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Dear Friends,
This week there is little change in the military activity within Sumy region. They are all still on a heightened alert and the sound of sirens is a constant reminder of the dangers. This is impacting the work at the Centre as many parents are frightened to let their children to go out - quite understandably! Nevertheless, all the activities continue, even if there are less attendees. Interestingly the parents seem very happy to send their children to the camps, but not so much with the regular clubs. They have asked for more camp weeks!
The English classes with the children have been a huge success. At the top of the page is a photo of one of the younger children’s groups displaying their drawings from English words they have been learning.
The bread ministry continues to be as popular as ever, and now the sun shines they can distribute this outside which helps to cope with the queues, as you can see from the pictures below. Each week hundreds of loaves are being distributed, not just at the Centre but with refugees and in care homes.
We recently had an article written in an update from the people that supplied the ovens for the bakery. This is the story of Oleksiy….
Before the war started, 16-year-old Oleksiy used to attend church occasionally in his hometown of Lebedyn, Ukraine. But when the war started, his father began to drink heavily, leaving his family in great need. So Oleksiy and his mother decided to go to church to receive bread that was provided by the bakery in Lebedyn Mission Centre. With time, Oleksiy became interested in spiritual things, and started regularly attending Bible studies. Last year, he came forward in church to receive the Lord into his heart and was baptised. His mother has also started to study the Bible seriously. Today, Oleksiy helps to deliver loaves of bread to the elderly in his community that were baked in the bakery, and he eagerly shares the gospel with them as well.
Aid generally is tough to obtain, but we have now 2 sources who appear to be willing to help, which is amazing news. With both sources there is quite a bit of paperwork for the team. There is a full truck waiting to be sent from Germany, but Bohdan and the team need to acquire a customs licence for the aid to arrive. This is a laborious process and we need it to be speedy, so Bohdan has requested for us to pray that all applications will be met with favour and expedited speedily so that there will not be any further problems. This truck is full of all kinds of aid including beds for refugees as well as many other helpful items. Our other source is mainly for bulk food like rice, soya and dried potatoes . There are also hygiene kits, but this is a separate application to receive these. So, there is lots of background work and much paper filling to adhere to Ukraine regulations before this aid can arrive, so please do pray for them.
We have been seeking additional help for Bohdan within the team. We thought we had found that person, but at present it is unlikely he will come as it is more likely for them to be called up to fight in the war. However, there does seem a possibility for another person to join and it will help Bohdan immensely so he can keep driving all that is going on. Again, prayers are requested for the right person to join the team who are living and working in a very precarious situation.
The teenagers still meet for both the homegroup Bible studies, and for the youth club on Friday and Sunday nights. The homegroup keeps growing and this next week they have had to split again as there are so many people attending. Alla is going to run one for the girls, and Bohdan one for the boys. This is fantastic news. However, the youth that attend the other clubs are getting a lot of peer pressure and ridicule for attending, and that is affecting numbers and has been quite upsetting for these young people. Bohdan again asked for specific prayer on this. Below is a picture from last Sunday where the youth got together to make their own pizza’s amongst other things!
It was good to see Bohdan brighter, more rested and full of energy and passion for the work this week. Having had a few days “off” he feels refreshed. Once again he thanks everyone for their prayers and support through these difficult days.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
