War Relief Updates - May 9, 2025

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

1. Pastor Anatoly Kosyanchuk of the church in Shevchenkove, Ukraine, has sent us an interesting testimony. With aid from BIEM, members of this church regularly purchase food supplies and prepare meals for military units. They’ve been doing this ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition to the meals, Pastor Kosyanchuk says, “The main thing we do is distribute New Testaments. So, out of respect, many soldiers have come to the church at least to thank us. Some soldiers have even started reading the New Testament and ask for explanations and request that we pray for them.” But recently a particular military unit presented the congregation with a special thank you—a Ukrainian flag bearing the signatures of the soldiers in it. “They said that if it weren’t for our help and prayers—which they emphasized—they all would’ve died by now. ‘We are on the Ukrainian front, and you are on the spiritual front. It feels like God is helping.’” Those soldiers’ main request was not for more food; it was for more prayers.

2. Here’s a story from “House of Prayer” Baptist Church in Bilogorodka, Ukraine: Their pastor also serves as a military chaplain who travels to the east to minister to soldiers. This outreach inspired the ladies of that church. These women decided to prepare dernuli for the soldiers. Dernuli are traditional Ukrainian potato pancakes. Preparing them required much work—peeling, grinding, laying them out, frying them, cooling them, freezing them, and then packing them for transport. Seven women undertook this job, including the pastor’s wife Sofia, her daughter-in-law, and one lady who has not yet accepted Christ. These women worked all day and made nearly 600 dernuli. When they were finished, Chaplain Vitaly from another church arrived and drove them to the front that weekend. As they toiled, these Christian women talked, prayed, and shared their salvation testimonies with the unbelieving woman. Since then, that woman has been attending church and listening. (Because her husband and son-in-law are in the army, the church’s efforts to bless the military are especially meaningful to her.) The ladies’ conclusion was, “It’s very important that we not only helped the military but also witnessed to people who go to church but have not yet accepted Christ. We thank God for this!”

3. On May 4, 2025, explosive Shahed drones from Russia slammed into the Kyiv neighborhood where BIEM’s director for Ukraine Eugene Buyko lives with his family. In this week’s video, he and two bombing victims show close-up views of these ladies’ destroyed homes. Praise the Lord, in this particular bombing 11 were injured but survived. Thanks to donations to BIEM’s War Relief fund, Eugene was able to listen to these victims, hear their stories, pray with them, and  give them some funds to help them through the difficult days ahead. You can watch the video here:

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/hithome

4. Last week the Spring session of our Kyiv seminary was held with 51 students. This is a record for us and quite remarkable that so many would attend during a time of war, especially during a week when hostilities were at a high. Praise God, everyone was safe. We had students from locations near the war front that are constantly under attack. These are areas where we have channeled war relief through our partnering churches there. It was a blessing to hear these students’ firsthand reports on how this aid from BIEM is meeting needs and lifting the testimony of churches doing the distributions, which always involve sharing the Gospel. This session of the Seminary also gave us an opportunity to courier more war-relief finances to those churches as the students returned home.In Christ,

Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM

BIEMs of Light: May 2025

Praises – Rejoice with us!

• Praise, God, the spring session of the Seminary has 51 students! Once again, we are thrilled to have new students. This is a record number for us during war time. Pastors from the U.S. are teaching Genesis and Christology; a Ukrainian pastor is teaching World Religions.

• BIEM has passed the 2-million-dollar mark for War Relief donations. Thank you for your generosity! Our missionaries and national pastors say they simply could not do the same level of evangelism and aid if not for aid from you American believers. Sadly, Russia continues to destroy, but weary believers still show God’s love in words and deeds.

• Hallelujah! In Central Asia, a man who has heard the Gospel multiple times finally placed his faith in Christ yesterday. Praise God for opening his eyes to the Truth.

• Our church plant in Druzhba, Ukraine, has now held their 3rd service in the new location God provided. Pastor Sergiy says, “We are grateful to God for answering our prayers, because we are very comfortable here. There is a lot of space, and it’s a very good location.”

Prayer – Pray with us!

• Pray for K_____, who had fled Afghanistan, found faith in Christ, but then was deported back to Afghanistan. Because he follows Jesus, his family rejected him. Non-believers try to hunt him down. He does simple jobs to survive. He says, “Don’t worry about me. I have tasted the Water of Life. I’m a solid follower of Jesus. No one can ever take that from me.”

• The Lord has opened an exciting door to plant a new church in Bucha, Ukraine, where Russian occupation forces brutally slaughtered over 2,000 in the streets. This would be our second church planted in the Bucha region. The first one, Nizhylovychi, also suffered horrific atrocities. Please pray for all details to be worked out. Praise God!

• Summer camps are now right around the corner. Our target amount to run the camps is $60,000. Praise God, $49,700 has come in. Please pray concerning the $10,300 still needed.

• During Russia’s April 24 attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine, one missile exploded near where BIEM’s own director for Ukraine lives with his family. Adults and children were injured with at least 13 killed in the attack. Many are missing. In the following video, Eugene Buyko’s son Michael pauses his aid work to give this on-the-spot report:

  https://vimeo.com/user37287229/missing

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May Video Update

Dear Pastors and Friends,

In 3 John, verse 4, the Apostle writes, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” John wasn’t speaking of his kids but of younger Christians who were living consistent, God-glorifying lives. Here in Ukraine, I can echo the Apostle’s feelings: I rejoice to see the young believers (and a few not so young ones) attending our May session of the Seminary. The men are studying to become more knowledgeable preachers while the ladies study to teach in Sunday school teachers and to engage in musical ministries. 

By God’s grace and with His help, we currently have 51 students in the Seminary. No doubt, the military would love to give these men a rifle and send them to the front lines. However, these students are already engaged in spiritual warfare, the one Paul refers to in Ephesians 6: 12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Praise God, He is using the Seminary to prepare more laborers for the cause of Christ. 

During Soviet times, when believers were harshly persecuted for their faith, we could only dream of having such a training ground for Christian workers. But God answered our prayers and continues to make those dreams a reality. We don’t want to take this opportunity for granted.

In our video for May 2025, you will hear an introduction by Vitaly Yurchenko, the Rector of the Seminary, followed by some thoughts from the American pastors teaching this session, Dr. Troy Lohmeyer and Kevin Gaugler. Please watch and join us in thanking the Lord for both the Seminary and for eager students of the Word!

https://vimeo.com/user37287229/seminarymay2025

Blessings to you!
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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