March 12th Update on the War in Ukraine

 God's blessings and peace to all of you dear ones who have put your hope and trust in the One true God and Savior, JESUS CHRIST!    Sue and I have tried to keep our dear partners in faith up to date on the Ukrainian/ Russian War.  We are writing several hours a day with our dear friends in both Countries and trying to select those pieces that are most important for you to see through the eyes of our brothers and sisters who are facing life and death events every day.   We have been able to send in approximately $30,000 for immediate needs in the hardest hit cities, even though all banking has been suspended for the duration of the War!   This week I had the opportunity to spend time with a Ukrainian brother in Spokane.  He and his two brothers own a successful trucking Co. that has operations in both the US and Ukraine.  The oldest brother is in Poland right now, going back and forth across the border rescuing kids from orphanages in Ukraine and bringing them to safety in Poland.  They have rented a large campground facility there, where kids will have a safe haven until they can be transported to various Countries.   Most people in Ukraine, including those with substantial wealth, have buried their money in secret locations because there is no certainty about what is going to happen next. God has given us access to a couple different situations like this where we are able to release funds in Ukraine immediately if we are able to give cash here to their American associates.   The people we are dealing with here in the U.S. grew up in the major churches in Ukraine that have been our ministry partners for many years, so they are well known by those we are helping.  It is a tragic and desparate situation in Ukraine now, but God is also using these horrific events to purify the Church both there and here in the US. Many in both places are stepping up to sacrificially serve our Lord's people and purposes while the only agenda for others is simply self preservation.  As it has always been,  God contnues to use crisis to reveal the heart of man...   May our hearts and purpose be one with the Lord Jesus Christ!  In His love,  jerry and sue 

Our dear friends Dema and his wife Sveta and their 7 kids are all serving Christ in the second largest and most shelled city in Ukraine!  This beautiful and ancient city is being decimated and hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured!  We were able to get $5,000 to them last week in order for them to continue providing emergency aid for the increasing number of refugees flowing into the city of Kharkiv:   

Hello Jerry!  Today the Lord gave time to write to you!  How are you, how is your family?  We are all Glory to the Lord!  The Lord has placed us in the fire of trials, but He is near and this gives peace to my heart.  The Lord gave a time when we can reveal Christ not in words but in deeds.  For the second week I have been living in the basement of the church together with people who are hiding from shelling.  Every evening I preach the word, two women repented.  with the youth who remained, we deliver food to those in need, we feed people in the subway ( subways in the major cities are now used as bomb shelters)  The Lord is good to us!    

One of our dearest friends (I hesitate to use some personal names because all correspondence is being monitored) is President of a large, privately held Russian Co.  I have known her since 1991 when we started Young Life in Russia... Life there is becoming profoundly difficult for both businesses and individuals. This sister is just getting over breast cancer and needs to take medicine- but both medicines and normal necessities in Russia are becoming more and more difficult to find…  

“My mother has been in the hospital with covid for three weeks, and finally she seems to get a little better. My roommate Olga lost her father in January and her mother is also in the hospital. Vlad’s business (the owner) is still hanging on a thin thread.. I’m running around the city trying to stock up some of my cancer medicine since the future is very unpredictable…  

These last two letters are from one of the key leaders of the church in Krasnodar, a city on the Russian side of this war with Ukraine:     

Peace be with you, dear Jerry. How are you doing? Recently we talked about how we have a special purpose and calling in God. I think about it a lot, especially in light of today's military events. All the pain that occurs in Ukraine is reflected in all caring people. I'm confused. Jerry, the media in many countries from the Russian leadership see only cruelty and a desire to conquer new territories at any cost. But this is one opinion. These events are explained to us here as a defense and protection against those measures that would fall on the cities and regions bordering Ukraine. The day before the start of the war, the Russian troops found out that Ukraine were preparing to fire missiles and other weapons of destruction along the Russian border. And also, we hear that all the activities of the Russian army are needed to prevent a nuclear war, which was also planned by the nato- alliance. And, that the people of eastern Ukraine wanted to join Russia for several years, but they were not allowed to do so. We are hearing of good intentions. How to find a solution with such different information? We do not know all the subtleties and even many of the historical events that led to this war. This whole situation is extremely difficult. We do not want war and victims! A lot of people in our country empathize and try to help the victims in any way they can. Although in response, many people wish death to the Russians. Tell me, please, is there a teaching in the New Testament about the church rising up in revolt? We do not see this either in Jesus or in the Apostles. In the Old Testament, God gave clear orders through the prophets, through the Holy Spirit, if it was necessary to fight. But for the Church there is no call to rise up against people. We diligently rebel against the world of darkness and believe that God hears all our prayers!  

Dear Jerry. I was too emotional again, I will try to control myself better. My soul hurts for all the affected people. And more than ever before, I understand the hard life of people in Africa, India and other places where all the time they live in poverty and lack of a normal shelter. My heart is breaking too... I really want to help. Our church is collecting help for a refugee family, it is a joy to participate in this. The brothers organize humanitarian aid. We could help financially at a distance, but now all money transfers abroad are blocked in our country ...