Ukraine at War Update 26

The resiliency of the Ukrainian people

Greetings! Shortly after the war began last February, it became clear that Ukrainians would fight to the end, go through all the hardships and do anything possible and impossible to be victorious over the Russian military aggression against their country. And thus far, in this conflict, their resiliency and resolve have exceeded all expectations.

However, across Ukraine, Russian missile and drone strikes have left up to half the population of Ukraine struggling with electricity, water, and heat cuts. Besides soldiers, today, the real heroes are the workers repairing these services and other necessary logistics for the civilian population. They are working 24 hours a day, sometimes under rocket attacks, to save Ukraine’s energy system and help people survive these cold winter days.

Putin is trying to force Ukraine and the civilized world into negotiations by killing peaceful Ukrainians, creating a humanitarian catastrophe, and threatening millions of lives. He will not succeed.

“We are ready to endure this,” says Olena Zelensky, the wife of the President, on a recent BBC News program. “We’ve had so many terrible challenges, seen so many victims, so much destruction, that blackouts are not the worst thing to happen to us.”

She cites a recent poll where 90% of Ukrainians said they were ready to live with electricity shortages for two to three years if they could see the prospect of joining the European Union.

The following statement is a remarkably common theme among Ukrainians today…
“I feel great pride and honour to be in Ukraine during this historical moment and feel the resounding unity and solidarity within our country.” The same sentiment was echoed in atext message from a young mother in Lviv who tells us, “I have been here throughout the shelling and blackouts, and despite this, it is so interesting… I feel grateful for the opportunity to experience such times with my people. It cannot be expressed in words. An amazing community is being formed, with such unity…”

The resiliency of the Ukrainian people has inspired the world.
Please continue to pray for Ukraine.

We are in a critical and dangerous stage of this war. Please continue to stand with us as we resource our network of churches throughout the country to assist Ukrainians through this winter.

That said, we are excited to announce that we have been blessed to receive TWO MATCHING GIFT opportunities for December 2022, provided by generous donors who are passionate about HART’s ministry

THANK YOU! – FROM PASTORS IN UKRAINE

Dear HART supporters, I am deeply grateful to you for the tangible support you provide in this difficult time. HART has been God’s hand of care during this difficult time for our family. I personally admit that we probably wouldn’t have anything to eat and be able to put fuel in the car if it weren’t for help from HART.
With three children in the family, one of whom is a university student, then life without any income, except for savings, is very difficult. Thank you very much for your help. It is very much appreciated. May God richly bless you! May your kindness come back to you manifold!
-Pastor Polykarp, Town of Kremenets, Ternopil Province.

Dear HART, thank you so much for the tangible support you provide, especially now when Ukraine is going through the horrors and hardships of war. Your support is very much appreciated and valuable to us. Thank you for everything you do. May God richly bless you and your families!

Our church continues the ministry of evangelism and assistance to people affected by the war on the front lines in the Donbas region. Many people came to our city to stay with relatives, but most refugees came to it spontaneously. Most of these people left their homes at the last moment, when there was fierce shelling, and managed to take only the most basic things with them.

When our church started helping needy refugees, they came to us daily with their needs and requests for help. For a small local church, such a task could not be possible if it were not with the help of the Lord and our brothers and sisters from HART. Your financial support and shipments of humanitarian aid of more than 13 tons of various products allowed us to provide food, hygiene products, and medicine to all refugees in our region. In just one week, we distributed aid to 1,200 displaced people.

The food package that a family of 3-5 people receives can feed their family for 10-12 days. This is a great help that together we can provide to people in need, testifying to our Christian faith and the love of God.

Along with food aid, we distribute Christian magazines and bibles and pray for each family. Many began to come to the Sunday service at our church to thank God for help. The stories of their suffering and salvation, which they tell us, are impactful for all of us. We ask you, our friends and partners in ministry, not to stop praying for these people, for our longsuffering Ukraine, and to support our ministry. Your help is essential and valuable to us. Thank you, HART!

Oleh and Katia and their daughters Sonia and Sasha are a young refugee family from the Donetsk region. They lived, worked, and attended the church in their hometown. When the Russian invasion began, their church made the decision to move to our town of Pereshchepyne; that’s how they ended up in our church. At first, they hoped to return home, but everything was destroyed by Russian troops and artillery. They are currently living on our church premises, as they have nowhere else to go.

“We are grateful to the church for providing shelter, food, and everything we need. We know that HART helps and supports refugees like us from Donbas (Luhansk and Donetsk regions). We are deeply grateful to all brothers and sisters from Canada and the USA for their love and support. We came here and received food packages, clothing, and bedding provided by HART – this helped us a lot,” Oleh and Katia said. Now Oleh helps our church take care of other refugees and participates in several church ministries.
-Pastor Gennady, Town of Pereshchepyne, Dnipro Province

CHILD SPONSOR STORIES

THE GENEROSITY OF THE POOR

One of our Child Sponsor caseworkers shared a recent story with our Lviv office: After delivering a food package to a poor family in our CSP project, the mother immediately walked to an apartment down the hallway and shared some of the items in the food package with her neighbor. She later told the caseworker that these people were very poor refugees.

GIVE MY FOOD TO OUR SOLDIERS

The Carpathian Mountains are home to some of the worst poverty in our Child Sponsor Project. During the last food distribution, our caseworkers were surprised to hear several of these poor families tell them: “Instead of giving us food packages next month, please give it to our soldiers on the front lines who are fighting for us in this war.”

YOUNG PEOPLE GIVING BACK
One of our caseworkers in Lutsk (Western Ukraine) shared a story of two young men at their church. Both boys grew up in the Child Sponsor project, and now both are ministers in their church and are helping the caseworkers do their work among the poor in their community through this program.

PRESIDENT ZELENSKY’S SPEECHES
Pres. Zelensky provides a nightly video address on each day’s events, uploaded to social media channels and the government’s official site. His speeches have won hearts and minds across the world. What drives the power behind his words?

Read the article

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Thanks to all of you who were touched by Bohdan and Maria’s story in our last blog and responded. We have already sent funds for their medical care and rehabilitation expenses. Please continue to pray for their recovery.

HOW IMPORTANT IS PRAYER?
Prayer does not equip us for greater works – prayer is the greater work. -Oswald Chambers

MEASURE YOUR LIFE BY YOUR INTERCESSION
-an excerpt from the book, Measure Your Life, by Wesley L. Duewel

• You can do more to move the world for God on your knees than you can in any other way.
• You can bless more lives through intercession than you can in any other way.
• The greatest work that you will ever do for God is to intercede in accordance with His will.
• You can unite yourself more fully with the purpose and plan of God in prayer than you can by any other form of Christian service.
• You can more closely feel the pulse and loving heartbeat of the great heart of God in intercession than you can in any other way.
• You can lend a helping hand more quickly through prayer than in any other way.
• You lift heavier loads on your knees than in any other way.
• Your arms can embrace more of the world in Christian love through prayer than in any other way.
• Prayer does not take the place of any other helpful action you can do. But prayer must undergird all else you do.
• You can wipe more tears from the eyes of the sorrowing; you can place a hand of blessing upon the heads of more children; you can lend a guiding hand to more youth; you can strengthen the hand of more Christian workers in prayer than in any other way—if really intercede and prevail before God.
• Prayer adds God’s power to everything you do.