Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
Dear Friends of BIEM,
Greetings from Ukraine. It was so wonderful to see many of our brethren face to face. Usually, there are a lot of brotherly hugs exchanged with our Ukrainian brethren. This time it was even more so because of these difficult times. It took more than 10 hours to get from the airport in Krakow, Poland to our destination in Ternopil, Ukraine. This is twice as long as normal but the frequent checkpoints, traffic jams caused by the checkpoints, and the long border crossing made it a lengthy trip. Praise God, we made it without major incident. Thank you for praying!
It took us 5 hours of driving before we could find a gas station with fuel. Gas stations limit you to 20 liters which is about 5 gallons. Pasha, who picked me up at the airport in Krakow, has a special permit like a lot of our other guys which allows them more fuel because they are delivering aid. Thankfully, he was able to fill up. Since Pasha has 4 young children, he is allowed to leave Ukraine. Not so with most men between 18 and 60.
You may have heard on the news that President Biden has announced an expedited process has been developed for up to 100,000 Ukrainians to get to the USA without going through Mexico. The details are not available yet, but the program is to start on April 25. Please pray that this will actually happen.
On Wednesday we drove back to a warehouse at the border to load up a container full of humanitarian aid donated to us from a businessman in Indiana. We brought five large vans and a big truck. It took every square inch of space we had to fit everything. It was a HUGE load which our folks were so glad to receive. Praise God for such abundant provision.
In Ukraine, they celebrate Holy Week according to the Eastern Orthodox calendar which means Easter falls on April 24th this year. Thirty minutes before the Good Friday service was to start in Lviv, the air raid sirens sounded. Many were concerned since a recent bombing in Lviv resulted in several casualties. However, Pastor Yura said “We are going to continue with our service no matter what. If God does not protect us no bomb shelter will!” No one left and God protected us all. Praise God!
Sam Slobodian
President - BIEM
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