Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
1. Sam & Amy Slobodian are now in Ukraine and wish to thank you for your prayers. Their border crossing into Ukraine went smoothly, and they are thankful for God’s protection, especially since they spent the first few days of their trip in Kyiv, which continues to be heavily bombed. About 2:30 a.m. last Saturday, they were shaken awake when Russian missiles exploded in the vicinity and shook the building they were in. When dawn broke, they easily saw smoke billowing from the two locations where the missiles had struck. The Slobodians are now in Lviv, which is considered much safer than Kyiv, though nowhere in Ukraine is considered totally safe. They report that summer camps are going great with higher-than-expected attendance. In Lviv, where many campers are from unchurched homes, several parents forbade their kids from attending. However, because this camp was being conducted on church property the entire neighborhood could see and hear all the fun. The doubtful parents relented, and these children happily joined the other campers.
2. In Bucha, Ukraine, our missionaries the Anokhins regularly visit a military mental health hospital. After a recent visit, a veteran named Bohdan came to their church and shared how his faith in God sustained him when he was wounded and taken as prisoner of war. Another man, Yevhen, had known nothing about Christ but listened intently and placed his faith in the Lord!
3. For years, the members of Awakening Baptist Church in the Obolon district of Kyiv have worshipped in the basement while they slowly continue construction upstairs. But now they have a wonderful problem—too many people to fit in that basement! Just like the church in Desna that we wrote about two weeks ago, the Obolon church is experiencing growth due to their war-relief outreaches, which BIEM is making possible. By God’s grace and through your financial gifts, BIEM has invested heavily in this church-construction project and will continue to do so. In this week’s video, Pastor Nikolai Rozhnyatovsky shares about the church, their construction project, and their dreams for the future... Here’s the link:
https://vimeo.com/user37287229/completion
4. This weekend BIEM Ukrainian missionary Pavel Usach will be leading a team of volunteers who are traveling to Vysokopillia, which is on the edge of the warfront. They will be distributing war relief aid and sharing the Gospel together with the local church there. Please pray for their safety on this dangerous venture and for souls to respond to the Gospel as it is preached.
Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM