I send you greetings from Kramatorsk, Ukraine. We have worked many years in this city and I always delight in coming to be with the Lord’s People. They are such an encouragement. Vlad Paziy is one of the preachers and he and Vitalik Rodichev (the other preacher) have worked tirelessly in unloading, distributing, and record keeping of the humanitarian aid containers we have shipped here. In visits on Friday I was constantly thanked for the deliveries of the containers from 2008 as I visited various hospitals.
Sitting around the table with cups of hot tea Vlad and Vitalik both talked about the hospital beds they unloaded that weighed 138 KILOS! They laughed (saying that now they can laugh) and said that even though it was years ago their backs still remember those beds (the Judsonia warehouse warriors can empathize with them!).
War’s traumas…physically and emotionally
In the visits to various hospitals I was taken to a burn hospital. I was warned that there would be a certain bad smell in that place because of the nature of the patients. As I was given a walk-thru inspection by the Chief Doctor I was shown hospital beds, potty chairs, over-the-bed tables, and other items that had been shipped in the containers we sent.
The doctor told me that when Ukraine was fighting to reclaim the city in 2014 his hospital would receive the wounded even in the midst of the Russian shelling. He was so close to the fighting that he said the wounded were brought to the hospital in less than a minute after being wounded.
As I walked through ward after ward (there are hundreds of patients) I saw case after case of human suffering and tragedy….a lady had been cut by shrapnel and had developed gangrene in her leg. The doctor said he would not show the wound but I saw the blackish-green of the rotting flesh above the wound…walking into a ward I saw a man lying on a bed with a stump for his left leg and drainage tubes and a pump were connected. I was told that in the Russian shelling a piece of shrapnel had severed his leg…another man was trying to plow his field after the Russian forces had been driven out but as he plowed with his tractor he hit a land mine the Russians had left behind—he instantly became another amputee casualty to Russia’s aggression. Note that all of these are civilians!
In thinking of the civilian causalities I want to share more with you about the 11 year old I mentioned in report #12. I have received more information from our State Department.
“11-years old Mykola Nizhnikovskiy was injured on August 23, 2015 as his hometown in Donetsk Region was shelled. Mykola was admitted to the Mariupol City Hospital in Donetsk Region on August 23, 2015 with mine blast injury and was treated by staff of multi-specialties. His right lower limb, left lower limb and right upper limb were amputated. The boy also had burns on the face, body, upper and lower limbs. Since then Mykola had a number of medical procedures to restore burned skin and to treat wounds. Mykola’s current medical condition is stable. But he needs further qualified medical treatment of his limbs combined with further rehabilitation…. And if you know of anyone that can help this boy, could you let me know?”
We have shipped two containers to Mariupol. One was sent by the Clarkson, KY congregation and the other by funds gathered from churches in the Parrish, AL area collected by LT and Joan Gurganus. These containers had to be shipped into Zaporozhye because USA shippers will not schedule logistics into the war zone. We have been able to make arrangements to truck the supplies into Mariupol.
We continue working on arrangements to move relief supplies into Ukraine’s needy areas. There is a wonderful cooperation that is offered to the Lord’s Church that helps us get the items to the locations that are in greatest need.
Most in the world have pushed back into faint memory Russia’s invasion and occupation of Ukraine. News media seem content to report this as a “frozen conflict” and have moved on to Syria or some other location.
But, in spite of the inattention, the presence of Russia’s evil is undeniable; the horrors of Russia’s terror are indelibly etched into the emotional psyche of the population. The terrorism of Putin’s totalitarianism is felt everywhere.
The situation is anything but frozen and the apathy of the west to present a resolute defiance to Putin’s evil is the greatest tragedy to be recorded in the history of this war.
The policy of appeasement only serves Putin with an appetizer for greater terrorism.
It was good to greet brother Terry Harmon as he arrived in Kramatorsk. Terry served as the Director of the Bear Valley Biblical Institute before having to return to the USA for medical treatment for his son. It was encouraging to see the brethren’s warmth and affection that greeted Terry as brethren came to see him.
On Friday I had the opportunity to visit a class (photo at the top of this report) that the Kramatorsk Church offers to young people. It is a class that teaches English by using the Bible. The class was to focus on teaching the word and concept of “responsibility” and I was assigned Joshua and his story of the Twelve Spies. The class went well and afterwards the students wanted me to sign their class books and then some wanted me to sign their hands. As many of you know I do not favor “ink” and the request for me to sign my name with an ink pen on someone’s hand was challenging. But I did it. After signing Nastya’s hand she wanted me to sign her forehead. That was “ink” too far and I told her that was not possible!
Saturday will bring more teaching opportunities at the Kramatorsk Church building and then Sunday both Terry and I are to preach/teach. Then Sunday evening I will go back to Kyiv and I found out that Terry will be going at that time as well.
Please continue praying for our efforts.
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Kramatorsk, Ukraine
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