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Dear Friends,
It was a joy to meet most of the team this week—though sadly Bohdan couldn’t join us, as his son Ratmir was hospitalised overnight with a severe ear and throat infection. Due to overcrowding, he was sent home with antibiotics, which thankfully are working. Despite everything, the team remains upbeat. When I asked how they were coping, Valentyn replied, “The same as before the war! The main things don't change if we fix our relationship with God daily.” His words were a powerful reminder of the faith that fuels their resilience.
You may have seen reports of intensified missile and drone attacks across Ukraine. One night saw over 400 drones and 40 missiles strike five regions. Kyiv was hardest hit, followed by Sumy—where Pastor Andrew serves. Tragically, a family we’ve been supporting near Samotoivka were killed when a bomb struck their home. The loss has deeply shaken the team.
Musical Sergey continues to lead 25 children in puppet theatres across three skill and age levels. Due to new legislation, public performances are normally restricted to buildings with bunkers or shelters, and they have to use these where possible. They were, however, able to hold a show in Larissa’s orphanage hall and will visit the children’s hospital this weekend. Many of the children there are seriously ill or abandoned, and the hospital has asked for weekly visits to support both education and morale. Another team will travel to Shtepivka to perform for children with mental disabilities and deliver food aid. Please pray for their safety and impact.
Valentyn is encouraged by the growth of home groups and youth clubs—over 30 young people attended last weekend’s gathering for the teen club. He and Lyuba work together to support both teens and older youth, and the hunger to learn is deep.
Computer classes for the teens and youth have resumed, led by Sasha and Musical Sergey. “Farmer” Sergey oversees all children’s work with numbers being lower than expected at the start. He hopes to grow the club to 100 attendees by Christmas, despite many families having fled the area.
This weekend, the team will also deliver food and blankets to villages around Lebedyn, where families are living without heating due a government ban restricting any heating until October 15th. Daytime temperatures have dropped to 5°C, and illness is spreading. Our Food Bag Programme has launched—each bag feeds a family for a week and includes a copy of John’s Gospel. The first 100 are ready to go and will be taken to the villages the team are able to get to.
Please continue to pray for Pastor Andrew and Veronica as they seek housing in Lebedyn. This is an urgent need. Medical aid has reached soldiers and their families, refugee services and bakery work continue, and a new batch of general aid is en-route to Ukraine—pray for its safe arrival.
When asked what we should pray for, the team’s first response was clear: peace, and an end to the war. They also ask for prayer that their work continues and that the Christian message reaches hearts wherever people go.
Pastor Sergey couldn’t join us due to health concerns and worry for his son Roman, who pastors a church in Kyiv. Recent bombings destroyed Roman’s church windows and doors, with another nearby church completely levelled and the pastors house destroyed. Yet, the next morning, believers gathered to worship among the ruins. This is the unseen courage the world rarely hears about.
You can watch the video on Facebook here: Worship in the ruins.
Thank you again for all your support and prayers. Every week we see the value of this, and as things get busier and the cold months draw in, your prayers and support are even more vital.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
If you would like to support us financially you can do so below. Remember, if you are a UK taxpayer, please confirm that you would like us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give.
Dear Friends,
This week the board of trustees met online with Bohdan, where he shared more of the current situation within Lebedyn and the surrounding areas. There is no doubt that difficult and challenging times are leading to more poverty and need within the area. Most days, air raid sirens are sounding 24 hours and the suburbs of the town are being hit, mainly by drones with the occasional shot down missile causing fires when they land.
Power stations are regularly hit, and it is the towns that have priority to ensure power is back on. The smaller villages can wait 5 days or more to be re-connected. There is no doubt that the coming winter will be hard for those living outside the towns, especially as they try to keep warm and have little supply of food. The team are planning to increase visits to the villages with bread, food and aid, but Bohdan said they are living in the most terrible of conditions.
Education also continues to be difficult, and it would appear that the government have handed over the management of education to local schools with no direction from central government. This means that many of the schools have chosen to remain closed. In Lebedyn itself, the school is still running but only the youngest go into learn, whilst the older children have online studies - if available.
