April 12 Update

First of all I want to thank all of you who have been praying me through my total knee replacement surgery and some subsequent physical problems.  My surgeon and also the PT therapist are very pleased with my progress since my surgery, telling me I am doing better than most people at this stage.  I am still having a lot of pain on the right side of my knee, but they tell me that is normal.  Now I am working on building up my strength to start the 3 day journey for my return to Ukraine.  I leave Orlando on the 27th and will arrive in Ukraine on the 30th.

Many of you personally know our Doctor Tamara from when you were in Ukraine, and many more know her from her years as head of our Stroke Rehab. program.  She evacuated to Germany at the start of the war and is living there with her brother and nephew.  Last week she found out that she has bowel cancer and she had an emergency surgery 2 days later.  Unfortunately it has already metastasized to her liver. Please lift her up in your prayers for healing.  It is especially hard being so far away from home during this time.  I’ve known Tamara since my third day in Ukraine and she has been a big blessing in my life.

God’s Hidden Treasures continues our outreach to the least of these in addition to our work with refugees and children who have lost a parent while they were fighting for Ukraine.  We are wanting to help the children of the 117 families in Bila Tserkva who have lost a parent in the war, but the local government wants to meet with me before we can proceed.  Please pray for favor for us when we have this meeting.

The social office in Bila Tserkva has identified those refugees who are in the most need, and we have been reaching out to them with food and hygiene packages these last few months.  Many of them have children with special needs and we are helping them also.  

Please pray for wisdom for us – there is so much need and it is hard not to get overwhelmed.  May we always follow God’s leading for where He wants us to help and how.

Our faithful Chaplains continue to take help to the people living near the front, constantly putting themselves in harm’s way.  Please pray for their protection and for God to make the invisible to the enemy as they follow Him.  In addition to food, hygiene products, medicine and clothing, they always minister to those who come with words of encouragement, prayers, and Bibles and Christian books.  We are honored to be a part of their outreach.

And please continue to pray for God to save Ukraine.  Our soldiers are outnumbered more than 10 to 1 and putin continues to pour in replacements.  Ukraine intelligence says that Russia is sending in another 100,000 soldiers.  Our soldiers are having to retreat from battles they could have won due to lack of ammunition, while Russia seems to have an unending supply.

I so admire Ukraine’s courage and their creative use of weapons – fighting smarter than their enemies.  They have blown up numerous Russian ships, airplanes, oil producing plants, and more.  They don’t target civilians unlike Russia who specifically aim at the helpless and maim and kill innocent women and children.

Thank you all for your awesome and amazing giving, your uplifting prayers, and for enabling us to help in this time of such great need.  We are more than grateful – we are overwhelmed by your love and caring.

January 25 Update

I arrived safely back in the US on December 28th – just in time for my sister’s birthday!  Since then I’ve been busy trying to get doctor’s appointments and get my surgery scheduled.  Unfortunately I was not able to get it scheduled until February 12th which is cutting close my recovery time, but the doctor has approved it as I can continue therapy in Ukraine (I plan to leave here on April 22nd for Ukraine).  It is a total knee replacement and needless to say I am not looking forward to the recovery and therapy, but will be glad when the pain I have everyday now gets better.

Valeriy has begun taking the boys who lost their fathers in the war to the gym.  The people at the gym have been wonderful and their trainer even treated them to health drinks after the first session. Valeriy said all the boys loved their time at the gym.  He will continue to pick them up at their different villages and take them to the gym 3 more times! 

Tonya and Marina took the girls shopping at the Eva store (a makeup and cosmetic store) – the girls loved it.  Afterwards they took them for tea and deserts at a local coffee shop, along with one of the moms.  They will be picking them up at least once more to take them to tea.  Following is Marina’s summary of their shopping trip (written in her own words):

“We had a great opportunity to talk with incredible girls, despite the fact that they have experienced a very heavy loss, they do not lose their optimism. But in their eyes you can see all the pain that is in the heart. The girls were happy to go to the cosmetics store, some of them found it incredibly difficult to wait for our trip)))

It was a great time, first we went to a cosmetics store, where young beauties picked up the necessary things to look perfect. I learned a lot and was very surprised at how thorough their approach to skin care and makeup is. Then we had the opportunity to chat in a cozy atmosphere in a coffee shop. I was a little worried about whether I would be able to find an approach to teenagers, but the girls turned out to be very open, communication was very easy and pleasant. They talked about their hobbies, friends and plans for the future.  The girls are so good support for their mothers now.”

Please continue to pray for all these children who have lost their fathers in the war as we are hoping some bonds between them will be created and that they can be a support group for each other.  We are also planning to have some other events for them over this year.

The supplies for the last 3 clinics we helped were finally delivered.  We’re still waiting for pictures from them, but they are so grateful!  I so admire the drivers who were willing to go to these clinics to deliver the supplies as that area is so dangerous.  

Now we are calling them and asking them what things they would need if we gave them another $1,000 each to spend!  We’ve already given some additional help to some of them and just recently sent a big generator and pump to a clinic in the Myckolayiv Region which we had received in a shipment from Norway (thank you Norway!!).

Shipment from Norway:

We just loaded up Chaplain Andre who is headed into harms way once again to deliver much needed supplies.  Andre always asks us to cover him and his team in prayer for safety and in his words, “Pray that God will send people to know Him through us. Pray for protection!”  He is absolutely fearless and has such a passion for people to know Jesus through all that he is doing.

We have decided to place one more order for 100 sets of military winter clothing as the last ones are going out with Andre and it will continue to be freezing or below for 2 or 3 more months.

That’s all the news for now – please continue to pray fervently for Ukraine as they are running out of ammunition and having to pull back in some areas due to lack of fire power.  God knows their need – let’s pray for His delivery!  Our soldiers have been beyond amazing and courageous!

December 21 Update

Christmas time is always one of our busiest times of the year and this year was no exception.  0ne of the special things we did this year touched my heart the most.  We got a list of children from 4 villages close to us whose fathers have been killed in the war (altogether 10).  These are the only ones we took St. Nickolas to give out the gifts.  Most of the children were teenagers and we are hoping through this to connect them together.  We bought some gift certificates to a very popular beauty store for the girls. Tonya and Marina will pick them up starting the first week in January and take them shopping, and afterwards for tea and desserts.  They will make an appointment to take them to tea again the following month, hoping they will bond and keep in touch with us and each other.

For the boys, one of the local gyms agreed to give 4 training sessions with personal trainers for the boys at their cost.  Valery will be picking them up and taking them, and hopefully these boys will bond with each other and Valery.  And one little boy got a cool remote controlled car.  I don’t know who was more excited – him or his grandfather!

Every Christmas we buy some extra food items to put in our regular food distribution as a special gift and everyone really looks forward to this.  

We also did a special food distribution to refugees living in Bila Tserkva whose children have special needs.

With winter setting in, we have had many requests to help our soldiers with warm winter clothing and agreed to buy 200 sets (which cost approx. $8,000).  They are being given through Chaplain Andre, Chaplain Serghei, and several other groups we know who are taking them directly to soldiers in the active war zones.

And we sent special Christmas packages for the people living in the Dnipro area where Tonya and Vadim have been several times.

And much more which would take too long to write!!  It is such a privilege to be able to bring some joy into the lives of so many here in Ukraine who are really suffering.

Valentina is busy buying medical equipment for 3 more clinics in the Kherson Region which will bring our total up to 17 clinics!

Please be praying for the people of Ukraine.  With the length of the war and no end in sight, people are becoming discouraged.  The worst part is hearing so many countries talk about not helping anymore in which case Ukraine will not survive.  Seeing and hearing all of this on news is tearing people’s hearts.  We know that only God can save us, but seeing countries pull out or reducing help is frightening and many are feeling abandoned.  Our troops are running out of ammunition and soldiers!  Pray for God to strengthen us and give us His peace!

Special prayers for protection as our area was targeted and hit with drones last night.

I leave here the day after Christmas to begin the long 3 day journey back to Florida.  Please pray for strength for me as I have been, and am, in considerable pain due to my knee.  I am planning on having surgery in January.

