​Please pray for Myanmar. Increase in fighting. Lots of killing and displacement of people from their homes. The military is now requiring all males 17-25 to join the army and fight against their own people.  Many are fleeing the country or hiding in the jungle. How ever the good news is the Kingdom of God is greatly growing. A mapping project is going on, workers are going door to door in every house in the nation to find out where, there are Christian, and where churches are. The vision is reach every person with the Gospel, and plant a church in every village.

​Ira Kapitonova
Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
Psalm 118:25
Usually, a few days after a POW swap, we get to read more personal accounts of what life in Russian captivity looks like. Those stories stun me. For example, a man from a remote mountainous village in the west of Ukraine was tortured for not knowing the Russian language and speaking his heavy dialect of Ukrainian. Many of them have developed chronic illnesses because of malnutrition and harsh conditions they had to live in for almost two years.
 
Among those taken captive by the Ukrainian army, there are a few people from the other side of the world – Sierra Leone, Somali, Cuba, India, Malaysia, and Nepal. All of them were recruited by the Russians and promised good money ($2,000 a month) and Russian citizenship. It's easy to make promises when you are not going to keep them because you count on your recruits becoming cannon fodder.
Lord, have mercy and give us success!

​Jeff Fountain (The Weekly Word)
While praying for Ukraine this week in a zoom connection with YWAM colleagues, I remembered a story once told by the late Argentinian-born evangelist Luis Palau. 
A concrete wall on his property needed to be demolished so he called in a contractor. Expecting him to turn up with some heavy machinery to do the job, he was surprised when the contractor arrived with only a sledgehammer. No pneumatic drills, just a simple sledgehammer. 
Luis asked incredulously if that was really sufficient for the job. The contractor told him just to watch… patiently.
The man swung the hammer against the wall. BAM! And again. BAM! And repeatedly. BAM! BAM! BAM! But the wall stood firm as did Luis’ scepticism. BAM! BAM! BAM! Ten times. Twenty times…
Then, after about thirty swings of the sledgehammer, Luis detected slight movement in the wall. Little cracks began to appear. With each new thud, the cracks grew longer and wider. Suddenly parts of the wall began to break off, and very quickly the whole wall crumbled. 
That, said Luis as he concluded his story, shows the power of persevering prayer. 
As the two-year anniversary of Putin’s ‘special operation’ in Ukraine approaches, we can be tempted to be discouraged and feel our prayers are not being heard. 
This week has been difficult for Ukrainians.The war is dragging on with no end in sight. President Zelensky has just fired Commander-in-chief Zaluzhnyi who had used the word ‘stalemate’ to describe the situation on the eastern war front, to the president’s annoyance. 
The rest of the world seems to be getting battle fatigue and losing interest, distracted by the tragedy of Gaza (started not uncoincidentally on Putin’s birthday). Republican Senators blocked a $60 billion bipartisan package in military assistance for Kyiv, earning a roasting from Poland’s new prime minister, Donald Tusk: “Ronald Reagan, who helped millions of us to win back our freedom and independence, must be turning in his grave today. Shame on you.”
Intensive drone and missile attacks on a wide of range Ukrainian cities strained the Ukrainian air defence and resulted in multiple casualties and much damage.
Rubbing salt into the Ukrainians’ wounds, former Fox News journalist Tucker Carlson gave Putin a two-hour platform this week to tell the world that the fighting would be over in a few weeks if America just stopped supplying weapons. Yeah right – and then there would be ‘peace’, of the ‘Russky mir’ type. The fawning interviewer was seen by many commentators as latest of a long line of ‘useful idiot’ journalists helping tyrants like Stalin and Hitler.
Also this week, anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin was ruled out of standing in Russia’s presidential election next month – due to ‘irregularities’ in the collection of signatures supporting his candidature. Yet for the hundred-thousand plus who stood in freezing conditions waiting to add their support in centres across 40 regions, this official reaction to someone who could be a lightning rod of discontent with Putin’s leadership was predictable and thus all the more reason why change was necessary.
Blind subserviance
Yet there have been significant positive developments on the war front over the past couple of weeks, in the air and on the sea, if not on the land. Drone attacks have reached targets deeper inside Russia than was thought possible, attacking key military and energy sector targets including oil and gas processing, storage, and export facilities. Drones also recently sank a Russian guided missile ship in the Black Sea, a further embarrassing loss to Russia’s Black Sea navy. 
Are we beginning to witness the cracks appearing in the Russian edifice? Will Nadezhdin’s bold effort to openly oppose the invasion of Ukraine encourage more to speak out openly? Are the wives, daughters and mothers of Russian soldiers wearing white scarves and laying flowers at public monuments, calling for the return of their loved ones from the front, an indication that the Russian public are also experiencing war fatigue?
This is no time to pretend that if we ignore the plight of the Ukrainians the problem will somehow sort itself out. It won’t. For Ukraine’s sake, for Europe’s sake, for the world’s sake, the effort must go on – with our support in prayer. And not just for a victory. The only just long term resolution to the conflict requires an upheaval of the Russian mentality, the release of the Russian peoples themselves from the prison of blind subserviance to authorian strong men. 
God’s sledgehammer is truth. And, as the Czech reformer Jan Hus famously said, truth prevails! Truth sets free. Our prayers must be not only be for the freedom of conscience, thought and worship for Ukrainians. It must also be for God’s truth to set the Russian peoples free from their centuries’ old enslavement.
Let’s keep hammering on that wall!

