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