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Dear Friends,
It has been a very busy two weeks in Lebedyn. Getting aid, planning, and starting the Autumn camp, and still holding the many activities within the Centre and throughout the region has been challenging but good.
Last week, Bohdan text me to say the intensity of the sirens was still growing and now they could hear bombs and shelling in the distance. Current reports say that the shelling throughout Ukraine has been at its worst for nine months. Sadly, these things are not getting reported now in the main news bulletins. Also, food supplies are getting harder to obtain, power cuts are starting to happen to conserve energy, and there is a dread of what winter might bring.
We managed to find some aid and sent lorries to Mukachevo and Zaporizhia . We expected them to come back full but sadly the trucks were only filled to 50% capacity. There was still around five tons of food and supplies, but most of this has already been given out. Last Thursday, they invited those they knew were needing help to attend a church service at the Centre. Here they were given some refreshments, and received food packs with over 200 people turning up. Over 300 families in total have benefited from this help as some were visited in their homes. We were also given more flour to help the bakery to produce more loaves for distribution. Some pictures follow.
The aid gives huge support especially to the poorest in the region. Many families are living on one meal a day and even that is very basic. The more you travel into the rural areas, Bohdan says the poverty seems worse. When the team visit they bring hope as well as food. They share about their hope in Jesus as Christians and people are keen to listen. One such young man is Ilya. He is 24. and lives in a rural area on the outskirts of Lebedyn. He has some physical disabilites and is isolated with no family around him. When the team visited he had no food. They gave him some aid , chatted with him and gave him a Bible to read. Ilya has become a Christian as a result, he comes to all the services, is a transformed character and loves being part of the church family!
Two weeks ago the team were again invited to go into Lebedyn hospital to help and visit the children. Valentine, Lyuba & Svitalana took gifts and shared stories written by the team for the puppet theatre. Many of the children waiting in the room below need on-going treatment, or have simply been abandoned or orphaned, and they wait in hospital until an orphanage or home is found. The hospital want us to do more work with these children.
The bomb shelter was finished in time for the autumn camp which is going on this week. It now has heating, ventilation, a toilet, and bomb-proof doors! See pictures below.
The camp has gone very well, and the children seem to be in much better spirits this time around. The sirens before the camp were as intense as ever, as I mentioned above, but so far they have only happened once, briefly, 10 minutes on Wednesday. This is an amazing answer to prayer as they were fearful that the camp could not proceed. There will be a fuller report on the camp in the next week or so but there are a few pictures below to enjoy.
In my conversation with Bohdan on Thursday morning, it was evident that Ukraine is shifting in some of its stances around the war. New changes to laws will make it harder for people to be exempt from active service. Many of those that have ongoing medical conditions are having those ignored to grow the army reservists. There is also talk that studies will have to stop for young men, and this could have a significant impact on our team as a result, so please can you pray for this matter. This amazing work and ministry needs to carry on, and we need the right team to be able to achieve this.
On Tuesday, I sent out details about our Christmas Campaign “Hope for Christmas”. Can I thank those of you that have already donated and given to this campaign as the support has been amazing thus far. If you didn't receive the email and would like to know more, please visit our Hope For Christmas Appeal 2023 page.
Thank you all for your faithful support in so many ways.
Every blessing,
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