Refugees continue to arrive into Lebedyn with alarming regularity. The nearby college is full and crammed with people in close living conditions, with very little to claim as their own. Lifetimes and their memories seemingly eradicated by the destruction around them. Most of the refugees come from the border towns and villages which have not only suffered significant damage, but also been abandoned by the military with no help given. However, due to the shortage of housing and the conditions in the college, some are now returning, they say it is better to die in their own house than crammed in a centre with nothing.
Valentina, is a lady with a prominent position in the council administration office, and is responsible for all refugees on behalf of the government within Lebedyn and surrounding districts, holding a lot of sway into what happens. She has been reaching out to Bohdan for help, and last week she attended one of the services we hold for the refugees where God’s love is shared, not just with words but also in practical support. She saw the bread being baked (and tried it!!), saw what was left of the aid being distributed, and she loved what she saw. From now on she is going to invite all the refugees to come to the Centre to these services, and she will also attend some of them so she can answer any questions. Bohdan has won over the favour of the local authorities to help and support, which can only be good for the future.
Bohdan also shared the news that the Kyiv Theological Seminary is closing access to some courses this September as many of the students that would have attended have now been called up to fight. This has particularly affected the children and youth departments, where they have cancelled the course for new students. We are thankful that Valentyn's studies have not been affected by this.
On the positive side, the children’s clubs and puppet theatres started all their groups this past week and the youth start this weekend. The puppet theatre and Bohdan will visit Larisa’s orphanage this weekend, taking in fresh food with them for the children. Musical Sergey has written are new Bible story musical shows, so all are excited to see how these work.
Last week, we gave an appeal for nappies and incontinence pads which was going to be sent out by Ukraine Relief in early October. However, at the weekend we heard that they had already loaded aid they had collected and set off on Sunday, a month earlier than expected. Bohdan is however, thrilled to get some aid early as the storehouse is completely empty and the need is growing. We are therefore looking to send an extra lorry for our appeal later in the year.
Azat is also helping with aid, and Bohdan went with Andrew to Zaporizhzhia to visit him on Wednesday to collect specialist aid and supplies. Azat is really trying to help the work and Centre in every way he can.
Within the church, two refugees arrived at the service on the Sunday and just didn’t want to leave. They had a truly memorable time as they met with God and gave their lives to be followers of Jesus.
Home group attendance keeps growing and the Centre has become a lighthouse within the community, giving both physical and spiritual hope. Bohdan was sharing that despite all that is going on around, it is a miracle Lebedyn stands untouched. He reiterated what we have said repeatedly, that he believes that the prayer of the many are keeping them safe to do the work God has called them to do. Thank you for your part in this!
In closing, Bohdan shared that when he went on his recent holiday to Odessa, he visited a large church there he knew well. When speaking with them, they were surprised by the amount of work that was being done through the Centre in Lebedyn. In Odessa, they had just completed their first summer camp of just 3 days, and this was their first since the full scale invasion started. When Bohdan told them that 5 week-long camps had been held each year in the summer along with autumn, Christmas and Easter they could not believe how much they were doing. We are blessed to have an amazing team who, despite all that is stacked against them, continue to flourish, remain enthusiastic and positive within the work. They now plan for the autumn camps and all the weekly activities with continued enthusiasm.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers. It is truly making a difference.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
If you would like to support us financially you can do so below. Remember, if you are a UK taxpayer, please confirm that you would like us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give.
Dear Friends,
This has been a really encouraging week for the team. The situation within the region is still escalating slightly, with local villages continuing to be hit hard with drones and missiles. In nearby Vorozhba, harvesting machinery working in the fields was targeted. In Mezarych, the school has been closed due to the building being hit by bombs - thankfully with no children were in the building at the time. Sumy is now being bombed day and night, and is gradually being reduced to just rubble. Bohdan asks the question of how long before they turn to Lebedyn where their buildings remain relatively untouched. We continue to pray for their protection.
The team have given special focus to the outlying villages, which the government have used to house refugees. Bohdan visited a man who had no shoes, so he gave his own boots. When going home to share the story of how little people had, his own family once again gave away personal clothes.
The church membership also gave of their clothes and belongings to help these refugees. Bohdan even gave one of his mattresses to a family in desperate need. The sewing team also got to work and made many sets of bed linen to distribute. Bohdan said that the people cried when they delivered all these things; they thought they had been forgotten. A doctor who Bohdan knows has now also been visiting, as there are major health needs. Together they will be trying to access new medications to help in this area.
Pastor Andrew concentrated on visiting the refugee centre nearby. Azat, who was the Pastor of the church in Okhtyrka, has managed to acquire some aid and sent it through to the team. There was a huge container of shampoo as you can see in the photo below, which they siphon into bottles. This has been in short supply, so it has been gratefully received by all. Services continue to be held for refugees and those enquiring about faith. Numbers doubled this week. Bread was baked and given out in the service along with the villages and refugee centre.
The team, through the church, know a number of soldiers fighting on the frontline and sent them food, medical aid and Bibles. One soldier has been encouraging the troops, and now has a regular prayer meeting with colleagues as and when they can. Sadly, another soldier who used to come to the camps was very seriously injured this week and taken to a specialist unit in Lviv. He has brain damage, so his mother who is part of the church has asked for prayer.
The puppet theatre continues to grow again, and now 30 children forming 3 teams train with Musical Sergey. Bohdan told me this morning that they have new shows, and have been asked to show these within the hospital and at Larisa’s orphanage. Schools are wanting them too, but safety has to be assessed first before this can happen.
In other news and items for prayer:
This week has seen an increase in the requests for help. Thankfully, we have been able to rise to this challenge and we will continue to try to do so in the coming months. Your continued support and prayers are so appreciated.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
If you would like to support us financially you can do so below. Remember, if you are a UK taxpayer, please confirm that you would like us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give.
Dear Friends,
With little change to the current war situation in the region, the team have been busy planning for this autumn season.
Larisa, who is now running three orphanages in both Sumy city and Synivka, as well as Austria, sent workers to get some urgent help from Bohdan. Fresh food supplies are hard to get, but through new relationships with food wholesalers, he was able to buy produce in bulk at a much lower cost. The team were sent back with a car full of supplies, including some clothes and more mattresses – the last of everything we had.
Larisa’s orphanage is full to capacity as new children arrive regularly with little or no belongings, so she is trying to work with the government to extend her building to accommodate more children. At the Sumy orphanage, children are in their city centre site which has been previously bombed, but at night they stay in safe houses outside the city.
Refugees are still coming in volume into Lebedyn and many come by the Centre for help. As usual, the bakery is in operation, giving bread to those in need at the refugee centre, and to soldiers' families. Aid is desperately required and the good news on this, is that in the last few days we have had confirmed more will be coming. Medical aid has left the Christian Medical Association's depot and is in transit to Lebedyn. All kinds of things for the hospital and for the general public have been sent to help with health needs, which is so encouraging.
Also, we heard on Wednesday that Ukraine Relief are happy to send another truck of aid to Lebedyn. There are things which are desperately needed for children and adults. New, or nearly new clothes, shoes and food is required, and one of the most urgent things is nappies for larger babies and incontinence pads, both L and XL sizes. These are hard to get and expensive when they are available. If anyone has any contacts with manufacturers and suppliers here in the UK for any of these items we would love to hear from you - please let us know using the Contact Us page. Sometimes large quantities of clothing through end of range clearances are available, and these would be good to send out. Please let usknow if you could give any information to help us. We hope that the lorry will leave to arrive mid-October.
Through a recent large grant, we have been able to buy additional food bags for households that are struggling. We will hope to feed around 650 families for a week with these bags. Sadly, this seems only a drop in the ocean to what is required.
When talking with Bohdan this week he told me that they were quieter than normal to give the team some rest, but also to have time to plan for the future. Although when he told what they were doing, I was surprised how much was still going on and reaping great rewards.
One lady, called Nina, has been attending our mid-week services. She came in desperation, looking for help, and the team responded giving her practical support. This week, she became a Christian and she is a changed person. She is trusting God for all her needs, and Bohdan told me that the change in her life has been amazing.
Pastor Andrew, Veronica and their family have decided to settle in Lebedyn. With all that has been going on in the church and Centre, we have needed to expand the team and, as a result, the hope that they can stay has really lifted Bohdan and Alla. However, getting a property to live in is proving a real challenge and Bohdan has asked if we can specifically pray for this, and that a house will be found soon.
Other items for prayer include:
Thank you once again for your ongoing support and prayers which enables all of this and much more to be done. This next season is starting, and plans are ambitious to keep helping people within Sumy both physically and spiritually.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
If you would like to support us financially you can do so below. Remember, if you are a UK taxpayer, please confirm that you would like us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give.
Dear Friends,
Ukraine has been in the news a lot recently, with the hope of peace coming through the planned talks of world leaders. Sadly, all it has done is intensified Russian military activity throughout Ukraine especially in the Sumy region. Power stations were hit this week, leaving 100,000 homes without electricity. Bohdan needed to go to Sumy City for supplies, but found that many of the businesses had closed and moved to the west. Also, there are more military in the city than civilians and more buildings destroyed than left standing.
The pictures above show Sumy university completely destroyed as all educational facilities have been deliberately targeted. The last photo shows the main building as it stood, and then in the others you can see the damage done. It will take years to restore these buildings. Within the Lebedyn church there are quite a few young people enrolled to start at the university in September, but now this will be impossible. We are not sure what will happen for these young students and Bohdan has asked for us to pray for these young adults.
Families are still fleeing the region hoping to find a safer place to live and start anew. We do not know what effect this will have on our volunteer teams or activities that are being held at the Centre, but it seems that as some move out, more displaced Ukrainians move in. This last Sunday, the church prayed over all the children for safety and asking God to bless and protect them is these difficult days.
The team are back from their holidays, and are now planning and preparing for this next season. Bread has been baked, with loaves distributed to the neighbouring college housing the refugees, which was hugely popular. Medical aid has been agreed and we are now awaiting delivery which is encouraging news.
Valentyn’s new homegroup flourishes as young people in the town want to meet together to find a bit of normality. Already 5 people want to be baptised from this new group.
Bohdan is struggling with his allergies which are heightened now due to harvesting. Even the doctors do not know what to give him to relieve symptoms as they seem quite extreme and sleep becomes an issue. He has requested prayer to enable him to be able to carry his responsibilities through this period.
Schools, clubs and all other activities start at the beginning of September for the children and youth, services to refugees remain ongoing, and the love shown to all around continues at all times. People are sceptical that a peace deal can ever been achieved, so please continue to pray that a lasting and just peace can become a reality for them.
Thank you all for your continued prayer and financial support. It is so appreciated.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
If you would like to support us financially you can do so below. Remember, if you are a UK taxpayer, please confirm that you would like us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give.
Dear Friends,
The situation within the Sumy region remains grave, with air sirens sounding for at least 10 hours, and overnight anything between 60 – 120 missiles and drones are creating havoc across the region. Someone is killed every day.
Given our camps have been happening, it is remarkable that the team were able to conduct 5 weeks of camps within a 6-week period, and only once did they have to use the bomb shelter, which was in the first week. We thank you for your prayers as this is truly amazing.
Last week was the turn of the older youth to camp out within the grounds of the Centre. All the other weeks were day visits, so again it was ambitious to try and achieve this. We had around 25 youth in total residing in the grounds, loving every minute of their time together.
This week they have been wanting to get back together again such has been the impact, so Valentyn held a special Bible study group for them. You can see from the photos that they loved doing things normal youth should be doing.
Below is a picture of Anatasia, who has recently come into the region with her family. Anatasia had not even come into the grounds of the Centre before, and knew very few other youth, so it was all very new to her. She loved the camp, and the love shown by everyone, and she made lots of new friends. Every day there was a queue for the shower in the main building and whilst waiting in line, she took a New Testament and started reading it. She did not want to put it down, and let others go before her in the queue so she had longer to read.
The camp held in the previous week for teenagers was so encouraging. Click on the image below to watch a short YouTube video of some of the things they got up to! You can also check out our other videos on our Hope Lebedyn YouTube channel.
The baptismal service was held early on Sunday morning at 7:00am, followed by a full church service at the Centre at 10:00am. Tradition is for those being baptised to be in white, and those baptising in white and blue. This river feeds from Swan Lake and is where they do their baptisms, although I’m not sure how clean it is.!! Some of the people that were baptised were those we have been praying for through these updates. Svetlana, the local bakery owner and solicitor, whose story we have shared was there along with some of the young people like Dasha and Yegor.
I am pleased to say that this week Bohdan, Alla, and the children have gone away for a week of much needed rest as a family. They are near the sea in an area relatively untouched by the war. Sadly, on Wednesday, a large missile did explode near the area, reminding them that the war is never too far away. Let’s pray for a great week of rest.
Meanwhile, back at the Centre work is still continuing. Services to refugees were held Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Aid has been given out, along with food bags, and what medical supplies we can help with, including a walking stick for this man.
Last week I shared the sad story of Christina from the teen camp, and how her stepfather had been killed. She adored him and was so close to him. After the camp she wrote a poem and did a video recording of it. Sadly, I cannot access this video to distribute, but she has allowed us to share the poem with you all. It is a straight translation with a few tweaks to help you understand what Christina is saying. Within the poem you can see the hurt and pain she is going through. Sadly, it is like so many other children. Hopefully through the help of the team she will begin to heal and find peace and love through faith.
My Father
He went into battle and gave his life there.
I am grateful for peaceful dawns,
knowing he sacrificed everything
so that I may live my life in tranquillity.
My gratitude is boundless
for trying to save us all.
My love for him goes on,
reaching out even in these difficult times.
You shall become my guardian angel,
watching over me
You will protect me for the rest of my life.
Through pain I thank you for a bright and kind future.
I do not know how to go on,
How to carry on in this darkness.
You have become a stork in paradise
In the emptiness and sorrow.
When asked if I feel pain, the answer is yes—it burns within me.
I do not know how to live without you or how to smile again.
You fly as an angel in heaven,
You protect me from adversity.
You became my fortress;
My thoughts are always with you.
Forever in our hearts, we will never forget,
and we will never forgive.
I finish on a high note. We are pleased to announce that Sasha is soon to be married to Rita. Rita is now part of the church in Lebedyn, and we expect the wedding to happen reasonably quickly. Sasha has asked that we could pray for them in this journey they are now on, and here is a picture of the happy couple.
As I write this update there is talk of Presidents Trump, Putin and Zelensky meeting to try and talk about peace. Let’s pray that somehow peace can be found and this needless war can cease.
Thank you all so much for the continued support and prayers. It is such an encouragement.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
If you would like to support us financially you can do so below. Remember, if you are a UK taxpayer, please confirm that you would like us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give.
Dear Friends,
The teen camp finished well at the end of last week. It was a tough week for the leaders, and Bohdan and Sergey said that the teams this year are probably the weakest they have had as they are inexperienced and lacking in number. This is because many families and helpers from the past have fled the area to safer places. What was great to witness was the older youth helping as team leaders like Yegor, Camilla and Dasha, and overall the camp was a huge success for the teenagers.
The majority of children attending came for the first time, but there were a few teenagers that returned. One of these was Christina -pictured below in the blue dress with Dasha. Christina does not know her paternal father as he walked out on the family when she was very young. Her mother remarried, and her stepfather was amazing to her and the family. She loved him dearly. Sadly, 3 weeks ago he was killed fighting in the war. She was still grieving, but Dasha was so good with her, encouraging her and listening, and answering questions patiently alongside her. At the end of the camp, Christina wrote to Bohdan to express her thanks and to ask what it was to become a Christian.
This young man above broke both his arms a week before the camp. The team did not know this, but he didn’t arrive so Bohdan called his parents to find our what was wrong. He had been involved in an accident and had broken both arms in a fall. He assumed he could not come. The next day they helped him come to camp and was there for the remaining 4 days and loved everything. The love and care that was shown, not just by the team, but with his peers was overwhelming for him. They found ways for him to help play some of the games. In the end he did not want the camp to end. Here are some more photos of the previous camp week.
The youth camp this past week was the last of the camps. This the 5th camp in 6 weeks, and understandably the team are exhausted, especially with the more inexperienced teams. They were camping and living on-site for the week and all went well – it is amazing how many tents you can get on the site! Sirens sounded for parts of the day, but this did not deter them from having a good time. One of the reflections made by Bohdan and Sergey in my call with them is how many children have now experienced death in their family. This is much greater than ever before and is affecting them mentally.
