Speaking into the Struggle

Hey, Friends!

Last week we experienced the largest missile and drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the war, spending most of Saturday night/Sunday morning in our hallway. We are thankful for God’s protection; our area was not hit, though explosions could be heard throughout the night. After catching only a couple hours sleep, Joshua then delivered the Sunday morning sermon! Church carried on as normal, even though many members were up through the night.

Joshua had the privilege of speaking twice to a church group from Poltava, one of Ukraine’s eastern oblasts. They brought their youth to Lviv last week for some much-needed R&R at a nearby campground, and Josh was one of the event speakers. Poltava experiences regular– if not nightly– air raids, and many hypersonic missiles have been launched in recent days at Kremenchuk, one of its big cities. While at the camp, Joshua heard stories of some of the traumatizing attacks these folks have been witness to.

We are constantly in contact with hurting people. Natallia Chepara, whom many of you have asked about, was at our house recently for several hours. She is doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances, still knowing nothing conclusive about her husband. Also recent, a single man in our church, Raymond, who serves faithfully in many ways, was suddenly taken off the street by recruiting officers. He was assigned to a brigade within 24 hours and is undergoing training for the next several months. Raymond has left a huge hole in everyone’s hearts, but we take courage from his strong testimony of faith in God’s plan.

We are all well; the kids are enjoying summer activities. Thank you for praying for us and for the people of Ukraine!