Since February 2022, The Outreach Foundation has disbursed over 1.4 million dollars to partners providing integrated ministry to war-affected families in Ukraine and to many who have fled. This incredible show of support was made possible through the generous donations of congregations and donors across the U.S. The Outreach Foundation has fielded three teams to the region since war broke out in Ukraine. Our latest visit was in November, and we were able to reach the border between Poland and Ukraine.
Read MoreIn November 2022, The Outreach Foundation fielded a team of six to meet Dr. Ivan Rusyn, President of the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary (Kyiv), and Father Oleh Kindii, a priest with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Lviv). The team brought a few hundred pounds of relief supplies and shuttled them from Warsaw, Poland to the Medyka border with Ukraine.
Read MoreThank you to our friends with The Antioch Partners who are living and working with Shapoor in the UK. This story is just one example of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit among the Persian-speaking community, and we are glad to share it with you. Also, thank you to the congregations and donors who are making stories like these possible!
When we first met Mohammed, Parham, Soheil, Pouya, Artum, and Jabal back in February, their warmth, friendship, and desire to learn more about Christianity and Christ were evident. Soheil was already a believer and had fled Iran after his house church had been broken up by the religious police.
Read MoreBecause of the CTSS Counseling Center, the region has trained counselors who can feed Jesus’ sheep in new ways. With their compassion and attentive ears, they will show a God who loves them and people will be healed over time.
Read MoreIn early November, a team from The Outreach Foundation met with dear friend Father Oleh Kindii of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church at the border between Ukraine and Poland. We handed over supplies designated specifically for the medical divisions working with the Ukrainian military. The picture here is from the 63 Separate Mechanized Brigade. The precise identity and location are hidden.
Read More“Above all, we pray for every family and child who walks through these doors that they will leave here healthy and knowing they are loved by God.”
Aneta Montano, CTSS
Children are suffering terribly from the war and CTSS is responding in a healthy manner. The Outreach Foundation has been privileged to play a role in the development of this center
Read MoreDr. Ivan Rusyn, President of the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary in Kyiv, sent us this quote today : “Today (November 15) was a difficult day with rockets flying over our heads. We took a video of one rocket that was destroyed by a fighter jet just above the seminary.”
Read MoreAs Kyiv continues to get daily bombardments, our friends from the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) are spending more days in shelters. Outreach Associate Director Tom Boone just received these photos from Kyiv. The first one is of the UETS team in their bomb shelter.
Read MoreThe Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) stands as a beacon of God’s love in the midst of the devastating war in Ukraine. Kyiv, which is the capital of Ukraine, has experienced an escalation in military conflict since Ukrainian Independence Day, August 24. Yet rather than retreat, UETS leadership, staff, faculty, and students carry on with its ministry.
Read MoreWednesday, August 24, marked the sixth month of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. Though to ask any person on the streets in Lviv, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Buccha, or Rivne, it is war, a campaign of pure evil, and a daily torment against their spirits, minds, and bodies. For much of the summer, people had been lured into a false sense of relative safety as Russia focused its efforts on the east and south along the Black Sea. However, on August 24, Independence Day, Russia reminded everyone in Ukraine that it still desires to crush them. Here is a snapshot of the day:
· A civilian passenger train east of Kyiv was bombed, killing 33 people.
Read MoreThe Outreach Foundation has been supporting the Counseling Center of the College of Theology and Social Sciences (CTSS) in Warsaw. This center was birthed during our visit in June and since then they have seen over 500 psychology professionals, social workers, and pastors take part in their training program. The following story comes from Rev. Dr. Larry Michael, Pastor for Adult Ministries at South Highland Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, who is an expert in grief, has written two books on the subject, and led seminars in England, India, and Ukraine. He has joined the counseling training team of CTSS and will be part of this process through the end.
Read MoreAn Urgent Medical Appeal from the Main Blood Bank for the Kirovohrad Region
Earlier today, we received an urgent appeal from the hospital our partners in Lviv are working with to provide medical assistance to victims of the war.
Read MoreThe following update comes from the College of Theology and Social Sciences, our partner in Warsaw, Poland. Since the war began in February, this partner has been an example of refugee work done well, and we are pleased to be partners with them.
As of July 23, Poland has taken more than 4.95 million Ukrainian refugees.
Read MoreSince the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, The Outreach Foundation has partnered with Beni Husarciuc, a staff member of Cru in Romania, to provide medical and other supplies for relief efforts in Lviv that our friends in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church are providing. In June, a friend of Outreach joined Beni on one of his supply runs into Ukraine. What follows is a personal account of this visit that provides insight into the ways God is utilizing friendships developed over many years to come alongside people in Ukraine during the current crisis. For security purposes, we are withholding the identity of our friend who visited Ukraine.
Just as I was dropping off to sleep, the sound of an air raid siren blasted into the night. It was such a foreign sound that it took a minute for the meaning to sink into my tired brain.
Read MoreLocated in Kyiv and with a reach well into Central Asia, Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) has been equipping women and men for leadership in the church, military chaplaincy, counseling ministry, and peacemaking since the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s. When we reached out to Rev. Najla Kassab, President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, about who we might connect with in a personal way and who is making a tremendous difference in Ukraine during the war, she connected us with UETS’ president, Dr. Ivan Rusyn.
Read MoreOutreach Associate Director Tom Boone recently received this wonderful video from partner Beni Husarciuc, a Cru staff person in Romania. Outreach is working with Beni to provide medical supplies to Ukraine as well as fund a housing unit Cru built at their refugee camp in Romania.
Read MoreOur partner in Warsaw, Poland, the College of Theology and Social Sciences, provided us with this wonderful update. Used with permission.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
According to a report from the UN, as of May 27, 2022, more than 14 million people are thought to have fled their homes since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Over 6.7 million have left Ukraine for neighboring countries while more than 3.6 million have entered Poland. Based on these numbers, the population of Poland has risen 9.3% this year!
Read MoreThrough the incredible generosity of donors and congregations, The Outreach Foundation has helped to supply critical medical support throughout Ukraine. The medical supplies originate from outside Ukraine, collected in Romania by our partner Beni Husarciuc (a Cru staff person) who drives them to another partner, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Lviv. From there, the medical supplies are moved to the central hospital in Lviv and dispersed to a number of remote medical units. Because of the personal way this is being done we are able to receive pictures and stories.
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