May God bless all of you abundantly this coming year.  Thank you for the continued prayers and support so we can continue to shine His light into the growing darkness.

Christmas greetings from Ukraine

It was the worst of times.  Darkness permeated the land for they had been conquered by a cruel and ruthless enemy.

God chose to send the “Light of the world” at just that time – His Son, our Savior Jesus!  

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you in the city of David a Savior, who is the Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign to you, you will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.’”

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.’”

Certainly no one expected the long-awaited Savior to come so unceremoniously – born in the middle of nowhere to a poor couple who couldn’t even find a room in the inn and had to stay in a barn!

God chose the worst and darkest of times to send the promised Messiah – the Light of the world.  He didn’t send Him to conquer the occupying enemy.  He sent Him to do so much more.  He sent Him to conquer death.  He sent Him to pay the price for our sin so we could be reconciled to God and have eternal life with Him.  He sent Him to bring light and love into our lives in the midst of the darkness.

The Messiah came to bring hope to the hopeless, and light and joy no matter our circumstances.  He promises to never leave us and to bring us safely to our eternal home where there is no darkness, tears or death.

Merry Christmas,

With love from the staff of God’s Hidden Treasures, Ukraine  

November 21 Update

I arrived in Ukraine 3 weeks ago after a very long 3 day trip here.  I am so thankful to be back with my Ukrainian family!  First of all, we want to send a HAPPY THANKSGIVING from Ukraine to all of you we know and love in the States.  Thanksgiving quickly became a tradition here at God’s Hidden Treasures after the first Thanksgiving dinner I served many years ago.  It is one that everyone looks forward to.  We will be cooking 2 turkeys (1 at the office and 1 at my house) to serve all 18 of us.  It’s one of the few days I get to play the master chef!

I want to share some of the positives happening over here.  While many news outlets criticize Ukraine’s counter offense, the truth is that we have made low but steady progress.  When you consider that we are the “David” fighting the “Goliath” of Russia, every centimeter of ground we gain back is a miracle!  God has used people like you from all over the world to help Ukraine in this horrible war.  While Russia is pouring in a massive amount of troops, our little army has not only managed to hold them back, but has even pushed them back step by step.

The biggest gains have been in the Kherson Region where we have crossed the Dnipro River and gained a foothold in the Russian occupied territory, pushing them back 5 to 8 kilometers.  This is a major milestone for Ukraine!

We have also invented the “sea drones” right here in Ukraine which are being used to great effect in the Crimea – some have been used to attack the Kerch Bridge which Russia built to Crimea and which had been used to bring in much of their military equipment and troops.  We have successfully attacked the Russian fleet based in Sevastopol and caused them to move their fleet further out to sea.  We have even sunk several of their ships!

Our land drones have successfully hit several targets in Russia, destroying military supply depots – even as far away as Volgograd, Russia.  Our covert operations has blown up several supply depots in the Crimea.

Only God is keep in us going – only God, fueled by all your prayers, keeps us alive and able to fight back.  Praise the Lord!

Our Chaplain Andre returned safely from a very dangerous trip to the Bakhmut front lines to deliver much needed aid.  We are so honoured to be able to supply his trips.  He has been warned repeatedly that he is now a target the Russians are looking for.  Even so, he departed for the front lines in the Sumy Region where they are being bombed on a daily basis.  Please pray your protection over him and that he would be invisible to the enemy.

We have made contact with a PTSD Rehabilitation Center in Bila Tserkva which provides live in counseling for our soldiers.  We were very impressed with all they are doing and will now be helping them on a monthly basis.  Ruslan, their leader, and several Chaplains, are here at our office for 3 days, training  5 of our staff on PTSD.  We want to be equipped to help many of the refugees and other people here in our area who are suffering from it.

We hope to finish the next 3 clinics on our list which are located in the Kherson Region.  This will bring us to a total of 17 clinics we have helped restore to full working capacity.  We are quickly closing in on our goal of 20.  Special thanks to the Bakersfield and Porterville Rotary Clubs which are funding 2 clinics and also to Bruce and Donna Culver who are finding the 3rd one.

May God bless all of you in extra special ways this Thanksgiving.  We give grateful and heartfelt thanks for all of you and your continued support and prayers.  You keep us going!

