A Long Overdue Update

Once again a long period of time has lapsed since I last posted a blog. So here goes on catching up from January...

In January and February, groups of Agape employees and their families were blessed to have the opportunity to travel to Germany for a week of rest and refreshment. The German Evangelical Alliance met all of our needs and also filled our buses with humanitarian aid to bring back to Ukraine. It was fun to spend a week with coworkers, many of whom had never been outside of Ukraine in their lives. I traveled with the January group and we were thrilled to have snow as we did not see much of it this winter in Ukraine. 

As you are all aware, the war in Ukraine rages on. It is never far from our minds and constantly in our prayers. At Agape, we continue to rehabilitate wounded soldiers. Their stories, injuries, roads to recovery, and futures are each unique and often heart-breaking: 

- I recall one soldier who admitted that his marriage was not solid before the war. After he received his spinal cord injury, his wife left him, taking their young son with her. 

- Vasyl, a current patient, relayed how he was sent to Poland for medical treatment and rehabilitation following his injury. He expressed that he fully believed he would buy a car there at some point and drive it back to Ukraine after completing rehab. Instead, after 6 months in Poland, he returned to Ukraine still in a horizontal position with a long road ahead of him due to his spinal cord injury, pressure sores, and other complications. He told me "I never expected I wouldn't drive myself back." Unfortunately, it is unlikely he will ever walk again. 

- Bohdan (pictured below) was in working in a European country at the time of the full-scale invasion. He made the decision to not only give up the safety of that country by returning to Ukraine, but also to volunteer to fight upon his return. He took a bullet to the head and spent several months in the hospital before coming to Agape for rehabilitation. His sister is his only family member and she told us that after spending several months in the hospital with him, she could not imagine what we could do to help him. His progress was indeed slow, but with much perseverance on his part and that of his therapists, he was walking short distances with a cane and completing basic self-care tasks independently at the completion of his rehab. He attended services at Fimiam Church every Sunday and never seemed to get down, despite the drastically life-altering nature of his injury.  

These men exemplify the sacrifices Ukrainians make every day as they fight on the front lines to defend the freedom of this country, many at the cost of their health, families and lives.

We see images of the death and destruction that are the result of Russia's full-scale invasion on our screens daily. 

Smoke covers the ruined city of Bakhmut where intense fighting continues

A civilian passenger train was hit in one Russia attack

But we also feel, hear and experience the resilience and resolve that Ukrainians continue to hold in the face of this ongoing war. God sustains and continues to use His people. From delivering humanitarian aid to the de-occupied territories to housing and assisting internally displaced people to faithfully continuing the ministries of the church - God's people are active. 

Volodymyr Andriyovych (below) was a patient at Agape in January following a stroke. He is 85 years old and has been living at Fimiam's Retreat Center in the village with about 100 other internally displaced people since the full-scale invasion began. He was evacuated from eastern Ukraine with only the clothes on his back. Pastor Pavlo has faithfully been caring for and ministering to those living at the Retreat Center and a small church has now begun. Volodymyr Andriyovych heard the Word of God before his stroke, during his rehabilitation and after he left Agape. Not long after returning to the Retreat Center, he repented and was baptized. Since travel is difficult for him due to his age and the effects of his stroke, he had a modified baptism there at the Retreat Center. We rejoice that not only was his physical life saved, but now his soul is eternally saved as well!   

On a personal note, I had the privilege to attend a MedRefresh retreat in Antalya, Turkey in April. It was a week spent with other medical missionaries and their families and a team representing several organizations in the US with the goal of giving us rest, fellowship and refreshment. We were right on the Mediterranean Sea and had the opportunity not only to be instructed and encouraged, but also to take in the beauty and relax. It was wonderful to meet new acquaintances, hear what God is doing through His children in other parts of the world, and enjoy a few days at the sea. Oh, and those who know me well will understand, the all-you-can-eat ice cream was an extra special bonus!! 

Please continue praying for:

- The entire team at the Agape Rehabilitation Complex as we work and interact with all of our patients and their family members. That we would be intentional to not only seek physical change in their lives but spiritual as well. 

- Construction of the Resource Center.

- Provision and safety for the trips to deliver humanitarian aid to the de-occupied region of Kherson.

- Provision for the ongoing needs of Agape and our employees. 

Thank you for standing with us in prayer! 

If you would like to donate to the needs of Agape, please visit agapeukraine.com/en and click "Donate."

"O Lord my God, I cried to you for help." 

New Year, Same War

While the war in Ukraine may not often be headline news where you are, let me tell you that it indeed still rages on. Soldiers die fighting, are injured or are declared missing in action, civilians are injured and killed, families are separated, homes are destroyed, electricity and heat and water are cut off for hours or days or weeks, students attempt to learn by flashlight in basements during air alerts, and the list goes on and on. While, by God's grace, we do continue to live in safety here in the western part of Ukraine, we are not untouched by the effects of war and our prayers are continually for Ukraine's victory in the war to come soon.

