Dear Pastors and Friends,
Early in August, I asked you to pray for an upcoming trip to Ukraine that Amy and I were planning. Part of our time was to be spent in Bilogorodka, where the last children’s camp of the summer was to be held. In addition, we mentioned that we would be checking in with BIEM church planters and others who have been distributing the humanitarian aid that all you friends have been providing.
Of course, accidents and problems can befall any trip overseas. That is even more true when traveling inside a nation fighting foreign invaders on its soil. But we are happy to report that God blessed in a special way. Because Bilogorodka is in the suburbs of Kyiv, the capital, one would expect to hear air-raid sirens at least once or twice. But you and we prayed for a week of camp with no interruptions, and God granted that desire! For 6 days, children attended camp, learned about the Lord, played fun games, enjoyed nourishing meals, and basically had fun being children without a single siren or explosion in the region. Not until the morning when Amy and I were departing Kyiv to begin the long road home did Russia resume its attacks (and some of those strikes occurred so close that we photographed the smoke from the explosions). As it turned out, this aerial bombardment was one of the largest since Russia began its war on Ukraine. Praise God for His goodness and protection for these kids and camp staffers!
Rather than simply write about this trip, I invite you to view the following video, where we join Eugene Buyko in showing and describing some highlights of this trip. Here’s the link!
https://vimeo.com/user37287229/end-summer
Blessings to you!
Sam & Amy Slobodian