Greetings dear family and friends!
In my previous letter, I mentioned that I was going to eastern Ukraine at the end of September. Thank you for supporting me in prayer for that trip – I am safely home again.
On September 22-28, I had the privilege to participate in a medical outreach organized by the Ukrainian Mobile Medical Clinic in eastern Ukraine. A team of 22 medical professionals provided free medical care for people who are now suffering as a result of the war in the east. We treated people from 9:00 am to 7:30 pm almost every day because of the large amount of people in need of medical care.
The first 4 days we were in Sloviansk, a city of 130,000 people in the Donetsk region. We treated patients at one of the churches and all of our team stayed with different families from this church. Our experience began at the check points, where the Ukrainian army checks the passports of all who enter the city. Some of the stores we visited were almost empty because the majority of the food production for this region is in Donetsk, where the war is still active right now. The next morning on our way to church, we witnessed some of the devastation in the city. One of the brothers from the church told us that when all of this started the city lost power, water and gas for 3 weeks and the majority of the people fled the city. Those who stayed behind hid in the basements of their apartment buildings and only came outside again after the separatists left the city. The city is now safe but people will never forget the violence they witnessed.
It was devastating to hear the stories of the people and try to imagine what they went through in those days of distress. The pastor of the church, who hosted us, lost two sons to the war. They were tortured to death with two other believers from the church, and one of them left eight children and a wife behind. It was horrifying to realize how human life can be belittled because of political principles. It made me think that we are not in charge of our days and years, and should be ready to stand before our Creature any minute of our life.
People in eastern Ukraine speak Russian and most of them were friendly to those of us who came from western Ukraine and spoke Ukrainian. I used it as a witness that language is not a barrier between people in the same country and expressed thoughts of many in the western part for unity and understanding with no regard for language. People were eager to hear the good news and receive the hope of the Gospel for their anxious hearts. The last 4 days we were in a village close to Kramatorsk, a city of approximately the same population as Sloviansk. This city also suffered due to the separatists’ attacks earlier this summer. We were able to serve a little less than 500 people from nearby villages who were very grateful to receive free medical care.
All of the people on the medical team are Christians and we were able to share the hope that God gives, sharing that even though we could not help everyone, Jesus is the one who heals the wounds of our souls. All of the people who came for medical care also received Christian counseling and had a chance to pray and be prayed for, receive a Bible and hear about Christ.
I am grateful that God gave me the courage to go and be a part of His work there even though I was concerned for my personal safety and questioned this decision. Many people worried about my decision too as the news on TV is not comforting. But God used me there to help many people, and even though I do not have adequate knowledge or experience to address all of their concerns fully, God taught me to rely on Him and to offer them with what I do know. I appreciate your prayers and support of this mission trip – all of you were a part of this too.
Please pray for:
- The people whose family members died in this war.
- For God to comfort their hearts and souls.
- An end to the death and destruction in the Donetsk region.
- Opportunities to minister at more affected by war areas and share the Gospel and medical care.
