The end of summer marked 12 years for me in Ukraine - God is good! The war continues as does our work at Agape. June marked the 10th anniversary of the Agape Rehabilitation Complex. Of course, we had an eventing of celebration evening on the grounds of Agape with many guests in attendance as well as patients and their families. We recalled God's goodness and faithfulness over the past 10 years and looked ahead at plans for the future.

            

What are the plans for the future? Well, construction of the new building continues as funds are available. Plans for this building have shifted and it will now be used for rehabilitation. The third floor will house the rehab office and gym, both of which will be much larger than they are currently. The second floor will house a large fitness gym, occupational therapy kitchen, and speech therapy offices. And the first floor will continue to be a wheelchair/medical equipment repair and distribution center. The basement serves as a shelter during the war, but it can also be used in other capacities as needed. A smaller building will be constructed between the new building and the current building with indoor walkways linking all 3 buildings. The goal of the construction is to be able to serve a larger number of patients and the completion of these projects is likely to take several years. Please pray with us for the necessary funds for these construction projects. 

Current Agape building is in the background

What about rehabilitation? Rehabilitation continues to keep us all busy! Civilians and wounded soldiers come to Agape for rehab, often more than once. We have added a part-time speech language pathologist to our team, which helps fill a need we have had for some time. Our therapists have gained valuable knowledge and experience over these years and they provide high-quality, individualized rehabilitation to our patients, which is why so many of them return to Agape again and again for additional rehabilitation. 

 

Maxim (above) has undergone rehabilitation at Agape at least six times over the past year. Due to the level of spinal cord injury, it takes much training and repetition for him to gain independence in skills such as transferring to and from his wheelchair and sitting up/lying down in bed. But he works very hard and makes small gains toward his goals with each bout of rehabilitation. 

Ira will soon be at Agape for the 4th time in 2026 following a spinal cord injury. She is a typical 16 year old girl and adds laughter and joy to our gym during her sessions

Liza (left) had a tumor removed from her spine and Anya (right) had a tumor removed from her cerebellum. Both lost the ability to walk, but through multiple bouts of rehabilitation they are both making progress. Anya is currently with us again and is taking her first slow, unsteady, closely guarded, and independent steps in over three years.  

Zhenya (above) continues to return to Agape for rehabilitation following an explosion injury received while fighting in the war, leaving him with a severe traumatic brain injury. He has come to Agape for several years and now walks independently with a cane and is learning to walk safely and independently without any assistive device! 

Rehabilitation is hard work, both for the patients and the therapists. I am so proud of the effort that Agape therapists exert and the quality of rehabilitation they provide. Not every patient's story is one of tremendous success, but every patient deserves the very best we can offer and to know that we care about them, and more importantly, that God cares about them! 

What is the status of the war? That's a question with a broad array of answers. I will attempt to answer with what I know, see, feel, hear and live. I'll utilize some recent quotes that may or may not have made news in the US to guide my description of the war. I have many more thoughts and feelings on the subject of this war than I will share here.

“Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven’t been doing much.” President Trump (10.19.2026) 

WHAT?! Maybe you heard about the energy ceasefire that President Trump announced in early October. Well, in the week following that announcement, Russia attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure multiple times. I can personally attest that Lutsk electrical substations were attacked and we were without power for hours on multiple days. Some ceasefire. 

To further refute the claim that Russia "hasn't been doing much," here are some statistics for the month of October for Lutsk. As you read these statistics, recall that Lutsk is located in far west Ukraine, hundreds of miles from the front lines, and nowhere near the capital of Kyiv (which has been heavily targeted by Russia for months). Russia has no limit to the death, destruction and disruption they are bringing to Ukraine.  

- Only 3 days in October without an air alert in Lutsk

- Air alert sirens sounded a total of 140 times: On October 16 alone, there were 13 air alerts in Lutsk. The Russian tactic has been to send single drones one after another, spreading them out just enough so that we live for hours under air alerts, bringing maximum discomfort and disruption. The longest period of time under an air alert in Lutsk in October was over 13 hours. 

