“The refugees need us… but we need them too.”
Greetings! In contrast to the horror and destruction of the war in Ukraine, it is remarkable and refreshing to hear Ukrainian Pastors say, “our church body has been rejuvenated because of this war. God completely changed us. We woke up from our comfortable life. Now we truly understand what it means to be the body of Christ.”
Apostle Paul, using a metaphor of the human body – described how each person has an important role to play in the life of the church. Ukraine’s war has reinforced this. There is something for everyone to do.
Some are cooking food, others are washing and cleaning clothes, some are evacuating people because they have a car, while others are counseling the traumatized, some are good administrators and coordinators, others are prayer warriors, and some have plenty of brawn and can load trucks with food and relief aid supplies for the displaced, while others choose to help out with activities for refugee children. Thelist goes on and on.
But all are united and motivated by a desire to demonstrate God’s love to people whose lives were turned upside down by this war. As a result, transformation is happening every day. Churches are filled with displaced people who have experienced God’s love in action and are hungry to hear more of His word and the hope it brings to their lives.
As you can imagine, the demands on Pastors, leaders, and volunteers have been ongoing – 24/7 – since the war began. Despite the enormous workload and the exhaustion accompanying it, one young pastor, though weary but with a twinkle of joy in his eyes, put it this way; “although the refugees need us… in reality, we need them too.”
Please consider donating to our CRISIS RELIEF FUND – to be distributed among our network of partner churches serving those who have been displaced and suffering from the war in Ukraine.
Thanks for your support!
Video:
A “THANK YOU” from a National pastor.
Video:
A war survivor shares her story.
Episodes from the war
EPISODES FROM THE WAR (Continued from last update)
The following journal entries are from Pastor Andriy, a HART ministry partner who has had a front-row seat near this theatre of war and shares some extraordinary insights into the pain and suffering this conflict has inflicted on Ukrainians. It also demonstrates the incredible courage and compassion Ukrainian Christians display daily – to help refugees and those living in or near the war zones.
Dear Friends, let me share with you a few episodes from the war. Why? Because we must not forget what is happening in this war and become complacent about it. These ‘episodes’ are just small puzzle pieces of a larger picture of the tragedy that the “liberators” created in my country of Ukraine. -Pastor Andriy
July 1, 2022
It’s getting hotter and hotter in Donbas. We’ve been focused on the delivery of drinking water. We are providing about four tons per day. An elderly lady to whom we delivered water shared: “I lay in bed for three days; I couldn’t get up. Probably, I was shell-shocked. No one came to me. And I only had one cup of water left. Then some people came and sold me a bucket of water from the well for 50 hryvnias. I had no other choice, and I was ready to pay all my money for water. A human cannot live without water. Thank you for bringing me water for free. Yesterday I was even able to wash myself in a basin.”
Many thanks to all who support our expeditions. In fact, together, we help the survivors survive.
July 14, 2022
All this is exhausting. The views of the cities and villages that are being destroyed. Ripe fields that burn. Conversations with the locals – they are scared and confused, but they don’t want to leave and don’t know where to go if they could leave. The whistle of missiles nearby is exhausting. The pot-holed blown-up roads are exhausting.
The scale of the trouble we see from the inside is exhausting. Fresh graves in the yards are exhausting. My own reflections about the logic of the “brothers-liberators” are exhausting. The enemy’s logic is classical and diabolical: to steal, kill, and destroy. Today’s tragedy in Vinnytsia is yet another confirmation of this (Russian strike killing 23 civilians, including three children).
However, we need to do our part. So, we do it. Bread, water, a generator and gasoline for it, candles, nails, medicines, and even cat food. Bringing all this to the people at the very frontline.
July 31, 2022
Being in the right place at the right time is a great skill in life. These moments don’t always work out for me. But they happen. Today was one of those days.
I decided to visit friends in Galitsinovka(Donbas region). On the way, I thought about how nice it would be to get to Krasnogorovka too. I was curious about who still remained and the situation there. So, I arrived in Galitsinovka – and was having fellowship with some Christian brothers over tea. The sound of military shelling was pretty close. I was surprised to meet a brother from Krasnogorovka among them! He shared with us that they are desperate for a generator, as there is no electricity in the city. Bingo! I happened to have a brand-new generator in my car! I planned to take it to another town, but it will definitely be more needed here.
Then it turned out that several of my friends take care of abandoned animals in their city. Bingo again! I have dog food in my car! It was also intended for another place, but it is clearly more needed here. You should have seen how much joy it brought these cat and dog people! It was as if I had given each of them an expensive gift.
Friends, with your help, together, we have already provided people in the war zone with six generators. I want to place them exactly where they will be most needed. The minimum task is to provide all water wells with a backup power source. It seems that we are successfully coping with this task.
Friends, God blesses people through people. Through you and us. And it’s very cool. We are grateful to everyone involved. May the Almighty
God reward you a hundredfold.
