127 Days of War

Update from Buddy, missionary

Forgive me that I am a few days behind with this update. It has been my goal since the beginning of the war to keep a weekly update coming to you, both to let you know about the work and to give you a view from the ground here and maybe a perspective or two that you’re not going to hear on any news channel. We’ve gotten a little extended in this last week and are trying to catch up, so I’m just now getting to my computer. Not an excuse, just an explanation. 

I write this tonight from the city of Irpin in Ukraine, about 10 kilometres from Kiev. We have traveled a good many miles over the last several days and have a great many miles to travel in the next. We have become aware that you are not hearing very much news about this war back at home, but I can assure you that it is alive and well. We were in Kiev today where bombs landed just two days ago. In the city of Kremenchuk a shopping mall full of people was bombed yesterday. The death count was initially given as 19, but there will be more. There was no strategic reason in anybody’s military or war book for targeting a shopping mall, other than to kill people. It seems that Vladimir Putin has decided to randomly kill people at his leisure where and when he pleases. In normal days we would arrest this man for mass murder. There were seventy new bombings in the last three days and the number of civilian deaths climbs with each one. As I sit here now, air raid sirens go off in the distance. Since we are in the Kiev district, it is an almost daily occurrence. There was a red alert last night as we were in Vinnitsa and we got notice that again tonight they are under watch. The nightly curfew has been moved up an hour and now extends from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. In just a moment I’ll need to turn the lights out so as to help keep the city covered in darkness. I just want to pull your ear and let you know that, if anything, things have intensified. If this war was important three months ago, it’s important today. I want to also keep reminding myself and all of us together, the God is sovereign and He has not and will not forget His people. We must never, ever give up. Ever. I’m grateful to you for remembering the Ukrainian people, for every thought and prayer for your brothers and sisters in Christ who carry on here in this time of war. And for those who are not believers, that somehow through these means of difficulty, the people of God can show His love and mercy and that many would turn to Him. History has proven that in the worst of times, many have become Christ followers. May it be so now. Just thanks for being with us during these days.

We’ve committed to be here till it’s over, and so we go on. On Sunday, we were with our friends in the church at Kust. We will be sending a new supply of aid into Lugansk region of the Donbas on next Monday. Pasha and Vitali will be taking this load in and bringing out as many of the people there as we can safely haul. Vitali’s 85 yer old mother is still in Lugansk region, but refuses to leave. She is like many of you who have lived in your place for a long time and want to go to heaven from where you were born and raised. So it is with her. However, there are those there who have no choice but to leave. There is a corridor that takes us into the region, we distribute all we take in to the people, load as many people in as we can, and get out quickly. Last time we came out with 45.

We will be headed to Odessa in the south tomorrow. It is our goal to get ahead of the Russian army in order to set a network of help with people within that region. If the Russians are not stopped, it’s our belief they will continue to Odessa and then to Moldova. We will meet with leaders of the Christian Church Union there tomorrow evening and begin the process of setting up that network there.

Many thanks again to you and praises to Our Father, for His Love. I think often of how important it is to try to see this world the way He sees it and then to try to love the people they way He does. Let’s keep trying. It’s what we do. Blessings.