Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
1. As we are in regular contact with our missionaries and workers in Ukraine, Russia’s destruction of Ukraine’s power grid is alarming. Ukrainians are now going long periods of time without electricity. Over this last week, many of our people have had power for only 2 hours a day. The extremely harsh winter has made matters worse. Thankfully, we have been able to supply over $300,000 worth of generators, power stations, and woodburning stoves, which have enabled our people and partnering churches to battle the extreme cold. Without these alternate sources of power, their furnaces would not survive on just two hours of electricity in a 24-hour period. Please pray for warmer weather in Ukraine and especially for the war to end.
2. Yesterday we were able to Facetime with Vitaly Bilyak, and we were able to see his living conditions. He lives in a forest in a military tent along with 35 other men. Thanks to a wood-burning stove, they have a little heat. However, as temperatures plunge, it is not uncommon for the thermometer inside the tent to stay in the upper 30’s in Fahrenheit. Nevertheless, Vitaly shared two blessings he has come to appreciate. One is that he has an excellent sleeping bag, which keeps him warm as long as he stays in it. Second, he rejoices that mosquitoes are now no longer a problem! He deeply appreciates the prayers that many of you continue to offer up on his behalf. He says that one answer to prayer is that the team we have working on his case have enlisted the help of yet another lawyer who has been successful in reversing the conscription of several pastors. There is now the hope that this could be accomplished in 2 to 3 months. However, this is an expensive process, which will cost close to $10,000. Therefore, donations to this effort would be greatly appreciated.
3. Through BIEM's War Relief fund, we have been enabling our church plant in Lviv, Ukraine, to provide food for troops on the front lines. Then some soldiers made a special request: Could the ladies of the church prepare "holubtsi" for a special mission? (Holubtsi are soft cabbage leaves wrapped around a filling of ground meat, rice, and tomato sauce. The name translates to "little pigeons.") In special small, plastic packets designed for delivery by drone, food could safely reach soldiers even in forward areas. Here's how the church responded...
https://vimeo.com/user37287229/pigeons
4. In last week’s War Relief Updates, we mentioned Sergiy Koop’s pending trip to Latvia, where he was to pick up a used car for Vitaly Bilyak and drive it back to Ukraine in harsh, wintertime conditions. Praise God, Sergiy was able to complete this 4-day mission successfully.
Sergiy extends a huge thanks to all who prayed for this journey. When he wrote down his travel plans step-by-step, he realized this was an ambitious itinerary. His route covered over 2,000 miles in 5 countries: Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic, and Latvia. Many points along the way held potential pitfalls that could derail the whole trip. However, as I spoke with him this morning, he mentioned several blessings that are direct answers to prayer...
a. There were no delays as each train and plane he traveled on departed on time, allowing smooth connections.
b. He managed to locate believers and churches in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Lativa. These provided food and lodging, so nothing had to be spent on hotel rooms.
c. Also, the fellowship and prayer he enjoyed with these believers were a great encouragement.
d. As Sergiy shared about his ministry and the situation in Ukraine, the brethren in these churches in Poland, Czech Republic, and Lativa expressed an interest in supporting his ministry in Ukraine.
e. The border crossings were near miraculous. Crossing borders with a car involves longer waits, since customs requires considerable documentation. Nevertheless, he passed through each border in less than an hour and successfully avoided the customs duty, which made the effort more than worthwhile. This is truly amazing.
f. This trip was during what is normally the worst part of winter; however, each day the weather was ideal for travel.
g. The 20-year-old Volvo turned out to be in excellent condition. It ran perfectly, and there were no mechanical issues at all.
Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM