Update–December 22, 2023

Photo: Here is the assembly of the Lord’s Church in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Accompanying the photos are wonderful report of how the congregations in Irpin and Chernihiv are working and active even in times of great distress. This reveals their faith and commitment to the Lord. A special “THANK YOU” to Washington Johnson for sending this to me.

We have been offline for about three weeks. Here are some reports that I have had ready to share. Read and rejoice in what the Lord’s Church is doing!

WONDERFUL REPORT from Irpin and Chernihiv

Greetings from Irpin, we are pleased to share with you news about our work in Chernihiv. Thank you for your participation and support. We are asking your special prayers for:

• God’s protection for my brother Dmytro and his health.
• Our work in the local community of Irpin.
• Starting work on the establishment of a new congregation in Mykolaiv.

For health and strength for Yana and me. Serhii Shupishov

November 2023 Chernihiv Church of Christ Report from the Pavlenko family.

Hello dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. We want to share with you the news of what happened during this month of November 2023. By the grace of God: We had 4 Sunday worship services this month. An average of sixty to one hundred people attended each of the services in Chernihiv.  

• We held three weekly Thursday Bible studies with seventy to ninety people at each. One of the Thursdays we attended a retreat at the Ukrainian Bible Institute.
• We held three meetings for women on Fridays. These sessions are aimed at spiritual and psychological support for women who have been traumatized by war.  Each session was attended by about 50 people.
• We had a Bible study for men with tea.  There were 6 men in attendance.
• Thanks to the Eastern European Mission, from which we received literature, we were able to distribute spiritual literature that strengthens the human spirit.
• This month we distributed 50 food packages to the needy. The food was provided by the Church of Poznyaki, Kyiv.
• We gave out 30 kits with baby food for young mothers and babies. We also gave them diapers.
• We delivered and distributed 45 food boxes to families of the AFU soldiers and large families.
• We distributed hygiene products and household items to 60 people. These included people whose homes were destroyed by missile attacks and people who had to temporarily relocate. 
• Also this month we invited preachers from other cities to share their experience in conducting Bible classes
• I also continue to work as a driver, delivering humanitarian aid.

And finally, this month we had glad tidings that were good news for Heaven. We now have a new sister in Christ, Irina Shcherba.

Thank you that through your support we are able to serve and help people through trials and show Christ. Be blessed in your labors. Let’s continue to pray for each other to reach the destination of Christ’s journey! God’s blessings to you!

Report from the Paziy Family

Our family moved to Warsaw on September 1, to a house where more than 45 people from Ukraine live, 23 of those are members of the Church of Christ in Kramatorsk. 99% of those attending the Church meetings are refugees from Ukraine. The Church here has several meetings during the week to keep fellowship strong and increase Bible knowledge: Tuesday Bible study at the house where we live. Wednesday are constant meetings to work and study with refugees’ people in a place rented by the Church. As a rule, about 50-90 people come to receive help! We use this time to get to know each other and of course there are Bible lessons. Friday is a full day as at 3:00 pm there is a meeting with refugees who want to study the Bible and at 7:00 pm there is a Bible study in the house where we live. I am grateful to the local brothers who involve me in this work. Oksana and I also conduct children’s classes on Sundays. There was a baptism of the woman Valentina, she is the one who has been coming to get help.

We had a meeting with John Kachelman. While returning from Ukraine, we met with John Kachelman, Tatyana Zozulina and Chip McEwen in Warsaw. It was a productive meeting and even though we are not in Ukraine, we have made big plans and practical steps to implement the rehabilitation of various population groups in Ukraine. We continue to pray for the implementation of plans as opportunity for Church to put into practice the gospel message. More information on this will be shared as the work progresses.

BVBI, helped with the purchase of firewood in Donetsk region. All my contacts with the rest of the Church members who stay in Kramatorsk are online and though phone. Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I conduct Bible study classes on our Facebook, Telegram and Viber pages. We are using every possible avenue to reach people with the comfort of the gospel. We are studying the Gospel of Mark and have finished 1 Samuel.

There are weekly statistics and they say that our Facebook page reaches more than 500 viewers who can view our lessons. Brothers Alexey and Alexander as well as Konstantin, in turn, are in Kramatorsk and hold meetings, as well as carry out coordinated work to help those in need. Every evening we have prayer meetings and discussions about our plans and activities. Together with the BVBI we did the work of purchase and deliver wood to members of our community and those in need, those who contacted us.

For two weeks I taught a course “How we received the Bible” in Biblical Institute. This is done through phone and Telegram. We have 5 students. This is a new experience for me to teach this subject. Because several teachers left us, we must take new courses to fill the gaps.

Also, now every day I am preparing for a new course that will be in December, “Apologetics.” The course is extensive and contains a lot of material. Despite the daily personal work of preparation, I am sincerely glad to remind myself of what I studied many years ago and find application for it with new understanding and opportunities that the Lord gives.

Here is some personal information. Our Son Dima entered and is now a student at the Kramatorsk Institute. All his classes are online. I graduated from the same University in 1997. He is studying computer technology. Our daughter Rita continues to study at the Ivano-Frankovsk Medical University in her second year. She is turning 20 in December and plans to visit us in Warsaw for her birthday. Oksana continues to work in “Otze Shola” and the number of the students has increased. These classes for children are used to reach parents and it is successful.

I am happy to send a photo of our sister Anna, who remains in Kramatorsk. She is a 99-year-old sister in the Lord. The photo was made November 17.

