Remember: Photos are subject to approval by the State censors. Anyone forwarding photos without that approval is a criminal.
Featured Photo: Bombed apartment complex outside of Kyiv, Ukraine
The reality of bombings and drone attacks depends on where and when you happen to be in Ukraine. The west is relatively safe but the east is mercilessly hit many times during each day. Some of the news reports have shown the devastation of this evil. But the photos do not present the true reality.
The above photo is of an apartment complex outside of Kyiv. On an afternoon about three weeks ago the terror struck. Thankfully no one was killed and a two-month-old baby was sleeping in one of the upstairs rooms when the missiles struck. As soon as a safe search was possible, the baby was discovered alive and still sleeping!
The complex was brand new and several residents had just moved into the housing. The residents were IDPs.
When all residents were accounted for as living, the survivors, as a group, met in the concrete area and began singing hymns to God thanking Him for their safety! Their initial reaction was not crying about the losses of everything they owned. It was not a shrieking demonstration of anger at the ruthless Russians. It was not recrimination demanding the State “do something.”
Amazingly, the first thing this entire group did was turn to God and sing praises to Him!
I cannot help but think of Psalm 46… “God is our refuge and strength, a very ready help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth shakes and the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.”
The bombing by Russia is relentless in the east. Today I spoke to one telling me that Chernigiv has no electricity and it will not be restored until December. Some areas in Kyiv have been hard hit.
In previous trips I reported on several locations where displaced children have been housed and 15-20 are gathered in family homes. Today I saw photos of one of these homes where we have delivered food and family buckets. The house has been hit by shrapnel and every window was destroyed. Two of the children had to be hospitalized because they were standing by a window when the denotation occurred. The house is pock-marked by holes from the shrapnel. What was considered as “safe” is no longer secure.
The children from Chernigiv and those from the recently marked red-zone areas are going to be gathered and housed in a summer camp in the west. We have previously (2022) used this camp to house displaced children (it began with 120 children but swelled to many more). Many of these children have been moved several times because of the war’s evil.
We are now processing the camp to receive and provide living quarters for the children. We have a generator that will supply the necessary electricity except to the kitchen. So, we are working on constructing a furnace that will allow the kitchen to cook in the winter time.
And a special SHOUT-OUT…
Just when it seems all is negative, I get an email from the brethren at the Hillsboro Church of Christ (Nashville, TN). They sent word that they will sponsor a container! This congregation has a historic reputation of godly support at home and in mission points. They have coordinated Family Bucket collections on several occasions and they were the lead when the Nashville area collected 10,000 Family Buckets in 2022! I am thankful for them in many ways. Through this most recent activity they will send approximately one-half million dollars in critically needed medical supplies.
There are so many happenings from this trip that I just do not have the time to put it all down. Be assured that amazing developments are occurring, progress will become clear in the near future and some details will become known after fifty-years! Our time for this trip is slipping away. Tonight, at supper Perry said, “I cannot believe this month is almost up!”
And…this is made possible by your generosity in supporting our efforts in collecting, shipping and funding various actions that are often unseen! THANK YOU!
Pray for our success in seeing and taking advantage of the “open doors” that are before us!
John L. Kachelman, Jr, Ukraine Missions, Dalraida Church of Christ, Montgomery, AL 36109
