On the 58th Day of War
Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Psalm 82:3-4
I write this on the morning of the 58th day of the war in Ukraine … and there does not seem to be an end in sight. Here are a couple of statistics from those 58 days.
Five million refugees have left Ukraine and are scattered throughout the world. Scattered peoples seem to have a special place in the heart of God. He reminds us that His people were scattered as well.
There are 7.1 million displaced people within the country of Ukraine. They have lost their homes and many of them have lost their families. Many have lost everything.
Ukraine has a population of 44 million, which means about 30% of the entire population of Ukraine are displaced peoples now.
I have come to believe in these days of war, that the greatest work that you and I can do as missionaries is shoulder together with others that God had called to the frontline, and do our part, as Psalm 82 tells us, to help defend, uphold, rescue, and deliver as many as we get the opportunity to serve. The church and God’s people, you and I, have a spot to fill at this strategic time in world history and it is an honour to be able to do it.
Bucha, Borodyanka, Irpen, and Mariupol have become symbols of death, destruction, and the extent of how callous and evil men’s hearts can be. These places represent thousands of broken hearts, weeping mama’s, and newly orphaned children. The question often arises in times like these, around places like these, as to where is God in all of this. Foremost we must understand that He is not the cause, the cause is man’s brokenness. God can be found in the compassion, care, and love surrounding these innocent people in the worst days of their lives. Without these God given qualities, believe me, there remains only devastation in their lives. That is the role that we who represent Him must provide in this war. It is not just good, it is vital. I am really glad to be partnered with you in this fight. On behalf of all those that you are praying for and supporting, I relay many thanks.
I listened to a woman named Irina this week talk about standing beside a mass grave in the village of Borodyanka as bodies of the villagers were exhumed. She talked about watching as the mama’s and daddy’s of those who were exhumed had to open the body bags in order to identify the remains. She watched in horror the agony of those people as they realised that it was indeed their own son or daughter. That vision is so heavy and brings with it so many different emotions that could easily bring us down. However, sometimes the greatest gift that we can give those hurting around us is a calming presence that wraps its soul around them and finds ways to meet the needs that they have. As long as this war continues, that will be our goal.
We were introduced to a group of 75 refugees this week from the Mykolaiv region. These are people who have lost limbs and received other severe injuries that have left them invalids over the last 58 days. They have made their way out and are in the town of Uman. This coming week, we will be directing our attention to those people to see how we can help them and reveal His presence in their lives. As we do that, we also continue in all the other areas that we’ve been working since we began here. Think and pray with us over these days as we look to go further to the front and search for open doors through which we can be most effective.
I send you these updates in hopes that they will in some way keep these people and their plight fresh in your prayers and in your own soul. I leave you again with some scenes from Ukraine and some of the good people that are helping to distribute the needed aid, as well as a few more of the people we’ve been able to serve. Once more, thanks for every thought and prayer.
