Ruslan Murataiev is our SGA Regional Ministry Centre Director in Irpin, Ukraine. He is daily challenged with keeping the SGA supported ministries strong and fruitful, equipping and encouraging the missionary pastors throughout the regions and also attending to the business of running the ministry office. The war continues to be challenging for him – and his family …
The ministry to orphans is the work which was entrusted to us by the Lord, and we do this ministry daily with great trembling and joy! I will never stop giving thanks to God and you, our beloved brothers, and sisters, for this great help and support which you provide for us and our children …
“What do you think? Is all of Ukraine currently in a type of depression?” asked a lady from the Western country after hearing a lecture on trauma and its consequences. I took a breath before answering; because pictures of smoke, missiles, holes in buildings and the look in the eyes of my brothers and sisters in front-line cities popped up in my mind.
“We are working hard until the harvest season. God is in control!”
This story is about how the bright light of faith in children’s hearts burns in the darkness of sin and despair. Their mother grew up in an orphanage. She fell into bad company and became a drug addict. She remembers how we came to the orphanage and talked about Jesus. When we found her years later, she already had three children.
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.
I was never interested in God because I was taught that God does not exist. My name is Alexandra. I am from the suburbs of Kharkiv. It so happened that after school I had to go to military service. My parents were also in the military, and where we lived at the time, there were few options: to go far away from home to study or to go to the army. So I spent my whole life in the army.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Thank you for being such a blessing to our children and to us, for your continued support of our ministry to orphans through participating in their lives. Thank you very much for providing all finances, so that we could have time and devote ourselves entirely on serving the orphans and literally endure together with them all the joys and difficulties of their hard and sometimes very bitter life!
“These days there are many books and methods presented on sharing the Gospel with others. Yet, most often, our best approach to tell of Christ is simply being available as God leads.
Pastor Sergei [name changed] is a bold witness for Christ in Belarus. He strives to tell of Christ at all times, and through all means …
Victor is the father of three sons. The two eldest sons Misha and Ivan are elementary school students. Junior Timofey is three years old. Victor is an engineer by training. When he married his wife, he could not even think that she was a drug addict. At that time, she was addicted to soft drugs and hid it. Afterwards she gave birth to three sons.
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.
SGA Missionary Peter Vladechak shared pictures of children from his region (Chernighiv), and refugees from Sumy and Kherson. Here children hide from artillery fire coming from across the border, they can hear the sounds of nightly rockets overhead. Here they are without their fathers, as they fight in cold and miserable conditions on the frontline to protect their families.
It was the last day of 2023. My husband and I were sitting in church, listening to the church announcements. In front of us sat a family with two boys. I watched as one of them, about ten years old, quietly sat and drew something in his sketch pad. Instantly, my thoughts took me to my own childhood, where mom and dad took all six of us to church, and also gave us paper and pencils to draw (anything to keep us quiet!)
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!
Evgeny and Eva were at the church Christmas event for the first time. Their first reaction was expressed with words, “Wow, this is so much fun!”, as they saw for the first time how people celebrate Christmas in a Baptist church. Their mother, Inna, shared, “For my children it was a wonderful occasion; they really enjoyed everything.”
Last month, we ministered to orphans in the most lively and intense way possible. Twenty-two orphanage graduates started their own lives in the city. We focused our efforts on establishing relationships with these young people in their new territory. We assisted them in obtaining accommodation in dormitories and assisted them in resolving their domestic issues …
“What can a woman do when God remains silent and doesn’t answer one simple prayer? It was a question Yaroslava asked herself during her first four years of marriage. She had always been dreaming about having kids, but God closed her womb. Four years of tests, examination, and intense treatment lead to an extraordinary diagnosis: unexplained infertility. The standard infertility testing had not found a cause for the failure to get pregnant. Yaroslava’s husband and she were both healthy. So, they just kept praying for a miracle as it was possible only for God to make it happen. Hundreds of people joined them in their prayer.
Yaroslava remembers there was not a single day when she would wake up without thinking about children …
“Sofia’s first experience with war was back in 2014, when her family was forced to evacuate from their native city of Kramatorsk in the Donbas region. Back then, they never believed that they’d have to run for safety from Russian aggression a second time.
