BIEMs of Light: November 2025

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• If all * For the past month, the visiting Buyko family has had wonderful church services in several states. On weekdays, they’ve accomplished a tremendous amount of work in BIEM’s warehouse and helped load our latest aid container. They fly home on Nov. 4. We thank God they could be with us!

• As an addition to the Praise item above, this month for the first time BIEM can offer a beautiful, professionally produced CD of the 3 Buyko sisters singing Christian songs in Ukrainian and English. Learn more about that CD on our website: BaptistInternational.org/shop.

• Our recent Challenger featured a camp for disadvantaged kids from Kherson. To further help the Kherson church reach out to this community that was so severely ravaged by Russian occupation, BIEM’s Pasha Usach solicited potato donations from his area. Could BIEM help transport potatoes to Kherson? Yes! As it turned out, the potato donations filled a huge semi-truck! Pasha and volunteers personally delivered this valuable cargo. Praise God!”

• On October 21, our third container of war relief for 2026 left BIEM to begin the journey to Ukraine. We praise and thank God for each pair of shoes, each coat, each garment, blanket, walker, chair, table, wheelchair, and the medical supplies friends donated. Because of you, ministry is happening!

Prayer – Pray with us!

• Our missionaries in Armenia managed to hold 2 children’s camps this summer. Vitaly says, “Each week in Yerevan I disciple a small group of Armenian brothers who dream of planting new churches.” Please pray for this couple in their outreaches and as they improve their grasp of Armenian language.

• In answer to prayer, BIEM missionaries Vitaly Yurchenko and his wife Olena will arrive later in November for a month-long visit. Like the Buykos, the plan is for them to represent BIEM by speaking and singing in churches and sharing live updates. Please pray for smooth travels.

• Vitaly Bilyak, the BIEM church planter who was suddenly drafted into the Ukrainian army, continues to serve both God and country. Although he still hopes for release from military duty so he can resume ministry in his church, he continues to hold services and witness to the soldiers around him. His commander has come to trust him and gives him jobs like driving soldiers to the hospital for treatment.

• Our missionaries to Central Asia, the Smiths, are facing multiple health issues, which are affecting their ministries. Please uphold this family in prayer!

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War Relief Updates - November 21, 2025

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

1. Pasha Usach, together with a team from his church, visited the frontline areas of the Kherson region. The situation there is extremely difficult: from April to September practically no rain fell, so hardly anything grew. Therefore, using finances from BIEM’s War Relief Fund, Pasha and fellow church members purchased a huge load of potatoes and filled a rented semi to haul them to Kherson. The team also carried donated clothing and other necessary supplies, which became an immensely appreciated support for the locals. We sincerely thank the Lord for each one of you who made this ministry possible by your donations to War Relief.

2. A Ukrainian pastor named Sergei Kostin has repeatedly delivered aid to his countrymen, driving through areas of gunfire at risk to his life. However, in the Kherson region a Russian FPV drone struck the minivan he always used to ferry supplies. Unfortunately, because of the severity of the damage to the vehicle, he has lost his ability to deliver aid directly to the homes. But even if his vehicle had not been targeted, Russian encroachment into the area would have made further deliveries too dangerous. (Some of you might recognize Brother Kostin's name as the same pastor whose granddaughter lost one leg when Russian artillery shells blasted their home. Since that time, he has continued to minister to others undergoing trials due to the war and related conditions.)

3. Unexpectedly drafted into the Ukrainian army, BIEM’s Vitaly Bilyak continues to serve the Lord while fulfilling the requirements of his commanding officer. Lately, that officer has increasingly assigned Vitaly to duty driving injured soldiers to the hospital and officers to various locations. Although such chores could be mundane, Vitaly uses his vehicle and these assignments to share God’s Word with a captive audience! In this brief video, he brings an update in his own words…

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/steering

4. Two days ago, on November 19, deadly Russian attacks on the city of Ternopil were the worst in the western part of Ukraine since Moscow’s full invasion in 2022. According to news reports, at least 26 people are known to have been killed (including three children) in a Russian missile and drone attack that struck two apartment buildings. Over 140 others were wounded in the attack, and still others are missing. Neighboring regions were also struck. A member of one of our Ternopil churches lives next door to one of the demolished apartment buildings. In addition, our church planter Sergiy Koop personally knows the manager of one destroyed complex. Because of that connection, Sergiy is receiving numerous requests for specific items as aid. The church is busy meeting victims’ needs and plans to do more as funds become available. Please consider donating to our War Relief fund, which we use in situations like this. Although such events are tragic and horrific, they do provide opportunities for believers to demonstrate Christian compassion on victims and to share the Gospel. Please pray for believers rendering aid and for the victims.

Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM

November Video Update

Dear Pastors and Friends,

Below is the link for our November 2025 video.

When youth pastor Sergiy Koop and his wife Karina felt God's leading to plant a church in the Druzhba district of Ternopil, Ukraine, they had no resources or location. They applied to become missionaries under BIEM, and were accepted! In this brief update video, Sergiy shares his enthusiasm along with just a few of God's blessings in this new church-planting endeavor!

Because we know that you, too, are interested in enlarging the Kingdom of God, we invite you to watch the video and to praise the Lord for using His people to establish yet another lighthouse for the Gospel. No doubt, Choose Life Baptist Church is far from a giant megachurch. Yet, if you trace each church back to its beginnings, you can see that basically all churches had to grow through this modest size. In fact, some churches have needed more years before they reached the size and quality meeting place of this young congregation. We hope you will watch and say a prayer for God’s continuing blessing on this new church plant:

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/november25

Blessings!
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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