukraine’s Energy Minister states Russia is attempting to halt Ukraine’s ability to generate and transmit energy, civilian homes are also getting pounded, and civilian lives are lost. BIEM is thankful to the Lord for protecting our seminary students in Kyiv as well as Sam Slobodian and those traveling with him to various cities and ministries across that country.

2. Two months ago, BIEM shared a proposed project from Awakening Baptist Church in the Obolon District of Kyiv, Ukraine. Pastor Nikolai Rozhnyatovsky was praising God for new opportunities to aid and evangelize refugees from Bakhmut with help from an unlikely source—the city administration. In the following video, Pastor Nikolai gives an update on the development of this new outreach.

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/responding-2

3. In 2023, we told of an especially distraught family of refugees from Berdyansk, Ukraine (in the east), who had arrived in the western city of Lviv. There, the church pastored by BIEM’s Yura Levtseniuk extended assistance and humanitarian aid provided by BIEM. The mother, Nelya, told how Russian troops had captured her daughter, whom they abused and killed and dismembered into pieces before calling the family to come and fetch what was left of her. Now we have received additional news: Eventually, 18 members of Nelya’s extended family likewise ended up in Lviv, where Yura and the church minister to them as well. Many of these 18 are attending church, and several have put their trust in Christ. Some are planning to be baptized in the next few weeks, along with other converts who were first drawn to the church through our war relief efforts. Praise God!

4. Container update! Our latest container of war relief and supplies for churches (which we shipped on March 21) has cleared Ukrainian Customs and arrived today at its destination in Zdolbuniv. Its cargo includes secondhand clothing & shoes; medical items such as disposable masks, disposable diapers, wheelchairs, canes, crutches, and walkers; household items such as blankets, sheets, pillows, and basic tools; children’s toys, foodstuffs such as rice, macaroni, canned soups, and baby formula; mixed sports equipment for children’s camps; office equipment; plus various miscellaneous useful items. After the cargo has been unloaded, the metal container itself will be transported to the church’s nearby campground, where it will become a solid storage unit for the camp. Thank you for praying for this shipment!

In Christ,

Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM

BIEMs of Light: May 2024

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• On May 5, we received news from Central Asia: “Big praise, we had 10 more Afghanis come to faith in Jesus Christ this week, and they were all in the services today.” On May 6, this arrived: “Praising God, one of our Afghani girls just led a Tajik university student to faith in Christ!”

• Update! Our container of humanitarian aid did arrive in Poland. Today it left the port aboard a truck and is expected at its Ukrainian destination on May 8. We praise the Lord for the relatively quick transport of this shipment compared to some past delivery delays.  

• On Sunday, May 5, the large Temple of Salvation Baptist Church ordained 9 new deacons. One of those 9 was Misha Buyko, the son of BIEM’s director in Ukraine, Eugene Buyko. Praise God for youth who grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord and accept leadership roles!

• In Kyiv, Ukraine, we are thrilled that 40 students have been able to attend the spring session of the seminary despite the difficulties caused by the war. May every student benefit from the blessing of intense Biblical teaching but also from the fellowship and camaraderie that develops lifelong ministry relationships!

Prayer – Pray with us!

• During the seminary session mentioned above, two students received word that Russia had bombed their hometown near Kharkiv. Civilians suffered. Via those students, BIEM passed along funds for their home church to assist victims. Please pray for an end to such bombings.

• Starting in mid-May, BIEM has scheduled our missionary Vitaly Bilyak to be in the U.S., where he will be speaking in churches and assisting us with war relief items. Please pray for safe travels with no obstructions at the Ukrainian border or elsewhere.

• June will kick off our summer camp season in various lands of Eastern Europe. We are so thankful for the $19,900 BIEM has received so far for camps. However, our goal of $50,000 for camps remains beyond our reach. We don’t know how the Lord might provide, but we know our God is able. Would you join us in praying for funds for these evangelistic summer camps?

• Ukraine is reportedly seeking another 250,000 men for its military. This could affect BIEM in multiple ways. Under new guidelines, younger men and even men with disabilities can be conscripted. Military personnel are showing up at construction sites and conscripting workers. Please pray that our people will be allowed to continue their ministries.

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April Video Update

Dear Pastors and Friends,

In every language on earth, the most glorious truth that believers in Christ can share is the wondrous News of His triumph over death and the grave: “Christ is risen!” On Resurrection Sunday in Eastern Europe, church services typically begin with the pastor or guest preacher repeating those words three times, with the congregation echoing each time, "Truly, He is risen!"

In this month’s video, we set aside thoughts of the war and invite you to gain a glimpse of how a church in Ukraine might commemorate Easter. No two churches will celebrate the resurrection of Christ in exactly the same way. However, as a rule (among Baptistic churches, at any rate) those joyous Sunday services—large or small—include a combination of congregational singing, prayer, preaching the Word, special music, poetry recitation, and an observance of the Lord’s Supper for all who believe.

For our April video, we invite you to enjoy this brief peek at Easter in Ukraine. As you do, perhaps these snippets will remind you afresh that people all around the world speak different languages, eat different foods, follow various cultures and lifestyles… But despite our differences, every person has a soul, and the Number 1 need of every soul is Jesus!

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/easterinukraine

Blessings to you!

