UKRAINE (BRN) — At the Accelerate Conference this past autumn, Baptist Resource Network (BRN) churches were challenged to take up a collection of winter clothing to be given to Ukrainians who are facing an ongoing crisis in their country. They were also encouraged to give a love offering to help provided needed coats that could be purchased in country.

Altogether, BRN churches collected 1,652 pounds of winter clothing. And together with assistance from Send Relief, the BRN was able to provide $30,000 toward the purchase of winter coats and other necessities to help those who have been affected by their country’s war with Russia.

Several churches received the shipment of winter clothing as distributed by the Evangelical Christians Baptists Church in Kushuhum village in the Zaporizhzhia region in Eastern Ukraine. This region is in a “Red Zone,” which means it is on the front lines of the conflict. They shared the nearly half a truckload of winter scarves, hats, gloves, blankets, and more with families who needed them. There were enough gloves and coats to give to the army (whose faces are not shown in photos below) as well!

Pastor Victor, who received and distributed the winter relief items, sent a Thank You video to BRN churches.

Here is the English translation of his remarks:

“Dear brothers and sisters from the Baptist Union [Baptist Resource Network] of the USA, we are very grateful for the aid you collected and sent to us. All these things will be sorted by sizes and sent to various villages and will be given to those who are in need. We will deliver this humanitarian aids to those people who really go through very difficult life situations. May God bless you and thank you again for your generosity and that you could gather all this and send it to us. Many blessings.”

Evangelical Christians Baptist Church, where the young pastor and his wife Nastya and their three children, the youngest who is under 12 months old, opted to stay after the war erupted, also received funding to assist with other necessities.

The church also was able to buy a used Fiat Ducato van.  It cost $8,800, and the BRN donation of $4,752 made it possible to buy it. People from the USA, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine donated money for it. The church will use it to go to the frontline villages to deliver food, clothes and other humanitarian aids to those in need. “Praise the Lord! Thank you very much for being there for them and with them during war time!” they said.

 

In the Khmelnytskyi region, God miraculously used Pastor Volodymyr Shvets to assist the Ukrainians. His wife’s brother attends and does ministry (though he is not a pastor) at a church in Chornibaivka town (Kherson region), which was one of the earliest sites to be attacked by Russia. Shvets shared that people in that village had a huge need – water. So the funds from Khmelnytskyi were redirected to Chornobaivka, where they worked with Jesus is Bread of Life Church to build a modern “well,” so people in need “will have an opportunity to come to the church and get both spiritual and physical water,” said Masha Godlevska, a missionary with Youth with A Mission who assisted with the distribution of the funds. “People there declare that the funds are God’s miracle and a direct answer for their prayers! God’s ways and timing are the best!”

The following video, untranslated, shows the work being done by the Jesus is Bread of Life Church in Chornobaivka, Kherson region. The men had to build the well  while under the threat of attack. You’ll note their pauses (at 00:41) as an explosion goes off nearby and a war jet flies by (01:34).

Jesus is Bread of Life Church has shared their other financial needs:

  1.  They want to register the well as church property, which costs approximately $1,350.
  2. They need 70 chairs for church (for now people bring their own chairs or they borrow chairs from the library or authority office), which costs approximately $1,900.
  3. They need to buy filters for water (they don’t know the price yet).

The gallery below showcases the work on the well.

In Kryvyj Rih city, Pastor Ivan Svashenko of God’s Word Church used funds to buy three  microphones, which was needed for their ministry. They are a young church focused on ministry to children, teenagers, and people with addictions. The rest of money will be used for the current needs.

In the Volyn region, in the city of Lutsk, Water of Life Church and Pastor Oleksandr Hrebeniuk went to Poland and bought coats for refugees (children and teenagers). All those children and teenagers regularly attend Water of Life church in Lutsk. “They are very grateful and happy!” they said.

In Lutsk city, The Church for all Nations and Pastor Yurii Chlek said the financial support is going serve refugees and local people who face difficult life circumstances. Every week they distribute food bags to those in need. The pastor said the money they received will be enough to buy the necessary food for six months. “God is our provider! All glory goes to Him!” he said.

In Kryvyj Rih, the church used the funding to support their children and teenagers’ meetings.  They also bought medicine for one member of their church who just went through rehabilitation and is fighting with the consequences of tuberculosis. The church vehicle also was refueled. The church is still working out the details for the rest of their ministry.

Other recipients are still working on their ministries as well. Voices of Ukraine, a nonprofit ministry located in Hummelstown who assisted in the effort, received nearly $4,000, which they are utilizing to assist Ukrainians here and abroad.

The effort to get the funds to Ukraine was very difficult, with several businesses not willing to make money transfers, especially to churches in the Red Zone. Once the Baptist Resource Network secured the right method of transfer, it was a very tedious, back-and-forth project to ensure that all the recipients’ information was correct.

But there were small miracles. Despite unexpected delays, the winter clothing arrived just in time for Ukraine’s Christmas holidays, which are celebrated in January instead of December. After a few failed attempts to deliver the funds through a Ukrainian-owned company in the United States, it was a local bank employee who saved the day. She had actually just processed a financial gift to her family in the Ukraine, which opened the door for the BRN to know exactly how to make the transfers. The goal was to distribute the money in country and if possible, nearest those who were affected most by the conflict. The Lord honored that desire.

“Thank you to our BRN churches who had a heart to care for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine,” shared Barry Whitworth, BRN’s executive director. “We didn’t realize how difficult this process would be, but in the end, all your generous donations have made a difference all over Ukraine. Thank you very much!”

The Baptist Resource Network wishes to extend a special thank you to Dale and Whit Eberhardt of Voices of Ukraine and Masha Godlevska of Youth with a Mission, who helped make this happen.