Dear friends,
The August UKRAINE MISSIONS newsletter is now available to download and read. In this newsletter you will find a number of reports from various locations in Ukraine. There is also a good report from Immadi who is in India.
The report from the Hillsboro church of Christ group that arrived in Ivano-Frankivsk last Saturday says there were 35 present for the Lord’s Day assembly!
The situation in Ukraine continues to devolve as the anarchy that Putin incited and released to terrorize Lugansk and Donetsk brings more suffering and deaths. From the daily briefings come these selected updates:
- September 2 – Ukraine may receive the status of key US ally (beyond NATO) by the end of this year, informed Ukraine’s Minister of Justice Pavlo Petrenko.
- September 2 – 30th separate mechanized brigade broke out of the entrapment created by the Russian army near the town of Lutuhyne (close to Luhansk).
- September 2 – In cooperation with “Azov” battalion, Ukrainian border rebuffed the breakthrough attempt of Russian army on its way to Mariupol. The Russians may want to force their way by sea. It is a pity, of course, that they don’t yet have French amphibious assault ships “Mistral”.
- September 2 – REMENCIENT OF HOW THE NAZI FACISTS TERRORIZED UKRAINE COMES THIS POINT…In Donbas Russian terrorists started plundering mines – they are transporting coal to Russia using car convoys. Soon, similarly to the Nazis, they will find a way to transport Ukrainian chornozem (fertile soil) to Russia. And Putin keeps saying that Kyiv’s legitimate government is the “fascists.”
- September 2 – When retreating from Luhansk airport, Ukrainian military blew up the runway, so that Russia couldn’t transfer jet aviation to Ukraine for future use by the Russian terrorists, – informed a spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council Andriy Lysenko. http://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/voznyak/5406b826ae01e/
- September 1 – The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said that confrontation in eastern Ukraine forces an increasing number of people to leave their homes and move to other regions. “The number of people displaced inside Ukraine had more than doubled in the past four weeks. UNHCR estimates that 260,000 people were displaced as of Monday [September 1, 2014], compared to 117,000 in the first week of August,” UNHCR said in a press release on Tuesday, which was obtained by Interfax-Ukraine. According to the report, most of the displaced – 94% – are from eastern Ukraine and are remaining in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions. “UNHCR believes the actual number of people displaced is higher as many are staying with families and friends and choose not to register with the authorities,” reads the statement. ttp://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/221409.html
Adding to the traumas of Putin’s war upon Ukraine is the anecdotal report I received yesterday: “The situation in Ukraine doesn’t help with any good rest. Heard from Olya, Victor’s wife, and Vitalik is somewhere around Slavyansk with his in-laws and other relatives, living in a small house, 22 of them, sleeping on the floor. I couldn’t help crying…”
Our efforts continue to collect, pack and ship critically needed humanitarian aid for those who have suffered from the war—the orphans, elderly, wounded, and displaced citizens of Lugansk, Donetsk and Crimea.
We have 3-5 containers of dry food mix ready to ship.
We have 3-5 containers of WINTER clothing ready to ship.
We have over 1,000+ Family Buckets ready to ship.
We have 5 containers of medical supplies, furnishings, and miscellaneous items ready to ship.
We continue to solicit donations to help with the cost of shipping. If you know of anyone who would be interested in helping with the cost of shipping please let me know. In the first two containers shipped we have achieved a ratio of 1:25 in our efforts! All is being done by volunteers. We have NO OVERHEAD EXPENSES! At this point we have enough funds to pay for only two more containers…which do we choose…The food?…The winter clothing?…The medical supplies?
Andrew Zhuravlyov lived in Gorlovka many years but was displaced by the evils of Putin’s anarchy. He now lives in Skvyra, Kyiv Oblast. He writes: “We continue thanking God for your love and support. Because of you our forced temporary move was not as painful. We praise the Lord that we have such wonderful family in Christ who will not leave us alone even in the darkest moments of our lives. We pray God to keep your country safe, blessing it with peace and prosperity. We love you and appreciate you.”
If you, your Church, your family and friends, or your business would like to help donate to send critically needed relief aid into Ukraine as it struggles against the evil of Putin’s anarchy, please send funds to:
Ukraine Relief/College Church of Christ
2934 East Moore Street
Searcy, Arkansas 72143
Thank you for your interest and compassion for the gospel to go into all the earth!
John
[Download August 2014 Monthly Newsletter]