Sam & Amy Slobodian

March Video Update

Dear Pastors and Friends,

Although the war in Eastern and Southeastern Ukraine continues to wipe out businesses, homes, and lives, for the March video we want to turn your attention elsewhere, to something more uplifting. Years ago, the mayor of a town in Ukraine visited the church where BIEM’s Anatoly Kosyanchuk preaches. At the conclusion of the service, that mayor approached Anatoly with an unexpected proposal: “If you start another Baptist church on the opposite side of town, I’ll give you the land to build on!” 

In the years following that surprise offer, God has taken the Second Baptist Church in Bilogorodka from a mere idea, to an empty plot of ground, to a construction project, to a thriving congregation. Now the Lord has blessed that growing group of believers with an ordination service—one assistant pastor and four deacons! Two of those deacons are neighbors who live within eyesight of the church. Both were unsaved when the church’s construction began. But through this ministry, God has drawn them and other residents of that neighborhood to Himself!

Our latest issue of our Challenger newsletter features an article about this same special ordination service. But for our March video, we decided to let Pastor Buyko and his new assistant pastor, Roman, tell more about God’s blessing that day. You can view that video here:

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/morehands

Thank you for your prayers!

Blessings to you!

Sam & Amy Slobodian

BIEMs of Light: September 2022

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• Our new missionaries in Ukraine, the Koops, operated a 3-day children’s camp in Druzhba, which they have targeted for a new church. The first day, 65 attended; the 2nd day up to 85, and the third day over 100 participated, including about 20 mothers who were asking, “Where is the church?” When those moms heard that church services will be starting soon, some replied they will come.

• Praise God, attacks from Russia on Ukraine’s Independence Day were not as bad as some feared. Although Russian rockets and missiles hit 58 cities and communities on that day, the next day there was only one. Since then, it seems things have died down.

• In Ukraine, the Slobodians report a wonderful baptism at the new church in Bilogorodka. Nine adults were baptized. Praise God for souls being accepting Christ in this time of war. Previously, the Russian army had come within a few miles of Bilogorodka, which is in the Bucha area.

• Praise God for a fruitful trip Vitaly Bilyak took to the military front in Donbas area with a trailer full of aid. He and those with him helped civilians, wounded ones in a hospital, plus soldier friends for whom he brought much-needed supplies and requested items. Vitaly plans two more such trips in September. Pray for safety. His videos from the front include sounds of artillery and explosions.

Prayer - Pray with us!

• Sources predict that the next week will be an especially dangerous time for the military cities of Desna and Goncharovsk, where BIEM missionaries have planted two churches. Both towns have already suffered attacks by missiles, rockets, and planes. More attacks are expected. Please pray for our missionaries, the churches, and the community, that lives would be spared.

• Pasha Usach conducted a special one-day event for mothers and wives who had lost sons and husbands in the war. Over 50 attended. The event was a huge blessing and provided a wonderful opportunity to share the Gospel, so much so that Pavel is planning another such an event. Pray that God will use these outreaches to draw souls to Christ, the source of the greatest comfort.

• Plans are underway to bring the Buyko family to the United States, where they will visit churches for one month. Sophia and the three girls have already received visas; now we are working on getting the special permission needed for Eugene to temporarily exit Ukraine during wartime. Please pray that this permission will be granted, just as it was for Vitaly Yurchenko.

• Some of our contacts are witnessing of Christ to Muslims in Afghanistan. Please pray for God to open eyes and illumine hearts with the Gospel.

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BIEMs of Light: August 2022

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• Praise God, our personnel in Ukraine have received another 40-ft. container of humanitarian aid from us here in the United States! This is the 7th container our dedicated Ukrainians are distributing to needy places. This one went to the city administration of a region that contains several settlements that were occupied by Russian forces, so these goods will reach some of the neediest recipients.

• BIEM president Sam Slobodian heads back to Ukraine on August 2. The main focus of this trip will be humanitarian aid, but praise the Lord, he will also participate in a baptism and an ordination!

• Today BIEM personnel drove another 5 tons of food from Poland into Ukraine, this time for the Kharkiv region. We praise God for thoughtful donors and for those driving and distributing.

• So far, we are receiving reports of young people coming to Christ in BIEM-sponsored camps in Estonia, Ukraine, and Russia. Although the Lord touches hearts in a special way through such camps every summer, we never take that blessing for granted. To God be the glory!

Prayer - Pray with us!

• Despite the war in Ukraine, one of our seminary graduates is deeply burdened for a particular district in a large city in Western Ukraine that has been flooded with refugees. Many of them plan to stay. This brother has recruited others to help start a new church, and they are praying and fasting every Friday for God’s direction and provision for that goal. Please join them in praying.

• A pastor named Aleksander emailed us today from the Intensive Care section of a hospital in central Russia. He has a weak heart, and their summer camps and other ministries may have taxed him too much. Let’s uphold this worthy servant of the Lord with our prayers.

• In Central Asia, the manager of our Christian shelter for hurting women is named Julie. She is a big blessing—talented, yet with a servant’s heart and love for Jesus. She devotes herself to running the shelter and ministering to these women and their children. It’s a big job. Please pray for her.

• In another nation of Central Asia, one church recently baptized 9 former Muslims who had put their faith in Christ. Please pray that more hearts in those regions will soften and consider their need of the Savior.

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