Ukraine Prayer # 542

Prayer for the elderly -
When people think of the war, they often think of the East of Ukraine where the fighting continues. However, the villages along the Belarus border were overrun, many houses destroyed and the elderly villagers experienced much trauma at the hands of the Russian army. One elderly woman said, “When the Russians came, they kicked me and stole all my food!"
 
Friends in Ukraine first started serving in this area a few years before the war. A church began to grow but was mostly filled with elderly grandmothers. The team never dreamed they would feel a calling to serve seniors in remote villages, but God partnered them with friends from the Ywam Widow's program and World Challenge, Inc. The little church began to grow, resourced with food care packages for the villager pensioners that receive less than $80 per month from the government. That amount is to cover their food, utilities, medicine. An impossibility in the winter months, where many sacrifice food or heat.
 
Last year the Ywam ministry helped to complete renovations on an old house, which now serves as their church building. It's humble, but it's theirs, and they are very proud of it! A majority of the construction was completed by the grandmothers too! A team of volunteers, host not only regular Sunday services, but have begun networking with other ministries and hosting art therapy, crafts, and even children's programs in their village. Their church has inspired teams from Ywam and other Kyiv churches to bring physical, emotional and spiritual care to surrounding villages up to 2 hours away.
 
Please pray for the team and their community. Pray for continued strength and the finances to continue their ministry.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team