Ira Kapitonova
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
Psalm 115:1
These words seem so appropriate today. The President of Ukraine made some changes to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. One of the major changes was replacing the Commander-in-Chief of the AFU. The new Commander-in-Chief is an experienced Colonel General who has been defending Ukraine in the battlefield since 2014. However, these changes make us all feel anxious and uncertain.
 
That's why this verse from Psalm 115 became a blessing to me tonight. We may be prone to putting our trust in people, but we know that the ultimate glory belongs to God. And no matter what changes take place here, God is mighty to bring deliverance to Ukraine not for the sake of our glory but out of His steadfast love and faithfulness.
 
Pray for good, righteous men of wisdom to be raised to leadership in Ukraine. Pray that trust would be in God.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Hello friends,

Sadly, the fighting in Sudan continues, but little information makes it to the international news. The clashes between the government army (SAF) and the militia (RSF) take place daily, often in and around the capital of Khartoum and in other states around the country including Darfur (west) and Jazeera (central). There are reports of food shortages in different areas of the country and some Sudanese are facing hunger and malnourishment. Most of the YWAM Sudan staff have moved out of Omdurman to safer areas, but the continued fighting is forcing some of them to move again. There don’t seem to be any meaningful negotiations happening to end the war.

The YWAM staff in Dongola in the north were able to do mercy ministry recently. Many displaced people from other parts of Sudan have flooded into this small city in the northern part of Sudan. Rents have gone up very high and people are struggling to find places to keep their families. The YWAM team there distributed mosquito nets and blankets to 180 families living in two schools and to another 30 families staying outside one of the schools. The YWAM team wrote, “We discovered no small gift can be too small here. When it comes, people receive the gifts with gratitude, joy and tears. It is great to spend time with those displaced and give them a word of hope from the Gospel. Still there are a lot of needs and we want to do all we can for those in need.”

Some of the YWAM team members in Kerma are running another series of revival meetings in the local church. Please pray that God will use this ministry to encourage people and draw new people to Himself. A few other staff and families from YWAM are moving to Damazeen in the far southeast of the country. Some of them have had the militia stop them from traveling. Pray that God will open the way and make a safe journey for them.

Finally, in January, we were able to bring three of the leaders from YWAM Sudan to Uganda to meet with other YWAMers from the region. It was a sweet time to listen, talk, pray, plan and laugh together. God provided the finances for this trip and safe journeys for the three leaders. They are now back in Sudan, serving the team and serving people. Pray that God would continue to provide for them financially and fill them with the Holy Spirit for the ministry in front of them.

YWAM Sudan Team

Prayer Points
• Pray for food and medicine to reach those in need throughout the country.
• Pray for peacemakers to rise up from within and outside of Sudan to work for peace.
• Pray for the YWAM staff to continue to be equipped to serve in evangelism, discipleship and mercy ministry.
• Pray for safe passage for YWAM staff and other civilians are trying to find safe areas for their families.

Four people have died and a further 40 were injured in Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv earlier Wednesday.
 