Drones flying west one at a time across the northern aspect of Ukraine, keeping each of those regions under near constant air alert 

- Lutsk residents spent almost 100 hours under air alert. Air alerts disrupt life across a myriad of spheres: business, education, transportation, etc. Take education, for example. If children are in school at the time of an air alert, learning is halted and they are evacuated from their classrooms to the basement until the all clear sounds, which could be minutes or it could be hours. If the air alert occurs before the school day begins, the start of the school day is delayed until the all clear. That leaves parents figuring out how to get their children to school by the 2nd, 3rd or 4th period, if indeed at all that day. On days with an all clear followed shortly by another air alert, kids might not even go to school. All of this impacts the children and their families on multiple levels.  

- 6 people were killed when a drone directly struck a small store in the heart of the Lutsk 

- A German parts factory was struck by 3 drones in one day, shutting down manufacturing until further notice and leaving hundreds of people without work. This factory is located less than 1 mile from my church.

Those of us living in Lutsk know that we do not experience near the danger and difficulty of those living in other cities across Ukraine. I share the above statistics because I have access to them and because, having lived through the month of October in Lutsk, I can vouch for their validity. Multiply these numbers across all of Ukraine and you will surely agree with me that the statement "Russia hasn't been doing much" is absolutely inaccurate! 

"You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you and thank you again." 

Steve Witkoff to President Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia following the release of an American from Russian prison (10.21.2026)

PUTIN A HUMANITARIAN?! Far from it: 

- On a night in late July, a Ukrainian family's home was struck with a Russian missile killing 10 people, including 7 children. Reports like this are infuriating and heartbreaking. 

Funeral procession for family killed in missile strike

- A 14-month-old girl was killed in a drone strike while in her stroller in her city's central park in eastern Ukraine last week. Her mother later died in the hospital. They were just out for a walk.  

- Russia targets and attacks trains, large shopping centers, and production/storage/distribution facilities for a variety of items such as paper goods, non-perishable food products, publishing warehouses and book distributors, pharmaceuticals, etc. The effects on civilians from these attacks range from inconvenient, to terrifying, to costly (the cost of these products rises), to deadly. 

- Just a few days ago, the train station in Dnipro was hit by a drone, killing and wounding civilians. Pictures of the death and devastation circulated in Ukraine with the most devastating being a father kneeling and wailing beside the body of his 15-year-old daughter who was killed while waiting for her train.  

The horrors of this war are real and they are ever present in Ukraine. Russia continues to bring destruction and death to Ukraine. I am writing all of this (and I could write SO much more) to share the truth with you and to ask you to pray for Ukraine and Ukrainians. 

Please remember it was Russia that invaded and attacked Ukraine. Russia is the aggressor in this war, not Ukraine. 

Please pray for Ukraine to have the weapons necessary to defend itself and its citizens this winter. 

Please pray for Ukrainian and world leaders as they seek to bring this war to an end. 

Please pray for justice for the Russian perpetrators of this war. 

In closing, please pray for all of us at Agape and Fimiam Church as we mourn the loss of Grisha - a dear brother in Christ, friend, coworker, and faithful volunteer taking aid to those living near the front lines (83 trips in total over the past 3 years!). Grisha was traveling back from visiting his granddaughter in Germany this past week with his wife, Ira (an occupational therapist at Agape), when he died of an apparent heart attack.  

We are in shock and mourning. Grisha was dear to all and none more than his wife, of course. Unfortunately, this couple has experienced considerable loss and suffering in their lives. God sustained them through it all, but they also leaned on one another to endure trial after trial. Grisha's sudden passing is tremendously difficult for Ira. Please pray for her and for the Agape and Fimiam families as we seek to walk with her in this grief and loss. 

Grisha loved well, risked his life repeatedly for those in need, was faithful in often unseen tasks, gave generously of what he had, and willingly came to the aid of those in need. He was an example of faithful service and he is now in eternity with his Lord and Savior. 

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." 

Psalm 116:15

Grisha and Ira - picture taken in recent days

What's Happening in Ukraine?

Some of you might be wondering, "What's been going on in Ukraine and at Agape?" The time has come to fill you in just a bit! 

I returned to Ukraine about 6 weeks ago after 6.5 months in the US. It is always bittersweet to leave one of my homes and return to the other one and the transition / adaptation can take a period of time. But God has been gracious and I think I can now say that I'm settled back into life here in Lutsk and at Agape. 

Immediately upon my return to Lutsk, I departed for central Ukraine to assist a team of prosthetists from LimbFit for a week. Together, they were able to fabricate 10 prosthetic legs for civilians and veterans. My role was to assist as needs arose and provide PT consultations to those who desired. It was a blessed week with this talented, hard-working team and there were many smiles in the final days as the prosthetic limbs were completed and fitted.

