Voice of Ukraine

From Lyuda Betina in Belgorod Dnestrovsky (Day 635): Our weather became really cold. Yesterday it was snowing, in such a weather everyone wants to stay indoors and not to go outside. All our thoughts now are about our military. Despite the very difficult situation at the front, there is progress. Our soldiers are already on the left side of the Dnieper and we hope that they will move on, destroying the enemy and liberating our land.

Throughout the past year, we mostly worked with refugees who came and came into our southern region from the north and east. We see great progress in those we work with. Some have found jobs, some are studying and mastering new professions, some have become volunteers. And we are especially happy for those who came to the church and are involved in different activities there.

We feel that now it is the time to turn more attention to the military and work with them and with the people in our society so that they are ready to accept those who protected them from the enemy.

Last week we talked a lot with the military on various occasions. The most pleasant thing was the call from Alex, the young man, who wanted to commit suicide in spring. He called me to tell hello and to share his news. His battalion is close to the front line, he is doing well, he is in a good spirit. Last month he had 10 days of vacation and was able to go home and spend time with his father and grandmother. He has a good Christian friend and though they serve in different units now, they can call each other and communicate. I am so glad for him, it’s such a joy to see changes in him. He says they stay now in one of the abandoned buildings that people left after the explosion on the dam because the territory was flooded. It is vivid that the water in that building came up to the ceiling, the walls are still wet. But he says that it is better to be in that building than in the trench.

I often meet with the soldiers in the local defense center where I lead a support group for the volunteers. I usually stay long after the group meeting because they ask a lot of questions on different topics. Two soldiers wanted to talk to me afterwards, they both came form the front line and are having PTSD problems. It causes conflicts in their families. One of them is Vlad ( He has the same name as my son) He looks like my son and is about the same age. His girlfriend is pregnant and they can’t communicate well because he flares up with emotions and they constantly quarrel. We agreed to meet with these men individually this week.

There was another encounter that was rather strange. Late in the evening on Saturday Sergey got a call from the church guard, he said that a drunk man broke in the church building and he can not stop him. Sergey went to the church and had to stay there till Sunday morning because we have a curfew and can not move around the town at night. The man who was very violent in the beginning fell asleep when he sat down in a chair. He didn’t know that he got to the church, he just wanted to get warm somewhere, but everything was closed and he started to break down. He occurred to be a military man from the local unit. Sergey decided not to report this to the police, he just called his unit and immediately the commander with several other men came to pick him up. In the morning, during the worship service, this guy came to the church to apologize, Sergey invited him to come again. We are praying for him to reconcile with God as he reconciled with us.

We were able to visit Nadya and Sasha, the family of our refugee who joined the army last year and was seriously wounded. He came home after being in hospital and in the sanatorium. We wanted to visit him right when he came home but we got sick with virus and decided to wait until we feel completely well.

Sasha was glad to see us. His children are very glad to have their dad home. He can sit and he can stand with a support. He is very determined to start walking and found out about the sanatorium, where rehabilitation of people like him, with cervical spine injuries is carried out and he is raising money to go there.

Thank you for your prayers for a construction worker. We found a new worker and the renovation in the Refugee Center is going on. Alexey, the guy who was drafted, is serving not far from our town, his detachment guards some strategic objects. We asked him about his needs, he sounds fine and says that he has everything he needs.

Thank you for you support.

Please, send your donations to Pathway Ministries
E. Langston Haygood,D.Min.,Ph.D.
Pathway Ministries, Inc.
288 Huntington Parc Circle
Birmingham, AL 35226
(205)835-3325
http://www.pathwayministriesinc.com

In Christ,
Lyuda

P.S. Unfortunately I can not take photos of the soldiers, but there are photos of our support group in the local defense center and the collection of empty cans that we need for making trench candles for our soldiers.