Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
Dear Friends of BIEM,
1. Among their personal friends and contacts, BIEM’s missionary family the Kellers spearheaded a separate drive to raise funds for generators in war-torn Ukraine. In 2 months, they raised another $85,000 for generators, the first of which are already in use. Initial locations to receive generators include a church in Makalevichi (Zhytomyr region), an evangelistic Christian coffee shop in Pryluky, a Christian children’s club, a church in Mukachevo, and a repair brigade for Ukrainian military vehicles. May God be praised for this help.
2. Commenting on his recent delivery of war relief items to Bakhmut, the area of most intense fighting, Vitaly Bilyak says, “I had 122 boxes, each containing 26.5 lbs. of groceries. The cost of each box was around $17. Almost everywhere, people asked for flashlights, power banks, and batteries for flashlights. I had about 10 warm blankets, but that was negligible. We left Bakhmut in almost total darkness. We were glad we had served people and shared the Gospel. We prayed with people and for people.”
3. BIEM missionary Sasha Petrenko recently made yet another trip to carry Scriptures and war relief to Donbas. He states, “God blessed me to make another trip to our military in Donbas, thanks to the BIEM mission. It was a blessed trip in which I saw and felt the protection and mercy of God. I could go and distribute New Testaments, also New Testament recordings on audio players, and give the men the necessary things so they can be as comfortable as possible. We delivered warm clothes, food, and propane tanks with which they can cook their own food in the trenches, etc.”
4. One item from last week’s updates was a prayer request for me, since I was soon heading to Ukraine with a pastor from Indiana. I requested prayer for safety and a smooth border crossing since lines at the border were then 8-13 hours long. God has already in large part answered those prayers since we were able to cross the border in less than two hours. Furthermore, Putin announced a halt to the bombings this weekend in observance of the Orthodox Christmas, which is on January 7. Therefore, traveling in Ukraine over the weekend should be safer if Putin honors his statement. Please keep praying since I will remain in Ukraine throughout next week.
5. Our first stop was in Lviv, where church-planter brother Yuri is doing a great work. They have housed and fed over 4,000 refugees. One family just arrived from an occupied area, but minus their 27-year-old daughter, who was in the military and was murdered by the Russians. The Russian military then arrived at their home and told the family they could come and retrieve the body of their daughter. When they arrived, they were shocked, horrified, and heartbroken because her body had been cut into many pieces. We might soon post a video of the mother (Nelly) sharing their story in one of our upcoming war relief videos.
Sam Slobodian
President - BIEM