We pray for Valentina, Max, Dmitri, and others you’ll see pictured from SGA-supported Pastor Viacheslav’s recent ministry report below. Each has heard the Gospel as a result of his church’s outreach through emergency aid provided by generous friends like you.

How grateful we are that these and other displaced Ukrainians who have suffered greatly are now hearing through the churches we serve of the hope they have in Jesus Christ!  Let’s ask the Lord to turn their hearts toward receiving Him.

Greetings our friends in the Lord!

The Bethlehem Church supports refugees from different regions of Ukraine and also people in need [in our community]. The church has four worship services during the week, and twice a week Christian lessons and readings from the Word of God. Also we have a Sunday school for children and teenagers. 

Recently, a youth Christian studio has been started on Fridays. With the food aid from the supporters, we have the necessary support for IDPs [internally displaced persons] and needy, socially vulnerable people. The Word of God, which is preached in the church and during evangelistic events, gives people support, strength and hope that everything will be fine. Most importantly, people find spiritual and moral support here, as well as practical support (both in the form of food and hygiene supplies).

We are very grateful to Slavic Gospel Association and their supporters for their support. It is a great help to all those in need, especially during the war. Food and hygiene supplies are extremely important for IDPs and financially vulnerable people, so we are all extremely grateful for this important help! Thank God that there are such caring people. Glory to Jesus Christ! Amen.

Viacheslav,
Pastor of the church

My name is Valentina. My husband, daughter, my grandson, and I are from Kharkiv. Because of the war, we moved [here] in March 2022. For a month and a half we lived in a gym at school, and now we are living in a dorm. Last spring, the pastor of Bethlehem Church invited the IDPs from our dorm to come to the church and receive humanitarian aid. Since that day, I have been attending Bethlehem Church every Sunday. I found not only food but also spiritual support in this church. All church members are respectful and open to our grief. I like the pastor’s sermons, they are so insightful, interesting, and supportive.

The church members are very concerned that we have enough food, warm clothes and shoes for ourselves. Many people come to Bethlehem Church. We listen to the Word of God, sing Christian songs, and pray. This is a great support for us, people who are in difficult circumstances because of the war. I am very glad that I can come to the House of Prayer and receive great support from the church. I am grateful that there are so many supporters and missions that help and care about our Ukrainian people. I thank God for everything. I have hope and faith that God helps me and my family.

My name is Max. I recently turned 17 years old. I was born and raised in the city of Sloviansk, Donetsk region. My dad, as they say now, worked in the critical infrastructure all his life. My mother worked in a hospital and also baked cakes for customers. The war has been around for a long time. I was 8 years old when the (first) war started. We could hear the sounds of shelling very well, and in a few years, we learnt to distinguish between types of weapons. It was scary at first, but then everyone got used to it. Two years before the full-scale war, my parents invested all their savings in renovating my grandmother’s old house: they lifted the ceiling and built a separate room for everyone. Like most of the residents of Sloviansk, they thought the war would end soon. They didn’t want to leave, lest their homes be robbed, and then they got used to this military life. They thought the same thing in 2022, but when my mother’s hospital was bombed to the ground and my mother miraculously escaped, they decided to flee. We came to visit our friends [here]. How we were leaving is a whole other story: me, my mother, sister, uncle, his wife, grandparents, and my bedridden great-grandfather, all in one car, plus our belongings. At each checkpoint, we were checked, each bag was shaken, and my elderly great-grandfather was forced to get out of the car. In short, it took us almost a day to get to our soldiers.  

When we arrived [here], things were very bad: my sister’s health had significantly worsened, my great-grandfather was also getting worse, and my mother could not find a job because she could not leave my sister. Once, more than a year ago, we were invited to a holiday at the Hope Church. I really didn’t want to go, because I’m not a child anymore. My sister was excited about the party, but I felt awkward. Even though there were boys and girls of the same age, we couldn’t start a conversation. Everyone was still scared of what they had experienced and treated everyone with great caution. Last August, meetings for teenagers started in this church. I missed the first two months, and then I started going several times a month. Now I attend them all the time! I have made friends there, especially among those who organize these meetings for us! It was very difficult, but I was able to share what I was going through. I can feel the prayers of our leaders for me! I try to read the Bible, although I understand very little, but with explanations it becomes much easier to understand! I’m grateful to everyone who provides such interesting themes, decor, and new goodies every time! We also receive food and hygiene supplies from time to time! Thank you for your care and love!

My name is Dmitri. I am 25 years old. I was born in the Luhansk region, in the city of Krasny Luch. Before the war, I lived there with my family. When the war started back in 2014, we moved to Severodonetsk, also in the Luhansk region. Today, I have no parents anymore. Before the war there was everyone, after the war there was no one. This year, when the war started, my father disappeared, and then I found out that he was killed. My mother disappeared, I don’t know where she is. She was deprived of parental rights and I was raised with my father. I have brothers and sisters, but I don’t know where they are now. We do not communicate with them at all. 

Before the war, I was convicted of a crime. I was convicted of theft. I spent my jail term in Kharkiv and worked at a factory at the same time. When the full-scale war started, we were all moved here. My behavior has already improved. I was released. Here . . . I have been living in the Light of Hope Centre for over a year.  I used to work at a construction site when there was work. Now I have no job. My friends brought me to this church. At first they said that the church helps everyone who needs something. I had nothing. At the church, I was met very nicely. I started smiling a lot when I started coming here. I even forget that I started smiling a lot and I really like it. I have come to life here in the church. I like the relationships, the pastor is amazing. The services are very good. I’m really happy. I am happy that I am slowly beginning to understand the Word of God! It makes me so happy! I want to thank all the kind people who help us here with food. I believe that God will change my whole future life for the better. I really want this! I want to start everything from a new page!

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.