There were two individuals in particular (a veteran and a young mom - both pictured below) that we watched walk all week on poorly fitting prosthetic legs. Their gait patterns were markedly impaired, resulting in back and other joint pain. What a joy it was for all to witness the significant improvement in their gait patterns after the prosthetists completed their fittings and I gave them a few cues!

I will not attempt to report on the war in great detail, but please know that devastation, death and destruction continue, even when the US news does not report it. As one example, below is a map of the drones and missiles launched at sites across Ukraine over about a 24-hour period in the middle of May. You don't have to be able to read Ukrainian to understand the scale and scope of this attack. While I was outside for a brief walk on my lunch hour on this day, I watched a drone flying toward the center of Lutsk. Unfortunately, it was one of several that struck Lutsk. Other cities were also hit on that day and the following morning 24 people were killed in Kyiv when an apartment block was hit. 

This particular attack primarily took place during daylight hours, so we evacuated the Agape patients and employees to the almost completed shelter for about 3 hours. It is good that we now have this shelter, but of course we would prefer to have no need to use it again.  

Men from Agape continue making bi-weekly trips to the de-occupied areas around Kherson to deliver food, clothing, medications, and other supplies to residents, many of whom are older and/or have disabilities. Please pray for protection for Grisha, his team and other volunteers as humanitarian trips are becoming increasingly dangerous due to the threat from Russian drone attacks. 

Also, please pray for the residents of these areas who live under near-constant attack and stress and heavily rely on aid delivered by volunteers. If you have a desire to financially supporting this on-going ministry (aid for the residents, fuel for the van), please contact me directly or visit agapeukraine.com to donate. 

Unique local transportation for door-to-door delivery

Agape van loaded with supplies for distribution

The Agape team celebrated a very special event in January when Mykyta, a veteran, was baptized. His injury occurred in 2019 after which he came to Agape several times for rehabilitation. He has quadriplegia and requires assistance in daily tasks, so upon finishing physical rehabilitation he continued to move from center to center for accommodation. In recent years, he has spent the majority of his time residing at Agape. In Mykyta's own words: 

"The first stage of my physical recovery lasted 3 years. After physical rehabilitation, I realized that rehabilitation is not only physical exercises, but also the restoration of social, mental, and psychological health, as well as my spiritual state. In 2023, I came to the Agape Rehabilitation Center for the third time. Except this time I did not come for physical rehabilitation, but for accommodation. Unfortunately, I don’t have a family. I did not have time to create one due to my military service and I also lost my home. So the Agape team helps me with this problem, supporting me, creating good living conditions for me here. You could say they have become my second family. They support me and care for my spiritual state." 

Mykyta's road to repentance and life with God took some time, but the fruit is now evident to all. His baptism took place at Agape and was witnessed by many who have developed relationships with Mykyta, both at Agape and at Fimiam Church. 

Mykyta and Pastor Yuri from Fimiam Church

Rehabilitation continues at Agape with a wide array of patients. I will update more on that in the next blog, but for now here are just a couple of our brave veterans now battling to recover from their injuries. What a privilege to serve those who have bravely served Ukraine and Ukrainians! 

Zhenya has been at Agape several times and has been in previous blogs. His progress is evident even through his natural smile that has started to emerge, and the fact that he is standing in this picture without the aid of a device. 

Arkadii working hard to be ready for the architectural barriers that he will find in the community 

Ways that you can pray:

- Protection of the men at Agape from mobilization. This list includes:

    - Pasha and Vanya: the only male PT's in our department

    - Ihor: currently medically exempt from mobilization, but that ends by winter

    - Andri: head of construction at Agape  

    - Bohdan: head of the caregiver department

- Finances to continue constructing the Resource Center and begin constructing a portion of the future central building on the territory of Agape

- The humanitarian aid trips to the Kherson region (see above)

- War in Ukraine to end in Ukraine's favor

Let's Go for a Run

This will be an "abnormal" post. Very little text and no news regarding the war, work at Agape, or general life in Ukraine. Instead, I invite you to head out the door with me now for a virtual run. I hope you enjoy this mini picture tour of my region of Ukraine as we run through forests and wheat and soy fields, on village roads, alongside gardens, at sunrise and moonset, across railroad tracks and near the river!! All pictures were taken in the last 5 months. Are you ready? Let's go running...