War Relief Updates - May 22, 2026

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

1. Our latest container of humanitarian aid that shipped on April 6 is due to arrive in the Polish port next week. Please pray that the transfer of the container to the shipping yard and then further onto a truck that will haul it into Ukraine goes well.

2. Earlier, we mentioned that Sam Slobodian and 2 pastors from the US were departing on a trip to Ukraine. The focus of the trip was to be our Spring seminary session, but a secondary purpose was to view personally BIEM war-relief efforts taking place in various areas. We’re happy to report that all three men have now returned safely. The three wish to thank you for your prayers regarding safety, especially since the time they spent in Ukraine included some of the most intense bombings and drone attacks from Russia to date. Drones appeared near the location where the men were teaching, as well as near where they were staying. (One time while they were in downtown Kyiv, they had to join thousands of Kyiv residents in hurrying into the subway because of an air-raid siren.) Nevertheless, the seminary session proceeded uninterrupted and concluded with this year’s graduation.

4. During Sam Slobodian’s recent travels to Ukraine, the Lord granted him a chance to meet personally with Vitaly Bilyak. Many of you prayed for our church planter Vitaly after the Ukrainian military compelled him into the army. In this video Vitaly gives you the latest news on his status and his plans for ministry from this point forward. Please watch the following video to learn how the Lord has created for him a new position that will not only allow him freedom to share the Gospel but even to start a church while in the military!

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/vbupdate

4. When Sam Slobodian and the two pastors were in Lviv, they had an opportunity to visit some of the injured soldiers who have attended Yura Levtseniuk’s church. Most were amputees. One, a 21-year-old who lost a leg (among other injuries) was sporting a new prosthesis. This outreach came about after Yura and Violetta passed by a cafe and noticed a group of soldiers seated, many of them wearing leg and arm prostheses. Yura approached them, thanked them for their service and offered to pay for their tea or coffee. When they replied that they had already ordered and paid for theirs, Yura offered to buy a cake they could enjoy, too. They gladly accepted and invited Yura and Violetta to join them. This provided an opportunity for Yura to invite them to church. While they were non-committal, one of them declared, "You know what? This man is the pastor of this church!" That being the case, they changed their minds and declared, "We will come"—which they did! Please pray for the salvation of these men.

BIEM

BIEMs of Light: May 2026

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• In April our church plant, Choose Life Baptist Church in the Druzhba district of Ternopil, ordained their first-ever two deacons. May God bless this young church with numerical and spiritual growth!

• At the end of April, a ladies’ conference was held in Central Asia. Praise the Lord, two Turkmen women placed their faith in Christ!

• In April, our missionaries the Kellers in Armenia spent much of the month engaging in street evangelism. After extensive talks with an Iranian woman, the woman not only brought her kids to church but accepted Christ, too! The Lord also gave countless other opportunities to share Christ.

• In the Republic of Georgia, some local men had begun introducing unscriptural teaching in church. Thankfully, although the situation was difficult, the false teaching was identified and addressed, and those men no longer have access to the pulpit.

Prayer – Pray with us!

• Next week, BIEM president Sam Slobodian and a couple of American pastors will take a trip to Ukraine. Their focus will be our Spring seminary session. Their itinerary will provide ample opportunities to view firsthand BIEM war-relief efforts taking place in various areas. They would appreciate your prayers as they travel.

• Praise God, in the past month you friends have pushed our in-hand Summer Camp funds from $5,400 to $43,000. This is exciting progress! Please help us pray for the remaining $22,600 needed during this final month before the summer camps begin.

• A church in Zaporizhia that belongs to the Brotherhood of Independent Baptist churches of Ukraine (with which we partner) suffered a direct hit by Russian munitions and suffered major damage. We will share more details as we strive to aid this church. Please pray for these believers.

• On May 1, one of our men in Central Asia requested prayer as his team of men begin a 5-day evangelistic push into a largely unreached region of their country. Even one of their self-printed Gospel tracts could land them in prison. Pray for their safety and for the lost to come to Christ.

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May 2026 Video Update

Dear Pastors and Friends,

For our May 2026 video, we at BIEM would like to share glimpses of the orphanage in Velyko Polovetske, Ukraine. Through our various workers, BIEM has been ministering at this orphanage for many years. On this particular day, youth and a few adults from the church in Bilogorodke traveled here to share the Good News about Christ rising from the dead and creating a way of salvation for all of us. Also, the youth invited Ludmila, the director of this orphanage, to share a few words, too. Enjoy!

Here’s the link:

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/orphanage

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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