War Relief Updates - May 1, 2026

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

1. Next week, BIEM president Sam Slobodian will be joined by a couple of pastors from the US on a trip to Ukraine. The focus of this trip will be our Spring seminary session, where we are training nationals called to Christian service as pastors, youth pastors, Sunday School teachers and missionaries. In addition, these men’s 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.

2. Longtime readers of BIEM’s updates will recall the church in Posad-Pokrovske, which is in the Kherson region. (This is the town where the 2 elderly ladies started a church in their home, eventually growing into a congregation of 70+.) This church’s pastor is named Andrii. While on his way to a church service, Andrii’s vehicle was attacked by a Russian drone. Just like our church planter Vitaly Bilyak, Andrii survived the attack but his vehicle sustained considerable damage. Praise God, BIEM was able to cover the repairs from our war relief funds.

3. Last week we shared the video, “God Bless You a Hundredfold!” It featured the most recent roadside-evangelism outreach by our co-workers, the Buykos, and other Ukrainian friends of BIEM. While that ministry is still fresh in mind, we would like to share another video about that same trip. The Buykos’ second daughter, Solomia, created her own video about that outreach. Her version includes additional comments and impressions from various men and women who were there that day. After we reviewed the video that Solomia sent to us, we decided to share it with you, too. So here is our weekly video update—“Evangelizing on the Roadside.” As you watch, we invite you to join us in praising God for each serviceman who stopped to enjoy a free meal and also heard the soul-saving Gospel. Here’s the link:

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/solomia

4. We at BIEM have been greatly blessed that none of the many churches the mission has built in Ukraine have been directly hit by Russian bombs or drones. (Some have had windows blown out due to bombs exploding nearby, and some also suffered damage from shrapnel.) Unfortunately, a church in Zaporizhia that belongs to the Brotherhood of Independent churches of Ukraine that we partner with suffered a direct hit and suffered major damage. We will be sharing more information as we endeavor to provide assistance to this church. Please pray for this congregation as this is a devastating blow to their ministry.

Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM

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

BIEMs of Light: April 2026

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• Today another war-relief shipment of donated goods left the BIEM warehouse for Ukraine. Much of the contents is quality used clothing for refugees and other needy ones. It also contains a variety of medical and mobility items, along with household items and even toys for children. Praise God!

• Our Director for Ukraine Eugene Buyko and his family have been with us for all of March. While here they represented the mission of BIEM in a variety of churches across multiple states. Plus, the whole family spent many hours helping us to sort and pack donated items for the war-relief container mentioned above! This morning they began the long journey back to Ukraine.

• During Ukraine’s severe energy crisis this past winter, the generous gifts from friends of BIEM enabled us to bless scores of churches there with gifts of $1,000 apiece to aid in heating their church buildings. We praise the Lord that the number of churches aided this way has now surpassed 100. We will share more details about this in the next issue of our quarterly Challenger newsletter.

• Concerning war relief for Ukraine, we have a special blessing to share. We received a donation of entire pallets loaded with boxes of adult-sized, disposable diapers—nearly 6,000 diapers! These are particularly valuable for the elderly and for severely injured victims of the war. We praise and thank God for the generosity of this donor.

Prayer – Pray with us!

• Because of a mechanical breakdown on the press that normally prints our Challenger newsletters, the spring issue is delayed. It should get mailed out the week of April 6. This has delayed our news that we urgently need funds to sponsor summer camps. Out of the $65,000 needed, we currently have $5,400 on hand. Please help us pray for $59,600 for summer camps.

• Our director for Central Asia requests prayer concerning a well-drilling rig he is ordering for Central Asia. The goal is to drill wells for villages that aren’t located close to water sources. May this effort open opportunities to water villages with the Gospel, too! 

• Our evangelist contact in Iran, Matthew, reports much persecution of Christians in recent days. Police have been arresting, beating, and sometimes killing known Christians. Please uphold them in prayer!

• In the Republic of Georgia, the legal landscape continues to shift rapidly. In the past few months, at least 3 new laws effectively move Georgia into a “restricted” or “creative” access land for evangelistic ministry. Please pray for our several ministry families as they strive to comply.

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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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