30 Days of War in Ukraine
It has now been a month of war in Ukraine. Thank you to everyone praying and sending financial aid to help MMK serve people there. I get regular updates on widows, orphans, chorus members, refugees, and MMK staff. Our team is in contact with most of them.
The following is an update our Board of Directors received on Thursday from Serhiy Basarab, our Vice President of Operations in Kyiv, who is now a refugee with his family in western Ukraine.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings from Ukraine!
Thank you so much for your fervent prayers and everything else that you do to stop Russia's genocidal war against Ukraine.
Almost every day I pass by a big sign placed on the roadside. The inscription on it reads:
"PRAISE THE LORD THAT MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE MORNING OF A NEW DAY!"
All of us in Ukraine - no matter what region we are in now – have learned to appreciate this as a VERY BIG blessing. And every morning my heart is filled with great joy.
What also gives me enormous joy is that Music Mission Kiev continues to work serving widows, musicians, orphans, soldiers, and Internally Displaced Persons in Donbas in the eastern part of Ukraine (the last word sounds like a bitter irony, because so many of our own staff members, including my family and myself, have become IDPs).
I am really proud of Pastor Ruslan, Vika, and Olga A. who continue to live and work hard in Kyiv - INSIDE the war zone.
Pastor Ruslan is our true hero. Every day he is driving all over Kyiv delivering much-needed supplies to soldiers, widows, and others in need. He has also begun to preach at St. Paul's online on Saturdays at 10 am Kyiv time. (Our daylight savings time begins at 2 am on Sunday, March 27.)
Vika is also reaching out to the widows in need. She stays in close touch with all of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus members and encourages them and all the MMK staff members (on Viber) with a daily Psalm of her choosing.
Olga A. does a great job as a bookkeeper. Although she spends every evening and night in the bomb shelter, she finds time to respond to numerous phone calls and wire funds to many different accounts to meet many urgent needs. She even finds time to prepare and send detailed financial reports to the U.S. office.
Needless to say, I am deeply grateful to all of my colleagues who are scattered all over Ukraine or abroad. Some of them serve in the territorial defense units. Others stay in touch with widows, Stara Basan orphanage, or people in Druzhkivka.
I praise the Lord for all of these efforts!
Thank you again for your prayers!
I would encourage you to continue praying and writing to your representatives. Please help your government understand that a NO FLY ZONE over Ukraine is absolutely essential.
PLEASE HELP SAVE THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN!
We all hope and pray that a decision on that could be approved in the very near future.
Many blessings to you and yours!
Serhiy
Pray
Pray for our many widows in the eastern part of Ukraine whom we are still able to help through our church partners located near Donbas.
For everyone delivering aid to those in need, to be protected and safe.
For the bombing of schools and hospitals to cease.
For artillery hitting civilian homes and high-rise apartments to end.
For God’s protection, safety, strength, and courage for the men and women fighting this war. Some of them have been fighting for 30 long days.
For more military aid and equipment to reach the needed areas for Ukraine forces.
For someone to have enough influence with Putin to have him stop this war and withdraw his troops.
Give
ONLINE: You can give online to musicmissionkiev.org
CALL: You can still call our U.S. office and donate your credit card. Our office phone number is 407-699-7172.
Send a check payable to Music Mission Kiev, PO Box 161849, Altamonte Springs, FL 32716.
Contact
As Serhiy emphasized, please take the time to contact your government officials. Even if you have already called or written them, please do so again. We can do more to make this madness end. The pictures in this update show people receiving supplies in the past day or two through Pastor Ruslan in Kyiv.
Greg
CEO | Music Mission Kiev