May 3
- MB Ukraine conference minister Roman Rakhuba shares the pain and hope being experienced by those in Ukraine: “A part of our country is like a cemetery where dreams, relationships, property, plans, and hopes are buried, along with thousands of friends, relatives, acquaintances… Yet, because Christ is risen, I believe that life does not fade away. This graveyard of broken hopes, relationships, plans and lost loved ones will become a place of joy, where all the broken will be restored.”
Pastor Maxym Oliferovski reports on how his New Hope Center in Zaporizhzhia continues to function as a shelter for refugees. More than 100 people have been housed in the last month, finding hospitality, support for their evacuation journey and, above all, hope. One refugee was helped to flee to Poland, only to return a month later when she heard that her son, a soldier, had been killed, and that her daughter was still trapped in a conflict zone. Literally sick with worry, she was housed at the New Hope Center and given both medical care and prayer support. After one week, her daughter was able to escape to join her, and they were tearfully reunited.- Berdyansk MB pastor Alexei Yuditsenko reports that in the city of Zaporizhzhia there is a crippling shortage of medicine, baby food, hygiene products, and many more vital supplies. He and his church are looking for ways to send more help into this occupied territory. He writes, “I would like to express special gratitude to those who help – you are my heroes. Please don’t be silent; talk about this genocide and pray for God to give us peace.”
Molochansk MB pastor Oleksii Makaiov tells us of a shelter for refugees that they helping to build in Mukachevo, close to Ukraine’s border with Hungary. Construction work continues with the installation of a shower, toilet, and kitchen. Furniture and household items are being brought in, and electrical wiring has been completed. He writes, “We are grateful to you who are helping us to frame this shelter. Offline and online, we call on all believers to put their hope in God. He is our true shelter, the rest for our hearts amidst pain and despair.” - A Mission Eurasia ministry center in Irpin, northern Ukraine, has been destroyed. Teams from the center traveled to a Mission Eurasia warehouse in Krakow, Poland and, thanks to generous donations, have since been able to print over ten times the quantity of bibles that were lost. These are being distributed in refugee centers, and one worker writes, “Scripture and hope are needed now more than ever in Ukraine. Thank you for making these bibles available for ministry to tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugee families.”
The MB churches in Austria continue to fill vehicles with provision and transport them to Ukraine. The journey is not without risk, and they ask for our ongoing prayers.May 12
The pace of relief work has not changed, as MB churches continue to send vehicles with food and hygiene articles across the border for distribution in Ukraine. Once supplies are delivered, every attempt is made to safely evacuate the vulnerable.
Pastor Alexei reports an incident where a chaplain and his team were in the process of evacuating the elderly and disabled when they came under drone fire. They escaped unscathed; the car did not. Residents of the city of Novomoskovsk expressed their gratitude: “Thank you so much for caring about someone else’s fate and supporting the elderly. We wish you and your helpers – for your kindness, open heart and mercy – happiness, health and all the best!”
Church planter Oleksii reports that for the last two months, the Kyiv missionary team has been actively working, delivering humanitarian aid sent from different countries to various cities in Ukraine. Together with the Molochansk Mennonite Brethren Church and other partners they pack, transport and distribute supplies to those in need. Over the last two months, more than 100 families, about 500 people, have received assistance through this ministry, whose goal is to solve not only food and household issues, but to pray, listen, and encourage others with a message of hope from God’s Word.
Yulia was in Poland when she heard that her son, a soldier, had been killed, and that her daughter was still trapped in Mariupol. New Hope Center helped to reunite mother and daughter. Read their story here.
Johann Matthies, Multiply’s Regional Team Leader, reports that donations are also helping in the printing of Christian literature to be distributed among the millions of refugees and displaced persons. He writes, “Thank you for fighting in intercession with us and also enabling us to keep encouraging, supplying and equipping our staff and volunteers in Ukraine. While the enemy appears to be loose, let us pray that our Lord continues to build his gates-of-hell-proof Church in Ukraine and everywhere in our world.”
May 30
- Maxym Oliferovski (Multiply Ukraine) reports that all of the shelters that they’ve set up in Eastern and Western Ukraine are now fully operational and seamlessly connected. Thank you all for your generous support! Please continue to pray for all of the displaced people within Ukraine who are seeking shelter. Most of them now are elderly people from farming villages who have no connections across the country or abroad, and have nowhere to go.
- Here is a by-product of our relief work in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.
Sergey Filippov is the church planter in the city who is supported by Multiply. When the war broke out, his pregnant wife Nastya had to be brought to safety in Germany. She stayed with Heinrich and Annie Rempel until she got her own little apartment in the city of Bielefeld. All this time, Sergey was in Kyiv helping local families in need. The photo below shows the new room that the little church had fixed up but, because of the war, was never used. Until this Sunday! With the chairs donated by our church partners in Austria the services will begin tomorrow. All the relief recipients of the last ninety days are invited. Please pray for the Small Arche Church, the family situation of Sergey and Nastya, the relief supplies and transportation, and now also for God’s salvation entering the lives of the battered but uncrushed people of Kyiv.- One of our workers in Central Asia submitted this photo of Natalia and her twin children, Yana and Yaroslav. Natalia and her children are refugees from Kramatorsk, Ukraine. As they were trying to catch a train and flee from their city, the railway station was bombed. Yaroslav was in the railway station building and was spared, but unfortunately Natalia and Yana were hit by bomb splinters.Our volunteers have helped Natalia and her children to get to Lviv to receive medical and spiritual help. Let’s pray for Natalia and her children.
