Pray for Ukraine

"Ukraine is in the midst of the most sustained bombardment since the early stages of Russia's full-scale invasion, with a sharp increase in the number of drones."

"Large-scale Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian cities are on the rise."

These two quotes are taken from a recent BBC article regarding the war in Ukraine. Please do not be fooled by lack of reporting in your part of the world - the statements above are absolutely true. The war in Ukraine rages on and the intensity of Russian shelling is markedly increasing, targeting cities and civilians. 

Here are some statistics of the projectiles fired at Ukraine in the past week alone: 

• June 3: 112 drones 
• June 4: 95 drones
• June 5: 102 drones, 1 missile
• June 6: 407 drones, 45 cruise and ballistic missiles
• June 9: 479 drones, 20 cruise and ballistic missiles
• June 10: 315 drones, 7 cruise and ballistic missiles

The trend is impossible to miss, whether reading about it or actually experiencing it!

On Friday, June 6, all residents of Lutsk were awakened to the sound of air alert sirens followed quickly by drones buzzing overhead in all directions. From my window, I observed the scan of lights across the night sky (yes, of course it was night - evil prefers to work under the cover of darkness!), heard the sudden rattle of machine gun fire, and watched the orange "flares" from the air defense systems shooting into the sky to take out the drones and missiles. Loud explosions could be heard at times, marking successful interception of a projectile or a direct strike on a target. 

My city came under its worst attack of the war. For several hours this cycle continued and unfortunately, in the end, several missiles successfully struck our city, killing and injuring residents and damaging property. I understand that the photos below are poor quality, but they show my city of Lutsk, taking direct hits from some of the six missiles shot at us. 

Missile descending from the upper right

One of our church members had significant damage to her apartment (she lived in the building below), but thankfully God protected her and the others in her apartment from injury.

While a military target may have been Russia's aim, they actually killed and injured civilians and damaged civilian property. And this is happening in cities across Ukraine on a daily basis and at an increasing intensity!! Ukraine is fighting an existential war. Please remember and pray for this nation and its people! 

• Pray for Putin and his aggressive plans against Ukraine to be stopped and for the war to end! 
• Pray for the physical and mental strength of front-line soldiers and for their protection from the enemy.
• Pray for soldiers operating air defense systems to have adequate supply of weapons and be diligent in using them to protect cities and civilians. 
• Pray for Ukrainian government and military leaders to lead with integrity and be wise in decision-making. 
• Pray for partners around the world to remain unwaveringly strong in their support of Ukraine and to take action to help end the war. 
• Pray for those injured in the war or returning to Ukraine from Russian prisons, for their rehabilitation and reintegration into their families and society. 
• Pray for God's people to be beacons of light in increasingly dark and difficult times, sharing the hope of the Gospel while also providing practical assistance to the hurting and needy. 

Also, please thank God and rejoice with the Ukrainian soldiers and their families who are celebrating their return home from Russian prisons!

The attack on Lutsk last Friday ended around 6 am. After a brief snooze, I began my day. My Bible reading plan that morning had me in Psalm 140 and oh how fitting it was for just that day. I will finish now with a few verses: 

"Deliver me (Ukraine), O Lord, from evil men; preserve me (Ukraine) from violent men, who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually." (v. 1-2)

"I say to the Lord, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord! O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle." (v 6-7) 

"I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy." (v 12) 

Please join me in praying to the God who maintains the cause of the afflicted to be merciful to Ukraine and to execute justice on Russia.

Hello!

Hello all! It has been a very long time since you've heard from me here, but I hope I was able to see most of you while I was in the US recently. It was a blessed time filled with both relaxation and work, gatherings with friends and family, a little travel, and quite a few projects at home. I am thankful to have had the time and thankful to have met many of you who are new to following these updates. If that is you, feel free to scroll down and read past blog posts for more details and pictures related to what's been going on these past few years. Since it has been many months since my last post I will not try to fill you in on all that has taken place, but instead jump straight to the recent past! 

Soon after my return to Ukraine, I joined a team of American prosthetics and surgeons for a week in central Ukraine. They met with patients and fabricated prosthetic limbs while I got to teach the patients exercises and also work on gait training immediately after receiving their new limbs. I would say 80% or more of those who came for prosthetic legs were soldiers injured in the war. 

The team also partnered with the local medical academy to host a one-day conference, open to both students and professionals. A local Ukrainian physician lectured on pediatric rehabilitation, an American physician lectured virtually on amputations, and I lectured on rehabilitation after total hip replacement. Since physical therapy deals with human movement, I do not just stand behind a podium and lecture for long. I like to demonstrate and have my students actively participate. With a crowd of about 150 people, it was not feasible to get much active participation from them, but I still prepared equipment and demonstrated as much as I could. This seemed particularly intriguing to them as (to my surprise) phones started popping up across the auditorium to take video! In the end, all parties involved considered the conference to be beneficial and informative and would like to conduct something similar when the American team returns to Ukraine. 

Panel discussion with Ukrainian and American medical professionals

Ukrainian physician who also lectured

So what is going on at Agape these days? Well, much is the same. Rehabilitation for civilians and wounded soldiers continues. But recently we have had some of our youngest patients ever. Makar is a 9-year-old boy who was hit by a car while crossing the road after getting off the school bus. He spent three weeks with us and progressed with holding his head, standing, and communicating. We hope he will return for more rehabilitation in the nearest future! 

Our team also recently worked with little Tima, who lives nearby and has CP. His mother repeatedly requested rehab at Agape, so the administration decided we would do it. We traditionally only work with children with acquired traumas, like Makar and a few other boys recently. For this bout of rehab, the classroom was converted into a pediatric therapy room and Tima worked there with his therapists. We will see what the future holds as far as further pediatric rehab at Agape. 

Below is one of my patients from last summer. He is a pastor at another church in Lutsk and came for rehab following a stroke. I really enjoyed working with him and helping him achieve his goals. Toward the end of rehab, he even helped me wash my car one evening at Agape. And on his last day, we strolled through the nearby forest because his biggest goal was to be able to walk on the uneven terrain so he could mushroom hunt in the fall. By the way, mushroom hunting is really big in Ukraine. I have been a few times, but always have to ask my Ukrainian friends if I found safe, edible mushrooms or poisonous ones.  

In addition to rehab, Agape continues to send teams twice a month to the de-occupied areas of Ukraine to deliver clothes, food, medication, etc to the residents of those regions. Construction of the Resource Center also continues, with the emphasis currently on completing the underground shelter. 

There are also some new things to report about Agape. While I was in the US, we were granted a medical license! With that naturally come standards we must adhere to, one of which is implementing electronic documentation. So, at this time, I am assisting with understanding that and getting it implementing. Also, Ukraine is "soon" to require that physical therapists acquire a certain number of continued education hours annually. This is a step in the right direction of holding the profession to a higher standard. So, we are in the process of applying for Agape to become a provider of courses. If and when Agape is given this status, I will begin holding courses for our team and, Lord willing, later also welcoming professionals from outside Agape. Thank you to those who have been praying for clear direction for me upon my return. These are the two new directions of Agape that I am currently actively participating in.

Please, continue praying for Agape and Ukraine: For the war to stop. For the many wounded soldiers who come through Agape to maximally regain their independence through rehab. For all of our patients and their family members to hear the gospel while at Agape. For the financial provision needed for Agape to continue functioning. For finances necessary to proceed with the construction project. For protection for our men from army mobilization. For safety for our teams traveling to the de-occupied regions of Ukraine. For implementation of new processes at Agape necessary with a medical licensure. For peace across Ukraine! 

Thank you for your continued support and prayers!!