Across the former Soviet countries, millions of individuals and families are mired in deep, heartbreaking poverty. Seven decades of atheistic communism and economic upheaval have ravaged their lives. And even though 27 years have elapsed since the chaos of the Soviet collapse, the majority still face an enormous struggle to make ends meet.

Scripture exhorts us to model the compassion of the Lord Jesus toward those who are ravaged by poverty . . . So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion (Colossians 3:12). And with your help, that is exactly what the evangelical churches SGA serves are doing among many despairing families.

“Who is this that cares enough?”

SGA vice president Eric Mock has seen the need first hand, as well as the eternal fruit that grows from the ministry. He writes:

In Central Asia, I have been in homes with no heat and where it’s 20 below outside, and they have their children underneath the table with their feet near a portable coal burner so they can at least stay warm while the ladies are staying around the outside. They are barely surviving and the children get little nutrition. There is even a risk where children can get sold into human trafficking. When we help the local church come with $10 worth of oil, flour, rice, and beans—they can survive, see the love of God, hear the Gospel, and have their lives transformed. The believers are walking the road with them and stay involved, teaching them a new way of living.

Then there’s Belarus, where the poor people are going to local mayors and leaders asking for help.  They don’t have a welfare program, and since the churches have been distributing food through SGA-sponsored Compassion Ministry, the mayors now point them to the church, and then the church goes out and visits them with help. The pastors tell me that this is the most fruitful ministry they’ve ever had, because people say, “Who is this that cares enough to bring me food?”

The answer, of course, is Christians compelled by the love of Christ. And behind them are SGA supporters like you. Thank you for blessing people across the world in Jesus’ name!