Thanks for your prayers! This past weekend I went on a vision trip to the east. My goal was to meet people working with refugees and to personally see the needs near the front lines.
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| Home Bible study group in Svitlodarsk |
On Friday I rode the high speed train with my friend down to Slavyansk where a driver met and drove us to Svitladorsk which is about 2 kilometers from the separatist controlled area. Along the way we had to stop at four Ukrainian army block posts. We had to show our documents to the soldiers. At one point we drove over a temporary bridge that was built over a bridge that had been bombed out. At another point we passes an armored personnel carrier and saw one battle tank near the road. But, we safely arrived in Svitladorsk without any major issues. One guy who has been distributing humanitarian aid and starting a church plant took us on a walking tour of the town. He showed us the broken out windows, the bullet holes in the buildings and places where inbound rockets had landed. He told us stories of watching the incoming rockets from his balcony and people running to the basements for cover. On Saturday we attended the church plant service being held in the music school with boarded up windows. About 40 adults and children were at that service. Saturday afternoon we attended a home group
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| Myrovnivka church plant |
Bible study with about 15 present. Sunday we took a bus to the next town over named Myronivka where another team is distributing humanitarian aid and doing a church plant. That church plant also
had about 40 adults and children in attendance. They meet near an abandoned orphanage building. I wish we could have stayed longer. But, we needed to return to the train station in Slavyansk for our return trip. On the way back to Slavyansk we passed through more military check points; and I saw a couple more tanks and a Red Cross vehicle. I arrived home in Kyiv at about 11:30 pm on Sunday. What a weekend! At the end of the trip I was thinking to yself: "Some people sit at home and watch football on weekends. Somehow I end up spending my weekend going to a previous war zone to encouraging struggling believers in their humanitarian aid and church plant efforts. Who would have thought that?" Pray for God to meet the physical needs (food, clothing, health care, repairs, infrastructure, etc.) and the spiritual needs of those living and serving near the front lines. Pray for God to grow His church there and that
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| Armored Personnel Carrier we passed on the road |
believers would share the Good News of Jesus in the inner peace that surpasses all understanding. Finally, pray for my refugee humanitarian aid project to move forward so that I can more effectively do my part in bringing God's love to life among these needy people. Thanks again for your prayers and financial support that enables us to serve.
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