Ira Kapitonova
For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. Psalm 44:6-7 Another kamikaze drone threat for the Kyiv region now. Last night, our air defense took down 21 drones and 3 missiles aimed at the Khmelnytskyi region and the south of Ukraine. I might not mention the occupied territories too often, but it doesn't mean they are forgotten. In fact, I'm glad the world still remembers. For example, the documentary "20 Days in Mariupol" (Ukrainian journalists trapped in the temporarily occupied Mariupol documented the Russian atrocities, hoping it would change the course of the war) is now available on the Frontline PBS YouTube channel in the United States (viewers from other countries need to use a VPN). I also read today that the National Resistance Center reported that Russia has brought in about 100,000 people from Central Asia to repopulate the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Assimilation has been a valuable tool for the oppressors since the Old Testament times, so it's not something new. The Soviets did the same with several regions of Ukraine after the Holodomor and WWII. This repopulation has little to do with caring for the people's well-being but lays the foundation for deep conflicts in the future. Oh, how can they bring so much cruelty and pain on so many levels?! Pray for these unexpected things like repatriation, they affect the future for generations. Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team Chaplains with a Mission
A few of our Ukrainian Ywam staff have joined the volunteer chaplaincy. Through this they have access to the front and the ability to minister to the soldiers near the front. This is such vital opportunity to pray with and encourage the faith of the soldiers. Jarik tells how they have gone with trucks loaded with sleeping bags, warm socks and goodies to bring a little joy into these young lives. The also bring along a couple of barbers to give long needed hair cuts. A guitar and worship songs are very welcome among the soldiers. Andrei another ywammer says, “three days we were serving to the families of people who lost their husbands sons and fathers because of the war. Today we are driving to another region , and we are going to be serving already to other people For me it is a honor to be joining this team for this trip. Can we pray for these very courageous young people who choose to go to the difficult places to reach out to the desperate. Pray for safety, pray for an anointing on their ministry. Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team Giving Tuesday
The war in Ukraine continues and perhaps is as heavy as ever. Thank you for your giving this past year. With your help this is what we’ve done so far… We have helped to support our army of volunteer youth in Ukraine as they have continued to go into newly liberated towns and villages, rescuing the elderly and needy, bringing them water, food and supplies. We have purchased vehicles for them to transport people and goods. Two semi-trucks with tons of food and supplies have been sent in every month. Hundreds of thousands of Bibles and scriptures have been distributed in these towns. Roofs, windows and repairs were made to countless homes. Firewood distributed to the elderly Helped start a factory to provide hundreds of sleeping bags Children and youth camps, Special camps for orphans and disabled Christmas gifts for children and orphans Refugees taken in in Poland, Romania, Germany and other lands. Housed, fed, schools for children. Trauma ministry to refugees as well as to our volunteers Respite house, retreats, special care. Homes of Hope, small house project Several hundred small homes have been built or provided for elderly or needy Families who lost their homes to bombs. Please help us continue to help the people of Ukraine and help us continue these projects. Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team Ira Kapitonova
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Psalm 42:11 Thankfully, last night's snowstorm left the territory of Ukraine, leaving behind broken power lines and snowed-in roads. We are grateful that it didn't hit Kyiv as hard as expected. I came across two reports today. In the first one, the UK Defense Intelligence stated that Russian casualties averaged 931 per day through the month of November, this being the highest rate of this invasion so far. This is insane! In the attempt to take over Avdiivka and present at least a semblance of victory, they have already lost dozens of thousands, and we can only guess how many lives of Ukrainian defenders they took! I wonder if anything in this world could stop them and make them reexamine what they are doing, having no mercy on their own. Another report came from the Air Forces of Ukraine. They were finally at liberty to announce that back in May, they successfully downed 5 Russian aircraft vehicles within 5 minutes using Patriot systems. How many lives have been spared! I remember how we were begging the world leaders to shield our skies and provide Ukraine with air defense systems. It took them a while to hear our pleas, yet I shudder every time I read statistics after an air raid and imagine what could have happened if Ukraine hadn't received this military aid. We are not taking it for granted! Pray for an end to the senseless killing, so many young lives being wasted. Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team Ira Kapitonova