October 11 Update

I know all of us are stunned and heartbroken over the recent attacks on Israel.  Now 2 country’s are fighting to keep their freedom, each one a David fighting multiple Goliaths!  The horrors perpetrated by the Hamas in Israel are very similar to what Russia is, and has been doing, in Ukraine – all of them aimed at innocent men, women and children.  I, personally, believe that Iran and Russia helped in the planning of the attack in Israel.  There is an axis of evil whose main members are Russia, China, Iran and North Korea and their goal is to take over the world.

With urgency, we must join together in prayer, crying out to God as never before; and through our prayers join the fight against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  This is where the true battle is!

So many of us in Ukraine are discouraged and disheartened at the threats of ending the support for the war in Ukraine.  My prayer is to open people’s eyes to the fact that the war in Ukraine is not just for Ukraine.  It is a battle for all of Europe.  Russia’s stated goal is to restore the former Soviet Union.  The following quote is from a recent interview with Russian General Andrew Mordivichev about the war in Ukraine:  “This war will last for a long time, because we still need to liberate Eastern Europe.”

All of our contacts in the Kherson and Mickolayiv Regions have called and told us not to send help right now because it is too dangerous.  Therefore, we are currently redirecting our help to other areas for the time being.  It is so frustrating knowing how much help is needed there, especially in the Kherson Region, and be unable to go because all of the vans bringing in aid are being specifically targeted.

Some pictures from some of the last trips to Kherson Region::

Food and other packages lined up and ready to be distributed:

And a wheelchair we delivered to Kherson Region:

We are currently working on helping to restore 3 more clinics in the Kherson Region, but again, are having to suspend sending the medical equipment down there because no one will deliver them when it is this dangerous.  The Kherson Region is getting hammered every day with drones, bombs and missiles.

In spite of all of this Chaplain Andre left for Kherson yesterday loaded with food, clothing, hygiene packages, medicines, phone chargers with high intensity lights which we had received from the Rotary Club, and even poison to kill mice and rats (since the flood, they are being overwhelmed by them).  I’m in awe at his courage while at the same time holding my breath until he comes back safely.

We also sent 2 big generators to the clinic in the Sumy Region which they desperately needed in order to keep running, often in the midst of intense shelling by the enemy.

We are buying more of the emergency blankets for some of the hospitals and military medics as we have had many urgent requests for them.

We have many requests for heaters as winter is closing in, especially from the Kherson Region.  Please pray for God to open a way for us to get the medical equipment to them and all the other things so urgently needed.  I know God can make a way when there is no way!

Thank you for your hearts for Ukraine and for making all of our outreach possible!  Also, please pray for me as I will begin my 3 day journey back to Ukraine on October 29th!  I’m so looking forward to seeing everyone and being able to hug them in person.

09/12/23 Update

I’m in California right now, traveling to various churches prayer groups, and Rotary Clubs  and reconnecting with so many of my wonderful Christian brothers and sisters.

In Ukraine, the fighting continues to intensify as our courageous soldiers fight to regain territory taken by Russia.  Everyday missiles, bombs and drones rain over Ukraine in Russia’s continued attempt to demoralize the people and destroy everything they possibly can.  I continue to be awed by the bravery and resiliency of the Ukrainian people.  No one knows what tomorrow may bring – death? – destruction of their homes and city? – occupation by the enemy? – fleeing your home in a desperate search for a safe place?  But no one even considers giving up!  

The situation is particularly desperate in the Kherson and Mickolayiv Regions where people were, and are, not only being bombed constantly, but were also flooded when the dam was blown up.  No one knows the number of people who died during the flood.  But there are still thousands and thousands of people living with no drinkable water, and lack of food, and shelter.

Last week several of our Chaplains, Pastors and Vadim and Slava took much needed supplies to many villages in the Kherson Region.  Following are some photo’s of houses which were flooded and where people are still trying to live because there is no place else to go.  They had to hide their vans under trees while there as the Russians will bomb any place they see people gathering or vans coming.  

Some pictures of some flooded homes:

And some pictures and stories from our volunteers written in their own words:

‘This is Maia. She is 36. She has three kids. They are refugees. Her husband is in the war. It was time that there was no food for kids. One plate of soup was 100 hryvnia. She paid 20 000 hryvnia to be able to leave. They had to stand 8 days at the checkpoint.”

“Also we met two brothers. Yura is 32 years old and Ivan is 36 years old. They own the café. But now they can’t work because of a lot of missile attacks. Now they work as street-sweepers.”

‘Vitalii  is a driver of bus. His family used the last flour in the morning and our team provided food packet for them. Vitalii gives thanks to God.”

Maria is 64 years old and her grandson (8 years old, has CP). During the bombing three missiles hit their house. Maria’s husband was killed. She was unconscious. Then she overcame and she doesn’t remember how she saved her grandson. Everything burnt. 

People waiting for food:

Please continue to pray for the safety of these brave men and women who risk their lives to go there.  They are bringing not only water, food, hygiene products, medicine and clothing, but the love of Christ to a people stripped of all hope. Bibles are handed all by the hundreds, prayers and tears are shared, and especially lots of hugs.

August 8 Update

Thanks to all your prayers, I am safely back in the US.  As Lillya and I were preparing for the first leg of my 3 day trip (a 14 hour train ride), I prayed for there to be plug-ins for our phones and tablets (something we rarely get), and Lillya said she was praying for air conditioning because it was so hot.  When we got on the train, the first thing I saw were the electric plugs-ins over both our beds.  But it was so hot we were rapidly wilting and I told Lillya it would be a really big miracle if there was A/C on this old train.  Well, as we began to move, cold air began to blow.  I looked at Lillya and laughed as she confidently said, “well I prayed for it.”  God is so good to provide for ALL our needs – both small and big!

I already miss all my loved ones in Ukraine.  Experiencing the incredible unity of those of us working together to get help to the thousands of those in need, often times just for life sustaining water, is an incredible blessing.

Enjoying a late lunch after a lot of hard work:

My wonderful staff:

Chaplain Andre celebrating a destroyed russian tank:

Pastor Serghei at the Kherson Region border:

I  marvel at the connections God has formed which enable us to get help where it is needed, along with a message of the hope we have in Jesus!  Please continue to cover my staff and the Chaplains with your prayers – pray for safety, provision, energy to keep going in the midst of constant russian attacks – and especially pray for peace – for this horrible war to end.

Recently Chaplain Andre received a large donation of fresh fruits and vegetables from a local farm.  Because he couldn’t take all of it with him to the Kherson Region, he gave the rest to us.  We quickly packed and distributed them to all the families we feed every month.  Their smiles of delight over getting fresh food is so rewarding!

Chaplain Andre and Pastor Serghei each made trips to the Kherson Region. They both shared that it was now impossible to gather groups together or to spend much time with the people because as soon as a van arrives, the russians begin bombing.  They have drones everywhere looking for any vans or public gatherings.  But the good news is that God always makes a way.  Please pray especially for their safety as they travel into very dangerous places to take life-giving food, medicine and water.

A picture of someone from the devastated Kherson Region:

Thank you for providing what is so desperately needed to a country living through what feels like hell.  We hold on to the good news that God’s word is spreading and being received into their hearts as never before.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support that keep us going day by day!

July 20 Update

Next Tuesday I start the long 3 day journey back to the States.  It is always heart wrenching when I have to leave all my loved ones here. Please pray for Lillya’s and my train trip from Kiev to Chelm, Poland and then for my flights which leave early in the morning the day after we get to Poland, flying from Warsaw, Poland to Amsterdam and then to Orlando, Florida.

Since the war started, we have been in many areas of Ukraine bringing life necessities and especially the hope and love of Jesus.  Because of this we have made many new friends and have contacts all over Ukraine.  It is especially helpful when we are wanting to know what kind of help is needed specifically for their area.  What a gift to have the hands and feet right there on site to tell us!

Recently the doctor from the clinic in Sumy Region which we helped called Valentina with an urgent request for tourniquets.  This is the clinic which is very close to the active war zone – they not only take care of the people there, but help many of the wounded soldiers who come directly from the front.  

Because of our contact with the wonderful organization, Bridge of Life, Valentina was able to call them and ask for help.  The very next day they sent tourniquets directly to the clinic. They have also sent us several boxes of syringes and medicine which we sent to the Sumy Clinic.  Thanks to all of us working together, they received the tourniquets within a couple of day!

The brave doctors and nurses serving near the front line in Sumy Region:

Another organization from the Chernigiv Region who Vadim and Tonya had met while on a trip there, called and told us that they were going to put on 8 camps in the Chernigiv Region and 3 in the Donetsk Region for kids who live in the areas being bombed.  It was such a joy to be able to help them, especially since we couldn’t do our camps this summer.  We bought and sent supplies ranging from coloring books, pencils and pens, games, and sports equipment to prizes and sweets.

The camps started in the town of Myckolaivka, Donetsk region. Every day they had 25 kids. They were supposed to have camp for three days but the kids were so excited and in such need of some positive emotions that they stayed for five days. On the final day there were many parents present. They listened and sang the Christian songs and took part in the skit.  These camps will continue through August.  Please pray for protection of the children and the volunteers and for healing for the children who suffer from the trauma of war.

Today we met with pastor Serghei who we have been helping go to the Kherson Region.  He shared some pretty horrifying stories of what it’s like there now.  Just think, almost from the beginning of the war, they were mostly occupied and declared to be part of Russia.  Since they were liberated, they have been getting bombed constantly and many places are total ruins now.  As if that wasn’t enough, they got flooded when Russia blew up the dam and lost even what little they had.  Now they are without food, water, and utilities.

When the volunteers go there with vans, bringing life-giving water, food and medical supplies, they instantly become a target for the russian drones.  They are constantly dodging bombs just because they are trying to help keep the people alive.

In one small village a few russian soldiers recently wandered through.  The villagers asked them, “Why are you bombing us?  There are only old women and men living here.  The soldiers told them that if their superior officers think it is “too quiet” in the areas they are responsible for (meaning no bombing is going on), they are told they will not be paid and will be reported.”

This is not the first time that we have heard of our volunteers being specifically targeted by the Russian military.  Please be praying for their safety as they risk their lives to bring this help.

Please pray for Pastor Serghei and his group of volunteers as they will be traveling tomorrow to the Kherson Region and ministering there for the next day or two after that.  I am praying that God makes them invisible to the enemy!

Pastor Serghei on the right when we were loading their van today:

This week Vadim, Tonya, Nickolay, and a new volunteer, Vlad, who drove a second van, returned to the Dnipro Region to minister in the small villages there.  You can’t imagine the people’s joy when they came.  They are so hungry for the word of God that it pure joy for them to go there.  They are on their way back as I write this.

Our Tonya gives the best hugs and love:

They gave out food, hygiene products and many boxes of clothes and shoes that were donated by NY Start, Norway.  This morning we received the following from the officials there:

“Good morning! Our community is very grateful to you for your cooperation and humanitarian assistance. Both yesterday and today, people thank you for not forgetting about them, they are delighted with yesterday’s holiday, they liked it, people even cried with joy, because they have not had a holiday for a long time. A low bow and sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

And me getting a big hug from Lillya today when I came to work:

Please be praying for wisdom for a couple of new projects we are considering for some of the small villages in the flooded Kherson Region!  And, as always, it with grateful and heartfelt thanks to all of you for providing the means to do all that the Lord is giving us to do.

July 2 Update

As we continue to reach out to provide much needed help, I wanted to share with you some of the stories from the people – these are written in their words.

“My name is Viktoria. I live in Bilozerka. I give thanks to God’s Hidden Treasures for provided help. We need support. I don’t have job since the beginning of the war. It’s so important and precious for us. Thank you so much that you don’t forget about us, have compassion to us. Thank you very much.”

“Today the 26th of June 2023. I am a village elder of the village Zelenyi Gay. I give thanks to our friends, the Seventh Day Adventists’ church, ” God’s Hidden Treasures” and volunteer Andrew Volkov.  Thank you that you don’t forget about our villages which suffered because of russian invasion.  There are ruins of our school behind us. Air strike happened on the 13th of March. People were in the basement of school.  People were killed. The village elder was killed. My husband died in the hospital because of traumas from this.”

