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Dear Friends,
This past week has seen an escalation in military activities within the region which has not really been witnessed before. You will all have seen in the news that Ukraine has entered into the Kursk region of Russia. This has meant that all the troops that were building up in Lebedyn and surrounding areas were getting ready to launch their counter attack.
The map below shows how close this is to Lebedyn and the Sumy region, so our thoughts and prayers are very much with everyone. The loss of life according to the Institute Of War has been staggering, averaging over 1,000 deaths per day in this region alone. Sirens sound now for nearly 24 hours a day. Everything has changed.
For the team it was quite frightening. The camp continued through to the end, and although the noise at night was terrifying at times, they all managed to have a good time. A video will be posted in the near future showing some of the activities.
At home Bohdan packed his family off to Alla’s family where it is quieter on the far side of town, and it enabled the children to sleep better. He used some of the time to catch up with jobs that didn’t need the help of little hands!
Many of the youth were impacted by the camp, and a full report will be out soon, but Bohdan wanted to let us know about Margerite (pictured below) who has been attending his homegroup, and went to the camp. There she was greatly moved by the teaching and became a Christian, and now wants to be baptised. Amazing news.
Last Sunday, Bohdan heard that three of the men from the church had received their papers to go and register with the Military Commissariat, with the view to them being conscripted. These men have been keen volunteers and workers within the church and Mission Centre, and Bohdan did not want to lose them, so he wrote a letter on their behalf to explain the good work they do in caring for people within the community. Thankfully, they were compassionate and, for now, they were granted a stay so they could continue to help. We hope and pray this continues.
We have been concerned about Pastor Andrew who we have supported up in Samotoivka. This small town is east of Sumy city, and only 20km from the border. Bohdan reported on Wednesday that Samotoivka was now a ghost town with only the needy and vulnerable left there, but it was relatively free from shelling now, although the sounds of war and explosions could be heard around them. They remain safe and in good spirits at this time.
The catering team have been working hard making jams and preserving foods ready for winter stocks, as Bohdan said that things are now getting very expensive. Because of all what is going on in the region not everyone will deliver supplies. Inflation is high, and therefore the work they are doing now will be so valuable in the winter. You can see the stocks of flour, sugar, oats all stored and ready to go into the kitchen.
The services to the refugees and to others in the town in need started again this week. They loved the bread as it was stacked outside and given to all those who arrived. Hygiene kits were also given out at one of the services.
Many of the team are away on holiday this week. Farmer Sergey and his family, along with Valentine, are down in Odessa, and Svetalana is still in in the Dontestsk region visiting parents. There is always risk travelling so please do pray for their safety when they return. They will all be back later in the week.
In the meantime our ex-workers, Inna and Pavlo, who are currently in Zhytomyr, held a camp, and we were able to help with some Bibles and resources, as they worked with the orphaned children there.
We have now depleted our stocks of Bibles to give away to the adults. They have given away thousands of copies of various types of Bibles. We now need to purchase more copies, and I know many have said they would like to contribute towards this. As yet, I haven’t received the prices, but nevertheless we will continue to get the most suitable Bibles for Bohdan and teams use.
In September, Svitlana will be hopefully starting a course with the Kyiv Theological Seminary studying children and families ministries. This will cost around £600 to attend for the year, but this will be so useful for training for the work they will do in the future. This is on top of her degree studies in Child Psychiatry & War!
Aid continues to be harder to find, but we continue to pray for provision in this area.
Next week when people arrive back, the team plan to meet with all the youth that came to camps as a reunion, which has caused great excitement already. Bohdan has been out visiting quite a few homes and speaking with parents about the youth camps. Parents are so happy and want to know if they can do even more!!
In other updates, Bohdan’s grandmother is doing much better and her memory has all returned and stitches are out. An answer to prayer. Sergey goes to university on Monday to register to sit his university exams for entrance next year.
We are all so very grateful for the continued support, prayer and finances given. Without it we could not operate and it is helping so many people in a very challenging time with much need. Thank you!
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
