Voice of Ukraine

Dear all,

Today marks 1000 days of war.  

The full scale invasion, and subsequent war has been all encompassing for the country.  It’s on the scale of having a 9/11 attack in the US … weekly.  

For example, the Ukrainian public has been subject to 11,466 Russian missiles since the war began.[1]  That is 23.2 missiles per day.  That’s the average, there have been some quiet weeks, but that only means an uptick to follow. There was one 17 day period this summer when the number exceeded 82 missiles per day!  Those attacks were aimed at power grids of major cities, natural gas stations, and, tragically, a lot of residential buildings, schools, and hospitals.

If it’s hard for us to relate to 12,000 missiles, we can all relate to 1000 days.  That’s a long, long time.  A child born 1000 days ago can walk, speak a language, and is approaching school age; a University degree can be completed in close to that time, and a start-up company can go from nothing to billion-dollar valuation in 1000 days.  It’s long enough to build something significant, but it’s also long enough to do a lifetime of damage.

For all of the resilience, fortitude, and determination of Ukrainians – 1000 days is a long time … and everyone is tired.  Tired of missiles, tired of air raids, tired of losses, tired of war and tired of fear. 

Believers in Ukraine are tired as well. Several of them have told me they don’t know how much longer they can do it.  Pastors have shared their fatigue with me, leaders have told me that they are at their limit.   One pastor is daily assessing if he and his wife should stay in their frontline city.   The church is tired too. 

But the church in Ukraine is something else – full.  Full of people asking hard questions, full of people seeking counseling, and full of people trying to find a security in Christ they don’t feel on earth.  When your very existence as a country and as a person is threatened daily – you can only be angry/sad/removed for so long before you begin to seek.  Seek answers from God, comfort from God, and peace from God. 

The need for the church in Ukraine has never been higher – we need to protect these churches in Ukraine, keep them going, keep them encouraged.  Their ministry during the war, and their ministry after the war will help keep the country from despair and loss of hope.  Please join with me in standing beside Ukrainian believers.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

You can Pray – pray for the 15 churches in our denomination – pray through the requests below, but generally pray that they would have what it takes

to go on preaching/loving/counseling.

You can Give – Support our missionaries in Ukraine, and those of us who travel there often.  Give toward our crisis response.

You can Get Involved – Take part in our Crates for Ukraine initiative. Until the end of the year, we are asking individuals and churches to fill crates with needed winter items and send them to our churches in Ukraine.   

1000 days is a long time to stay engaged in anything.  But we need you, and the church in Ukraine needs you, to stay standing with them.

Many of them have said to me that they don’t think they could have done it without our support – let’s continue to show them the love of Christ.

In Christ,

Jon Eide

MTW Ukraine Country Director

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1.  https://www.csis.org/analysis/assessing-russian-firepower-strikes-ukraine

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. Russia’s huge attacks over the past weeks on Odessa and Kyiv specifically, but other cities as well:  Yesterday there was no water, heat, or electricity in Odessa.  Pray particularly as they anticipate the impact of this for winter. Most people are using generators 8 hours/day, with some cities having two hours of power alternating with two hours of no power each day. Many expect the winter to be worse with only 6 hours/day of electricity. Pray that Ukraine can restore uninterrupted power to cities across the country and make measurable gains in preparing for winter.

2. The new mobilization law continues to be of concern for men and their families in Ukraine, with 100+ EPCU members currently serving in active military duty. Pray for all Ukrainian soldiers, and specifically soldiers called up from EPCU churches, that they may they be protected from harm and comforted as they fight for their country and long for their families. Pray for mothers, wives and families who are managing their homes without their men who are serving.

3. Praise that a Christian counselor will begin working with the EPCU church in Lviv. Pray for more trained counselors to address the trauma-induced needs of people, and for MTW-Ukraine to be able to help facilitate more training of counselors there.  Pray for funding for one of our churches in Belgorod in southern Ukraine to be able to buy a counseling facility.

4. The EPCU churches continue to show the love of Jesus and minister to those who need humanitarian support, despite church elders and members being called into military service. Pray for churches ministering to those displaced who need food, housing, counseling, and for Bible study groups that are meeting. Pray for EPCU Pastors to persevere as they care for their church members and for the needs of their communities, while missing the missionaries who previously served alongside them.

NEW PRAYER REQUESTS THIS MONTH

1. Praise that EPCU Pastor George of Covenant of Grace Church in Odesa, with his wife Snezhanna – were able to come to our Global Missions Conference in Atlanta, and were able to visit many other churches as well. Praise they got back to Odessa safely, and have survived the recent attacks. 

2. Praise for new people coming to churches who are talking about their problems less and about their thankfulness more. Pray for church members in Ukraine as they seek to follow and be faithful to Jesus, particularly when many things in their daily life are troubling and don’t make sense.