{"id":11699,"date":"2025-12-27T15:12:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T21:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/?p=11699"},"modified":"2026-03-25T18:58:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:58:34","slug":"update-december-27-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kachelman.com\/ukraine\/blog\/2025\/12\/27\/update-december-27-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Update 12\/27\/25 – Ending Another Year of Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Featured Photo:<\/strong> From Panama\u2026\u201cThis is the mayor of the province.\u00a0They were excited over receiving the chairs. This is an Indian lady who will cherish the chair.\u00a0 Have a Merry Christmas.\u201d (Larry Brady)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspiration governs our actions\u20261 Peter 2:12, \u201cKeep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may, because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of visitation<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Touch of Kindness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1945, when Ravensbr\u00fcck concentration camp was finally liberated, the survivors were almost unrecognizable\u2014skeletal, covered in lice, their hair twisted into hopeless knots after years without care. Among the medical staff who entered was a young nurse with a small satchel. Inside were scalpels, bandages\u2026and a simple comb. She approached a woman sitting quietly on a bench and began to pass the comb gently through her hair. Slowly, patiently, she untangled it\u2014strand by strand, knot by knot. It was a gesture of tenderness in a place where only cruelty had existed. The woman trembled and then broke down in tears. Through sobs, she whispered: \u201cNo one has touched me with kindness since before the war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That moment was more than hygiene\u2014it was the return of dignity, humanity, and the reminder that someone still cared. Years later, the nurse would say that though she had carried medical tools into Ravensbr\u00fcck, it was the comb that brought the greatest healing. Even in the darkest places, mercy has the power to reach the human soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This historical antidote frames our obligation with the gospel\u2019s power\u2014it is in our hands to be used to touch, with kindness, those living in cruelty! It reveals the hope of dignity that only the absolute Truth of God is able to bring into a person\u2019s life. And\u2026Christians are the instruments for dispensing that hope for humanity\u2019s dignity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Mission is to Invite All to \u201cHope in the Lord!\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jeremiah 17:7\u00a0says, \u201cBlessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.\u201d Biblical hope looks to God\u2019s promises in His Word, trusting Him to supply what we need (Philippians 4:19). Our hope is not some nebulous wish for better things\/situations. Our hope is authentic, trustworthy, and powerful. The Church is to \u201crejoice in hope\u201d (Romans 12:12). Habakkuk survived struggles because he was filled with great hope \u201cYet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior\u201d (Habakkuk 3:18). \u201cYet I will\u201d<\/em> was Habakkuk\u2019s choice telling us that no matter what happens in life, when our hope is in God, we can praise Him regardless. Choosing hope helps us trust God when we grow impatient with our circumstances.\u00a0Psalm 62:5\u00a0says, \u201cLet all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our mission is to communicate the touching kindness of the gospel so that recipients will find security in \u201chope\u201d through study and obedience to the gospel. Our efforts invite, \u201cMay the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit\u201d<\/em> (Romans 15:13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I think of \u201chope,\u201d I recall this text, \u201c(R)emember\u00a0that you were at that time\u2026having\u00a0no hope<\/strong> and\u00a0without God in the world. But now in\u00a0Christ Jesus<\/strong> you\u2026have\u00a0been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is\u00a0our peace\u201d<\/em> (Ephesians 2:12-14). How wonderful it is to see the hopeless become hopeful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow delightful are the feet of one who brings\u00a0good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and\u00a0says to Zion, \u2018Your\u00a0God reigns!\u2019\u201d<\/em> (Isaiah 52:7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

News from Gif in Ivano-Frankivsk<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Note<\/span>: John Durham and Gif are working on holiday boxes for the children of war\u2014those displaced, orphaned, and those insecure and fearful. These desperately need a \u201ctouch of kindness\u201d! Here is Gif\u2019s report on this on-going effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHello there! As requested, here are pictures of the items we were preparing today. If I remember correctly, there are 78 children in Kherson and one \u201cmother\u201d who will receive these, and then about 26 children in Kramatorsk. We are still waiting on one more item to be delivered and hoping it comes tomorrow so we can ship everything tomorrow afternoon. John D said one couple donated for this, and The Galaxy Center was critical for getting it done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey had a Christmas party for the language teachers at UKD today and invited me, which I thought was nice. Denys and Irina texted yesterday to tell me we would be ready to start packing today I, so I could not attend the party. I heard UKD teachers were sad I could not make it, but they understood why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Several folks are out of town for the holidays so we only had seven at Church yesterday but just about all who were traveling watched online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWill let you know when we get pictures from the children receiving these items.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A<\/strong> summary of 2025 Actions!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An amazing accounting occurs when our efforts are summed up at year\u2019s end! Even more amazing is that these are the tangible numbers but the intangible, unseen impact of our effort is working like leaven spreading and opening doors for the preaching of \u201chope\u201d in the coming years!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look at what YOU helped us accomplish in 2025!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n