Thank you for praying for Vitaly Bilyak. Not good news. As you know, he was detained at the border as he was attempting to leave Ukraine to catch flights to the United States from Poland. There were army conscription officials at the border, so he was conscripted into the army and assigned to an artillery division even though he is 50 years old. So, it looks like he will have to do some military service. These army conscription officials have very broad authority and are highly motivated to conscript as many as they can. What this means, we do not yet know. It is possible that Vitaly will be assigned to non-combat duties of some sort, because he has consistently stated that he will not bear arms as a pastor.
He was transferred to a training unit about 200 miles from Ternopil. There, we had one of our other missionaries, Sergei Koop, meet with him and bring him some items from home that he requested. Sergiy made a video of Vitaly addressing the church, which he will share with the Ternopil congregation. They prayed together and then Sergei headed to the border to retrieve Vitaly’s car which he will bring back to Ternopil. Please pray for Sergiy now, since if he is apprehended by the army conscription units roving the country, he would most likely end up with Vitaly. Sergiy has a wife and two very small children, so please pray today that he will be able to return to them safely.
The church in Ternopil has excellent leadership in place with seasoned deacons. The assistant pastor Andrei, who heads up the Drug and Alcohol Center, will lead the church in Vitaly’s absence. Our brethren are trying to get Vitaly into a chaplaincy position. If that is not possible, he will likely be assigned non-combat duties, but this is not guaranteed so please pray about this. Our brethren are also seeking legal advice to see if there are any legal procedures that can be used.
Vitaly is in good spirits and is trusting that the Lord is with him and will use him where he is. He has already had several opportunities to share the Gospel with those around him. Please continue to pray for Vitaly, his wife Katya, and their church in Ternopil. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
Sam Slobodian
BIEM
