Ukraine Update: A Different Belarus

In December, a crew from TWR Ukraine traveled to the city of Poltava to film the second in their series, Yak vi tam? [Image courtesy of TWR Ukraine]

The news from Belarus has been grim. On Tuesday, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya went on trial in absentia for treason. On the same day, Russian and Belarusian troops began joint drills. Media reports say Ukrainian troops are bracing for a possible new offensive against them across the Belarus border.

Meanwhile, believers in Belarus are quietly going about their work of ministering to the hurting, reaching out to the lost and glorifying God.

Our ministry contacts in Belarus shared about a November road trip to that nation’s Vitebsk and Mogilev region to visit and encourage foster families and their children. They met with one family in the small town of Kirovsk who have reared 40 foster children. Although in their 60s, the couple still have babies in their household. “More than once in their lives the impossible has become possible, when God has given healing to the children,” our ministry friends wrote.

Along the way, they were able to minister to nonbelievers and people who attend church rarely. The trip “left traces of grace in our hearts,” they wrote. “We hope that it also left a trace of grace in the hearts of the people we met.”

The TWR Ukraine team also continues to document the response to the war in cities beyond their home base in Kyiv. In December, a crew traveled to the city of Poltava to film the second in their series, Yak vi tam? which literally means “How are you there?” but in context could mean “How are you surviving this?”

“Poltava is a hub city for hundreds of thousands of displaced people, a city where volunteers fed and housed all these displaced people,”  they wrote.

They also reported that for the first time in 20 years they didn’t send out an annual letter to their listeners – realizing that many of their listeners probably have changed their addresses. Instead, they produced a video to explain their ministry and ask for financial support. In a few days, they reported 60,000 views on Facebook and 25,000 on YouTube. The annual newsletter had a mailing list of 10,000. 

“It is because of … grace that we are still alive today,” wrote Alexander Chmut, director of TWR Ukraine. “And it is not our merit, and it is not a coincidence. It is the grace of God toward us.”

Prayer Points:

• Praise God for continuing to keep the team at TWR Ukraine safe through 11 months of warfare.
• Please pray for TWR Ukraine as well as our ministry contacts in Russia and Belarus as they continue to serve under difficult and unpredictable conditions.
• Please pray on behalf of foster parents in Belarus as they care for many children, and ask that those who don’t yet know Jesus might come to faith.
• Please pray in support of the many volunteers who are ministering to the thousands of displaced people in Poltava.