Ukraine Appeal — April 2023 Update
Sowing Hope in Kyiv, Ukraine
From March 18-26, a window of opportunity opened for The Outreach Foundation to visit friends at the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) in Kyiv as well as some surrounding towns. The team was comprised of Mark Mueller (Outreach Executive Director), Tom Boone (Associate Director for Mission), and Victor Petrenko, husband of board member Amy Petrenko. Victor’s parents fled Ukraine following World War ll. Joining our team was Dr. Piotr Nowak, president of the College of Theology and Social Sciences (CTSS) in Warsaw, Poland. Dr. Ivan Rusyn of UETS was our host.
What did we take to them?
Thanks to the support of donors, we were able to purchase a generous amount of supplies and hand deliver them to our faithful partners in Lviv and Kyiv. Supporting us was an amazing logistics team, each of whom has visited the region with Outreach. Thanks go to Jill Gilbert (Columbus, GA), Susan Montoya (San Diego, CA), Stephanie Olivero (San Diego, CA), and Dr. Lisa Quinones (Walnut Creek, CA). Aneta Montana (Warsaw, Poland) coordinated the purchase of medications in Poland. They worked very well with Carol Dublin in our office to get the supplies to each of us making flights. Jill even managed to have Delta waive all the baggage fees! We took over 50 lbs. of medication, a blood centrifuge donated by Samaritan’s Purse, and 27 duffle bags filled with nearly 800 triage kits for the military (IFAKs) that were a special request from Dr. Ivan Rusyn.
What was the trip in and out of Ukraine like?
Our team arrived in Warsaw, and we loaded a truck from the Czech Republic that was heading to UETS with humanitarian supplies through another route. Our two young drivers are part of a larger team that has been taking supplies to the Kyiv region monthly since the war broke out; it was good to meet them. Paul writes with confidence, “My God will supply all your needs” (Philippians 4:19). They were appreciative of all we have been supplying, and we are privileged to be part of God’s work in Ukraine with them.
After staying Sunday night in Warsaw, we left all our technology at CTSS to avoid being tracked in Ukraine. Our trip to the Medyka border of Ukraine took five hours, and the process of passing through the border took one hour. That was easier than we thought. Dr. Rusyn met us with a large smile and embraced us. Welcome to Ukraine! We could hardly believe it. For the next eight hours, we took turns riding with either Ivan or the CTSS van. At first, it was not apparent Ukraine is at war. Yet down the road a bit, our perceptions changed. There were virtually no road signs on the highway in order to confuse Russian troops. Steel barricades lined streets. The closer we came to Kyiv, the more we could see evidence of missile and drone strikes. We were thankful for the prayer team surrounding us during this visit.
Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine and the big prize for Russia. Kyiv gave birth to Russia so to claim it would be a significant symbolic and political statement. We had thought fear would be dominating the city. Instead, we arrived at night to incredible energy. We saw many cars and newly posted road signs. Power, restored fully about three weeks prior, fueled street lights, restaurants, hotels, and dwellings. The clerk checking us into the hotel was thrilled to see Americans and made sure we knew how proud he was of his country. Slava Ukraini!
After having a light dinner of borscht we were tempted to think all was well until midnight when, in our rooms and sleeping, the hotel’s alarm system shattered the illusion. This area is now under an attack alert. Please make your way to the bomb shelter immediately. We learned the next morning that seven people had died that night from a drone attack in Kyiv.
Leaving Ukraine was more arduous. Ivan told us, Ukraine likes to welcome visitors but not see them go! We took a different route, passing evidence of a fresh missile attack. Black smoke was billowing. This must have happened just before we arrived. Without our phones, we were unable to hear any alarm notices. Lord place your hedge of protection around us, please. Six hours later we arrived at a smaller border stop and waited another six hours to cross and get to our hotel. We were among many Ukrainians leaving, and a bus filled with women and children from Eastern Ukraine was sobering. Before us was a father desperate to convince the border guard of his case for taking his family out. He made it. It struck us in that moment. We were leaving, glad to know where we were going — to our homes. Even now, a year after the war began, this is not everyone’s story.
What did you do?
The purpose of this visit was to respond to Ivan’s invitation, Please come! The Outreach Foundation does its best work when we are showing up in difficult places for the purpose of encouragement, bringing the hope of Jesus into dark situations, and reminding Christians they are not alone. We do this because of the risk, not despite it. We want to be true friends and this is what friends do for one another.