Thank you for your support and prayers. If you have any questions let me know. Vlad and Oksana Paziy

Denis Sopelnik’s recent report continues his encouraging news. In the report he mentions our brother Vladimir Paziy. Vladimir is always evangelistically involved. When he was displaced in Ivano-Frankivsk it was not long until he had studied and immersed others. And now in Warsaw comes this good news!

During November and December, we had a few baptisms initiated by our Instructors and graduates. One of them took place in Warsaw. Our Instructor Vladimir Paziy who is currently in Poland had studies with a man and recently baptized him for the remissions of his sins. There was one more baptism in Chernivtsy.

Report from Ivano-Frankivsk

Greetings to you, dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ! We have survived another month by God’s grace. The second part of November was cold and freezing. Besides, a few Russian missiles hit our region. However, thanks be to God, there were no casualties, but infrastructure was damaged.

Despite these problems, we are still living and trying to serve God and people as much as we can. Special attention and support are being given to the Church members and those who are not members yet but are displaced persons, who lost their homes and cannot leave the country. We also help the military.

All of the country is looking forward to the end of the war. People are drained both physically and emotionally. There’s a lot of corruption and injustice. We all want to live in a better and fairer society. But nothing’s new in this sinful world, which turns away from God’s Gospel even at times of such horrible tribulations.

We, members of the Church of Christ, would like to thank all of you for your prayers and support. You encourage us and our faith in the unity of God’s only one Church of Christ. We understand that all these trials make us stronger and more patient. War and these difficult times reveal the true nature of people (“who is who”) …At such trying times, evil becomes so evident and doesn’t even try to cover up… On the contrary, those people whom we couldn’t trust, never asked them for help, work hard, help and demonstrate their Christian spirit of love and support (Prov. 17:17, Eccl 11:1-2).     

Our Heavenly Father has everything under control and we rejoice knowing that His Son and our Lord Jesus has overcome sin and death! He is our strength and victory (Philp. 4:13)

Every time we assemble in our new meeting place, we remember you and thank you, our dear brethren, for your donations toward construction. It is so wonderful for us to have our own meeting place where we are safe and where nobody can push us out as before. We remember all of you, pray and thank God for His Holy and only Church of Christ!

We assemble twice a week. Our Sunday assembly lasts from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; Wednesday assembly lasts from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. All these take place at the church building. Sunday attendance is 25-36; on Wednesday there are 7-15 people plus 5-8 join us online (those are families that cannot come to church for different reasons). And during the week we meet with those who study the Bible and have private questions. We meet with them individually when it suits them. At times those discussions last long as people do like having private meetings. Later on, they start visiting the church just like Ivan and Maria, Oleksander and Victoria, and Ivan displaced from Kherson. Oleksander and Victoria, displaced from Kharkov, need special encouragement and support.

Svitlana continues working with women, supporting them, and helping the needy together with Tamara and Luba. She also teaches children at church, teaching them Bible classes and crafts associated with the Bible. We go to Zelena twice a month, where we teach Bible classes to adults and children and have fellowship with them.

Our family is doing OK. Big thanks to all of you for prayers. Ruslan and Maria are bringing up Timothy and David. A week ago, the grandchildren caught chickenpox. Now, upon being quarantined, they are allowed to interact with people. Timothy has fully recovered and is back to school. He is active at Church reading Psalms and helping arrange Bible and song books before services. My wife and I pray for their future with Church of Christ as well as for all the children at church so that they would withstands the trials of this world and remain faithful to God to the end of their lives.

Our daughter Anya continues her studies at the Medical University and will be done with her 6th year next year. She went to Warsaw this month to have exams in English and German to be certified in these languages. Anya also teaches Bible lessons to younger kids at church. From her childhood, she’s been a strong advocate of Christian values while she was at school and now tries to use every opportunity to talk with her fellow students about salvation in Christ. We thank God and all of you, our dear brethren, for your prayers and support of our family as we serve God and His church. It is very good to be a Christian. I will always remember the time when I was without Christ and didn’t see any sense in living in this world, but the Lord found me and changed my life completely.

The purpose of all good deeds that we do is salvation of other people and God’s glory. There are a lot of different problems in Ukraine and all over the world. Church here also has some needs that we cannot meet on our own. Maybe Lord will open hearts to support us in these needs. We’d appreciate it.

Our needs at church at this point are as follows:

1. Please, help Andrew. He is 10 and is a son of Peter and Tanya in Zelena. They are members of the church and their son Andrew has health issues. He has a brain surgery every 3-4 years. Andrew is on an elementary program at school, since he is behind his age. Their financial situation is complicated and they need funds for the surgery. There might be someone who could help them. We will appreciate your help for this child and will praise the Lord for it.

2. And this request comes from us. We need to finish the dining room/kitchen in the church building. At this point we meet for tea and coffee in the hall, which is not very convenient especially for older people and children as well as IDP’s that we feed now and then in the church building. As of today, we have done all we can and we lack funds to complete everything. Prices on materials, gasoline and everything else have doubled, the economy of the country has gone down, and we are in a financial hole now. We try to cover main expenses to maintain the building and to help people with medicines and food, especially those that are in need. Thanks to all of you, brothers and sisters, to all who will help us survive this cold winter and war.

Special thanks to Bill and Luba and their Church of Christ for the support they provided to buy medicines and food for IDP’s and to buy wood for heating.

We love you. May God protect you; may He give you peace of heart and peace in families. In Christian love, Ivan, Svitlana and the family

My website has been down for about three weeks. Numerous reports have piled up and I will try to post all quickly. There are INCREDIBLE opportunities that have developed. Please continue to and support our efforts in spreading God’s Love through God’s Word!

John L. Kachelman, Jr. Ukraine Missions, P. O. Box 3085 (send mail here) 3740 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL 36109