Stories From the Front in Ukraine — January 2023
In 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.
Our drive took five hours each way. The journey for our friends Ivan and Oleh took a few hours more! Our visit and fellowship were instructive, meaningful, and soulful. The team was able to ask many questions and we heard stories about what is happening on the ground in the regions surrounding Kyiv and Lviv. We prayed together and held our tears until we left. Here are some highlights from their testimonies:
I believe in forgiveness but now is not a time to discuss forgiveness, justice must come first. (Ivan)
I feel happiness over what is happening because God is winning so many hearts back to Him. (Oleh)
I have learned what it means to pray to God as if I have nothing else to depend on because now we only have God. (Ivan)
The church has gained more favor in the eyes of Ukrainians than ever before because we have shown the kindness of Christ when it is most difficult. (Oleh)
While in Medyka we saw many Ukrainian women. Most were waiting for rides further into Poland. Here we saw firsthand how vulnerable these women are to traffickers. Police were stationed in various places and at the advice of our friends, we decided against mingling with them. Given the concerns for human trafficking, our presence was cause for concern and police approached us wondering why were at the border. Ivan assured the police we were there simply to pray for everyone and for Ukraine, so our visit was allowed to continue.
A few weeks after our return home, we received pictures of the military receiving the relief supplies that our team brought. These pictures are from various places on the front in the east and south. One comes from deep within the eastern side where there are people fighting from the occupied and newly annexed areas. We are hiding some faces due to security concerns. We received a “thank you” video from three soldiers, touched by the gifts of medicine, warm gloves, and blankets from strangers. Thank you!
The current situation and a visit
With the winter now in full swing The Outreach Foundation is not planning to visit the area though we do continue to send funds faithfully as we receive them. The winter there is harsh with temperatures ranging from 9 - 26 Fahrenheit without windchill. Power is available to most Ukrainians only for 8 hours a day.
We are pleased to announce that thanks to the generosity of some friends, we were able to provide two generators to the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary. These will arrive on January 15 and we will update you with pictures and stories.
Additionally, we are pleased to let you know that we are hosting Dr. Ivan Rusyn on a visit to the U.S., from January 27 - February 13. He will be visiting several congregations and speaking at the ECO National Gathering. Please look for updates at that time.