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Dear Friends,
This past week has seen yet more increase in military activity in the region, causing much concern within communities.
On Monday in the special update, we reported how Larisa’s orphanage had been hit with a bomb. It would appear that the damage is far worse than originally thought. Because it is feared that orphanages are being targeted, they are staying in a safe house (location unknown) as they plan what to do next and where to go. Larisa is hoping to rebuild the centre, but this work cannot continue until Sumy city becomes safe again.
Last night was one of the noisiest nights in Lebedyn. All major cities and regions were hit badly, and even in Lebedyn drones and missiles were being shot down. The other night one drone was shot down just 800 metres from Bohdan’s house. The children were especially scared as the house shook with the force of the blast. The university that Valentyn attends and sometimes stays over at was bombed last night. The halls of residence were completely destroyed.
New laws have come in that state that children and young people are not allowed out in the evenings. This of course will have some impact on what the team are doing, but already they are finding ways to overcomes this new challenge. The youth will come straight from school on a Friday, and the children’s clubs are held through the day on Saturday anyway. These will happen this weekend.
Yesterday (Wednesday), Bohdan drove to Samotoivka to speak at the funeral of Pastor Andrew’s nephew, Alexander. He was on the frontline and Pastor Andrew was chatting with him on Sunday afternoon. Hours later he was killed. Bohdan said that the funeral went well, but it was very dangerous as the journey took twice as long as normal and where they were, the damage was great. Pastor Andrew was greatly upset at the funeral. When they came out of the service it is customary to do a funeral procession to the grave. They were advised not to do this for safety reasons but they still did it anyway! As this is a restricted area Bohdan was not allowed to take photos. As they walked to the graveyard they could see bombs and fires in the distance. The smell of burning filled the air and Bohdan said it felt so dangerous. Please can we pray for Pastor Andrew and his family for his safety, and the work he is doing within the community.
Despite all the above the team are keeping busy. The bakery has baked hundreds of loaves. There was a special service on Tuesday for refugees which had 70 people attend. Each were given 2 loaves of bread as many said how they had struggled to feed themselves in recent days. Most of the bread bought in the shops normally weighs around 400 grams. These loaves baked at the Centre weigh 1 kilo, so to get 2 loaves is equivalent of 5 loaves from the shop. In addition to this service, the team all went out around the town to deliver to people they knew who were struggling to present them with a loaf of bread. Bohdan said it brought such joy to their faces.
Bohdan is in conversation with various schools and orphanages to see how the team can help at this time. He is waiting to hear back. They are also planning to hold an autumn camp, but this might have to be done slightly differently depending on the impact of the war.
In this past week, Vera (pictured above in a green scarf) & Alexander have become Christians and are now attending baptismal classes. We celebrate with them. The other photo is of Bohdan Papeta. He too became a Christian but at the recent teen camp. He lives in a village outside of Lebedyn, and his father was recently killed in the war. He constantly reads his Bible as a comfort and guide. He and his mother are planning to flee to Poland. Please do pray for these people.
Education is still a challenge. Like most schools, summer break is over and the children have returned, but because of the sirens all children are supposed to now learn online. Power outages are getting worse with no schedule being followed, and random cuts happening for long periods of time. In Samotoivka one power cut lasted for over 24 hours! This is a cause of much frustration for the children and parents, and I know Bohdan and Alla really struggle with this.
Lastly, I sadly report that Svetlana quite unexpectedly will be leaving and going back to be with her parents. Her parents are living in the Donetsk region which has increasing Russian occupancy, and her parents are worried about Svetlana being so close to military activity in Sumy. Therefore, they are planning to be together, pack and move to the West. Her parents run a church, a kindergarten school, and a shop but all of this is getting destroyed. We have only just raised funds for her to go to theological seminary, but the way the war is panning out she needs to be with her parents.
Farmer Sergey has had to give up his business in Sumy city. It is no longer viable to travel into Sumy, and there are no customers left to sell to. For some time Farmer Sergey has wanted to be part of the team, and from 1st October he will take over Svetlana’s role and head up the children's and family work. Sergey will also do the course at the Kiev Theological Seminary which has been fully funded. It will be sad to see Svetlana leave, but it is amazing to have Farmer Sergey back fully on the team.
Svetlana will now vacate the apartment the Centre owns, so Bohdan thinks it will be good to allow Lyuba and Costa to live there. They currently live 5km out of Lebedyn with another family, but buses have stopped running, so when Lyuba does the teen work she has to walk home the 5km – often in the dark. The apartment is one minute walk away from the Centre.
Everyday seems to bring new change and challenges. It is difficult to plan, especially for the team, who are uncertain that they will even see the next morning. Bohdan thanked you all for your prayers and support. It is so appreciated.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
