A letter from Gennadii Pilipenko in Kharkiv, Ukraine

Shalom dear lovers of Jesus and those who are passionate about His work around the World! May God pour out His love and favor over each of you! 

Sometimes our international correspondence is of a personal nature or confidential prayer issues. But recently there have been a lot of important updates from areas that are a major focus of our missions ministry!  Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine and near the Russian border. The Russian army is trying to pummel this city of a million and a half people into submission with non-stop bombardment! They have tried to do this since the beginning of the conflict- but it would be a political gem for Putin if he could pull it off before the Presidential elections in March.

Many of our dearest friends in Christ there, who serve under constant threat of death, are standing firm in the faith and sacrificially caring for everyone who comes to them...

I greet you with the peace and love of the Lord, dear brother Jerry!

First of all, we thank the Lord for His blessings and His protection. In January, the Russian army increased shelling of the city of Kharkiv. This brought a lot of destruction and loss of life. But the Lord preserved His children and continues to preserve.

By the grace of the Lord, everything is fine in our family. We and our friends prayed for quite a long time to increase our housing. I know that you have also prayed for our needs. It seems to me that the Lord has begun to answer our prayers. Recently, one sister from our church, who moved to the USA at the beginning of the war, called Lena. She said she wanted to sell her house. This house is quite old, not expensive, has 4 rooms. It costs the same as our apartment, and is in a convenient location, not far from where Dima and Ira now live. We told the sister from church that we would sell our apartment and buy her house. If God wills, Dima and Ira’s family will move into the purchased house, and my parents and I will return to our previous place of residence. We ask you to pray that all issues with documents for the house and the sale of our apartment will be resolved quickly and well.

Volunteers from our church continue their service to people affected by the war. I am very pleased to see many people come for small group Bible study on Tuesdays each week. There are already 8 small groups regularly held, in which more than 100 people take part. We pay special attention to serving the displaced (with products, things, the Word of God).

We recently started a new ministry in the church: Children's Development Center. In this center, believers teachers (professionals) help children of different ages (from 6 to 16 years old) in mastering school subjects. Classes are held 4 times a week. Teachers teach children mathematics, Ukrainian, English, programming, history, and a Bible lesson. There will be music and drawing clubs. Many people from non-church families came here, since it is difficult for children to study online, and in Kharkov schools now only such training is available. And we are also looking for a small space for the Children's Center, because there are few classrooms in our church building. During classes with children, we conduct conversations with parents on biblical topics. We believe this ministry will bear fruit for eternity. All of these ministries need financial support, especially volunteers and teachers.

Jerry, we are grateful to the Lord for your prayerful and financial assistance, which the Lord has already repeatedly sent through you to the ministry of our church to people affected by the war. Now there is a need for financial support for the Children's Development Center. We need about $1,300 a month to support 10 teachers. In addition, a certain amount is needed to purchase school equipment and materials. If necessary, I can write about this in more detail.

Lena and I pray that the Lord will strengthen your strength for further missionary journeys. We will be very glad if the Lord grants us a meeting with you soon.
Kolya and Sveta send you their warmest regards.
Greet Sue on our behalf.

In Christ's love,
Gennadii