From Lyuda Betina in (Day 698): Today is sunny but a bit сold. The whole last week was frosty, snowy and windy. The good news is that we have already lived through half the winter and there have been no major power outages.
Night attacks continue and Odessa is constantly under attack. We thank our air defenses for shooting down many drones and missiles. But it is impossible to shoot down everything and therefore there is damage and death.
The war situation is very difficult. There is no progress, everything is unpredictable. The army continues to attack our positions. In winter, it is very difficult for soldiers to live in trenches and dugouts, especially in frosty weather. It’s hard not to lose heart in such a situation. At one Bible study we had a good discussion about the fight with evil. We paid attention to the fact that the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people have always fought and continue to fight now. They had to learn to live, work, relax and raise children while fighting. This is what we are learning now because we understand that our victory is not yet near.
A new ministry was started in our church. We saw a serious need for transporting the wounded. Many wounded people need to be moved from the hospital to home, from home to a rehabilitation center, from one hospital to another. There are specialized ambulances for this, but there are not enough of them in quantity and many wounded people must wait their turn for transportation. The men of our church removed the seats in the church van, put in a mattress. So they were able to take the wounded Sasha to western Ukraine to a rehabilitation center. It was fast and rather comfortable for Sasha. They can help other wounded soldiers now.
We continue to work on our project of the Refugee Center. The building is old and is undergoing renovations, but progress is being made and we are ready to accommodate another family. The work slowed down for several reasons: One of which is that many men in our community went to war.
This obviously caused problems in businesses and any contracting. Additionally, there was a delay in getting the necessary construction materials and other items we needed. We hope that we will still be able to complete our renovation project soon. So many families have been displaced and left destitute because of the bombing of innocent civilians, women and children.
Even in this state, our Center is already an oasis for our refugees. The family that already lives there now (Sergey and Svetlana) is very hospitable and ministry-oriented: They often invite other refuges for tea, and Svetlana treats them with pies and pastries she bakes. We began to arrange a library so our refuges can read helpful Christian literature.
Svetlana potted many indoor plants, and together with Vika (one of our counselors from Odessa), they planned the design of the garden. Learning to care for the Center (inside and garden work) helps our refugees to normalize life and to experience some peace and comfort.
We are ready to place a new family in the center next month. The second living space is almost ready: Praise the Lord. We need to improve the heating system and equip the area with furniture to make it accommodating and comfortable for living. This expense will cost $3,000.
After this space is completed, we will start the improvements on the second floor (a former attic). We plan to create at least two living spaces on this floor. The total costs will be $16,500 ($8,250 for each living area per family).
We want this place to be a shelter and a refuge for people who need comfort and peace. It is a Bethesda (a House of Mercy) for those suffering the ravages of war. They receive spiritual, emotional, and mental counseling as well. We also help them with physical and humanitarian needs. The wonderful thing is that the Center is within walking distance of our church; hence, they have constant opportunity to join in worship and fellowship with a community of caring believers.
Our ministry is an outreach of Pathway Ministries, which began our work in 2005. We now have developed our own counseling group called, The Spring (Rodnik) in Odessa, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, and other places in Ukraine. Our counselors continue to work with displaced families throughout Ukraine and Europe, and even, the United States.
Thank you for your prayers and 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. There are photos with the refugees who attend our group meetings and the renovation of the Refugee Center building
Voice of Ukraine 
7 responses to “1/22/2024 – Update from Belgorod Dnestrovsky”
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Dear Lyuda,
Thank you for keeping us updated on how to pray and give.
May God continue to provide for your every need!
Love in Christ,
Jill
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From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 698):
The Lord has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
Psalm 98:2
Today is the Ukrainian Unity Day.
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One year ago:
From Lyuda (Day 333): Dear brothers and sisters,
Our day yesterday was sunny and warm. The sun was so bright that I put on my sunglasses. After cloudy days it was so nice to be outside and have a walk.
We had a group meeting yesterday and the emotional load of the week was vivid. People were down and not very talkative. Our topic yesterday was “forgiveness” and I let them be quiet, listen and think. A new family joined us and it was nice to meet and include them into our fellowship.
Tanya did an art therapy with a youth group. They were drawing their emotions, it helped them to express the feelings that they kept inside. Young people are more relaxed and seem to do better than the adult group…
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One year ago:
From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 333):
The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
Psalm 33:16-20
Every day we are bombarded with tons of information – Russians preparing for another attack, western governments discussing the provision of military aid to Ukraine, mobilization, the situation at the frontlines, economic challenges, prognosis of how much longer the war is going to last… Add this to the common everyday challenges, and you get a mixture that sends you on an emotional rollercoaster even after 11 months of itself full-scale war.
I wish we knew how much longer. However, I remind myself of the words that are said to belong to Viktor Frankl, Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, “[In the concentration camp], the first to break were those who believed that everything would end soon. Then – those who didn’t believe it would ever end. Survivors are those who focused on their affairs, without waiting for what else might happen.” So, as I remind myself to focus on the affairs at hand, I also remind myself not to postpone my life “until the war is over,” even though it is so tempting to go into this hibernation mode and suspend all your activities until life returns to the usual “normal.”
We remind ourselves to live in the present, love in the present, and use our present circumstances with gratitude. Today, our son mentioned the story of Thomas asking to place his fingers into Jesus’s wounds, and we talked about the response of Jesus, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29), which then took us to the question of how we can experience God in our life. It was such a great encouragement to listen to Іvan list one event after another that testified about God’s faithfulness. Focusing on Him and His greatness is a powerful encouragement, even in dire times.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33:22
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Provided last year by Ira Kapitonova, Jan.23, 2023
“Focusing on the present moment”
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From Lyuda (Day 341): Dear brothers and sisters,
Today is the start of the new week and we wake up with the sound of the alarm. I’m trying to imagine the missiles and drones that fly to our cities and the people who launch them, then I start praying and soon the message comes that the alarm is over. No other messages, it means that nothing happened. Praise the Lord!
It was a cold and snowy day yesterday. There was no electricity in the church and it was rather cold in the sanctuary. We all were in our coats but it was still cold. The generator we have gives enough power to have light, and have our music equipment on, but it is not enough for heating. That’s why people can’t stay in the church guest rooms – there is no heating. We are thinking of buying a more powerful generator to be able to heat our church building. We know that the church of our counselor Roman in Odessa has the same problem.
Nevertheless our worship was good, Sergey preached about drinking from the cup of Jesus and we had communion. We missed some old ladies, probably they could not come because of the slippery roads and sidewalks…
In Christ,
Lyuda
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