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Dear Friends,
Much has happened this past week, both good and bad!
Firstly, after reporting the need for aid we heard from 2 sources that they were able to help. The much anticipated lorry from Germany has arrived at 9.00am (GMT) on Thursday morning!! Bohdan over this past weekend spent many hours with customs applying for the Centre's own unique customs registration number, something that normally takes weeks or months, but they turned it around in just hours! Here are the pictures from the arrival of the lorry:
We are also to receive aid from the west of Ukraine with bulk supplies of rice, soya, and dried potatoes, plus some hygiene kits. This will equate to around 5 tons of aid. Please pray for its safe arrival.
The aid is much needed as the region suffers even further under military activity. You can see from the map of the Sumy region below that in the month of April, 4,376 missiles of all kinds were fired into Sumy. The blue dot is where Lebedyn is situated, and where the “704” missiles total shows is where Pastor Andrew is located.
This past weekend was orthodox Easter, and traditionally on Good Friday many people go to visit the graves of loved ones. Unsurprisingly, graveyards were targeted on Friday by Russia with missiles. The church did not celebrate the Orthodox Easter as they celebrated at the same time as we would do in the UK. On Sunday night a large cruise missile hit the power station that services much of Lebedyn. Many areas of the town did not have power for a day or so, but thankfully, and quite miraculously, the Centre does have power as authorities diverted their supply from a different power station. They may get power cuts as supply might have to be limited. We are looking to get a solar powered charger for them as many offices now have these so they can keep working. They are quite expensive, but it would mean the Centre can continue with its work and ministry. The only thing that cannot run off these chargers would be the ovens within the bakery as they use a special phased supply.
In previous reports we prayed for Azat who pastored the church plant in Okhtyrka, but was captured and tortured trying to rescue family further south. He has made a great recovery, and had heard of the need for aid when talking with Bohdan and managed to get bags of aid made up for all those attending the church. Many have taken them and, like Bohdan, has given them out to families in desperate need. See pictures below.
The lady in the above picture was visited by Bohdan and received aid. She comes regularly to the church, and became a Christian under Pastor Sergey’s ministry. She lives with her son, Andrew, who is in the advance stages of cancer, and his family. Chemotherapy is not being kind to his body, and he knows he is dying. He listened to what Bohdan said as he shared the gospel message and became a Christian there and then. He said he might have lost his life with this terrible disease, but he now has the Lord in his life, so he gained so much more and is now at peace. His chance of survival is less than 30% and he has 4 boys in his family. Bohdan has asked if we can pray for him and the family.
Last week, I also shared Oleksiy’s story with the bakery. Sadly, his father died on Sunday, he was an alcoholic and this eventually killed him. Bohdan said that Oleksiy is staying strong, and is bringing all his family to church on Sunday.
Despite the power cuts and everything going on, the bakery team still sprang into action and baked hundreds of loaves again on Tuesday. Again, much of the distribution was able to be done outside. It is amazing the impact this work is having in the community. Even the soldiers sometimes try and get the bread!!
Bohdan and team are giving support to young people that really need help, someone to talk to, or for them to go deeper in their faith. The two young ladies below are Vlada and Dasha, who again Bohdan has asked we pray for. Vlada we have mentioned in previous reports. She struggles with her mental health after being abandoned by parents during the war and left her with her grandmother. She carries so much and is deeply searching for the meaning of life! Dasha is new to Lebedyn, and is so excited to attend the various clubs and meetings. She is really looking to understand what it is to be a Christian.
There is lots of planning going on as the team try to figure out how to still deliver three summer camps. The plan is to start first week of July. There will be one week for younger children, one for older children and one for the teens. Inflation is rampant, so we are looking at the cost of doing these and logistically how this can happen with so much going on within the region. We estimate that the cost for the camps this year will be around £12,000, but it will mean hundreds of children are helped, along with all their families. Please pray for the team as they plan ahead.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. We are truly blessed to have a growing list of people willing to pray and support financially.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
