Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
1. We praise the Lord for making our latest volunteer workday a success! We had arranged for a large group of friends from local churches to come and help us stuff, seal, and affix address stickers on our new 2027 BIEM calendars. However, as of the day before our work day, the shipping company still had not delivered the calendars! So, on the very morning planned for our mailing, 3 of our men drove to the shipper’s Indianapolis terminal and personally hand-loaded all the boxes of calendars onto a trailer and hauled them back to BIEM. Our hard-working volunteers hustled, enabling us to get all of those thousands of heavy bulk-mail envelopes to the post office that day—and with a few minutes to spare!
2. Recently BIEM sponsored a conference for women involved in War Relief work held by the Brotherhood of Independent Churches and Ministries. The title of the conference was “Is It Not for this Time?” (referring to the Book of Esther, chapter 4). Women from all over Ukraine attended the conference, which was held in Lutsk. The purpose of the event was to empower and encourage the sisterhood, reminding that God put them in this time and place on purpose, and He nourishes and gives opportunities not only for ministry, but also for rest and refreshment.
The conference speakers talked about calling, women's health, financial stewardship, and handling stress and trauma—everything based on God's Word, pointing to Jesus as the center of their identity and the way of doing things.
Based on the feedback that we received, many women managed to fill the emptiness within, gain refreshment and encouragement to keep up the ministries they have been doing throughout all these years of war.
3. Although there are similarities, each summer camp is unique. In this video, the leaders of 2 camps sponsored by BIEM asked to share some personal thoughts and video clips with all of you, the friends who gave and prayed to make Christian summer camps possible! We’ve combined their thoughts into a video called simply “A Couple of Churches.” Here’s the link:
https://vimeo.com/user37287229/couple
4. Although it’s easy to report on actual events happening inside Ukraine during this horrible war, it’s not so easy conveying how the constant wartime condition wear upon the hearts and minds of people who live there. So, we want to share with you this recent message from a single mother in Kyiv who put her trust in Christ years ago, on the last day of one of our children’s camps. This is her reply to a BIEM staff member who had written to ask how she is doing in Kyiv. As you read, see if you can feel her emotions and imagine living in her shoes, with no end in sight:
“I wanted to write to you earlier, especially after you asked how I was, but honestly, I just couldn’t. I’ve been living in such a constant state of anxiety and shock that sometimes I don’t even have the energy to think, let alone explain what is happening.
“What you see in the news is real, but living here feels completely different. In Kyiv, you can be sitting at work, talking to a client, trying to have a normal day, and suddenly the windows start shaking from explosions. You hear the blasts and just freeze for a moment, wondering how close they are and whether you need to leave.
“And then, somehow, life continues. People go to work, go to the shops, try to buy food, but everyone is watching the news and listening for explosions at the same time. Recently people have started buying everything they can—water, cereals, vegetables, other foods. You can feel the fear and uncertainty everywhere.
“The hardest part for me is not knowing what comes next. You can’t make normal plans anymore. You don’t know what tomorrow will look like, whether there will be electricity or water, whether you’ll be able to work, or whether another night will be spent hiding from missiles and drones.
“I think I’ve become emotionally exhausted. Sometimes I’m not even scared anymore, I’m just numb. Then another explosion happens, and you realize that this has become your everyday reality.
“What hurts the most is watching my country being destroyed and knowing that ordinary people are the ones paying the price. Homes, lives, normal everyday things, everything can disappear in a moment.
“So when you ask, ‘How are you?’… I honestly don’t know how to answer. I’m here. I’m working. I’m trying to live my life and stay strong. But I’m weary of having to be strong all the time….”
Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM