December Trip to Donbass

On our recent trip to Donbass, everyone was so glad to see us again—it had been two months since Irina D. and Sasha A. last visited.

The You Are Not Alone Group was our first stop. This group of 20 widows gathers at 2 p.m. on Mondays. We were a little late for the meeting because our train was delayed due to the weather. But that didn’t stop us from sharing a word of teaching and sending our Christmas wishes. 

This friendly group was delighted to see us. Diligent pupils sat with Bibles open and reflected on James 3 (the passage about taming your tongue). It was interesting to listen to their discussion. The meeting finished with drinking tea and giving food certificates. The women had tears in their eyes as we encouraged them and gave our warm wishes. When we gave presents, the tears really poured out. “What a care from God,” one woman said.

15 people raised their hands when we asked who came to this group because of our ministry. Praise the Lord!

Many of the presents we delivered for the group were New Testament Bibles and Billy Graham books.

Thank you for your love and care for these widows.

—————

Our next stop was Christ’s Design Church. This group missed us dearly and we could see the joy on their faces when we arrived. They are always waiting for us to visit them again. The opportunity to minister to these people is a great blessing. A few of them raised their hands when we asked who came to this group due to our ministry. Some photos from our trip are below, except the men were too shy to be in the photos. 

Tatiana K. is a widow who has attended the church for one year. She first visited because of our meetings and the welcoming invitations from Pastor Vladimir. Tatiana was also excited to share that she read the Bible for the first time when she was 65. 

Ludmila S. is another widow who has attended our church for a few years. While she has difficulties in her life, God helps her, and she truly feels His love. 

Lidya B. is a widow with a son who lives in Kharkov (a city several hours away from Kyiv). She feels quite lonely, but she has learned about God’s word because of our ministry, and when she reads the Bible, her loneliness goes away. Lidya laughs at some of the things she didn’t understand about God before. She has a much better understanding of the Bible now. As a result of our meetings, she heard about Christ’s Design Church and has attended for three years.

Lidia I.’s husband died in 1995, and her life is difficult. Thanks to our ministry, she found a new family (her church) and has recently started attending. She was delighted to see us again. In fact, Lidia calls us angels who showed her the right way. Glory to God!

—————

Lastly, we visited the Light Of The Gospel Church. We had a great time together—full of warmth and love. We also felt their grateful hearts, tears of joy, prayers, and praise to the Lord during this Christmas season. Our Mission did everything for these people to feel the touch of God’s love and care. 

One woman’s husband died the week before we were there. She has three children, and even amidst this crisis, she told us that she felt God’s love and care for her and her children. When we gave her the food certificates, we reminded her that God would not leave her family. She answered, “I understand that now.” as she fought through the tears to break a smile.

Children always give warmth with their smiles and it’s a pleasure to minister to them. Our hearts rejoice when they receive spiritual and physical food. We were the first to celebrate Christmas with them. It’s always interesting to hear children’s answers on questions that many adults can hardly answer. One of the questions we asked was: What does Christmas mean to you?

Thank you for your continued support as we share the Gospel with the country of Ukraine.