Collection of Russian missiles and rocket that have been launched at one of Ukraine's major cities

Children and adults suffer from the consequences of Russian shelling

School continues by flashlight in basements when necessary 

Destruction, massive destruction

Below is a picture of one of the power stations struck by a Russian missile on Saturday. One look at the devastation reveals why Ukrainians are living with power outages. Russia has been very intentional with targeting these stations. Our soldiers have successfully destroyed many of the Russian missiles that were launched, but some do get through and the destruction can have wide-reaching and long-lasting consequences. 

Yesterday's missile strikes across Ukraine resulted in a major hit on a multi-story apartment building in the city of Dnipro. One entire section of apartments was destroyed with 30 people killed and another 75 injured (as of this moment). More than 30 people are still missing. Search and rescue efforts continue. Please take a moment to look closely at each of these pictures (below) and consider what Russia has brought with its invasion of Ukraine...nothing but death and destruction...

Aerial view of the damaged apartment building

The residents of this apartment may have even had lunch in this kitchen just hours before the strike

Looking closely at the center of this picture, you will see a red blanket covering a girl sitting in a destroyed apartment waiting for rescuers to reach her. 

Stranded residents used flashlights to alert rescuers of their location

Cranes were used to rescue residents

Rescue and recovery is still taking place amidst the rubble

Our work at Agape continues even as these devastating events occur across Ukraine. Here is a portion of the story of one patient who recently spent a month at Agape. 

Oleksandr and his wife were injured during the summer in an explosion in the city of Bakhmut. As you can see, his injuries resulted in a double amputation as well as hearing and memory loss. His wife has spent the past 5 months in the hospital due to her injuries and is still awaiting a hip replacement before she can begin rehabilitation. His daughter's home was destroyed and she now lives with her small children in a preschool in a city nearby Lutsk. Oleksandr's son died in a car accident 2 weeks before the Russian invasion and his daughter-in-law has also had to flee her home with their small child. This family has been traumatized in countless ways by this war and they represent thousands of families suffering at the hands of the Russians. Please pray for Oleksandr, his family, and the many other families who have lost their homes and been injured and displaced by this war. 
 

At Agape, we seek to provide professional, individualized rehabilitation to each person who comes to our facility. Along side that, we seek opportunities to speak with them about the love of God and their need for a Savior. God graciously gives us those opportunities both one-on-one during our sessions and in larger settings such as morning devotionals. Please pray we will be faithful to seize these opportunities to point people to the One True Hope. 

A little fun during a PT treatment session

A wounded soldier working on walking again

An outing with my patient to a nearby bakery during our recent treatment session

A small team from Agape was able to make two trips over the past month to the de-occupied region of Kherson, delivering presents for children, medical supplies, and food to people in need. The people in the regions they visited constantly live without heat and electricity and state that they are surviving only because of the work of volunteers. Agape would like to partner with Fimiam Church to continue making these trips as the need truly is great. Please join us in praying for the necessary finances and supplies for these trips and the wisdom to know when and where to go. Below are a few pictures from the recent trips. 

Christmas was officially celebrated only on December 25 by many, if not most, Ukrainians this year. The previously celebrated date of January 7 has connections with the Soviet Union era and is no longer recognized by many Ukrainians. My home group came over after church for food, fellowship and fun together. It was a blessed day! 

I got to spend the three days after Christmas in the village with friends, mostly playing games and relaxing!

And last week we hosted our team of therapists for our annual Christmas party. Even Vadim was in Ukraine at the time and able to come (he and his family are currently living and working in Poland). Katya also got to come as she has returned to Ukraine from the Netherlands and will begin working again at Agape in a couple of weeks! So thankful for time spent with these dear friends who are now family!

We tried to reenact last year's picture but we are still missing three people

Please also join us in praying for Zhanna, our head chef at Agape. Her son was serving in the army on the front lines and has been declared missing. Several members of his team say he was killed but no body has been recovered so that is not official. Please pray for Zhanna is this obviously difficult time of waiting, that God would be her refuge and strength!

I trust and pray you all had a blessed holiday season and that the coming year will be filled with God's blessings in your lives. Thank you to all who pray for us and support us. If you would like to donate to the needs of Agape, please visit agapeukraine.com/en and click "Donate."

Left Home, Went Home, and Came Back Home

It has been quite some time since my last update and, of course, very much has happened in that time! At the end of September, I left my Ukrainian home to return to my US home for 4 blessed weeks with family, friends, supporters, and new acquaintances. I was thankful to get to see so many of you and to share what is going on in Ukraine and at Agape. Thank you to the many who took time to get with me and for your concern and prayers for myself, Agape and all of Ukraine. Although my time in the US was not long, it was very blessed and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to make the trip. 

Several of you collected and donated scrubs for Agape employees. We actually received so many that I haven’t yet been able to get them all to Ukraine. Many, however, are here already and all of us at Agape are grateful for your generosity! That said, if anyone has men’s scrubs you would like to donate, please contact me as we continue to have a shortage.  

My return to Lutsk near the end of October was not a day too soon. We immediately had a series of situations that required me to substitute for therapists on our team one after another for about 2 weeks. As always, God’s timing is perfect! 

Several of our therapists continue to reside in Europe due to the war, so the number of patients at Agape is still limited to 11-12, but we have no shortage of people seeking our services. We continue to receive average citizens, soldiers wounded in combat, and we currently have our first civilian wounded during an attack on his city. In many ways, we are operating as normal at Agape. Rehab continues, birthdays and holidays are celebrated, and we even sometimes gather for after work activities. 

Katya, a dear friend and fellow PT, is the leader for group of people with disabilities that evacuated to Holland. Thankful she got to make a brief visit to Lutsk this fall, but really looking forward to the permanent return home of all who had leave Ukraine due to this war.  

Agape residents and employees celebrated Thanksgiving. 

In light of the ongoing war, however, there are also notable differences and nuances that have become part of a new “normal” for us. 

• Signs now hang in the hallways of Agape to direct people to the designated “bomb shelter” locations in our building. 
• Electricity goes out frequently. Thankfully, several years ago Agape purchased a powerful generator that can operate everything at Agape, including the elevator. So in a power outage, the guys only need a few minutes to get Agape back up and running. God is good! We are also hoping to be able to assist others in our village soon by designating a newly constructed room at Agape that has direct outdoor access as a place our neighbors can come to warm up, drink tea, charge devices, and use the internet when our village is without power. 
• Three rooms at Agape are occupied by refugees who will remain with us for the winter. Among them are three ladies with disabilities and a mom (Irina) and her adult son who has a disability. They have now become familiar to us all and even pitch in around Agape wherever they are able. For example, I walked into the kitchen this week to find my former patient, Natalia, peeling potatoes. And Irina has taken on the responsibility of doing any needed sewing and also cleaning the rehab gym daily, which is no small task!   
• Construction is moving forward on the Resource Center. This 3-story building will include an underground bomb shelter, a ground-level storage area for large equipment such as electric wheelchairs, and an upper floor for storage of smaller items such as nonperishable foods, hygiene and personal care supplies, etc. This a large and expensive undertaking, but it became apparent that it was necessary to construct this building even in the middle of a war.

So what is going on in our personal lives and the lives of Ukrainians? If you have been keeping up with the news, you know that Russia has been targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure for some time now. Even as I write this (on Wednesday evening, November 22), I am working by candlelight and staying warm thanks to a fire in the wood stove. 

We, like everyone else, have stocked up on candles, batteries, water, and firewood. Agape was blessed with funds to provide firewood for 15 families and we were among the recipients. On Friday, men from Agape stacked it up nicely for us and also for another Agape family, finishing just in time for snow! 

Wednesday evening's power outage left basically all of Ukraine in a blackout and was the result of missile strikes across the country in the afternoon. It is difficult to describe the feeling of walking in our neighborhood or driving through the middle of the city and being surrounded by total or near total blackness. Our electricity was off for a solid 24 hours, but others experienced even longer outages. At our house, electricity is required for everything...light, water, and heating. The wood stove, however, provides us the opportunity to warm ourselves and food. We are also blessed to live near Agape and therefore have access to water, electricity, showers, and Wi-Fi for communication when needed. We know many other Ukrainians are not as blessed as us.   

Despite the current challenges each person in Ukraine faces to one extent or another these days, the spirit of the people is not shaken. In fact, Ukrainians appear more defiant than ever, certain that Russia cannot and will not win. The will of the people is to stand strong, even in darkness and cold. A quote by Ukrainian President Zelensky a few months ago has been appearing in various forms on social media in recent weeks and goes something like this: 

    Without gas or without you (Russia)? Without you.

    Without electricity or without you? Without you.

    Without water or without you? Without you.

    Without food or without you? Without you.

    Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as terrible and deadly for us

    as your “friendship and brotherhood.” 

“Without you.” This is the sentiment of the Ukrainians I know and fuels the spirit to fight through the current difficulties in order to experience victory in a free Ukraine. 

There is so much more I could say, but for now I’ll close with some ways you can join us and support us in prayer:

• Pray for those who have lost loved ones in the war. Just this week, a labor and delivery hospital in Ukraine was hit and a 2-day old baby was killed. Residential building across the country continue to be hit with civilians injured and killed. Soldiers are injured and killed daily. Pray for comfort, peace, and an end to this loss of life. 

• Pray for the energy infrastructure of Ukraine to be able to be repaired after the repeated missile strikes so that thousands of people will not experience a winter without heat and electricity.  
• Pray for us to recognize and seize opportunities to share the resources we have both personally and at Agape with those in need. As mentioned above, we at Agape are seeking ways assist our neighbors and also our employees and their families. Pray we have wisdom and adequate provision of resources to maximize our assistance to others in need. 
• Pray for the construction of the Resource Center to continue to progress through the winter. 
• Pray for thousands of Ukrainians who have inconsistent access to basic utilities, such as electricity, water, heat. Pray for government leaders, but also for churches and Christian organizations that are seeking ways to help their neighbors and communities. 

"Invincibility Stations" have set up around the country for citizens to warm up and charge up. 

Pray for Ukrainian victory in the war to come soon!! 

 

I am thankful God is still on His throne! Thank you for standing with us in prayer. If you have a desire to support Agape financially, please visit agapeukraine.com/en and click "Donate."