Standing for Christ in remote villages across Yakutia means standing in a village steeped in Shamanism. Persecution follows. The bolder the believers are, the more the trials. Recently, a local man who hated Christians burned their church to the ground. A church filled with joy, it took six years for the congregation to build. Please see the before and after pictures, and please pray for this persecuted church, among the churches we serve.
Pastor Mykola Romanyuk, President of Irpin Seminary shared these words on the 3rd anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
“The third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The first is the National Day of Prayer.
My thoughts and feelings are best conveyed by the prayer of David in a difficult period, when in the face of a deadly enemy, those who could help act treacherously. It seems that evil and crime will soon cease to be considered as such …”
We continue visiting the fatherless to bless them during a wonderful time of Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The weather is balmy, with no ice on the ground, which usually makes it difficult to drive. This year we did our best to prepare a festive program with a Christmas-themed puppet show, and we told the children a miraculous Nativity story. We see their happy eyes, because they learned about God, each of them received attention and a gift.
The assault on Ukraine is intensifying and millions have no means to heat their homes. Through Heat and Hope project, an SGA supported church delivered wood and one family has a chance. This is life or death aid …
How are the wives of fallen soldiers living now? The war in Ukraine continues. Its impact is even more palpable in winter when almost every night your city is bombarded by missiles and drones. When the energy system is destroyed, you are forced to sit for long hours without electricity. For many families living outside the city, the lack of electricity means not only darkness but also no water or heating. For women who have lost their husbands, winter is especially difficult …
My name is Natalia. I was born and raised on the banks of the Dnipro river in Kherson. I worked there all my life. But because of the terrible war, I was forced to leave my home and, taking only the most necessary things, fled by evacuation train.
I did not know where that train would take me. I ended up in the Khmelnytsky region.
A couple of weeks ago, the Lord gave us an opportunity to visit the frontline territories. We arrived at Golaya-Pristan in southern Ukraine and were accommodated for a night’s rest. We formed several teams and went to places where there was no gas or electricity at all. People still try to survive there. We cooked pilaf, packed food sets, and went. There were about 50-60 people waiting for us at each point.
Editor’s Note: As this new year begins, it is appropriate to pause and reflect on the past year’s momentous events. That includes the way God is using His people—including SGA supporters—to advance His kingdom not only across the former Soviet Union, but also in Israel.
What follows are snapshots of events in which your prayers and gifts are, even now, playing a part.
Here are two stories about Peter and Maria – elderly Ukrainians who live alone and without hope. But through the generous support of SGA donors, they are introduced to God and the hope that can only come through him!
From the very first days of the war, our church, Grace of God, began to provide various kinds of assistance to people who started coming to the church. In the first months, when our city was under shelling, we were involved in the evacuation of people, and every day in our church basement there were more than 200 people who stayed for a certain period of time, because it was dangerous to stay at home. For almost eight months, we hosted people, fed them, and provided them with all the support they needed at the time.
A recent load of aid just arrived in Zaporozhe on 13 June and was unloaded. The next shipment from Poland has been diverted to the Kherson region. We are literally working hour by hour to serve these churches as they minister to thousands displaced by the destruction of the dam and the onset of the counter-offensive.
The frontline city of Gulyaipole is under constant assault. The church there can no longer gather and you have seen previous reports of aid distribution there. Ministry is also to those seeking aid in a large bomb shelter. And it is to that shelter one of SGA Solar Power Survival Sets has been delivered today by the team from Zaporozhe.
On 22 May, the church building in Orikhiv was destroyed by direct artillery fire using phosphorous shells. Such weapons are outlawed, yet they were used. This church was used as a point of distribution for our aid.
Our field worker writes,
‘Dear friends and partners!
Last night, May 21, the enemy attacked Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region. As a result of the attack, the building of the local church was totally burned down.
So many elderly and single widows with children are facing the future with almost no hope at all.
By God’s grace, these local churches we serve are answering the call and proclaim hope in Christ in alone.
Oksana’s husband was shot near the town of Borodyanka. 7 children remained.
Great stories of salvation are still being witnessed, even in these most difficult times. Sometimes God uses our trials to bring our loved ones to Himself. So very thankful for the pastors who so faithfully continue to visit those in need of hearing the Gospel. They come with food for the body, but always provide food for the soul as well.
How weary the SGA-supported pastors and churches we serve must feel right now with eight months of non-stop war in Ukraine! And now the fear is rising once more, as matters have gone from bad to worse in just these past few weeks.
“Daily, the threat of missile attacks is overhanging every inch of Ukrainian land and its civilians. This was one of those days. In this time, Russian troops had bombed a railway station of Chaplyne in the Dnipro region in the southeast of Ukraine.
On December 8, 2022 more than four hundred people turned to the church to receive humanitarian aid (in the form of food packages). Those responsible for humanitarian work in the church registered them and provided invitations in paper form for the date of receiving the food kits.
Pastor Yuri is an SGA supported missionary pastor in Ukraine that has come face to face with the realities of the invasion of Russia. Should he and his family flee or should they stay? “I did not think that I would live in such a time. That I would have to see war planes in […]
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