LOVES PARK, III.–Ukrainians are bracing far a devastating one-two punch this winter-a frightening combination of hours-long power blackouts and freezing temperatures.
“This winter stands to be one of the most brutal experiences they’ve gone through,” said Eric Mock, senior vice president of ministry operations at Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), a faith-based mission to Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.
The Illinois-based organization has launched an emergency response—Heat and Hope—supplying firewood, coal, blankets, and warm clothes to Ukrainian families, as well as generators ta local evangelical churches in Ukraine doubling up as community warming centers.
Desperate for Warmth as Winter Blows In
Amid new “peace plan” talks, the war has entered a somber new phase—with almost daily attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and electricity outages lasting up to 18 hours, meaning no light and no heat.
“Many cannot afford to buy firewood,” said Dmytro, a local pastor. Dmytro is one of several local ministers risking their lives to help families living in the “gray zone” of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, just a few miles from the frontline.
Every day, pastors supported by SGA put on body armor and go to frontline villages, distributing aid, sharing the Gospel message, and praying with the fearful and the frozen.
Local homes are mostly simple, drafty structures, without good insulation or luxuries such as double-glazed windows.
In the gray zone, the elderly, the sick, young children, and those with disabilities are especially vulnerable as attacks intensify and power outages increase.
“Constant shelling, anxiety, and stress are causing a large number of illnesses,” said Dmytro, his last name withheld for security reasons.
Anxiety Surges, Help Arrives
Natalia and her husband, Oleksandr, fled for their lives after their house was bombed, and their entire town was virtually wiped out.
Oleksandr became seriously ill and spent three weeks in the hospital, worsening the couple’s stress and financial worries.
“When the electricity goes off, we sit in the dark,” Natalia said. “We worry most about heating. We don’t have money to buy firewood.”
But something happened recently that Natalia and Oleksandr did not expect-a surprise delivery of firewood from a local church pastor, partnering with the Heat and Hope relief effort.
“They even helped unload it,” Natalia said. ”Thank God for these people.”
SGA’s Mock, a pastor in the U.S. and a frequent visitor to Ukraine, described the coming months as Ukraine’s “darkest winter” of the war.
“They desperately need our help and prayers,” he said. ‘This winter could be the worst yet.”
Founded in 1934, Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org) helps ‘Jorgotten” orphans, widows and families in Ukraine, Russia, the former Soviet countries of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel-caring for their physical needs and sharing the lifetransforming Gospel. SGA supports an extensive grassroots network of local evangelical missionary pastors and churches in cities and rural villages across this vast region.
PHOTO CUTLINE: FROZEN FEAR: As power blackouts intensify and temperatures plunge below freezing, Ukraine faces a brutal winter, according to Slavic Gospel Association (SGA). It has launched an emergency response called Heat and Hope.
MEDIA: To schedule a video or audio interview with SGA’s Eric Mock and/or a frontline pastor in Ukraine, contact: Dewayne Hamby dhamby@inchristcommunications.com, (423) 505-0041 (text or phone).