An amazing look inside hospitals in Ukraine...

All the hospitals are packed with wounded soldiers and civilians!  This hospital has one floor of expectant mothers and two floors of the wounded soldiers. It is a pretty barren place to heal - low lights, overcrowded rooms, and very basic facilities and pretty much on their own for the healing process. 

The first picture is of an alcove that is used for 8 soldiers. We used this area for about 15-20 guys to come in and have a little Service.  Sergei, the Chaplain, sang and played the guitar, pastor Bokoch and I spoke.   They came in kind of dragging...they don't touch each other, very rarely say anything and most of them had their heads down!  I know their wounds are painful and many of them, as soon as they are able, will return to the front lines!  One chaplain, who I am not sure is still alive, told me there is not one man up front that expects to live.   After Sergei sang some familiar Ukrainian Worship songs,  Stepan and I took turns speaking.  The soldiers looked like kids whose parents dragged them to church one too many times!  But wonder of wonders, our amazing God met with us and drew them into Himself!  We talked about what Jesus suffered, His aloneness and finally His murder!  They really got into it and responded and opened up!  Every one of them wanted to shake hands and some even hug!  At the end I told them we often hold hands when we pray, which I thought might end the festivities right there but instead of holding hands, they threw their arms around each other's shoulders and drew one another into a tight circle while we prayed - to honor God with our lives. We also prayed for healing, physically and emotionally and we prayed for an end to this War!  Then they went around for more hugs! Several gave me gifts like a patch of  their units' insignia pulled right off their uniform and personal items that were very moving!  Wow,  Amazing Grace that can only come from our loving God!  

They prepared a soldiers' lunch which everybody on our team ate, except me- fortunately it was a fasting day for me... they served liver over rice and it's not that I don't like liver, it's just that it can't stay down in my stomach more than about 15 seconds before it tries to find a way out!   The same thing had happened at an earlier hospital we had visited that day with an even larger group of soldiers!  I think everyone was just stunned at how quickly God turned everything around and made it a time of joy and hope!!  The leaders of the hospital opened all the doors to us and I was given an opportunity to go to the front lines which was only 60 miles away.  I was honored and would have liked to, but we are committed right up to our departure Tuesday morning! So that privilege will have to wait... 

The young man on the left, in the second picture with a row of books, is Nikita. Hs family are missionaries from Ukraine but in the U.S. much of the time. The rest of the family are in the States waiting out the War! Nikita is a chaplain!  The man on the right is a wonderful brother named Sergi.  He is an experienced army chaplain, a psychologist and a member of the regional Parliament!  He goes back and forth from the front lines of the fighting to bring food, personal hygiene and medial supplies and puts on Worship Services for soldiers who are fighting there...   He was one who wanted me to go with him to the front of the battle lines, which I would be thrilled to do, because he is one of the very few who could get me there and the need is great!  But as I said, I have run out of time this trip- we leave Dnepro Tuesday morning and have committed ourselves right up to that hour... 

The final picture was taken just outside the wounded soldiers' hospital- we brought some medical supplies. The tall guy on the left was my personal bodyguard- even when I went to the bathroom!