Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
1. In recent weeks Russia has intensified its aerial attacks on Ukraine. While these attacks have taken place all over Ukraine, the cities of Kyiv and Lviv have been hit especially hard. Since we have just returned from Ukraine—which included time spent in both cities—friends have asked how our people there are doing and what life is like during these times. Despite the increase in bombings and drone attacks, it is amazing but clearly evident that Ukrainians are dealing bravely with such attacks. As much as possible, they continue their normal activities. No doubt, Putin hopes to demoralize Ukrainians through these horrific attacks on civilians, but instead the attacks are merely strengthening the resolve of the Ukrainians. (This is like World War II, when Hitler heavily bombed England in hopes of beating the British into submission but only galvanized their determination.) The following article from the Kyiv Post does a good job of describing the current situation in Ukraine and the resilience of the Ukrainian people.
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/76867
2. This week Eugene and Michael Buyko traveled to Kherson Oblast to deliver war relief to 3 different locations. One stop was a load of potatoes to be shared. A second stop included delivering funds for the repair of Pastor Andrei’s van, which was recently damaged by a drone strike. A third stop was in Nova Odessa, where we are helping the church with their bread-baking ministry, which serves many people. For this trip (as with so many similar projects) the men drove BIEM’s 15-passenger Ford diesel van with its passenger seats removed. Other examples of how this van is used include the trips to the warfront for the Bograch roadside evangelism outreaches. Shipped overseas in one of our containers in August of 2007, the 2001 van has served as a BIEM workhorse for almost 20 years and has approximately 400,000 miles. When the van experienced mechanical problems on this most recent trip, this trouble brought the age of the vehicle to our attention. The fact that our coworkers are both mechanical and resourceful has enabled this vehicle to last as long as it has. The van still has some life left in it, but we do need funds for the increasing costs of repairing and maintaining it. Eventually we will need to replace it with something newer. Please pray that the Lord will provide.
3. Another Ukrainian church with which BIEM partners is the one in Boryslav. In this week’s video, Pastor Pavel shares about how their local congregation reaches out to alleviate physical needs and to evangelize needy ones in their area, especially refugees who have fled from the fighting in the east. Here’s the link:
https://vimeo.com/user37287229/boryslav
4. Update on children’s camps: Now that summer is nearly here, our workers in multiple countries in Eastern Europe are preparing all the Bible lessons, games, supplies, and equipment to make another year of exciting camps possible. In addition to evangelizing local kids, these Christian camps invite the children of refugees who have fled the fighting in the east. However, as donations for camps continue to arrive, our personnel in Ukraine especially have been contacting us with concerns. It seems that Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to inflate prices of food, gasoline, and other commodities. So, even though giving toward camps has reached $59,760 (praise the Lord!), our coworkers overseas are cautiously urging us to bump up the overall goal from $65,000 to $77,000 due to these escalating prices. That said, we are within $17,240 of our new goal. May the Lord move in the hearts of His people to help however they can.
Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM