On May 23 a mission team left Atlanta for a survey trip to Ukraine. This is the first trip since covid prohibited our travels. Our last trip was in March of 2020 when we were forced to return early due to the pandemic around the world.

Hearing of all the destruction and devastation in Ukraine since the Russian invasion, which began in February of 2022, DMI felt we needed to see firsthand the needs of the people. We also wanted pastors and congregations in Ukraine to know that we fully supported them and were not going to abandon them as they went through this crisis. The team was composed of Dr. Geoffery Conner, Diane Simms, Dean Robbins and I.

Many people thought we were crazy to enter the country while the fighting was still taking place. However, our team all felt that this trip was necessary and our plan was to carry medical supplies and finances for the relief of those suffering in Ukraine. Our goal was to take one day at a time. We had to fly into Krakow, Poland and from there enter Ukraine. If the fighting became more intense and focused on western Ukraine we would stay in Krakow and have our supplies picked up by some of our contacts.

Our planned first stop was Rivna about 200 miles from the border. There we were met by our dear brother Sasha Malov. He had traveled from Kiev to meet us and take us on our most memorable journey. Conditions appeared safe, so we traveled to Cumin in central Ukraine, then on to Kiev where we spent a few days branching out to some of the villages and cities near Kiev.

The Lord blessed us to be able to travel to all of our planned sites. During this entire trip, not one of us felt that we were in any danger, and we trusted the Lord to bring us through. In all, our journey covered 13,655 miles. Following are reports from all of our team members. Each of us covers a different area of the trip.

By: Diane Simms, BSN, RN DMI Medical Director

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

It's been almost 20 years since I felt God leading me to be a part of the DMI Medical Team. We've been to Ukraine many times, but none of them has affected me as this one did.

We've all seen footage of war torn Ukraine on TV, but to see it in person and meet many individuals who have been deeply and personally affected by it is a much different perspective. Devastation and destruction were all around us. It was very emotionally draining.

In the midst of all the horror, a bright spot! Happy Home is an orphanage for children with disabilities. It was a vision and creation of Oxana, a loving and selfless young woman who has taken in as many as 9 children at one time. These children were taken from state run orphanages where their basic needs were not even met. They
are left in cribs in poorly lighted orphanages with very little attention, affection, stimulation or love. They receive nominal amounts of food and are left in diapers far beyond the normal age. But some have been blessed by being selected to go with Oxana to Happy Home.

Oxana explained to us that it is "Happy Home," not "Happy House". She said a house is merely a place where people live, but a home is a place where you feel loved, cared for and nurtured.

Oxana and her twin sister, Leah, worked together not only to care for their basic needs, but also to provide them with love, acceptance, and security. Theyprovide many fun activities that help them develop mentally, spiritually, and physically. Many of these children were withdrawn and showed no affection, but through Oxana's work with them and love for them, they are amazingly outgoing and happy. They initiated hugs and hand holding with us, though we are total strangers to them! She's done such an amazing job with her innovative and effective methods that she has been approved by the government as a provider.

Happy Home was originally located in Kiev, where through much prayer, many donations and hard work, Oxana was able to purchase a larger home. This would allow her to accommodate more children. Unfortunately, when the war with Russia broke out, she felt it unsafe to stay in Kiev with the children. She took them to her parent's home in Novyi Korets', Ukraine. There was an ​ abandoned building across the street that they have been allowed to use during the day, with plenty of room for the children to play. Nights are spent with their staying in her parents' home where love abounds for these children!

During our visit, Oxana stated that she was planning to return to Kiev with all the children the next Saturday. Thankfully, God had spared their new home from the bombings and shelling. Her sister, Leah, was to join her to help with the children. Unfortunately, the day after our visit, Oxana sent word that Leah had died during the night unexpectedly from a blood clot. A month earlier, Leah had fractured her femur and was confined to a month of bedrest. This treatment plan was likely the cause of death. Naturally, Leah, her parents and Leah's daughter were devastated and heartbroken. Their return to Kiev was postponed indefinitely, but her work continues!

Having been able to witness firsthand the senseless death, devastation and destruction of innocent civilians' lives, I now understand fully that while the images on the news are heartbreaking, one will never understand the true sorrow of this evil without having seen it in person. To see a large, multi-story apartment complex bombed, destroying an entire section of the building and killing 79 people was horrible. Finding a shoe here, a hat there, shattered walls decimated, with a stove and kitchen table way over there and a washing machine demolished over here makes it far too real. Imagine innocent people just living there, going through their normal daily routines, then BOOM and they're gone. Our thoughts turned immediately to the seemingly insurmountable task of rebuilding and returning to some type of "normalcy". This probably won't happen during my lifetime, but I pray that it can and will happen in God's time.

Through all of this, a bright spot of hope - Happy Home! Happy Home is supported financially by DMI. It is a blessing for these mentally and/or physically challenged children. Please consider helping them by donating to DMI and earmark your donation forHappy Home. It will mean so much to them and I know it will be a blessing to you.

Diane Simms, BSN RN
​DMI Medical Director

By: Doctor Geoff Conner
DMI board member (Vidalia, GA.)

God knows there has been human suffering throughout history. We clearly live in a broken world. And although there is plenty of brokenness close to home, I recently had a chance to witness it up close at a much greater level in war-torn Ukraine.

A mostly rural farm based country about the size of Texas with a GDP about half that of Mexico, they have very little compared to the US or other western based countries. As a primary care physician I have had a long connection with the people of Ukraine going back over 15 years through multiple medical mission trips facilitated by the Christian ministry DMI.

Originally we worked medical clinics in the Donbas region being based in Donetsk. Our model was church-based, free clinics with pastors praying and ministering with patients as they waited for medical care. I can tell you first hand the people of Ukraine are generally poor and meek. In all the years and all the hundreds if not thousands of patients I have treated or with whom I have had prayer, never have I seen anything but kindness and appreciation.

Ukraine is a country that has been occupied many times throughout history. Only in recent years with the Orange Revolution in 2011 have the Ukrainians begun to develop since of real national pride, and out of that, attempted to reform their government in hopes of a more prosperous Ukraine. But even before the Orange Revolution beginning with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine has been moving toward the west trying to develop its economy out of a desire to integrate into western society, a society based on recognizing the value of human life and human rights. In short, in spite of government corruption, the Ukrainian people have been trying to develop a freedom based western style country with a good deal of success. That success seems to be the real reason for their current predicament.

Its old political partner, Russia, is unhappy with the success Ukraine has had moving westward and without provocation has felt empowered to attack. Like an abusive ex-spouse Russia wants its partner back before it can be completely married to the west. But Ukraine has already moved on from Russia and has no desire to return. It is true there are small older segments of the population in the east that have not adjusted well to capitalism and want to return to what they knew in their youth. The vast majority of Ukrainians however now have a burning hatred for Russia and that is understandable after seeing firsthand what Russia is doing to their country.

I have talked personally to people that have lost everything from random bombings and others that had their homes looted by Russians. I have heard from 72 year old Catarina and her son who had to strip for the Russian soldiers so they could look for Nazi related tattoos. I saw firsthand the bombed maternity hospital and rehab house north of Kyiv. I saw the ruins of bombed apartment buildings in Bucha and Irpin. Never has it been more clear to me the difference in our Judeo-Christian based society that  values human life and a government that does not. We may as  a society be drifting away from realizing it, but we value human life and don't treat each other like animals because at some level we know we are God's special creation. Our souls have his  image. Many other societies don't recognize human life that way. We wrongly assume other governments care about human life as we do and that is why this attack is so shocking to us. It is also why we need to provide help.

God loves us. That may be hard for some to believe, but I am certain he does, and when anyone you love is hurt that hurts you. I know God is in control of all things and is allowing wars and countless other evils to continue for the moment, and his holy purpose we can not always understand, but that should not stop us from helping someone or some people in need. The Bible is full of examples of God showing us how important it is to love our neighbor. And like the well known example of the good Samaritan, when we don't help we go against God. In other words, hurting others is sinful and likewise not helping others that are being hurt is sinful. Of course that is a big challenge. Where do you draw the line. Do I give my life to help a stranger or all my money, or maybe a prayer is the best way to help. Also there are so many people being hurt in some way or another, and how do we know who needs help. It can be overwhelming, but in my opinion, if you let him, God will direct you how best to help, and he will put those in need in front of you. That may be the reason you are reading this now.

When I went to Ukraine, I did not just want to go, I felt I had to go. Something deep said this evil has to be answered with something that helps those being hurt. Fortunately, I was in a position to be able to go there in person with a wonderful team and show our support, but there are many ways to help.

Praying should always be a place to start. Letting our representatives in government know what is needed is another. Donations can be helpful. Being active on social media can help show support. The ministry I have worked with is DMI.

It is Georgia based and puts 100% of its donations directly into the hands of the Ukrainian people and churches that support Ukrainians regardless of faith.

I am convinced this is one of those turning points in history where those who value human life must take a stand against those who don't. I believe the only reason Russia has not used more aggressive weapons to kill massive numbers of innocent Ukrainians is because it is not in their strategic best interest, and I believe that there is no moral best interest in their calculations at all.

I know the final victory over evil is already won, but how much we love God is reflected by how much we love his special creation. Please consider providing some form of help for a nation trying to fight a battle against evil, and pray for the
people of Russia that they may see this evil also and take a stand against it. ​

We have seen some of the devastation in Ukraine on television during the past 6 months. However, to see it in person and to talk to the people who have had to flee from their homes puts this war into a very different perspective.

It is one thing to see all the refugees as they cross the border into Poland or German. It is another thing to sit with some of these refugees who have moved to other parts of Ukraine to hopefully restart their lives.

Pastor Eugene, for example, is now a refugee for the second time. He lived in Makeyevka until the war in 2014. He fled the occupied area of Donbass and moved into a city in Ukrainian Donbass Region. He started a church in one of the poorest towns in the region. DMI began supporting his ministry and is still supporting him.

When this war started in February he had to flee once again. There were six churches and pastors DMI was supporting in this region. Four of those pastors fled for their own safety. They abandoned their congregations almost overnight. No warning at all. However, Eugene and another pastor, Igor, gathered all of the people in the six congregations and fled to Uman, in central Ukraine.

They are staying in a summer camp, and with God's help, they will find jobs and a permanent place to live. This is difficult since there are around 10,000 refugees in and around the city of Uman.

In the city of Uman, one church is giving aid to over 500 refugees at a time two days a week. The UN humanitarian aid service has joined in with support of food and other supplies. The church prepares food bags for 500 families at a time. The food is enough to last them 3 weeks. Medical assistance is also offered each week. A pharmacy is set up to give medicines to those with prescriptions. What a ministry is taking place here. DMI is supporting this effort by assisting the pastor of the church. In a village south of Kiev, which was occupied by Russian troops for the month of February, one church, "House of Bread," is providing meals daily to homeless refugees. Some people fled the city of Bucha, north of Kiev, when the Russians' attack moved towards Kiev. They were looking for safety and then still were occupied by Russian forces.
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God is working in so many lives and using His church to help those in dire need. God bless them all and keep them safe. ​

It has been a little over 2 months since a group of us went to Ukraine to deliver humanitarian aid. There we were able to deliver medications and financial support. Because of the generosity of so many people, we were able to help lessen the tremendous burden that many there are experiencing due to the war. On behalf of the Board of DMI, thank you so much for your prayers and for answering the call for financial help. Lord willing, another trip is being planned for November. This will be a medical mission trip. We hope to address the physical needs of refugees who have had to leave their homes. We also hope to carry with us funds to help the pastors and ministries that we are supporting. You will see a report in this newsletter of where this help is going. Please continue to support our effort to help the church in Ukraine.

On our recent trip, Elder Pat McCoy and I met with one of many pastors. His name is Igor. We have known this dear brother for many years. We first met him before all of this conflict, when our ministry was centered in the Eastern Part of the Ukraine. He left that area in 2014 as a result of the Russian invasion. He settled in an area north of
Kiev, in a village where DMI helped to build a church building.
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When the present conflict started in February, this man risked his life by driving into places where fighting was taking place. He did so to help bring people to safety. When his village was threatened, many of the people there lost their jobs. He told us at one point, they were unable to even buy food for a period of about a month. Though the threat from Russian soldiers overrunning the city has dissipated, yet many still are unable to work. Many are still struggling to survive.

I asked him what was the message that he gave to the people in the church? He simply and meekly said --- "Hope." That despite the present hardships, their hope rested in the redemptive ministry of Jesus. There is hope in the life that is to come. And that hope can never be taken away from them. Brother Pat and I were extremely humbled by this man's words.

We may not be facing armed conflict like these brothers and sisters are. We do not have to worry about our communities being threatened by an invading army. But we each face our own enemies, our own trials, and afflictions. The answer to how we deal with such afflictions is the same as what Igor answered; it is hope! It is hope in Christ. It is the sure hope that whatever we must face in this life, the life that is to come will make it all worth it.

Thank you Brother Igor for reminding me of this great truth!

Thank you again for supporting this ministry. There is more work to be done. Please join us as we seek to help lift the burden of war that our Ukrainian brothers and sisters are laboring under.

Staying in the cities of Donetsk region is already a bold step, although I think children and women would be better off leaving. And to continue working is already a feat. We are fortunate to meet the heroic people who bake the social bread. It is either distributed or sold at 12 UAH per loaf. These people work three shifts. We could help them with flour and other ingredients. See for yourselves.

I want to give you the current situation in Ukraine and focus of LOR/ DMI ministry in
Ukraine. First of all, thousands of refugees have fled the Donbass Region and continue to leave daily. There is a mandatory evacuation taking place now in this region. A train leaves once or twice a day from Pokrovsko to central Ukraine and the city of Umam. LOR provides food, medical aid for these refugees. Our focus is on refugees who are Ukrainian.

We are trying to help refugees by giving to families who are recommended by contacts working with refugees daily. We give them monthly support for rent, food, bills, etc.

It is hard on refugees to stay together in camps. Many families are staying in one large room such as auditoriums, so we are helping individual families to be independent. Samaritan Purse has sent aid. We received a large (40 foot) container. Pastor Maxime and his church are responsible for distribution of the food stuff to needy families in villages around Kiev. Also, UN food distribution is giving aid. 17 kl of most needed groceries, such as flower, oil, can of meat, etc. My concern is knowing we have a limit of funds. How to get assistance to Christians and give them funds to meet basic needs. DMI aid is sent to those serving on front like.

At this point in time our stress is that there are 10's of thousands of brothers and sisters scattered around Ukraine with no means of help and no future. The amount given to families depends on size of families and where they are, city or village. We give $200 to $500 per month. The commitment is for 3 months to families based on reports from Eugine, Vadim, Surgey and others. That is $20,000 per month at present. This average amount aids 17 families per week.

Those refugees with Eugene at the summer camp will need to move during September. There are 90 people, 40 families, who need to be moved before winter. The amount of request and needs will grow to $7000 to $8000 per week.


There is much tension in the air. The people are up and down with their feelings. People are getting down very much due to length of war. People are concerned that other areas will fall.

Our priority for the present changes weekly and sometimes daily. Zaparosia seems to be on list to fall under Russia. Their population is 500,000 . People from Mariople are there also. If they are attacked, another wave of refugees. Helping people get out. We may have to get back to paying cost for evacuation.
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We are praying for the collapse of Russia. Praying God will perform a miracle and Putin taken out. Elijah's servant was wondering about the enemy and the Lord opened his eyes to see the real balance between powers.

I myself and others in Ukraine never take for granted DMI's support and prayers. And we appreciate and are thankful to the Lord that He has bound us together as body of Christ.

In Christ
Brother Sasha

​Below are the latest reports from Ukraine.
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Brothers and Sisters!  Dear friends at DMI!
You don't imagine how much your prayers and support are meant to us!

I admire the leadership of DMI - Brothers Dean Robbins and Pat McCoy for all they do. Proud to be their friend.  Proud to be part of all of yours lives for many years!

We all need miracle for Ukraine to survive against Russia. If we will not - the enemy will go further to other countries. 

As our President spoke in his powerful speech yesterday to the US Congress - Ukraine is fighting for the rest of the World.  I'm agree with that statement 100%.

I want you not to be in panic.  If God is for us - who may stay against us?

We as the leadership of LOR (Light of Resurrection) do as much as we could.  Coordinating different efforts all around Ukraine and practically serving to people around us.  We don't have much time for writing but believe me - the great work is being done every minute.

I'm proud to be a part of great team of LOR.  God has blessed me with the great people on our staff.   Some of them and some of our local partners got to be under Russians, temporarily for sure.

They keep strong over there and in many different ways are fighting against the enemies.  I couldn't give you more details at the moment.

At any place around Ukraine, we don't know what might happen next day, even next hour.  There is no place in Ukraine that may be considered as a safe place. 

There will be no victory of Russia over Ukraine.  We all could die, and they could take over the territory, but not over the people of Ukraine.  More and more areas could be occupied by Russians and a lot of Ukrainian blood could be shed next weeks, months - but there will be no victory of Russia.

The fact you're standing behind us with your prayers and financial support - inspires us. 

Speaking about finances - we need finances.  Don't think of donating clothing or food or medications at the moment in USA.  Even if you'd donate to some charities - the logistics will be difficult and almost impossible, honestly speaking. 

Please ask your churches, friends, local busyness to give to DMI for the Ukrainian War fund.  We will need a lot of money in the nearest future.

What is our finances strategy on our end?  Under current circumstances each one of the staff are spending their own savings they might have.  We also are spending funds from LOR accounts donated to us before the war by various local and international supporters for other purposes.  In other words, we're spending personal funds and funds of other donors for urgent needs around us.

We need to empty our pockets and accounts as soon as possible, because we just don't know for how long the banking system will be working here.

We keep the track of our spendings here. 

I knew from brother Pat there was $25K donated to the Ukrainian war fund at DMI.  The funds are on DMI account, but they're spent already by us on our end and for us it means that our personal finances and other supporters finances are in a safe place at DMI bank.  I hope you understand the concept. 

By the end of month - we will send to brother Pat the breakdown of our spendings out of DMI Ukrainian war fund and whom they belong to, along with some stories, where applicable. 

Right now, the funds are being spent for:
- Food
- Medications
- Fuel
- Evacuations (rent of transport)
- Rent cost for refugees
- Power generators

When we know there's more funds on DMI Ukrainian War fund - we will start spending it.  We are also in a process of analyzing approved for 2022 DMI's original budget. 

The communication is difficult.  Some people we have been supporting have fled abroad, some are on the occupied areas with no banking system available.  Some stay - but have no ministry left behind.  We're making an assessment of each individual case and will let brothers Dean and Pat know by the end of March, since all the DMI's original 2022 projects were already covered for the first quarter of this year. 

Love you all!  Hope to see you all once again on the Earth, but if not on the Earth - then in Heaven. 

Pray for our President.  This little man is really anointed by God for these days of trials. 

In His Peace,
Brother Sasha

Dear Pat,
As I can imagine Sasha and his family are alive and more or less OK.  Sasha was yesterday in the LOR chat.  The situation in his place is calmer now.  But it can change very quickly.  Sasha has money, food and all necessary, as I know.  So, please, try to be in contact with him personally. 
 
We also are OK here, in Zhytomyr.  There were a few missile attacks with terrible destructions and casualties.  But last 3 days is quieter. 
 
We collect here food and send it to an occupied region in the North of Ukraine (Sumy region).  Yesterday we have sent the second transport with food there via a brave brother Eugene from that region.  We also take part in church life - help refugees, help the people whose houses were destroyed.  Yesterday I have preached in our church in Zhytomyr. 
 
Thanks a lot for concern and prayers.  Our warmest greetings to all friends. 
 
In Him - 
Andrey. ​

A quick update. We all are fine. Today got some food supplies. Praise the Lord!
The enemies are close to us like 20 miles away.

I heard from Sergey from Kharkiv. He is fine. Out of his 50+ people 3 were injured. One of them is in hard condition.

Yesterday one of Max's rehab centers got to be under fire. One man at the rehab was killed. Max is fine.

Yesterday the heavy jet's attack took place by Andrey. The bomb exploded in 1 mile away from Andrey's. They're fine. 

No names or cities are being given for the protection of our brothers and sisters who are there.  These reports are coming in daily and sometimes more than one report a day.  I ask an interest in your prayers.

Financial aid is going to be needed as you can see from the first letter dated Friday.  DMI will be receiving donations for “Humanitarian Aid”.  These funds will be held until we are notified that it is safe to transfer funds once again.  As always, all funds are used directly in the area designated by each donor.  This is explained at the end of the first message below.

I have prepared a flyer which can be printed and given out to your church members and friends who may desire to help by sending aid.  You may contact me by email if you would like a file of this flyer.  My email is: pm4dmi@outlook.com

Thanks for your prayers and assistance through the years and thanks ahead of time for any contributions you make in this great time of need.

Greetings to you, dear Friends!

Time flies frighteningly fast, and we are unnoticeably approaching the end of the year. When I was asked to share through a letter about our ministry in Ukraine, so to speak, to sum up the results of the ending 2021, I thought to myself - what's special to say there?
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Everything seems to be known and understood. We work, maybe not as actively as we would like to, because of the pandemic, but some work is being done. We travel somewhere, meet and fellowship with pastors and people in need, but what's so special about that? We just do our work according to our ability. Also, both despondencies and griefs happen on this way, inner experiences as well as outer trials.

Last night, I turned on my computer and opened a file that records everything that we have done with the help of the money donated by DMI for our ministry in Ukraine. I read these notes and my mood gradually improved. There is a story behind each line and number in this file. And not even a story in the singular, but the stories of all people behind one or another project.

By the grace of God, in 2021 we were able to support 13 ministers financially. They work in different regions of Ukraine. Some of them planted churches by the grace of God, others just start home Bible study groups, some literally walk around district after district of ​​their city and tell people about Christ, some of them are refugees, leaders of rehabilitation centers, some of them feed the poor. Therefore, speaking of the 13 people whom we financially supported, we can think of hundreds and maybe thousands of people who are influenced by God through the ministry of these brothers. Is everything smooth and cloudless in the ministry of these brothers? Of course not. Like me, they also have their inner experiences, struggles, and outer trials. Where we have good personal contact with these brothers, where good chemistry happens in our relationship, there God gives the opportunity to minister to these brothers, sometimes with advice on the phone, sometimes with a good conversation during a personal visit, but always with prayer about the entire list of these brothers, when we open this list and begin to pray for each of them.
                                                                                                    Brother Sasha

 This year, God blessed us to help financially in repairing a church in a small village, where the roof leaked during the rains and where there was no toilet. Now this small and poor community can survive the winter without rain pouring on heads of people.
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In another village, our finances helped to make repairs in the house where male members of the church who have undergone rehabilitation live, of whom more than half are disabled. This house was the beginning of a small Bible study group and will possibly grow into a church.

In another village, our finances helped to make repairs in the house where male members of the church who have undergone rehabilitation live, of whom more than half are disabled. This house was the beginning of a small Bible study group and will possibly grow into a church.

​We were happy to help grandmother Elena, who raises her grandchildren in the front-line city of Avdeevka. There is complete poverty and desolation in that house. The church continues to take care of this family and what will come of this - God knows.

God blessed us with the meeting with a true Princess. Princesses really exist! In our case, this is the name of a mother of eight children, a gypsy by nationality. A scampish Russian husband and Princess who alone takes all the care of their beautiful and clean children, but the living conditions are not at all the same as in a princess's castle.

This year we rejoiced helping the Happy Home ministry. It is incredibly amazing to see changes in the development of children who were doomed to die if not for this ministry. We pray that the scope of this ministry will expand, and that even more children with disabilities will find physical salvation in the new house, for which a large sum of money is due by April.

The life of Igor and his children still has an imprint of grief. Too little time has passed since the moment of separation from a dear person - wife, mother. Nadia was a true Christian - God-fearing, humble, patient, loving. The youngest daughter, Sophia, looks like her mother. She misses her mom very much. Any mention of her brings tears. Bereavement did not make the family disunited, on the contrary, it rallied them even stronger. The spirit of love, support - it is always felt. Igor also shared his joy - his eldest son is going to get married; the wedding is planned for March next year. So, life goes on.

The Syrbus prepare to move to their own home. They finish renovating their new apartment. Igor and his sons do most of the work with their own hands. By the way, the apartment is quite small. They converted into separate rooms a dressing room, part of a hall and even the loggia. They plan to move in November-December. They still live in the basement. All debts for buying an apartment have already been paid.

We grieve together with many COVID-19 sufferers. Among them are pastor Vladimir Velgus (75) and his wife Rita. Dozens of years of blessed ministry in Donetsk, then the war and the forced departure.

In sickness and in health. More than ever, relevant words. The Velguses fell ill at the same time. Rita Petrovna handles covid more easily. Vladimir Vakulovich handles the disease a lot worse. He believes that 20 years of work on the mine are taking their toll - a lot of coal dust remains in the lungs.

We cried when God took Sister Raisa from Zhitomir to Himself.
This humble woman was an imperceptible blessing to many people. A woman of prayer and imperceptible helper. When she was dying in agony, our help helped alleviate her suffering at least a little bit and helped to ensure a proper funeral. Without sister Raisa, the church got to be empty in many ways.

This is not a complete list of what God has given us the privilege of participating in this year. God gave us Grace not to know what eternal consequences these deeds of ours can lead to, and Grace not to worry about the results. And this is the thing that gives sense and raises tired hands to a new round of ministry.

My life is full of gratitude to God for the people whom He sends my way and with whom I can do my little work.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude to God for working together with brothers Dean and Pat, and the entire DMI Board. Dear Brothers Dean and Pat, your willingness to come to the aid is encouraging. I know that at any time I can talk to you, ask for advice, or just send a text message late at night: “pray for me”, - and get an answer right away: “I’m already praying”, - without asking any questions.

The more I live, the more I wonder and admire God who works in the hearts of DMI donators. Your loyalty blesses us not only financially, but also with its influence on increasing reciprocal loyalty on the part of Ukrainians. May God bless your souls, houses, churches, your state!

I am glad to be part of the work of the Light of Resurrection staff.
I rejoice in Andrew's heart, which God leads to all these “princesses” and to other "invisible" people, and how God ministers to them through him.

I rejoice how our translator Svetlana sees the heart and sense of what has been written, and how God gives her the necessary words that convey the heart of our ministry.

I rejoice how our accountants and lawyers Tatyana and Svetlana, as well as the administrative director Boris, in their part of our common ministry, do their job creatively and efficiently, sharing the spirit of our ministry and loving those whom God serves through us.
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Glory be to Him!

Mission Director Sasha Malov's Report

Spring has come! For me, the arrival of spring is always specifically associated with smells. It's still February, it's still cold and it's snowing, but something is changing in the air. The air smells like the rapid arrival of spring.

This year, something is happening differently than in times past. I do not know how to explain and express it, but more than ever, I just physically feel anxiety in the air. Something frightening and inexplicable is felt around me. Some say that a big war may return to Ukraine soon and there are political prerequisites for this.

The incomprehensibility associated with the epidemic is frightening. Almost the entire territory of Ukraine is closed again for a lockdown for three weeks. The number of sick and dying people is growing. We hear about people who got sick for the second time and in more severe forms than the first time. Again, on the roads appear checkpoints, which close access to regions in the red zone with the largest number of sick people.
The question that scares is: will the economy withstand the next lockdown. What will happen to us all? Will there be a surge in the growth of crime rates in our society?
And these are not only my personal questions, but even watching the people around, one may see general apathy and gloom. Where and in what to find comfort, if it seems that the whole world has gone mad. Obviously, anxiety is now inherent in the inhabitants of the whole world. Pandemic, politics, crime and injustice - the same issues concern everyone on earth. It seems that there is not a single calm and stable place left on the entire globe.

