Letters from Ukraine as the war continues...

First of all, I want to thank those of you who are so tender and invested in following the horrific events that continue to unfold in Ukraine!   Your prayers and fasting have lifted up their hearts and spirits daily and your generous giving has provided essentials like food, medicine, warm clothes and transportation to hospitals, safe shelters, even getting women and children to border crossings and safety while their husbands stay to fight and others care for the sick and injured, and aged. As I am praying for these friends and you, I am often reminded of Jesus' words in Matt. 25:40:  "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me."...   I also wanted to say that many of the notes and letters we receive are personal and there is a lot of tenderness that I believe is unnecessary for general communication.  So, if it sounds like an abbreviated excerpt, it probably is. What I hope comes out of all of this is not only War time correspondence but the human struggle and crisis each person on both sides are dealing with! It is a tragedy of epic proportions not seen since the second World War and I don't think it will stop with Ukraine...   Our Lord has given some clear instructions about His return and one of the most critical is the preparation of His Bride- the Church!  Judgement starts with the household of faith, I Peter 4:17.  This crisis is already separating the sheep from the goats- Matt. 25:31- 46, not only in Ukraine but around the World including here...   When the Bride is purified, without spot or wrinkle, blameless and holy, then She will become the Light to the World that God desires and will set the stage for our Lord Jesus' return!   Our loving God, who is full of mercy, compassion and grace, has continued to show great kindness even throughout this terrible war.  

One of our dear couples, Gennadii and Olena, long time regional pastors in Kharkiv,  which has been under devastating attack by Russian troops, has just written a wonderful message that follows this intro. We are full of praise and thanksgiving because it has been nearly a week since we have received a word about their welfare and situation, which is very much unlike them. They have been committed full time to the work of God, caring for the needs of both believers and unbelievers alike, which means jeopardizing their own safety every day. The Apostle Paul once said, God has shown mercy not only to them but to us in keeping their lives for the sake of His Kingdom:  

Peace and grace to you from the Lord, dear Jerry!   Thank you for your very kind and warm letter. I miss you too, dear brother! Meeting with you has always brought me and my whole family joy and spiritual encouragement. I believe that the Lord will give us a wonderful time for fellowship and mutual edification.   I express my deep gratitude to you and all the believers in your country for the prayers and the manifestation of love. We continue to live in the same house where we lived before. I believe our family is safe. I believe that the safest place for me is where I am by the will of God. We don't know what will happen next. We pray, we pray and we pray again. But for now, we continue to serve believers and unbelievers. In addition to me and Lena, more than 20 church members are doing their ministry to people affected by the war. The service continues daily from morning until curfew, and then from house to house among neighbors.   Many thanks to you for the additional funds for the victims of the war. The Lord said that those who fear Him will lack nothing. Now we see it in practice.   May the Lord richly bless you, your family and your ministry.   In His love Gennadii      

Our dear brother Max Kushnir sent a new update yesterday also about the situation in Chernivtsi. We have given over $10,000 to the work that the saints are doing there with the myriad of refugees flowing in to Chernivtsi as well as caring for those waiting, often for days, at the Romanian border who need food, personal items, water, and blankets...  

Shalom dear Jerry, Thank You for Your prayers for us   We're doing well in Chernivtsi by GOD'S GRACE and can continue serve other people. We have 52 refugees at our Church building, which is more than before, but still less than needed.  We don't have showers at our Church, Our loving God, who is full of mercy, compassion and grace, so people visit our homes to take a shower, which is another way we can serve them. But with curfew, there is a limited time to do it. The owner of a plant where we rent our Church property, allowed us to use another room and turn it into a shower room, so ladies can use it for themselves and their kids.   Nastya and some other ladies take care of the laundry of bed linen, but people want to wash their personal clothes and for their kids, and sometimes they can't wait, so we bought a washing machine and a drier, so they can do that when they need it, right away...and we take care of the linen.    We have cooks and volunteers serving 24/7 at Church to be able to take care for the refugees...and it feels great to see Church actively helping and serving 24/7... that reminds me of a first century Church!   One of the ladies in Storozhynets owns a pizza place, but decided to turn it into a shelter for refugees and can house extra 50 people. Someone donated inflatable mattresses and we helped with getting 50 pillows, now looking for some blankets. She has cooks there, who are willing to cook for the refugees and the owner would take care of their wages. GOD is GOOD and has a way to connect people. She's my uncle's classmate and Nadya Migdal decided to help with finances to buy pillows...and the store gave a good discount.    Gennadiy told me, that the businessman in Kharkiv moved out, so that might be difficult to do it through Roman this time...unless Roman has someone else in Kharkiv to help with that.   If not, one of the deacons from Gennadiy's Church is in Chernivtsi and would go back to Kharkiv, when it calms down a bit...so Gennadiy told me, I can give money to the deacon, so he would keep it, until they meet with Gennadiy.   Gennadiy said that Kharkiv is doing slightly better and sometimes they even forget about war...the bakery and stores are open again and more food is available. Praise GOD          Also I spoke to Roman, he lives in a different city than Stepan and Sergey, but they meet together and are grateful for the help they received. His house in Kiev was not touched by the war, even though there were some shootings in the area. God is GOOD   Please, give Sue and friends a big hug for all of us and convey our gratitude for prayers and love   By GOD'S GRACE, max  

It’s difficult to know exactly what the strategy of the Russian military is, but several times during these last two weeks, they have halted their aggression and there has been a temporary lull. No one knows for sure whether they are having difficulty resupplying troops, food and equipment but these quiet moments have allowed residents in these heavily bombed cities to find necessities and each other as they are often scattered during the shelling of their cities.          Sergei and Lesa are in the capital city of Kiev:  

Hi friends!  Thank God we are alive! I think you know what is happening in Ukraine.  We are shocked because this is a real genocide. Some cities are occupied there is no communication, food and water.  The enemy behaves extremely aggressively. My mother also stays in the occupied town of Bucha.  There is no connection and no light. It has a well with water, food and a barn where there is a small stove that she can heat with firewood.  I know that she is strong and I believe that the Lord is with her! Now frosts and snow have come to Ukraine. Terrible for those who are completely without heat and water and under the sights of the occupiers. We feel the prayers of the whole world!  We thank you!

  (Lesa's mom was trapped in a city outside of Kiev that was occupied by Russian troops- but somehow, by God's grace, her mom has made it into Kiev where the family has been reunited... these are small victories but life giving to the families involved.)  

(In the slide show above, you will see pictures we recieved from Kiev, Kharkiv and Chernivtsi. The soldier is Sergei and Lesa's son,  and his dad is standing next to an unexploded bomb. Soldiers are lying down in bombshelters to get 2-3 hours of sleep a night. Our other friends in Chernivtsi have been using your generous gifts to accumulate food, medicines and even a washer and dryer so that refugees can wash their few belongings as quickly as possible.)