Emergency services continue to work in the Holosiiv district of the capital, where several floors of an 18-story residential building were damaged as a result of a Russian missile attack.
The air raid alert in the capital lasted almost 3 hours. The missiles entered the capital in several waves from different directions.
 
Please pray for the safety of the locals as well as our Ywam staff ministering to those suffering from this war. Our teams continue to go to hard hit areas to provide aid and share the love of Christ.  

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Ira Kapitonova
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised!
Psalm 113:3
This month, my students have been learning about blind people and people with visual impairments, looking for ways to serve them. When we had visitors from the ministry to the blind, they told us about the increasing number of blind people in Ukraine due to the war, especially those whose eyes were hurt during mine explosions.
Our first-graders have been learning about people with disabilities, especially those with prosthetic limbs. Recent estimates say there are about 25,000 people with amputations in Ukraine, and their number keeps on rising.
 
I'm glad that our children learn to be aware of different people and see beyond the disability. It's something that wasn't really taught at school when I was a child because of the Soviet mindset when the not-so-pretty aspects of life were covered up and spoken about in hushed voices, maintaining the pretty picture for the masses. That’s why we are still learning to be inclusive, trying to find ways to make our public places more accessible to people with disabilities. It will take a mental change on both sides, yet this change is inevitable if we want to have a healthy society.
 
That's why I'm happy to see more and more social initiatives raising awareness in Ukraine. For example, the Ukrainian football (soccer) club "Shakhtar" forms a team for Ukrainian soldiers who have lost limbs due to combat injuries to create all the necessary conditions for Ukrainian veterans to return to an everyday and active life.
 
Pray for these disabled soldiers and civilians. Pray for the new Ywam Taxi ministry that has just purchased a van to transport veterans to doctor visits and other needed places. Pray for Ywam’s ministry run by Ywam Lutsk that takes veterans and their families on retreat to the mountains to bring them together in ministry.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

YWAM King’s Kids! 80 teenagers have gathered at YWAM Kyiv for a camp. This is a mix of believers and non-believers who are looking for hope and answers to their questions about God, the world, and the Bible. Our King’s Kids staff are ready to show them love and hospitality during this war. The goal is to help them face the challenges of living in a country at war with hope, purpose and most of all, the love of God. Please pray for them this week, that all 80 teens would encounter the Lord personally during this camp.
 
Let’s pray for this camp, pray for these kids, many of them tramatised by the effects of this war. Pray for the staff of Ywam Kyiv, they continue to do amazing things in spite of the challenges and difficulties. Kings Kids has been an incredibly effective ministry all over Eastern Europe, it thrives in difficult places.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Children of war torn Ukraine
Missiles are fired on Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, from across the Russian border which is so close that there are only seconds to stop them.
School and kindergarten buildings have been closed for almost two years for safety, and playgrounds stand empty. Now, as the full-scale war heads towards its third year, parts of life in Kharkiv are moving underground.
 
Deep down in the metro, specially built classrooms run parallel to the platform at five stations. Parents can be confident nothing's going to happen to their child and a child can continue their more-or-less normal life. A child doesn't get to see any other kids, because there are none out on the streets and air raid sirens all the time.
On the walls of the metro, beside brightly colored pictures of flowers and giant caterpillars, there are posters about the danger of mines. But when the sirens go off warning of incoming missiles, no one needs to move.
 
Children are living in some of the most traumatic conditions. Over time it will deeply affect their mental health. Please pray that this war will end. Pray that the children will receive proper care and love from family and teachers.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Ira Kapitonova
My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being!
Psalm 108:1
 
It's February again. Many of us will relive many flashbacks this month, our memory triggered by familiar settings and dates. I wish we could skip it. However, it's not just limited to February. The triggering reminders and conversations are all around us. If you have kids, ask them an ordinary question. Ask them to tell you of a time they were afraid. A few of my students chose to talk about being afraid of the war and explosions. And they would have shared this same story, February or not.
 
While we go through our emotional struggles, our army is steadily working on eliminating the Russian threat. For example, today, they destroyed a Russian missile boat, bringing us one step closer to our long-awaited victory.
 
Two years now, let’s pray for a good and just end to this war. Pray for the salvation of these two countries and the end of the destruction of young men.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team