58 Days of War in Ukraine
Today is the observation of the Orthodox Good Friday in Kyiv. This may be the most solemn Easter weekend Ukraine has experienced in a long time. Several people I talked to this week expressed how it doesn’t feel like Easter and confessed an emotional numbness from the circumstances of war. We know we have much to be concerned about, but we also recognize we have much to celebrate and demonstrate regarding gratefulness. Most of all… He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
On Thursday, April 21, Vika K. delivered a van packed with Easter (paska) bread to be given to the widows and pensioners who came to the Cathedral of Christ Church for our Easter distribution of gifts. Vika reported the Thursday Easter distribution as a huge success. The video below shows how full the van was with the paska loaves given out during the gathering. You will also see a photo at the end of the video showing what each widow/pensioner received: extra food vouchers, fresh paska bread, and a written Easter sermon.
Close to 250 people showed up to receive their gifts. Many of the individuals collected and delivered the items to our homebound women and men, totaling 329 people receiving the Easter goodies. There were even paska loaves left over, so Vika contacted any Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus members still in Kyiv and shared them with their families. Pastor Ruslan gave a brief Easter challenge, prayed over everyone gathered, and sent them inside to receive their gifts.
Unforeseen circumstances have led Serhiy Basarab to bring his family back to their apartment in Kyiv. Their apartment home is intact, but they discovered the gas used for heating the building had been turned off until November. Kyiv is still having some cold weather, so getting the apartment warmed up was challenging.
Serhiy reports everything in Kyiv has calmed down since the Russian troops withdrew last week. He said the air raid sirens are still going off frequently in the last 3 days, but people are less frightened of hearing them after two months of non-stop sirens. Serhiy told me the banks, pharmacies, and grocery stores are all open with food and medicines available in Kyiv. This is still not the case for many village stores throughout Ukraine.
The pictures below show the recent photos Pastor Ruslan took on his third trip to the Chernihiv region to deliver aid. He is focusing his relief efforts on the small villages surrounding Chernihiv because the city has supplies flowing into it. Ruslan is with a group of people in a village receiving the many aid packages they distributed. The picture of the destroyed home is how Ruslan described the majority of homes in the villages. The high-rise apartment building used to be the home of hundreds of families who no longer have a place to call their own.
As the church buildings in the eastern part of Ukraine now utilize their sanctuaries as sleeping quarters for families. The pictures show the truck arriving with 20 sets of bedding, sheets, and pillows for one of the churches. The pastor expressed great appreciation for our aid. The Bishop of that denomination sent us a wonderful letter of appreciation for partnering with them to provide these needed supplies.
Pray
Pray for God to bring closure to this war sooner than later.
For God to be glorified during the Easter celebrations throughout Ukraine this weekend.
For the revelation of Truth to burst forth during the Easter celebrations in Russia.
For the plans to harm Ukraine be completely foiled.
For the separation anxiety many families are experiencing.
For the emotional numbness to be replaced with peace and joy for all Ukrainians.
Give
ONLINE: You can give online to musicmissionkiev.org
CALL: You can still call our U.S. office and donate with your credit card. Our office phone number is 407-699-7172.
CHECK: Send a check payable to Music Mission Kiev, PO Box 161849, Altamonte Springs, FL 32716.
Contact
Please take the time to contact your government officials. Even if you have already called or written them, please do so again. I cannot overstate the importance our influence can have on our government to do more.
Greg
CEO | Music Mission Kiev