Yet the war didn’t break the spirit of the brown-eyed, cheerful 16-year-old girl …
“God, I can’t. I can’t go to the camp now.” (That’s how I started my prayer the day before we were to set off to a camp organized by our church) “I know I’m responsible for teaching kids Bible lessons, but I haven’t taught any lessons since the war started. I’m not ready. It’s not the best time …
People living in the village of Novovasylivka still remember vividly how they paddled over their underwater fences on boats. They didn’t expect the consequences of flooding to be worse than the flood itself. When the water receded, people realized that they had no place to live anymore. Some of them said it was worse than a rocket attack …
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.
My name is Taube. I was born in 1948 in Kazakhstan. My father died when I was very young. I grew up during the time of the Soviet Union, which maintained a strict level of atheism for its citizens. I was taught that there is no God. But in my heart, I always wondered why there was no God. During Soviet rule, it was very difficult for those who didn’t speak Russian, but I didn’t learn any Russian until I reached the age of military service and was sent to the army. I continually saw injustices, because people did whatever they wanted.
Vlad is 10 years old. His older sister and brother were taken to a family living in the Murmansk region, which is very far away from Vlad. That family didn’t want to take Vlad, and I don’t know why. Vlad then developed a complex: he began to fall into hysterics and say that nobody wanted him and that nobody loved him.
Our storyteller Alexandra talks to people in the queue. “If you could ask for anything you want, knowing that it would be given to you, what would it be? Would it be prosperity, money, or health? Would it be bread? Nobody thinks to ask for such a minor thing as bread. But not the people who lived two months under occupation in their hometown Nemishaeve in Kyiv region …
Pastor Mykola Romanyuk is the Regional Pastor for the Kiev Region. Their church had never been a part of humanitarian aid before. But they got concerned about a possible invasion. They put mattresses and food in basement and started a prayer meeting on 23 of February. On the 24th, bombs fell and 100 came.
A small, but generous deed would later be remembered as a most gracious gift. It’s amazing sometimes to think that one small gesture can turn into a huge testimony that will be remembered years down the road. Here is the story of one woman, Yana, who is currently under occupation with her family.
An innovative way to multiply the resources the Lord has provided and reach more people.
A true shepherd is willing to lay down his life for his sheep. Along with risks of death in the face of danger, there is laying down time, resources, and comforts. Today 18 Jan, our dear friend, pastor Peter Vladechak, received his generator.
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.
There are many startling things that God is doing in our lives every day. He provides for us in often small, seemingly insignificant ways, leading us and guiding us per His perfect will. He often quietly answers our prayers.
Valery is an SGA-supported missionary pastor in southern Belarus who has seen God at work in small, unexpected moments. Some of those moments arise following the delivery of a bag of groceries …
“Everybody, you know what? I heard from the friends of mine, and it turned out that right after you prayed about them, they were evacuated and were given food!”
In this story, you will read about how God is continually providing for those who are in need of food and compassion.
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.
Here is a wonderful testimony to the faithfulness of a pastor in Ukraine.
“When war started, half the people left our church. The basement served as bomb shelter and many people stayed with us. Meals provided to believers and unbelievers alike. But in time, by April, people started returning. And then by summer, services moved upstairs from the basement. So many unbelievers were coming.
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.
Adapting to new ways of life can be a great challenge.
However, it’s how we face those challenges that carry us through. In the story below, Sergei is learning how to meet the needs of many people and face the challenges of daily wartime life.
“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.
“I had never crossed the threshold of a house of prayer before, but now I attend the worship services of the local church.”
You never know what God may use to humble your way through the doors of a church, but He is faithful to show us the love and compassion that comes from within.
Greetings to you, dear friends! As we continue to perform the ministry of visiting a family-type orphanage by God’s grace, we thank Him for the opportunity to reach children who have been abandoned by their parents and are in difficult circumstances.
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
The orphan situation in the former Soviet Union — which has always been a tragedy — has now become much more urgent, a looming humanitarian
Teach Your Children to Live a Life On Mission One way to teach them is through SGA’s My Mission Adventure kit. My Mission Adventure is
Thinking about an inspirational gift? “Faith Hope Love” beautiful and intriguing pictorial book with selected Scripture verses in English and Russian – along with black and
SLAVIC
GOSPEL
ASSOCIATION
SGA NZ is a registered member of Charities Services New Zealand.
Registration Number CC32986
