Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
1. Last week we shared how Ukrainian church planter Vitaly Bilyak had received temporary permission to exit Ukraine and travel to us in Indiana. We also requested prayer for a second church planter, Sergei Anokhin. We are glad to report that God has answered this prayer request as well! Brother Sergei has likewise arrived here in Indiana. It is a great blessing not only to have these men speak in churches but to assist us in loading another container of war relief for Ukraine.
2. We have been helping a church in New Odesa, Ukraine, with a bread ministry, which involves baking bread for those in their community who are needy because of the war. Brother Andrei, who organizes these outreaches, writes:
“Families in our area are experiencing losses of friends, fathers, sons, husbands, due to the bombings and shelling, which continue. Please pray for one of our church families, the Golosny family, who are struggling with the loss of their loving father and husband. Please also pray for the Mihali-Omelianchuk family. The husband returned from an intense battle with a serious wound that turned into a disability, which results in endless hospital visits, rehabilitation, doctors and hospitals.”
3. In this week’s video, “They Escaped with Just the Clothes on Their Backs,” a Ukrainian Bible student named Arthur shares how his church uses aid from BIEM to reach out to newly needy ones who had to flee their homes at short notice.
https://vimeo.com/user37287229/clothes
4. Our church plant in Bilogorodka, Ukraine, hosted another day of food preparation as an outreach for troops at the front. The pastor’s wife, Sofia Buyko, and other ladies worked non-stop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. By lunchtime, they were growing tired but motivated themselves with the reminder, “Our boys are standing at the front and it’s not easy for them, so we can stand too.” They report the day was also a wonderful time of prayer with each other for their country.
This even became especially meaningful when an unsaved neighbor came to help. Her husband and sons had laid tile in the church, but was not interested in church. Still, she’d said she would come to something like this. The women of the church chatted and bonded with her. They invited her to a Bible study. She even found a Bible in her own language. (She’s Armenian. Although she can speak Ukrainian, she can’t read the Bible in it.) In total, these ladies made 813 deruny (potato pancakes). That’s a huge effort — peeling, grating, frying, cooling, and freezing. They also made 350 varenyky (dumplings) in three varieties: with meat, potatoes, and cheese.
Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM