News

Stay up to date with the latest news and blogs.

Update 31st May 2023

May 31, 2023

As there was no update last week there is some extra information for you within this update. The team continue to be remarkable, running the final children's camp before the summer and going out into the community to distribute aid. The situation locally is not great. There have been periods of no water and power has been intermittent once again, and yet the team continue to put smiles on faces.

Update 12th May 2023

May 12, 2023

We are now approaching 15 months of war in Ukraine. As you will have seen on recent news bulletins, Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine and in our region of Sumy there has been much new damage inflicted. However, there has been amazing news this week about the playground and the Bible college...

Update 8th May 2023

May 8, 2023

This week, the team have been doing preparations of the grounds for the many summer activities planned. We have started to build a new playground, so there are safe spaces for children to find “normal life”. Sadly, this is against the backdrop of increasing military activity, with regular sirens disrupting life and education, bringing with it a fatigue of the war. The work of the Centre is so important in bringing a sense of normality and joy.

Update 28th April 2023

April 28, 2023

This past week the sirens have been a little quieter, making it possible to get into some level of routine. This has meant preparing the grounds ready to be used with all the activities the team do. The fighting is heavy in the south and still along the border with Russia in Sumy not that far away. At the weekend there were families that came for refuge from Bakhmut. They literally arrived with nothing.

Update 16th April 2023

April 16, 2023

In Lebedyn, the last week has been spent preparing for their Easter activities across this weekend. There has been more stability in military activity locally with less air raid sirens. In the north of the region and near the Russian border, there is still much activity with daily missiles being launched, much of it still focused on the infrastructure.

Update 2nd April 2023

April 2, 2023

Last weekend was full of military activity with lots of sirens, no school on the Friday, and on Saturday a massive bomb in the area in a small nearby village. This bomb killed several people, destroyed the school, the hospital and power infrastructure. Once again, a reminder that the team in Lebedyn are working in very challenging conditions in their region. However, the Easter camps have been in full swing!

Update 26th March 2023

March 26, 2023

The general situation in Lebedyn has not changed significantly. There have been less explosions in the area, but still many air raid sirens and today schools were closed, yet again. As always, the week has been busy reaching out to many people. A lot of soldiers have been in contact and Bohdan has been connecting and praying with them before they go to the front line. Sadly, this past week has seen many funeral processions in the town as the bodies of those killed on the frontline defending Ukraine return for final farewells from family.

Update 19th March 2023

March 19, 2023

Thank you for your continuing prayers and support. The situation for this last week has been much the same with air raid sirens daily, children being sent home from school every day after being in bomb shelters, and explosions heard when missiles and drones intercepted. The disruption to daily life is immense and tough for those living in the area. In good news the local hospital in Lebedyn have reached out for help. They are planning to adapt an area to look after children through the day.

Update 12th March 2023

March 12, 2023

Another week has passed where the chaotic life living through the war disrupts normality. Every day drones and missiles are being intercepted with loud explosions nearby. Wednesday night was exceptionally bad, with many explosions and sirens going all night. The team have been out once again delivering food to those in nearby villages, and who live locally but are vulnerable or have no means to support themselves.

Update 5th March 2023

March 5, 2023

The villages in the region of Sumy, close to the border to Russia, lie empty and uninhabited with the destruction of buildings evident. Fear of a Russian attack has meant the people have fled from these more remote parts. The work in the area continues with all the clubs for children and youth. Aid is being given out where we can get hold of it. The work seems like it never comes to an end and there is always more to do at the end of the day than at the beginning.

Update 23rd February 2023

February 23, 2023

This week marks the first anniversary of this terrible war between Russia and Ukraine. As a result, I have been able to have plenty of contact with Bohdan as we plan to mark this occasion in Eastbourne with a service of prayer and worship. As we reflected we have been astonished by the amount of answered prayers, the amount of help given and the number of lives that have been impacted.

Update 16th February 2023

February 16, 2023

This week has not seen as much military action in the region and although sirens have been going off they are not so regular but tend to last longer. Activities still continued and as usual, work with the children and youth took place through the weekend. Numbers were high in attendance. The children and youth want to be at the Centre all the time!

