Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
Dear Friends of BIEM,
1. Here’s an example of divine timing: A pastor in Ukraine had picked up one of the generators taken in by BIEM personnel. He was driving it into his village to take it to the church when the village mayor flagged him down. The mayor said, "We have a big problem in the village. Nobody has any power. Is there anything you can come up with? Anything we could do?"
The pastor said, "Yes, hop in the car. I was just going to set up a generator. When I get it set up at the church, we will make it available for the entire village. There will be coffee, there will be tea, and people can come to warm up and charge their cell phones. There will somebody to talk to as well." The Lord is using similar situations to send spiritual conversations to people who never would’ve entered a church before!
2. Friends wonder about the Ukrainian people’s mood after 10 months of war and deprivations. Their national mood is amazingly resilient. Despite the cold, the missiles, and so many hardships, they remain committed to defending their homeland. In fact, despite the war, even the Kyiv Zoo continues operating, giving individuals and families a calm retreat, where they can stroll in nature while viewing the animals.
3. Church planter Sasha Petrenko recently returned from a trip to Donetsk, where God gave him opportunities to preach to soldiers and distribute Ukrainian New Testaments and audio Bibles. Here’s a link to a video concerning that trip:
4. Here’s an interesting story from Mikhail, the son of BIEM’s director for Ukraine: "For 4 years I’ve been studying at the music academy.... There are local legends among the students, the ones everyone invites to play at concerts ... because they are the best musicians. One such musician is Serhiy. He plays the viola.... We sometimes greeted each other, exchanged a few words, and parted.... During the war, all the study groups on social networks posted that this Serhiy had gone to the front and needed help. At that same time, we received aid in the form of dry army rations and various other assistance. I found Serhiy’s contact information, wrote who I am, and told him I could send aid. Of course, he did not refuse. He texted me instructions where to ship the package. While I was gathering items for him, he texted something else. He wrote that in his childhood he had attended Christian camps and went to the same church as us. But we never talked enough to know that. So, we put together a bigger, heavier parcel for him—so big the regular post office refused to accept it. We had to ship it from a special post office for large parcels to remind Serhiy of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and the brotherly love he teaches us. And then, with a man I barely knew, I had a feeling that we’ve known each other all my life. Our family thanks God for not forgetting His children and always caring about us. We’re also grateful to you for your help and love for us. God’s Blessings!"
5. Thanks to gifts from people like you, BIEM has now distributed more than $800,000 of war relief aid to over 100 churches in Ukraine! And even though the war continues to create needs, each of those dollars represents a life that has been touched and helped in the name of the Lord. THANK YOU to each of you who is helping us to minister to others for the glory of God!
Sam Slobodian
President - BIEM