Praises – Rejoice with us!
We previously announced that Oleg—the brother of BIEM church planter Sasha Petrenko—was released from Russian captivity and is back in Ukraine. Home, Oleg is gaining strength spiritually and physically. He regularly attends church and has regained 20 kg (44 lbs.) of the weight lost. Praise God!
The last week of August marked the very last of the summer camps. Our camp workers can breathe a sigh of relief, and we rejoice for the multitude of opportunities to evangelize unsaved ones and to edify those who have already accepted Christ! Thank you for helping to make it possible!
Praise God, a pastor friend in New Jersey teamed up with one of his friends who is in the musical instrument field in donating over 25 trumpets for church orchestras in Ukraine. These gifts have been huge blessings for musicians who had been attempting to praise God on worn-out instruments! (BIEM accepts donations of most musical instruments. If you have questions, please contact us.)
On August 29, Sam and Amy Slobodian returned from Ukraine, where they participated in a children’s camp and touched base with BIEM church planters. The Lord blessed! During the children’s camp there were no air raids, although Kyiv did come under fire on the day they departed.
Prayer – Pray with us!
On August 30, a memorial service was held for the father of T. Smith, BIEM’s Field Director for Central Asia. Pastor Smith’s hope was that any unsaved who attended or saw his funeral online would accept Jesus as Savior. We invite you to join in praying for salvation decisions!
A graduate of the Bible Institute in Central Asia is returning to Afghanistan to take the Gospel there. Please pray for God to protect and use this young man for His glory.
Igor Fomichov is the next Ukrainian church planter that BIEM plans to bring to the U.S. to speak in supporting churches. Getting permission to exit Ukraine is becoming more complicated. Igor had to submit documentation from the army proving he had registered. But the border guards have the final authority on whether to allow someone to exit. Please pray that he can come and that he will be a blessing in the churches where he will speak.
BIEM’s current container of war relief for Ukraine (shipped from our Indiana headquarters on August 8) is expected to arrive in the Polish port on September 10th. But even after its arrival, the container must travel overland to central Ukraine, where our people must once again navigate a sea of bureaucracy to receive it. Please pray for God to pave the way in these matters.
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