In visiting them, we are able to see and hear what is necessary in order to bring their story back home so that it might be shared widely, and our prayers and responses will be well informed. In Ukraine, the church is at the leading edge of keeping Ukraine strong. Against Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill’s religious legitimization of this war, the church in Ukraine is championing the gospel holistically! The gospel is proclaimed through the church’s sacrificial efforts to provide food, shelter, the rebuilding of homes, evangelism, new baptisms, Alpha courses, Bible and Christian literature ministry resources, and counseling. We saw this on a large scale through UETS and also in small ways through a pastor named Sergey and his wife Erika serving people in a village torn apart by bombs.
Our visits with the bishop of the Ukrainian Evangelical Church and the Metropolitans of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Ukrainian Orthodox Church testified to a spiritual revival taking place unlike ever before in this region. A revival generated by churches showing the compassion of Christ. We witnessed this compassion among soldiers receiving communion, Bibles, and even IFAKs (triage kits). And women like Lucija and her niece Marija laboring tirelessly to rebuild their communities with resources provided by UETS while raising money for troops. And Vitaliyi a UETS student who organizes relief efforts in nearby Irpin and Buccha, works that bring Christ in tangible ways to people impacted by the war. Their collective courage to live defiantly is inspiring.
The most sobering moment came when we saw a mass grave in Buccha. The Russians had a safari here, Ivan told us. Before retreating, they forced Father Andrew of St. Andrews Orthodox Church to bury the 163 bodies—men, women, children, several tortured, and even four Russian soldiers left behind. After the retreat, Father Andrew and the mayor collaborated to exhume the bodies and bury them properly—yes even the Russians. They deserve to be treated with dignity as the creation of God, Andrew said. However, in a genius move, they documented everything with EU officials present in order to prepare the war crimes case that is imminent.
What is this war about and how are the people doing?
For the Russian Federation, there can be no free and independent Ukraine. We heard this a few times, even from the Metropolitans. They confirmed all that Dr. Rusyn has told us before. This war is about destroying the very soul of a nation so that it cannot exist any longer. Yet the Ukrainians have risen to the challenge and have chosen to be defiant. They want victory and are willing to achieve it at great personal cost. Even though it is clearly not time to rebuild, they are doing so. Their defiance against Russia’s constant barrage of attacks is a form of victory.
However, as His Beatitude, Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church informed us, 80% of Ukrainians are traumatized and they don’t know it. When we looked into their eyes we saw their fatigue, wearied by the unknowns of daily life during a war. It isn’t so much that people in Kyiv and other areas face attacks daily. It’s that they could. Air raid sirens force all businesses to close until the all clear is sounded, Marshall Law is in place, and inflation is now over 40%. So many people have no income, but prices are very high. The government is spending its money on the war and keeping the power grid stable. The church and other organizations must take care of the rest.
What are the needs?
We need to continue funding humanitarian relief through trusted leaders like Dr. Rusyn and those with whom UETS is working. Relief is going not just to UETS but to churches going into villages, serving the military, and helping people rebuild. All they are able to give comes from us. This was most humbling to learn. The Outreach Foundation has become the leading and most reliable partner for their efforts, and they are truly thankful.
We need to think with them about providing long-term spiritual and emotional health. With 80% of the population being traumatized, the need for psychological help is immense. They are asking us to be part of a significant effort in resilience training, biblical counseling, and trauma healing for families and soldiers.
The need for medical supplies and IFAKs remains significant. The Outreach Foundation is working with another partner to get these supplies to Poland free of charge. From there they can be hand delivered to UETS and dispersed. The seminary has decided to bring students back to campus starting next September. The need for chaplains is going to be great and they have many who wish to do this. They will receive training for counseling and trauma healing and will share the gospel with many people. We have been asked to help with scholarships, which run $1,200 per student per year.
Above all, pray! Pray for victory for Ukraine. The faces you see in these pictures are true heroes and, in some cases, new believers due to the relationships they have with Ivan and others. Let’s lift these dear ones up for strength and resilience, and protection. Pray for Sergey and the many small church pastors faithfully taking Jesus to people through their weekly ministry among displaced people.
Tom Boone, Associate Director for Mission
Read more about the Ukraine Appeal HERE.
THE OPPORTUNITY
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