From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 726):
Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Psalm 126:5-6
Many people in Ukraine have already started planning the new gardening season. We have already got some seeds and have even started some. Spring will come in no time, bringing along sowing and planting. In 2022, we hoped this madness would be over by the end of spring. In 2023, having survived blackouts, we were looking forward to spring, hoping for Ukraine’s victory by the end of summer. In 2024, we no longer expect a speedy victory, so when I read these verses from Psalm 126, I wonder how many times we need to sow in tears until we’ll be able to reap with shouts of joy.
Please, pray for our troops. Russia has accumulated large quantities of personnel in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions. May God’s mercy and strength be with our soldiers.
Voice of Ukraine 
One response to “2/20/2024 – I wonder how many times we need to sow in tears until we’ll be able to reap with shouts of joy…”
From Lyuda Betin in Belgorod Dnestrovsky (Day 728):
The time flows, week after week passes and it is two years as we have been living in the reality of war. For two years we have been witnessing death and destruction every day, for two years alarms sound day and night and we wake up from explosions. But this is also a time for testing and confirming faith, time of God’s special revelation and personal choice. We are seeing changes in our society, which still carries the burden and mark of the past, but is very eager for freedom and change. We have already experienced the darkness of slavery and godlessness in the Soviet Union and now Russia wants to plunge us into this darkness again. Our army is retreating. This is a necessary measure to save the lives of our soldiers. They say: we are leaving to return with new strength. The enemy is attacking from all sides, reinforcing the attacks with air strikes. But still 6 Russian planes were shot down by our forces last week. Our hope is in God and we live by this hope and know that God reveals His glory even in the most difficult situations.
On Saturday it will be exactly two years since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, our church, along with many other churches, will spend this day in fasting and prayer.
As we go through this difficult time, we are convinced again and again how faithful our Lord is. He supports and encourages us in amazing ways. We receive encouragement from many churches and personally from Christians who write to us and donate to our ministry, from those who, despite the war, visit us and bring us help, from those who pray with us and for us.
Last week God gave us a special gift, our good friend Jean-Marie Leroy came from Paris, France to play organ concerts in several cities of Ukraine. Jean-Marie always visits our town during his tours and stays with us and our church for some time. He performed two concert for our church and our community this weekend.
It was a great comfort and encouragement to us. Music that was composed for the glory of God can amazingly comfort wounded souls, heal emotional wounds and bring joy. I saw tears in the eyes of people who came to the concerts, some people even came from the nearby villages and were so glad to feel that atmosphere of joy, peace and hope.
Last week we were glad to meet Sasha, the wounded soldier and the father of five teenagers, who came back from the course of rehabilitation that he had in the sanatorium in the west of our country. Our men carried him to the apartment and we were able to talk. Unfortunately there hasn’t been much progress and he still can’t move his legs. He had hoped of getting up and starting to walk, but so far only the sensation of touch had returned to his legs. We are planning to move Sasha and his family to our Refugee Center. For this purpose, we will equip the entrance and premises for wheelchair access. We hope that we will be able to support and encourage Sasha through communication and responses to his needs.
I witnessed another positive event in the local defense center where I lead a support group for the volunteers.
Vladislav and Anya (it is not allowed to show the faces of the soldiers)
It was a wedding. Few months ago I met a young man there, a soldier who had just returned from the front line. He wanted to talk to me and revealed his struggles. It was very difficult for him to adapt to a quiet life in the rear and because of this he had conflicts with his girlfriend. We communicated with him and he attended group meetings. His condition has improved.
It was his wedding day he came to the center to celebrate with those who support, help and understand him. It was nice to meet his wife and wish them a long happy life. May the Lord bless them with peace and love.
Please, pray with us for the people we minister to and I also ask you to pray for Sergey, my husband. He needs to learn to set time for rest and stay away at least for a while from many-many things that appeal to him every day.
In Christ,
Lyuda
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