One refugee couple told a missionary who was serving them, “My mom was a communist, and that is the home that I grew up in. What you are doing here is amazing. We are very thankful for it. I’ve never thought about God before like this. I really need to think about this.”
Though the conflict in eastern Ukraine has brought devastation to many families, God is using His people in Ukraine and your donations to redeem this difficult situation.
Recently three Ukrainian military chaplains in fatigues visited Kiev Theological Seminary — at least one of them is a student there. They had stopped by to ask folks to pray with them and for them as they headed out to the war zone. Soldiers like them are helping to distribute Gospels and New Testaments. They say that people are earnestly taking and reading them, just like they did in the early 1990s.
Churches, Christian camps, pastors, and believers across the country have stepped up to help meet the needs of displaced people. People have been donating produce from their gardens, churches have been taking up donations to help pay the bills of hosting and caring for these displaced individuals and families.
Believers are caring for both the physical and the spiritual needs of the refugees, providing food, clothing, shelter, and medication and also leading Bible studies and praying with these hurting people.
One woman was shaken up by what she had been experiencing, but she found answers. Natasha is well-educated and successful in her career. But the circumstances she found herself in, with war in her city, she herself displaced and her future uncertain, had shaken her to her core. She began to look for answers.
Through the ministry of various individuals at Sumy Grace Camp where she was staying, different discussions, Bible studies and just attending the events that were happening, God began to change her heart.
SEND missionary Leanne Paetkau had been building a relationship with her, and one evening she had the opportunity to use God’s Word to show Natasha how to have a relationship with Christ. Natasha repented and accepted Christ that evening.
Up to that day, she had been struggling with depression and fear. The next morning, it was a different lady who came to breakfast. God had changed her heart. Her joy was evident. She said, “I’m not depressed or scared anymore. I have peace.” Praise the Lord!
