DAY 4: URGENT NEED FOR PRAYER AND HELP

SPECIAL APPEAL.                                                                                

(Project Red)

Hi Friends,

For the last 3 days we have been foucussed on the Southern Ukranian coast, and the work of God's people there. We will return to this soon. ..BUT... our plans have changed somewhat because of the fast developing situation in Eastern Ukraine (Donbass region - Donetsk and Luhansk). We have been prompted by God to make a special Christmas appeal for an extraordinary situation.

 Just over a year ago a few of our team visited the region. 

One person said to us... 

"before you go, prepare yourself ...the place smells of death". 

After several years of war, we discovered an area which purvaded with the daily challanges of food, medicines, bereavement and loss, along with the emotional and psychological damage of the conflict, lost homes and businesses, destroyed families and displaced peoples.  People resorting to homemade substances and alcohol to numb the pain.

  Despite all this however, as we joined in the work of encouraging the church seeking to rebuild communites,  (administer humanitarian aid and offer a road forward), we descovered a place more alive spiritually than any other we have visited.  This is a place where the church is very much alive, and  where we have found some of the most genuine, caring, beautiful human beings on the planet. As we shared aid, fresh bread, and certain hope for a new start in Christ, many, many people came to put their trust in Him. People who had lost everything had a heart to give and share Christ (their significant remaining treasure).

Churches that once were barricaded for conflict, were reopened by new converts filling the building with the sound of joy, singing and their personal stories of how Christ found them through these events. God had answered their cry for help in the visit of our friends with aid. Libraries and community centres became full as people gathered to hear the gospel. 

One incident will remain with me. I was prepared to speak to a handful of people, but during our time there, the congregation grew into it's hundreds (with standing room out of the door only). On the way out, a path was needed to be made through the crowd for us to keep to schedule. Everything was held up (hundreds on the staircase) by the bulk of folk waiting for Christian literature and to talk about spiritual things. The other queue was for much needed bread, humanitarian aid - however this was much easier way out and how we got through. The literature ran out long before the bread.

We visited a number of areas, where hope and certainty was shared amidst chaos and destruction. Today just a few months on, many of these locations are seeing gospel churches springing up. Buildings are being rennovated as centres which honour Christ as the only ultimate offer of hope to humanity.  Yes, GOD IS GOOD ! Roofs and heating have been installed for the winter, equipping houses of worship to remain full over the next season.

But...the autumn has brought increasing challenge on our many friends there in the church network. Add to the existing tragedy... COVID (and a number of our church friends falling seriously ill, dying) and an already grief stricken church burying their loved ones. Add to this the devasting outbreak of fires in the region.  

(Click on this link to a helpful report if you are not yet up to speed on this). 

 You can decide yourself how these fires were started. In a sense this discussion has been superceeded and made irrlevant by what needs to be done next. What is not a matter of opinion is the devastation this left .Hundreds of homes destroyed, Churches devastated, places which helped an already impoverished people with much needed aid turned to rubble.

What happened next astounded us. 

Our same friends who had been through so much in a neighbouring area (and already more than worthy of any help that we were giving) , assembled a fresh team to go to help those who had been devastated by the fire.

 

Through these wonderful guys, a huge amount of humanitarian aid has been distributed over the last few days and will continue to feed and clothe as the winter comes. They have gathered tools, wheelbarrows, trucks and buckets, and started cleaning up the rubble to rebuild lives in the name of Jesus Christ

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

(John 10:10).

 Over the next few blogs we will share more of the situation (video and photos) in Luhansk and Donetsk, who you can pray for, and how you can help. To whet your appetite you might like to see this video, which gives a sense of the task ahead and the joy these guys have, even when putting in the most serious of shifts.

Please today pray for...

Those who are leading the mission to rebuild.

• Pray that God would give them supernatural strength to keep the aid coming, to minister to the hurting,  to help and nurture the many who are putting their faith in Christ.  
• Pray for believers in this region who have been through so much. Pray for Area pastors and network leaders (who are grieving the loss of loved ones). Pray for increased (supernatural) capacity for extraordinary times to reach out to those who need help, need Christ.
• Pray for the fledgling churches. That they will continue to be beacons of hope in this devastating situation. 

 Because of the escalation of this situation, and the direct request for our help we have recieved from our extraordinary friends, we have elevated this situation to be our focus project for 2021. Our desire is to...

1) Provide the church with much needed emergency aid for Christmas and the winter period (within the next 2 months).

2) Provide the church with support for workers in flegling churches who are reaching out to the devastated.

3) Provide a team from the UK to help with practical rebuilding in 2021. 

• In many ways our practical help will feel symbolic to us, but  materials, our solidarity, encouragement and friendship will be invaluable to those on the ground. Would you, (maybe with a few mates) consider joining us ? The only real obstacle is willingness to go. This is a major plan of logistical coordintaion ...so early indication to help will make the world of a difference.
  

4) Pray that the help we can offer will be suffieciently helpful as to answer the urgent request of our friends, and this extraordinary time of opportunity for the gospel.

If you would like further details on any of the above please contact us, (Email, D.M., facebook or phone). We want to do everything we can for this extraordinary situation and opportunity to equip others for good.   

Be assured that all other projects continue as planned. God is bigger than all these things, so we look to him unreservedly to supply both needs, and teams, for the way ahead.  Be assured brothers and sisters in Luhansk and Donnetsk - we are united with you in this.