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me! Psalm 40:10-11 God was merciful to our family. Last night, we left Kyiv to go to the village to spend time with my grandmother on her birthday. That’s why we could go to bed last night despite the air raid warning, knowing we were safe in our remote location. This morning, I was shocked by the news. The air raid in Kyiv lasted for six hours. Russia launched 75 drones in 15 waves from different directions — most drones aimed at Kyiv. Thankfully, our air defense shot down 74 of the enemy drones! That's an incredible mercy of God! Unfortunately, it also meant lots of explosions near Kyiv, so many of our friends had a sleepless and worrisome night. Some fallen debris and destroyed buildings in a couple of Kyiv districts. An 11-year-old child was hospitalized with acute stress syndrome, and 4 adults received injuries. Thankfully, there were no other casualties. It was the largest attack on Kyiv since May, and it was not by accident that it happened that night. Today, Ukraine remembers the victims of Holodomor (genocide of 1932-1933) and the artificial famines of 1921-1923 and 1946-1947, organized by the Soviets. Millions of Ukrainians died of starvation during those years because of Stalin's cruel attempt to break the spirit of the people who dared to resist the regime. Many governments have recognized the Great Famine of 1932-1933 as genocide. However, the Soviets did not succeed in breaking the Ukrainian spirit then, so they returned to our land years later with another genocidal attempt as what Russia is doing today is a continuation of aggressive policies of the Soviet Union towards "lesser nations." I am grateful that this horrific crime is not forgotten, that lots of research and documentaries can tell the world the truth about those days. The Soviets tried to silence the truth, yet everything that is hidden will be revealed. I believe that one day, all the horrible crimes of Putin's regime will also be revealed, and the world will know the truth. Pray against these new attacks as winter sets in. Thank God for his intervention. Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team Ira Kapitonova
Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! Psalm 38:21-22 "I am thankful we are still alive." "I am thankful that our soldiers have weapons." "I am thankful we can go to school." "I am thankful that Jesus died on the cross for us." We used Thanksgiving Day, celebrated in America today, as an occasion to talk with my students about things they are thankful for, and these were some of their answers. It got me thinking as I realized I felt much more grateful when the circumstances were much more challenging. In the first weeks of the full-scale war, at the end of the day, we thanked God for being alive. We thanked Him for keeping our friends and family safe, for giving us enough food, and for watching over us as we evacuated. Now, when we don't feel the fragility of these blessings, it's so easy to slip back into taking them for granted. That's why I want to be more intentional about my feeling of gratitude because often, it's not about what we have but about being thankful against all odds. I will not try to write an extensive list here, but I definitely know that through this war, because of it, God has given me an incredible gift — people and friendships. Over the past 21 months, I was reminded of the incredible treasure of friends (both old and new) I have been given. There are several people I've never met in person, but I feel like we've been friends for years because of the genuine love and care I've seen through them. And there are hundreds of those whose names I might not remember, whose names I don't even know, but they are the ones faithfully praying and interceding for Ukraine. I am thankful for each one of these blessings and pray I will stay aware of these blessings without the need to be reminded of their fragility. James, Lutsk, Ukraine
I am writing to you from Lutsk Ukraine. You know the work we have done and still do. Preaching the Salvation message to people in Ukraine, areas that were occupied or were devastated by this terrible war with Russia. Many have suffered beyond words. The children live in often poor or devastated areas. We want to do something for them during the Holidays like Christmas and New Years. Will you join us? We want to give them a box full of school materials, some candy, good warm socks and for older youth a gift of an inexpensive power bank ( electricity often goes off in many areas). We would like to reach 1000 children and youth 16 or 17 years old and under. A year ago there were few children in these areas and many were sent away. But now many have come back, they want to be home even if there is no roof or maybe they have a tarp for a roof. Many of these villages now have from 10-50 kids / youth. Most of the schools are destroyed and the villages are trying to use something for a school until they can, some day, build another school. About 3000 schools and education buildings are rendered useless from the Russian shelling. A call came from Latvia yesterday, our team there is helping the thousands of Ukrainian refugees, many that are still arriving daily escaping from Russia, where they were deported to after Russia invaded their areas. They too are preparing to minister to the children and youth. They have rented the largest meeting hall in their area and are also preparing the same kind of boxes to give to these young people. Their goal is to reach over a thousand kids. Romania has also sent a request for their Christmas outreach to the Ukrainian refugees in their area. Can we pray for them, can we help them? If you would like to, please donate at the button below. Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team Ira Kapitonova Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help! Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!” Psalm 35:1-3 One of the challenges of this war is constant second-guessing of your decisions or someone else's reasoning. Most of the time, my thinking process would look like this: "How would I normally respond? — Is there a need to adjust my response because of the war (because of an extended air raid, someone's possible PTSD, or other triggers)? — What would be the best response that could consider present circumstances and anticipate long-term impact?" And most of the time, these questions cannot take more than a few seconds. Working with children, I feel this burden of responsibility and a constant need for God's wisdom. Most of my students are around 9 or 10 years old, which means most of them were born after Russia started its war on Ukraine (in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and occupation of the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions). For those first eight years, when the war was limited to the eastern regions of Ukraine, we were aware of the cost, daily praying for our defenders. The full-scale invasion started almost two years ago (21 months ago, to be exact). It means that most of our first-graders have spent a third of their lives with air raids, explosions, and other very real wartime experiences. Most of these children would have few memories from before the full-scale war. Knowing all this, learning about ways constant stress affects our mental health and cognitive skills, wanting to help our children make wise decisions in these challenging times, teachers constantly need wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit, whether it's about teaching a certain topic or handling a discipline issue. Please pray for the teachers and those working with children. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, 510 children have been killed, 1143 children have been wounded, 2199 children have gone missing, 19546 children have been forcefully deported to Russia 13 children have experienced sexual abuse 2 million children had to seek refuge outside of Ukraine over 1 million children live in constant danger because of the proximity to the active combat zone over 3 million children do not have a healthy study environment because of the missile and drone attacks on Ukraine I feel overwhelmed thinking about these circumstances we need to overcome, but I know that with God, everything is possible. Today's pictures are illustrations by Andriy Yermolenko with the statistics I translated above.
Ira Kapitonova
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:17-18 Over the past few days, I came across several incredible stories of people whose lives show that we don't have to be victims of our circumstances. I've shared before about the "Good Bread" bakery that employs people with mental disability. They train them how to sift flour, knead dough, form the bread, bake it, and package it. Then, this bread is sent to the people in the active combat zone or internally displaced people and those in need. Their reports always inspire me because their impact goes beyond bread making. Today, I saw a report about a 22-year-old man who lives in a village close to my hometown. He's wheelchair-bound, but he simply cannot sit still. That's why he started making portable wood stoves for the soldiers to stay warm in trenches. He doesn't have a massive production, but he's making a difference one stove at a time. Living in a state of war, it is easy to start thinking that there is little you can do, that your effort doesn't matter because it doesn't lead to drastic changes. However, looking back at the past nine years, since the first days of Russian aggression, you see how much has changed, and it took billions of tiny steps and millions of "small" people. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9) “It’s the everyday small acts of kindness that keeps evil at bay.” Gandalf “Lord of the Rings” Pray that those small acts of kindness will continue to spread all over the land. Al Akimoff and the Slavac Ministries Team Kyle Schelgel (Kyiv)
During this Waves of Hope, 150 volunteers came in to build 40 homes for those who have lost theirs in the #Chernihiv region of #Ukraine. Our team was tasked with reroofing a youth center that was in #Lukashivka, a village occupied by Russian forces for the first months of the war. We reroofed and put new windows in. After we were done, the youth from the village came and cleaned everything in and around the building. It was amazing to watch them take ownership of their center and even though it was a tough job, our team felt that we brought some normalcy back to that village. The village has also started a home church that is meeting regularly. Thank the Lord for the continued grace of God and that seeds that have been sown are bringing forth fruit. Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team |
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