Update 12th February 2023

February 12, 2023

This has been a week where the team has seen both the quiet and the noise of war . On Monday, the team managed to get a day off. There were no sirens all day and no threat of military activity. There was an unusual peace. It meant Bohdan had time to spend with Zoryana giving Alla a break. Bohdan said that it was an oasis and reminded him of times before the war.

Update 4th February 2023

February 4, 2023

This has been a tough week for the team in Lebedyn and a lot has happened since the last update. Tensions are rising as troops build up along the border. Everyone is expecting another mass invasion but are busy preparing defences. Last weekend bombs fell in the Lebedyn area taking out the power plant. Subsequently, they have it back up and running with limited capacity, but for a few days there was no power even in the centre.

Update 26th January 2023

January 26, 2023

As 11 months of the war have passed, tensions are rising once again. What you will be reading in the news is happening in Sumy. Shops are closed and there are long queues for banks, sometimes taking over 4 hours to withdraw cash. People are starting to sell things to get money to be ready to flee, if necessary.

Update 20th January 2023

January 20, 2023

Locally, the situation is much about the same, with power being slightly more regular in its supply and sticking to their 4 hours on and 2 hours off with residential buildings. The children are struggling as each area of town has different times for their power outage, and this doesn’t connect with the school’s online programme. Education is fast becoming untenable with this situation.

Update 15th January 2023

January 15, 2023

Tanya and Oleg arrived in Lebedyn this week from Bakhmut along with their 2 children. They say that their town is unrecognisable and more than half the city has been – quote - “wiped off the face of the earth!”

Update 5th January 2023

January 5, 2023

Happy New Year to you all! I spoke with Bohdan yesterday and he sends his greetings and thanks for all your support, especially over this past Christmas season. As I write, the team are coming to the end of Christmas celebrations as the children’s work continues through to the weekend where the old orthodox Christmas has been traditionally celebrated.

Update 22nd December 2022

December 22, 2022

It is at Christmas we are being reminded of the phrases “peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind!”. When you then look through the lens of how Ukrainian people are living, they are praying constantly for peace and that there would be some goodwill, but the rhetoric that is being given says that Russia intends to upscale their efforts in the New Year – or perhaps sooner.

A Christmas message from Lebedyn...

December 22, 2022

We have a special festive message for you from the team in Lebedyn.

Update 19th December 2022

December 19, 2022

As you will have seen in our news bulletins, the situation with energy, power and heat continues to be a massive and growing problem. It is the same throughout all of Ukraine. In Lebedyn and the Sumy region it has been particularly bad throughout - on Monday where they had no power all day.

Update 9th December 2022

December 9, 2022

The constant lack of power, and therefore heat and light, is continuing to make a hard impact on life. With air raid sirens going off daily there is no “normal” routine within which to operate. Families are struggling to keep warm, but thankfully no missiles have landed on personal homes, just on the infrastructure and industry that keeps the nation going.

Update 25th November 2022

November 25, 2022

The situation in the Sumy region is much the same. The end of the week and over the weekend witnessed much military activity with sirens going off more than usual, and then on Monday and Tuesday it was calm. However, on Wednesday afternoon things escalated once again.

Update 18th November 2022

November 18, 2022

This week has been very difficult due to the number of missiles coming over from Russia. Sumy itself has been battered and much of the light and power utilities have been greatly hit once again.

Update 27th October 2022

October 27, 2022

Bohdan has been able to connect with a large new church situated in Sumy city itself. It has grown extensively through the war from 15 people to now around 500 people. The Pastor wants to work closely with Bohdan and the work they are doing.

Update 3rd October 2022

October 3, 2022

Every day is different and over these past few days there has been less missiles fire than previous weeks as it had been very intense. When we spoke to both Bohdan and Alla there was an amazing calm. They know they cannot predict what tomorrow can bring but there was lighter spirit there which was lovely to see.

Update 23rd September 2022

September 23, 2022

At the end of the week the teenagers met in their groups and although there were some sirens going off through the day we still had over 40 teenagers turn up to chat through things and receive some help where needed. They also had great fun!

Update 16th September 2022

September 16, 2022

An article recently written by Reuters News Agency stated that both the Sumy and Kharkiv regions received more missiles over recent days than in any other region destroying power lines, sub stations and water facilities.

Update 9th September 2022

September 8, 2022

In the region bombing continues to happen but thankfully nothing too close to Lebedyn. Bohdan told me that they are targeting factories so there is no work, electric sub stations, power lines, gas supplies and now no water supplies. He knows of many villages and towns locally where fresh water has been cut off and it is becoming a big problem.

Update 1st September 2022

August 31, 2022

Since Independence Day last week, the Sumy oblast has had over 200 missiles fired upon it but things seem to be quieter now the weekend is over. Most of bombing seemed to be fairly random and was targeted to villages along the border where many have been completely destroyed.

6 month update and a special thank you!

August 26, 2022

Today marks the 6-month anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine. This also coincides with their independence celebrations and with the Ukrainians fighting back the team are now experiencing the fall out from this.

Update 19th August 2022

August 19, 2022

in recent days. As usual the team have been busy distributing aid. I recently had a video call with our Mission Director Bohdan and we estimated that they have distributed over 150 tons of aid and have more arriving soon.

Update 12th August 2022

August 12, 2022

Unfortunately, sirens were going off all day yesterday and there were a lot of bombs falling upon Ukraine and Sumy today. This is in retaliation to the bombing of the airfield in Crimea yesterday but it is intense in some areas and fear is creeping back in that the Russian will come across the border once again.

Update 4th August 2022

August 3, 2022

The situation in Lebedyn and Sumy is still unchanged from my previous reports. There are still sirens that sound but that is classed as normal for now. The threat of another Russian incursion is always there so people are learning to live without planning ahead too far.

Update 27th July 2022

July 28, 2022

There has been little change in the situation around Lebedyn since my last update. The northern reaches of the county are still under regular attack from missiles and fear of landmines. The region receives new people daily from areas under attack and as you will have witnessed on the news, Russia is trying to advance into other areas which is causing more people to flee.

Update 19th July 2022

July 28, 2022

The second week of the camps came to an end and both the children and parents did not want it to finish. It felt like some normality had crept back in until near the end the sirens kept sounding. Also at the end there was the news of the explosions in Vinnytsia where children died and this upset the children there.

Update 13th July 2022

July 11, 2022

The first of the summer camp weeks has now been had with huge success. The numbers stayed at around 100 children and these were the younger children in the area that attended. It has been quite clear that the war has impacted every young life with prayers held every day for the those involved. Bohdan informed me that every child had either a father, brother or Uncle taking part.

Update 29th June 2022

June 28, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, We wanted to share with you about some […]

Update 6th July 2022

June 26, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, We wanted to share with you about some […]

Update 21st June 2022

June 21, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, We wanted to share with you about some […]

Update 14th June 2022

June 15, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, We wanted to share with you about some […]

Update 7th June 2022

June 4, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, This latest news update seeks to share with […]

Update 1st June 2022

June 1, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, This latest news update seeks to share with […]

Update May 24th 2022

May 24, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, In this latest update, we share with you […]

Update May 17th 2022

May 17, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, As always, thank you so much for your […]

Update May 10th 2022

May 10, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, As always, thank you so much for your […]

Update May 5th 2022

May 5, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, Over the last few days, there have been […]

Update April 26th 2022

April 26, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, As always, I want to thank each and […]

Update April 22nd 2022

April 22, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, As always, thank you for your continued support […]

Update April 21st 2022

April 21, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, We wanted to share with you some of […]

Update April 20th 2022

April 20, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, Thank you for all your support, both in […]

Update April 7th 2022

April 7, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, Thank you again for all your continued support […]

Update March 30th 2022

March 31, 2022

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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, Again another day with relative calm. There is still the sound […]

Update 23 March 2022

March 23, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, Thank you again for all your continued support […]

Update 15th March 2022

March 15, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, Thank you again for all your continued support […]

Update 11th March 2022

March 11, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, On Wednesday 9th March, we received the devastating […]

Update 5th March 2022

March 5, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear Friends, As we mentioned in our last update to […]

Update 4th March 2022

March 4, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Dear friends, Firstly, thank you so much for all your […]

Update 28th February 2022

February 28, 2022

Urgent support required: 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 to reclaim Gift Aid on your donation. This will add 25p to every £1 you give. Update: Dear friends, Thank you all for your support and […]

Urgent update from our Founding Director

February 24, 2022

As we woke this morning (Thursday 24th Feb), alerts came in that Russia had started its invasion of Ukraine. We have been devastated to hear this news. I have spoken to our team this morning and Lebedyn has not yet come under attack which is good news. However, there is clearly fear of what might […]

Hope Lebedyn Annual Report: October 2020-2021

December 14, 2021

Hi everyone! On behalf of all the Hope Lebedyn team, we wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Within this month's news blog, we wanted to share a video from some of the Hope Lebedyn team thanking you for all your incredible support. If you scroll down, you'll also […]

The Ministry Activity Centre Is Almost Ready for Action!

June 8, 2021

Can you believe it? A dream that God birthed in our hearts two years ago has almost reached completion! If you’ve been following along with us on throughout this entire project, you might remember our blog post back in December when this building was completely non-existent, and we were just getting started! While the journey […]

A behind-the-scenes look into our work over recent years!

March 26, 2021

We love keeping you updated with all the amazing stories and testimonies that follow from all great work that the Hope Lebedyn team carries out locally and regionally! While we often give you updates through blogs, we thought we would make his blog post a little different and share a few videos looking back on some of programmes and initiatives that have […]

An update on our recent visits to schools and orphanages!

March 18, 2021

We wanted to share a little update on our recent visits to some local schools and orphanages. By God’s mercy, we were able to visit different educational establishments and provide joy and hope through our puppet shows, gifts and seeds distribution! Through our Seed ministry, we are able to give away seeds to very needy […]

Distributing Christmas Presents to Schools!

January 27, 2021

During the Christmas holidays, we were able to visit some educational establishments with the Good News and provide them with presents! Of course, the current coronavirus situation has caused some difficulties for us, however, by God's mercy we were able to serve God through supporting our children and adults. While many different sponsors refused to […]

Hope Lebedyn Winter Camps!

January 27, 2021

Throughout our time at the camp, our days consisted of talking about how the Bible helps to build character traits, which can then help to fruitfully cope with the temptations of the modern world. Honesty, courage, sacrifice, trust, forgiveness - these are the traits, which are not popular in the modern world, but appreciated so much by God. The atmosphere on camp was […]

AND WE ARE OFF!!!

December 3, 2020

The beginning of December is significant as it marks the beginning of a new advent season. For us at Hope Lebedyn a dream is both coming to fulfilment and also starting. Many years ago we hoped and dreamed for a new ministry Activity Centre that would enable the work in Lebedyn to grow. 2020 has […]

2020 Summer Youth Camp

September 14, 2020

The local church has been running their annual summer camps for both children and youth over the past month. Here’s a small report and images of these much loved youth camp gatherings at the mission centre in Lebedyn. From 26th of July until 1st of August, we had our youth camp which took place in […]

Sergey Ovcharenko - Senior Pastor

September 9, 2020

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal […]

Welcome to Hope Lebedyn

August 5, 2020

A very warm welcome to the brand new Hope Lebedyn website. Hope Lebedyn is the new charity name for the work formerly known as EC Missions. The EC stands for Essential Christian, more widely known for running Spring Harvest a Christian conference attended by thousands every Easter. My name's Peter Martin and it has been […]

2020 Summer Children's Camp

August 5, 2020

The local church has been running their annual summer camps for both children and youth over the past month. Here's a small report and images of these much loved children's camp gatherings at the mission centre in Lebedyn. During 20 years at the Spiritual Revival church campus we have held daytime summer meetings with local […]

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