Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
1. Last week we informed you that BIEM’s Vitaly Bilyak and Sergiy Koop were beginning another missionary trip to Kherson and Donbas. That journey is now complete, and the Lord protected and blessed these travelers. They visited 3 areas—Kherson, Zaporizhia, and Donbas—on a trip of 3,000 km (1,864 miles). They were in 16 meetings: in 9 meetings they personally preached words of hope and the Gospel. Five of those meetings were for soldiers. Along the way, they distributed 150 26-lb. food parcels and 200 loaves of bread to needy ones. In addition, they were able to provide medications, rubber boots, blankets, wet wipes, hygiene kits, fruits, juices, and snacks to various individuals. Thank you for prayers. Please continue praying for the recipients of their preaching and aid, that they might trust God if they don’t already.
2. God also blessed the trip to the warfront area that Eugene Buyko and a dozen other volunteers have just returned from. This trip featured setting up distribution tables and food tables in an area where soldiers must regularly pass. Therefore, the volunteers saw a regular stream of men in uniform going past. This is one of the distributions that featured bograch, the hearty soup with paprika we have featured in previous videos. As soldiers stopped for a complimentary meal, volunteers would ask if they would like to be prayed for. Most times, soldiers replied yes, which provided not only an opportunity for prayer but a chance to share the Gospel as well. In one day alone, this group prayed with and shared the Gospel with over 200 soldiers!
3. In this week’s video updates, 2 members of the Ukrainian military join BIEM’s Sasha Petrenko to show what kinds of clothing, New Testaments, and other items their church has been providing for active-duty servicemen with the gifts you provided. Although these photos and videos represent recipients from just one church, their gratitude is multiplied many times over by churches all over Ukraine.
https://vimeo.com/user37287229/warmth
4. Two of our Ukrainian church planters have obtained official chaplaincy status with the Ukrainian military. Some of our men already have solid connections with the military because so many members of their churches are serving in the military. Chaplaincy status would not benefit them. However, for these two particular men, chaplaincy status gives them greater access to the military, thus more opportunities to share the soul-saving Gospel with soldiers.
In Christ,
Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM