War Relief Updates - August 28, 2026

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

1. The camp season has turned out to be very fruitful for the Skripniks, our missionary family in the city of Borschiv in Ternopil region. Besides their own church camp, they have conducted 3 camps in various villages in the area. God blessed abundantly. These camps gave Sergei and Vika the opportunity to share the Gospel with over 200 unchurched kids from mainly Catholic communities. Many of those kids come from families in which the fathers have died in the war, are missing in action, or are currently away serving. Some of the kids came to the camp venue early in the morning—even though the camp wouldn’t start until 10—because they said they couldn’t wait to hear interesting stories from the Bible.

2. In September, we are planning to bring one of our Ukrainian missionaries (Pasha Usach) to the United States in order to help with loading our next container and to speak in various churches to update congregations on our war-relief efforts. Meetings have been scheduled, and his airline tickets have been bought. However, just this week a situation arose for which we need your prayers. Mysteriously, Pasha has appeared on the Ukrainian government’s ROZSHUK list. Basically ROZSHUK means “Wanted.”

This is the method the military conscription office uses to find people more effectively and compel them to come to the conscription office instead of them searching for the people themselves. Before the war, this system was working manually, and everything was fine because the number of such people was insignificant. When the war began, the pool of people in the system increased to several million, and the government introduced digitalization and automation to it. This means that an imperfect AI-model now manages the statuses of all military-aged men in the country. As you can imagine, glitches are bound to occur. That’s one reason why individuals can appear on the Wanted List even when their paperwork and status are okay. Pasha, for example, should not be on the list because he has 4 small children. In Ukraine, having 3 or more small children exempts a parent from military service.

When you are on this Wanted List, you cannot cross the border. If you try, the border officers will immediately deliver you into the custody of conscription officers, who likewise man the borders. Also, if a wanted person gets stopped by the police for an ID check, they will see this in their database. The police will then detain such a person and contact conscription officers. If you are on this list in error, as in Pasha’s case, you can get off of it by hiring a lawyer who is able to do this through legal means. Of course, this involves expenses, which are normally between $300-$500 dollars. Because we have started this process for Pasha, we need your prayers that he can successfully be removed from the ROZSHUK.

3. Recently, we shared a praise that the container bound for Desna, Ukraine, finally arrived. In this week’s video our coworker, Andrii Sovenko, together with several other pastors, pass along their heartfelt thanks for the war-relief aid on the container. It is a joy to hear that these goods are now serving those in need. Here’s the link:

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/received

4. As you may have noticed in news reports, Russia has increased their missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, especially on Kyiv. While Ukraine can knock down most of the drones and cruise missiles, they cannot knock down incoming ballistic missiles because defense units have run out of the interceptors that are launched from Patriot defense systems. Such attacks are are causing considerable damage, injuries, and loss of life. Since Russia is increasing its attacks, let’s increase our prayers for Ukraine, especially petitioning God to protect our people and churches. Our office has an excellent supply of attractive prayer reminders in both prayer card and bookmark form. You can contact our office to receive some, and we will be glad to send them to you free of charge.

Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM

BIEMs of Light: August 2026

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• As explained before, Vitaly Bilyak had requested permission to leave his military post in Ukraine to attend his son’s wedding in Washington state, USA. Hallelujah, the U.S. renewed his visa! Vitaly still must obtain Ukrainian documents allowing him to exit Ukraine temporarily, so this is still a matter for prayer.

• We praise God for the many friends who continue to donate good, useable clothing and shoes for refugees in Ukraine. A recent example was a couple who visited BIEM with their car stuffed with wonderful clothing. A relative had passed away, and they wanted to bless women in Ukraine. Thank you all!

• In Bucha, Ukraine, our missionaries the Anokhins regularly visit a military mental health hospital. After a recent visit, a veteran named Bohdan came to their church and shared how his faith in God sustained him when he was wounded and taken as prisoner of war. Another man, Yevhen, knew nothing about Christ but listened intently and placed his faith in the Lord!

• In May we requested prayer for Mark, the husband of BIEM’s receptionist Patty. Fast forward: he had a 5th surgery on July 15 to insert another medicated knee spacer and to address the wound inside his knee. Praise God, the surgeons did not find any staph infection (which he had prior)! However, he has a different type of infection, which they are treating with an oral antibiotic. Patty says, “We are now waiting for this wound to heal. Once that is completely healed, they can move forward with placing new components into the knee (surgery #6!). This has been a very long process, but God is good! Please continue to pray as this ordeal has been physically taxing and at times discouraging.”

Prayer – Pray with us!

• Sam and Amy Slobodian are currently in Ukraine. They will be working in children’s camps, surveying various BIEM projects— including our war-relief efforts—and visiting our BIEM missionaries. Because Russia has not scaled back their missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, please pray for safety, for God’s blessings on the camps, and that they will be an encouragement to our Ukrainian coworkers and friends.

• By God’s grace and with your help, we reached all of the $77,000 goal for funding summer camps. So, although no more funds for summer camps are currently needed, we do still request your prayers for all those young souls who will be attending camps this month.

• The Eugene Buyko family are experiencing a double need. First, their personal vehicle broke down during an evangelism trip to the warfront. The cost of towing and repairs came to nearly $2,000. On top of that, their daughter Angelica is getting married in Denmark in August, so that is another expense. Please pray.

• We previously requested prayer for the Yura and Violetta Levtseniuk in Lviv, Ukraine. Violetta had been rushed to the hospital for bleeding, and there was danger of her losing her baby. Although she was subsequently allowed to return home, she did lose the baby after all. Please uphold the family in prayer.

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August 2026 Video Update

Dear Pastors and Friends,

Monthly video! Every year, there are kids who draw close to the Lord in camps, some unto salvation, while other kids who already know the Lord grow in grace and in knowledge of God’s Word. In this video update for the month of August, a number of English-speaking Ukrainian youth express various reasons why they are thankful for you, dear friends of BIEM, who support the camping ministry.

And here in the home office of BIEM, we are very thankful for you, too. It is by your prayers and financial gifts that this ministry can make an impact for God’s Kingdom. Thank you for caring, sharing, and upholding our projects in prayer!

Here’s the link to the video: https://vimeo.com/user37287229/closer

Blessings to you!

Sam & Amy Slobodian

March Video Update

Dear Pastors and Friends,

Although the war in Eastern and Southeastern Ukraine continues to wipe out businesses, homes, and lives, for the March video we want to turn your attention elsewhere, to something more uplifting. Years ago, the mayor of a town in Ukraine visited the church where BIEM’s Anatoly Kosyanchuk preaches. At the conclusion of the service, that mayor approached Anatoly with an unexpected proposal: “If you start another Baptist church on the opposite side of town, I’ll give you the land to build on!” 

In the years following that surprise offer, God has taken the Second Baptist Church in Bilogorodka from a mere idea, to an empty plot of ground, to a construction project, to a thriving congregation. Now the Lord has blessed that growing group of believers with an ordination service—one assistant pastor and four deacons! Two of those deacons are neighbors who live within eyesight of the church. Both were unsaved when the church’s construction began. But through this ministry, God has drawn them and other residents of that neighborhood to Himself!

Our latest issue of our Challenger newsletter features an article about this same special ordination service. But for our March video, we decided to let Pastor Buyko and his new assistant pastor, Roman, tell more about God’s blessing that day. You can view that video here:

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/morehands

Thank you for your prayers!

Blessings to you!

Sam & Amy Slobodian

BIEMs of Light: September 2022

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• Our new missionaries in Ukraine, the Koops, operated a 3-day children’s camp in Druzhba, which they have targeted for a new church. The first day, 65 attended; the 2nd day up to 85, and the third day over 100 participated, including about 20 mothers who were asking, “Where is the church?” When those moms heard that church services will be starting soon, some replied they will come.

• Praise God, attacks from Russia on Ukraine’s Independence Day were not as bad as some feared. Although Russian rockets and missiles hit 58 cities and communities on that day, the next day there was only one. Since then, it seems things have died down.

• In Ukraine, the Slobodians report a wonderful baptism at the new church in Bilogorodka. Nine adults were baptized. Praise God for souls being accepting Christ in this time of war. Previously, the Russian army had come within a few miles of Bilogorodka, which is in the Bucha area.

• Praise God for a fruitful trip Vitaly Bilyak took to the military front in Donbas area with a trailer full of aid. He and those with him helped civilians, wounded ones in a hospital, plus soldier friends for whom he brought much-needed supplies and requested items. Vitaly plans two more such trips in September. Pray for safety. His videos from the front include sounds of artillery and explosions.

Prayer - Pray with us!

• Sources predict that the next week will be an especially dangerous time for the military cities of Desna and Goncharovsk, where BIEM missionaries have planted two churches. Both towns have already suffered attacks by missiles, rockets, and planes. More attacks are expected. Please pray for our missionaries, the churches, and the community, that lives would be spared.

• Pasha Usach conducted a special one-day event for mothers and wives who had lost sons and husbands in the war. Over 50 attended. The event was a huge blessing and provided a wonderful opportunity to share the Gospel, so much so that Pavel is planning another such an event. Pray that God will use these outreaches to draw souls to Christ, the source of the greatest comfort.

• Plans are underway to bring the Buyko family to the United States, where they will visit churches for one month. Sophia and the three girls have already received visas; now we are working on getting the special permission needed for Eugene to temporarily exit Ukraine during wartime. Please pray that this permission will be granted, just as it was for Vitaly Yurchenko.

• Some of our contacts are witnessing of Christ to Muslims in Afghanistan. Please pray for God to open eyes and illumine hearts with the Gospel.

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BIEMs of Light: August 2022

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• Praise God, our personnel in Ukraine have received another 40-ft. container of humanitarian aid from us here in the United States! This is the 7th container our dedicated Ukrainians are distributing to needy places. This one went to the city administration of a region that contains several settlements that were occupied by Russian forces, so these goods will reach some of the neediest recipients.

• BIEM president Sam Slobodian heads back to Ukraine on August 2. The main focus of this trip will be humanitarian aid, but praise the Lord, he will also participate in a baptism and an ordination!

• Today BIEM personnel drove another 5 tons of food from Poland into Ukraine, this time for the Kharkiv region. We praise God for thoughtful donors and for those driving and distributing.

• So far, we are receiving reports of young people coming to Christ in BIEM-sponsored camps in Estonia, Ukraine, and Russia. Although the Lord touches hearts in a special way through such camps every summer, we never take that blessing for granted. To God be the glory!

Prayer - Pray with us!

• Despite the war in Ukraine, one of our seminary graduates is deeply burdened for a particular district in a large city in Western Ukraine that has been flooded with refugees. Many of them plan to stay. This brother has recruited others to help start a new church, and they are praying and fasting every Friday for God’s direction and provision for that goal. Please join them in praying.

• A pastor named Aleksander emailed us today from the Intensive Care section of a hospital in central Russia. He has a weak heart, and their summer camps and other ministries may have taxed him too much. Let’s uphold this worthy servant of the Lord with our prayers.

• In Central Asia, the manager of our Christian shelter for hurting women is named Julie. She is a big blessing—talented, yet with a servant’s heart and love for Jesus. She devotes herself to running the shelter and ministering to these women and their children. It’s a big job. Please pray for her.

• In another nation of Central Asia, one church recently baptized 9 former Muslims who had put their faith in Christ. Please pray that more hearts in those regions will soften and consider their need of the Savior.

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