It sure seems like the world around us is circling the drain, doesn’t it? However, during these challenging times, we need to remember that no matter what station in life God has you in now—be it a student, a retiree, a doctor, a teacher, or a business professional—God has created your life to count in a world of urgent needs.
I just received an update from a good friend of mine in Lviv, Ukraine. Pastor Slavic says, “As our lives go on, we are grateful for God’s mercy on us, and we ask you to continue to pray for the end of this war and for just peace. This war is indeed horrible and disastrous. These are just several facts from the last few days…
Two photos of a Baptist pastor who served both his church and the community about 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the front lines in the town of Kupyansk. Several days ago, a Russian plane bombarded the civilian areas. Many buildings were destroyed, including a Baptist church. So, you see two photos: one of the smiling pastor. The second one – his dead body among the ruins of his church building.
Mother with a baby. They are civilians and believers (Baptists). This past night, they were killed in Odessa in their own apartment by an Iranian-made Russian attack drone.
I do not know this little girl who lost her leg… The picture says a thousand words. These are just a few of hundreds of thousands of tragedies occurring in our country because of this war.
As for our ministry. We are grateful for several things:
- We had a great meeting at the IDS (refugee) women’s club two days ago.
- We had a Soccer practice for IDP(refugee) children today.
- Our after-school ‘Skyland’ club meeting for ‘unchurched’ children will happen later today.
- We will have a meeting for ‘Widows of the War’ tomorrow after the service.
- We will also be visiting Russian prisoners of war tomorrow morning.
Thank you for standing alongside us during this war.”
In Him, Slavic (Yaroslav)
There are so many urgent needs in Ukraine, and they all start and end with prayer. Please accept our humble and grateful thanks if you can help us resource our network of churches and leaders across the
country, like Pastor Slavic. Thank you to everyone in our HART community in Canada and the USA for helping us change the world —one heart at a time!
Lloyd Cenaiko
President
VIDEOS
What can your donations do for an impoverished family in Ukraine?
HART’s Child Sponsor Program has been transforming lives for the past twenty years. The video below is a beautiful example of how your donations to the Child Sponsor General Fund can impact a family in Ukraine.
While sponsorship is $45/mo, many of the families in our program need much more support, as you can see in this video. We realize that many Child sponsors are on a fixed income or cannot contribute additional funds for family support as needs arise.
This is where the CSP General Fund is integral in supporting families with items such as bunk beds, as in this video. Other support is often necessary for home renovations, like doors, windows, a water well, or warm winter clothing for children.
Please consider giving MONTHLY ($10-20-30) to the CSP General Fund to help transform the lives of poor children in Ukraine. Watch the amazing transformation in this home and the delighted reactions of the children to their new beds.
Some lyrics from the song accompanying this video:
I will go there, I will go there because I know,
Those are the people I’m helping
I’ll go where no one else wants to go
I’ll go there for You, Father, I’ll go there, I’ll go there because I know,
My love is in you, Your love is in me.
Concerned Christians in Moldova
As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, there’s growing concern that Russia has its eyes on the country of Moldova.
Underground Education: Kharkiv Subway Hosts Kindergartens
ARTICLES
No Turning Back
The murder of Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in the Russian Arctic on Friday marks a point of no return for Vladimir Putin’s regime. It is now clear that his dictatorship will continue exterminating people until it is forced to desist.
It is not scary to die, it is scary to live!
The plight of soldiers returning from the war with disabilities. How HART is responding.
One day, a wife came into the ward of a disabled soldier who had lost his limbs on the battlefield and threw her wedding ring at him, saying, “I don’t need you like this.”
NEWS
Academy Award for Ukraine
Mstyslav Chernov accepts the Best Documentary Feature Film award for 20 Days In Mariupol during the Academy Awards on March 10 in Los Angeles. “This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history, and I’m honored,” Chernov said. “But I will probably be the first director on this stage to say I wish I had never made this film.”
A team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggles to continue their work documenting the atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city, they capture what later become defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more.
(Tues March 12, 2024)
Putin Defectors Vow To ‘Liberate Russia’ As Tanks Roll in From Ukraine
Ukrainian military units formed by Russians have attacked territory within Russia three days before polls open in the election, which isexpected to see Vladimir Putin retain power.
Three units of Russian volunteer troops fighting for Ukraine claimed to have crossed over the border into Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions on Tuesday morning. The Freedom of Russia legion claims to have captured the village of Tyotkino in the Kursk region. “Putin’s army is fleeing the settlement, leaving its positions and abandoning heavy equipment,” the legion wrote on Telegram.
The Siberian Battalion, an AFU unit primarily made up of non-ethnic Russian volunteers from Russia’s national republics in Siberia, also said that it was “finally home” to bring “freedom and justice” to Russia in a Telegram post on Tuesday morning. Russia’s “criminal dictatorial regime” could only be overthrown “with weapons in hand,” it continued, adding that “fierce battles” were taking place on Russian territory.
Pray for Ukraine, Pray for Peace
Here are specific prayer points that can help guide our prayers for the situation in Ukraine. Please share these with your friends and family:
- Pray for the physical protection and provision for Ukrainian soldiers, civilians, and especially children in harm’s way. Supernaturally and otherwise, minimize the suffering and loss of life. Pray for children who see things no child’s eye should ever see. Pray for God to protect their hearts and minds.
- Pray for and ask to see God’s glory amid this great struggle. Pray that He would continue to be glorified through the Christians in Ukraine who are being his hands and feet during this tragedy.
- Pray for God’s peace to strengthen and encourage the thousands of Ukrainian workers/volunteers serving refugees, and the poor in their communities, who need to hear of God’s love for them through these Christian workers.
- Pray for the wounded soldiers returning from the war with missing limbs and suffering from PTSD. Pray that they receive the proper medical care and that they will hear the message of God’s love through local church volunteers who visit them in hospitals.
- Pray for the residents of cities and towns who are under heavy, indiscriminate shelling and have lost their homes and livelihoods.
- Pray for countless civilian and military prisoners of war who are subject to torture and death at the hands of their captors.
- Ask God to comfort the families that have lost mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters during this conflict.
- Pray for God to give justice and peace to all those who have been cruelly and unfairly treated by their fellow man.
- Ask God to intervene. Pray that God would give wisdom and move in the hearts of world leaders and guide their plans to end this war.
- Pray for the President (Zelensky) and the leaders of Ukraine to know God’s truth and peace and be transformed by his Holy Spirit so that they would seek to lead their country in the way of peace.
- Ask that this conflict would open doors of opportunities for the gospel. Pray that He would make his name known across Ukraine, Russia, and all the European countries refugees have fled to.