Next week sees the start of the youth camp – the last of the camp weeks. Numbers will be intentionally lower as the older youth will be camping on site. This camp week starts next Monday through to Saturday morning. Bohdan has asked for us to pray that this goes smoothly as there some risks in holding this camp, but the older young people cannot wait to be together.
The general situation within the Sumy region continues to get worse. Bohdan took a trip to Sumy city to get supplies for the camps, but found many more buildings destroyed and closed. The city has lost its busyness as many have fled, and others are fearful of coming out into the open. The border areas from Sumy and beyond are very dangerous. Pastor Andrew and Veronica have been told to leave the area now. As they foster children, the new rules do not allow them to live in their village any longer. This was highlighted by what happened last week in the neighbouring village. A child who was fostered from one of the orphanages went out to play and stepped on a land mine. The parents said he tried to fix the land mine before stepping off, but sadly he was brutally and unnecessarily killed. He was just 11 years old.
They have now introduced new check points throughout the region which are mobile and have people that will knock on doors to force people to sign up to fight, this is causing real fear amongst the population.
This coming Sunday nine people will be baptised early in the morning! We hope and pray for a great time for these people and pray for God’s blessing on their lives as they journey in their Christian walk.
Thank you again for the continued support and prayers
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
If you would like to support us financially you can do so below. Remember, if you are a UK taxpayer, please confirm that you would like us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give.
Dear Friends,
Despite the noise of war, this week’s summer camp went ahead as planned. There have been 85 teenagers every day, with many of them coming from refugee families in the area. Power, gas and water supplies have been intermittent, making the preparation of meals a bit of a challenge, but so far things have gone to plan.
Because many of the children are new to the area they have not experienced a camp like this before. Several of the children have come from villages near to the border to Russia that are very rural communities. They cannot believe how they are being cared for, fed, encouraged and loved. It has become an oasis and relief for these young people.
There is much fun, but also there is a spiritual time where they are hearing the Christian message and singing new worship songs. Within 48 hours they have picked up the songs and have joined in. Wednesday evening was a special time, as some of the new young people said they wanted to do a performance piece which was spoken word. Bohdan was taken aback by this, but with some nervousness, allowed this to happen. The teenagers titled their piece – What is Paradise? They explained that living in Ukraine where there is fighting is like being in hell, but there is always hope for something new and heaven gives that to us. However, you can only get there by having faith. Bohdan did say that some of the theology may need some work on it, but where they got to was so encouraging in just a few days. We continue to pray many will find hope in faith.
Next week sees the start of the youth camp – the last of the camp weeks. Numbers will be intentionally lower as the older youth will be camping on site. This camp week starts next Monday through to Saturday morning. Bohdan has asked for us to pray that this goes smoothly as there some risks in holding this camp, but the older young people cannot wait to be together.
Other news and things to pray for:
Thank you for your continued support. We have had a number of gifts sent through recently for which we are extremely grateful, but we do not know how to contact you to say thank you and to see if your gift could be subject to gift aid, boosting your donation by 25% if you are a UK taxpayer. Please do contact us if that applies to you!
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
If you would like to support us financially you can do so below. Remember, if you are a UK taxpayer, please confirm that you would like us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give.
Dear Friends,
This past week has seen the second camp being held, with nearly 100 children attending. Many people have told Bohdan that they have been surprised that the camps can go ahead due to the severity of the war. There is split opinion amongst the community, with some making negative comment but plenty of people so thrilled to see what is happening, and the children being happy, living out some degree of normality in their lives. To see the children smile is special.
The success of the camp programme has spread far and wide. A family arrived from Kharkiv for the week especially to send their children along. This past week brought much favour from the local community, with children attending whose parents are firefighters, police and medical workers. There have also been many children from refugee families. Air alarms still sounded through much of the day, but Lebedyn stayed safe until the last day when they heard a massive explosion nearby. It is thought that a military compound was hit as there has been little news about this. Children were more scared in these past weeks than before, which affects their attitude to things. The team also found parents more aggressive, but when they are spoken to you hear such hard stories of loss and grief. This region is really being hit hard now.
