Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
1. The Keller family, one of our missionary families previously serving in Ukraine, is currently staying at the BIEM headquarters for most of July as they report to supporting churches in Indiana. This family has been a huge blessing to our War Relief efforts. They are spending many hours sorting and boxing donated clothing, medical supplies, household supplies, and other items that will go into our next container shipment to Ukraine.
2. In what Ukrainians are calling “The War from the Sky,” this week Russia has increased aerial attacks upon civilian areas, including large cities such as Kyiv and Lviv. Other civilian areas that were attacked are Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. Altogether, 95 civilian settlements were targeted. Some suggest this bombardment is a response to the NATO meetings and hope the attacks will subside after the meetings. Friends ask us whether more funds are needed for our war relief efforts. As long as such serious aggression continues, the answer of course is “Yes!”
3. In the early hours of July 6, 2023, Russian cruise missiles destroyed 60 civilian apartments in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, near the home of BIEM missionary Yura Levtseniuks. Through the following link, Yura tells of the tragedy and how the church is responding:
4. This week we were blessed to receive a large van full of medical supplies and other humanitarian items from the Widow’s Jar Ministries in Indianapolis. We are sincerely grateful for this aid and for the steady flow of war relief items we are receiving at our headquarters. Recently someone asked whether any particular item is especially needed. Right now, the answer is wheelchairs. Unfortunately, wounded among both soldiers and civilians have become amputees, so wheelchairs are needed now more than ever before.
5. The weekly war-relief videos that we post on our website continue to be effective in informing viewers as well as touching the hearts of many. This week, a couple who were in the process of making a large donation to our war relief efforts increased their already-generous gift by $5,000 after viewing the video from Kherson. Another viewer decided to purchase $500 of tourniquets after viewing the video concerning the young lady soldier whose life and arm were saved by a tourniquet. Praise God! To view or to share these war-relief videos, simply visit our site at the link below, scroll halfway down the Home Page, then click the link “View Video Updates.”
Sam Slobodian
President - BIEM