“We are the Seventh Day Adventists church of Myckolaiv city. Thank you very much for the help you provided:  food, medicines, water filters. It’s important for the South, especially for Kherson which suffers from the flood. A part of what you gave will go to Snigurivka community, Myckolaiv region. People don’t have water and food.  Thank you very much.  God bless you.”

From Chaplain Andrew:

“We visited Myckolaiv and provided help for the local church. Also we left help for Ochakiv (medicines, food, clothes). Also we visited Zelenyi Gai. This is the village which was under enemy fire and there is a lot of destruction.  The school is ruined. At that time the people were killed there.  People don’t have jobs, the volunteers don’t come very often. But not everything is so bad… We could help people with food, medicines, hygiene.  Village Olenivka is situated close. We supported people by food packets, medicines, hygiene. We were careful on the way because there are mines.  Next village is Partysanske. They don’t have electricity and water.  People are incredibly thankful for help.  Village Blagodatne is absolutely ruined. There is not one bulding left. School and church are ruined – the cars are burnt. But 10 families live among these ruins. They didn’t leave the village. They came through occupation. They need food and water.”

“Hi friends!

I have to tell how we worked with “God’s Hidden Treasures”.  We visited the villages which are situated near the front line.  They had two vans loaded with food packets, clothes and toys for kids. We drove through five villages, and we shared about Jesus, sang songs, prayed and gave out help. 

The last village we visited is situated 5 kilometers from the russian front line.  It was dangerous to gather people together because the village is monitored by drones and fired on by mortars.  But God saved and everything was fine.

Later the volunteers (that’s us) told that if they had known where they were going to they wouldn’t have agreed to come.  I didn’t tell them anything because I wanted to get help for the areas where our standard volunteers don’t show their noses.

People were crying and were giving hugs and they were impressed that volunteers endangered their lives because of couple dozens of village people.  Because neither fire departments or ambulances go to that village.  And here we came, took the guitar and started the concert for all village.”

Note:  When Tonya and Vadim came back, they shared that the people there are so hungry to hear about God.  God willing, this coming week Tonya and Vadim will return there to share more about our Lord.

And one story from an 80 year old woman who miraculously survived the flood.  Her boat was instantly washed away, but as she said, through God’s help and power she was able to turn over her neighbor’s boat which was extremely heavy and get to safety.  Her name is Anastasia.  She had recently given her life to Christ.  Here’s her story:

“She lives on the shore of Dnipro river. She has a boat. She could see that water was coming and she ran to the boat but it was washed away by the current.  It was so strong and water went up so fast. Anastasia ran to the boat of her neighbors. It was too heavy and big.  She started calling to God. She was yelling.  By incredible efforts she coped to set free the boat.  But the danger has just started. Anastasia tried to row.  The current carried her and spun her like a small rolling pin. Finally oar was broken. The woman coped to grab a tree and held on with all her might until help arrived. All the time she was asking God to save her.  She gives thanks to God: for salvation, and that she could survive. God was saving people in such unusual ways.

Now she came back to her home. But there is nothing left. The chickens from her village got saved because they got up to the tops of the trees.”

And one more story:

“The family from the left shore lived in the village Korsunka. They got into the car and tried to escape but the road in front of them was flooded. Very soon the car drowned. The family coped to get the rubber boat. They sat in the boat and surrendered to the free will of the stormy current. That fight lasted 5 hours. Small boat came to the two storied building and they could wait for help there.

When the dam was ruined the aggressors sentenced to death not only local residents but also their comrades. They climbed to the tops of the trees and called for help. They fell into these rapid currents and the same mortal danger.  Ukrainian soldiers in the rubber boats were saving civilians and also the enemies.”

This is the witness from the local people.

Please take these and the many words of thanks and hundreds more, and know they are for all of you.  One of the most beautiful things that is coming out of this war and all these disasters is a new unity of all the churches and believers – no one cares what church anyone is from – we are joined together as God’s people to help those who are suffering and to give His love.  To see that happening here is a huge miracle!