Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People

1. Praise God, we have passed the $140,000 mark for funds received to provide warm clothing and Gospels. This amount will provide warm clothing for 1,400 soldiers. So far, with the assistance of participating Ukrainian churches who know them personally, we have already distributed warm clothing with Gospel literature to 1,200 soldiers. So, we have funds to provide for 200 more. This aid will be distributed in the next few days. Since we will accept funds for this project through the end of February, we hope to see this figure grow. On March 1, we will announce the total amount that you friends provided for this outreach.

2. In March we plan to resume bringing our Ukrainian missionaries to the United States to speak in American churches. Even though BIEM personnel can and do speak in churches and conferences, we see that our American friends truly appreciate opportunities to meet and interact with our national missionaries personally. Next week, Igor Fomichov plans to submit his application for the special permission needed for men between the ages of 18 and 60 to temporarily exit Ukraine. Please pray that he obtains the needed document.

3. At the end of January, BIEM’s Pasha Usach and a team of 7 others traveled to the Kherson area of Ukraine to deliver aid and to share God’s Word in villages. Even though Christmas was well past, the team continued using the theme of Christ’s birth as they presented children’s programs and Bible lessons to introduce village kids to the Savior. In the following video, Pasha shares details and photos from that trip:

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/visitingvillages

4. You may remember the story of Bogdan from our past updates. He is the young man who showed up in Desna to voluntarily enlist in the military. But he had a relative enrolled in our Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center who invited him to visit. At that rehab center, Bogdan heard the Gospel and put his faith in Christ. The other brethren at the center encouraged him to stay for a few weeks to get more grounded in the faith before going off to war. He gladly accepted that advice and was blessed to learn more of God’s Word before enlisting. We have just received the sad news that Bogdan has been severely injured in battle and apparently will lose the use of his legs. Please pray for this young man, both for his physical recuperation and his spiritual well-being. In Christ,

Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM