Meeting Physical and Spiritual Needs—Ukraine Update
5.19.2022
“…let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
—1 John 3:18
Dear Friend,
The magnitude of your support cannot be overstated. You are fueling critical food and Scripture distribution each day, and I thank God for you!
But I must also share that despite our ambitious outreach, the needs are growing. People's savings and what they've stored up are running out and it's very hard to find a job these days. That means our iCare food boxes are answering a huge need in basic necessities, both within Ukraine and among refugees in Moldova and Poland.
The people we meet as we share God’s love, food, and Scripture are deeply grateful. The stories they share are unforgettable. I see their faces as I pray, asking God to keep them safe and to protect husbands and sons who are on the front lines.
Please pray with me for refugees like Olga, who fled with her family from the war-torn Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. She says, “”The war took everything away from us. It’s possible there is nothing left of our town. Now six of us live in a tiny apartment in Chernivtsi . . . the youngest being five years old and the oldest 84. Thank you for the Bibles we just got from you, and for the food. It’s very much needed.”
Please pray with me for Sasha’s family who is living in fear in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine. The village has been under much attack from Russian forces and is almost all in ruins. Sasha’s house is still standing, but his mother is so traumatized by the war that she doesn’t want to leave the house. Our School Without Walls (SWW) teams and volunteers recently delivered iCare food boxes and prayed with survivors to give them hope, food, and Scripture to sustain them through these dark times. Sasha was so happy to receive the precious food his family urgently needs! He also was happy to get two Bibles, one for children and one for adults.
And please rejoice with me that the completion of a print run in Ukraine means that thousands of Gospels of John will soon be in the hands of people who urgently need to know that God has plans for them in the life and for eternity!
Your prayers and gifts of food and Bibles are all great gifts, indeed. Please know you are impacting a great many lives each day through our outreach in Ukraine and among refugees.
In Him,
Sergey Rakhuba
President