Below is an extensive report from Pastor Olexander who recently received two pallets of aid from SGA/Australia. When you consider Scripture prompting us to be grateful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), consider the family noted below who are grateful for their lives, despite having lived in a bomb shelter. May we all be so grateful!

            2 Corinthians 4:6 says, The God who said, ‘Out of darkness the light shall shine!’ is the same God who made His light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of Christ. In the four videos below from Pastor Olexander’s church and ministry, you’ll see smiles of gratitude, joyous laughter, and thankful hearts. How is that possible in such tragic times? Because the Gospel shines through as a bright light in the greatest times of darkness! Because of recent generosity and aid received from SGA/Australia, children are hearing the Gospel, families are given shelter, meals are being provided for those in need, and the light of the Gospel shines bright. Thank you!

Food Aid Report from Pastor Olexander from the Baptist Church in Ukraine

            Dear SGA partners, peace and grace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ! On July 17, 2023, through the Vinnitsa Regional Association, we received humanitarian aid from Australia in the form of food and personal hygiene items. The number of pallets received was two. All this aid was distributed only for the IDPs, who currently live in our area. At the moment, 120 refugee families that live here and in the surrounding 11 villages are under the care of our church (which has only 29 members!). These families include 72 children and 19 people with disabilities.
            As a result of the war, these people have been left with nothing and need everything they can get, so helping them is a primary responsibility of the churches. We are very, very grateful to you for the great help you have once again provided for those who are in desperate need!
            Over the past 10 days, we have had unforgettable, touching meetings with these suffering people, bringing them Spiritual Bread and daily bread. They tearfully accepted these blessings with both hands of gratitude! And we also, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your very important ministry! May the Lord God, always and in all things, bless the ministry of SGA richly and abundantly!
            We visited one region where there are only 36 residents. And this tiny village recently received 17 IDPs from the city of Kramatorsk. We are very happy that almost all of them attend our church services. By the way, most of these families lived in a private neighborhood of Kramatorsk before the war. Here is what happened to their homes:

This is of a family from the temporarily occupied city of Starobilsk, Luhansk region. They have been living in the basement, or more accurately, the bomb shelter, of a high-rise building for the second year… And their father is being treated after being wounded.

This is daughter Alisa at the entrance of their building.

IDPs Children in the Sunday school (which is held in a dormitory) with some gifts from SGA.

This building, a former children’s studio, is home for refugees from Donetsk. There are 11 people living together in one room. And these are completely different families of different ages… They also received help from you.

The following is about a special family. The older woman in the photo, Liubov, has 8 children and 13 grandchildren. Most of them lived before the war in the now notorious Borodyanka, Kyiv region. Part of the family was able to escape the city through humanitarian corridors during the shelling and fighting, while the rest of the family was under occupation from February 26 to the end of March 2022 and experienced all the horrors of the war. Those who escaped ended up here.

This is what remains of their house in Borodyanka, (Kyiv region) 

Translation:
            “Today, July 19, 2023, we are distributing humanitarian aid from SGA mission in a nearby village. This village hosted almost 400 refugees last year and today some of them are receiving this aid. We sincerely thank SGA partners, and may the good Lord bless you in your work. We sincerely thank you, dear friends, for such incredible support.”

Translation:
            “Dear friends, we have just visited a family and brought them food aid from SGA. This family has been going through a lot. Now Liubov will tell us a little bit about how from where they fled and what they experienced…
Liubov: ‘I am from Borodyanka, near Kyiv. There was a lot of fear in our village! Rockets were flying, tanks were coming. We were in a house that is no longer there. Our house was smashed by a rocket. Thank God, I was not in the house at the time. My son could bring me here in time. But it was horrible! People suffered from no water, no bread, and were hiding wherever they could. My daughter and her children also experienced fear. She and her children were hiding in basements for a long time. The children are small.’
            This family is still going through a lot today. We are worried about Yuri (the children’s father), he is now at war, at the most dangerous point… We believe that he will return home to us soon. We are grateful to all the kind people for the food aid, and may God bless you all!”

Translation:
            “Dear friends! We are now seeing a special room where refugees live, all of them from different cities and towns. This room used to be a kids’ studio. This is how these different people, different families, live here—on mattresses on the floor. They say that “they get along well”. For the second year, they have been living together like this. May the Lord protect you and soon return everyone to your homes!”

Translation:           
“Our dear friends. We are now in a group of wonderful children who were forced to move to us in our region. These are the children we meet often, who have beautiful, warm hearts. Today these kids received these gifts from the SGA team, and this is not the first time. We will now listen to them, and each of them will tell us where they came from:
– Good afternoon. My name is Nadiya and I came from the Luhansk region. Thank you to the SGA team.
– Sofia from Bakhmut.
– My name is Hlib. I came from Siversk, Donetsk region.
– Polina (shyly…) came from Zaporizhzhia
– Good afternoon. My name is Aurora and I came from Kherson.
– Good afternoon. My name is Veronika and I came from Donetsk region.
– Hello, my name is Katya and I am from Donetsk region. 
– My name is Daria and I am also from Donetsk region.
– My name is Hlib and I am from Luhansk region. I am grateful to the SGA mission
– Hello, my name is Nazariy and I am from Zaporizhzhia region
– My name is Olya and I am from Zaporizhzhia region. Thank you very much!
– My name is Eva and I am from Chervonyi Liman.
And there is a little boy with us, his name is Andrew, who came to us with his mother from Bakhmut.
There is also Danylo, who came from Kramatorsk. 
– My name is Grandma Nina, I came from Donbas, Luhansk region. We are very grateful to SGA!”

On behalf of the church and those who received help, thank you!

  – Pastor Oleksandr Kozubovsky

In a time of great uncertainty, God is bringing help, healing, and hope to the people of Ukraine through SGA-supported pastors, churches, a seminary, and SGA-supported Compassion Ministry. Be a part of God’s incredible work with your generosity and prayer support.  

Your gift of compassion helps struggling people with emergency aid that generally includes Scripture materials, food, medicine, warm clothing, and shoes.