However, there are always stories of hope. The theme for the week was based upon some of the heroes of the Bible and how they trusted God. After one talk, one boy shared that he prays for his father as he is his hero. His father had been away fighting for a long time and he misses him. He knew that he had been captured so he prayed every day for him to come home safely, but so far hadn’t. He asked Bohdan and the team whether they thought his father would ever come home? The team said they would pray with him, so they did that right there and then. The next day his father returned home. This young lad had a smile on his face that would never stop. Sadly, for every one father that returns there are many that will never come back. The toll on families of their grief grows ever stronger.
The team have compiled a video of the camp, which shows the fun and joy the children have experience. Click on the image at the top of the page to watch it.
This week, the team are having a quieter week but will be preparing for the camp for teenagers next week. Medical aid is on its way soon, and Bohdan has been working with our wonderful friends at the Christian Medical Association in Lviv to arrange delivery.
Azat, who is now based in Zaporizhzhia, has been donated quite a bit of aid and he’s shared this with us. A van arrived with 1 ton of shampoo!! Although this seems a lot, there is not much of this in the shops so it will be greatly appreciated. People continue coming to the Centre for help and our food bags are being shared with those in need. See pictures below.
Many of the team have gone down with heavy colds and viruses, in particularly “Farmer” Sergey. This is the 3rd time he has had this in as many months, so please pray for him to recover along with the others that are suffering.
In our meeting on Wednesday, Bohdan described Sumy region as like Jurassic Park! The region has been constantly bombed, mainly with drones with the nearest dropping just 200 meters from the Centre. For the last few days of camp they had no water, rationed power, and little or no gas. This is the same this week as they try to repair supply lines. Please do pray that these are all up and running by next week when over 80 teenagers arrive!!
Thank you once again for your continued prayers and support. It is greatly appreciated.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
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Dear Friends,
The 2nd week of camp finished well last week, with no more trips to the bomb shelter necessary. On the last day, Bohdan wrote to say that while they are playing games planes and missiles are flying overhead 24/7, but even so the children had a great week. Every child that had not already received a copy was given a copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible, which they loved. This happens at all camp weeks.
At the weekend, as well as the normal church services, some of the team went to visit the church in Okhtyrka to help Vladamir. Here they met with refugees and those in desperate need to give out food bags. They supported around 75 families. Even though the camps have been running each week, the Centre in Lebedyn is quickly turned around to host 2 meetings a week. People have been arriving for help, especially mums with young families. Food, baby milk and whatever they can find is given freely to support these people. Soldiers and their families have also reached out for help so we have sent food to help them too. They are exhausted and hungry, and see their families for such a little time. In the photo below one of these soldiers used to come regularly to camps as a child so they knew where to come to seek help.
The camp this week has seen 100 children turn up, which is more than the planned 80 pre-registered children. The increase is made up of new refugee children arriving in the area, and so they are welcomed with open arms. I was sent a video of the children playing where they filmed missiles flying over. A stark reminder of the fragile peace they currently live in and the dangers which surround daily. Many other organisations do not believe that they can do camps in the region. Thankfully, there have been no further bombs in the town this week, but there still remains problems with water and power supply in the area. A fuller report of the camps will be given once they have finished.
In other news……
Three years ago we prayed for Ivan (pictured above), who was taken in by Larisa into her orphanage. He was just 16 years old then, and lived in a small nearby town called Konotop, where the team have done much work in the past. A Russian tank deliberately went to run over Ivan and his father. His father tried to protect him, which meant the father was totally crushed under the tank, killing him fairly quickly, but Ivan was still alive although badly injured, resulting in having part of his leg amputated. We helped with some of the early medical, needs but Larisa was able to get him a placement in the USA to get quality prosthetics supplied.
Also, in the orphanage at that time was Zhenya, Pastor Andrew and Veronica’s now adopted daughter, who has kept in touch with Ivan. This week Bohdan was connected to Ivan through Zhenya, and he is doing so well. Ivan still lives in the USA and has been given much training and support. Bohdan said he looks so well and so happy. A huge difference since when he first met him after the tragic incident three years ago. We thank God for answering prayers.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. Next week, the team have some time off from the camps so please do pray for some rest for all of them.
Every blessing
Peter Martin
Founding Director of Hope Lebedyn