As I thought and prayed about the reasons for my anxiety, a story from the Gospel of Luke 7 came into my heart. After the resurrection of the young man and the subsequent fear and glorifying God, John the Baptist sends two of his disciples to go to Jesus and ask Him (verse 19) - "Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?"

They came to Jesus, asked a question and received an answer (verses 22- 23) “Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."

What did our Lord do and say? He simply drew John's attention to things that actually happened and said an important thing - do not be tempted about Me!

Why is this an important passage for me? John the Baptist is in prison. In itself, this is unpleasant, and even more so when the mission of his life is in some sense in question. Are You really the Messiah? Are You really the One for Whose preaching I am imprisoned?

Lena From Makeyevka

​Lena (33 years old) was brought up in a Christian orphanage in Makeyevka. She was part of the church. After graduating from the orphanage, she began an independent life. But she started to “limp”. She left God and the church. Gave birth to 4 children. Started drinking. Her “husbands”, fathers of her children, appeared in her life and disappeared again. The state periodically takes children to state boarding schools, then Lena seems to come to her senses, but then she starts to "limp" again. I cannot remember all the details of how this or that family, similar to Lena, appears in the life of our ministry - they appear somehow, Christ sends them on our way.

So we met Lena and her children. The house where they live, does not have proper heating and water supply. It is very cold. But there is our partner church nearby, which prepares hot meals for such children – Lena`s children also receive meals there. Now we are looking for a possibility to repair the coal stove in the house and have the house put on to the water mains. Lena sees such an attitude towards her and gradually tries to “limp” less, fearing that if she would not change her lifestyle, her children would be taken to the state orphanage for good. She was able to find an unskilled job and is slowly reaching for a normal life. Such is the story of the “lame” Lena.

Three Children Of An Alcoholic Mother

​​Similar to this is the life story of 3 other children. Their names are Nadia, Alesha and Toma. Their mother is 28 years old and the whole story is very similar to the previous one.
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Good children, but again, poverty and misery, and also a drinking mother. It is good that there is a church nearby, which saw these children and began to take care of them, and we together with you will be able to financially respond to the needs. There is no water supply in this house either, but thanks to your financial participation, a well will be drilled there in spring.

These and hundreds of other stories, they are far from purely humanitarian projects. Most likely, this is about the coming of Christ in the lives of tens and hundreds of people. The blind suddenly begin to see - people who have blamed others and the circumstances all their lives, suddenly begin to see their true position and the true reasons for their position.

Pastor Bogdan

A young brother, minister Bogdan, whom we began to support financially, understands the importance of ministering to teenagers.

His ministry is closely related to the church in Makarov, the Kiev region, which mainly grew through the ministry of their rehabilitation center. Hundreds of people are enrolled in this church's rehabilitation program every year and unfortunately, relatively few people eventually get saved. Without a doubt, the rehabilitation ministry is important, but Bogdan has a special concern for adolescents - how to minister to them in a way, so that later they do not have to seek help from rehabilitation centers.

This is how the Teen Bible Study Group came about. They come together for study and fellowship 5-6 times a week. We are glad to have such new ministers who appear within our line of sight and try to help them financially.
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Ministerial Support

​In the history of the miracles of Jesus Christ, there is one miracle that is special to me. It is described in Mark chapter 2. Remember this story? There, 4 people brought a paralyzed man to Jesus, and since there were many people, they had to destroy the structure of the house - they dismantled or dug the roof in order to bring this unfortunate man down to Jesus. Seeing “their faith,” Jesus forgives the paralyzed man of his sins and then heals him from physical weakness.

When I think of the ministers of the Gospel whom we financially support, this story comes to my mind. The source of the miracle of salvation and healing is Christ. But we need such "abnormal" people who will be ready to bring discomfort to the life of the crowd, figuratively speaking, to dig roofs - in order to put a stretcher with the paralyzed right near the feet of Christ.

This is exactly what our brothers-ministers whom we support financially do:

Pastor Maxim
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Pastor Maxim - fights on his battlefields, bringing to Christ's feet hundreds of drug addicts and alcoholics crippled by sin.
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Maxim and his staff serve people in six rehab centers in the Kiev area. They all come together for worship together each Sunday. What a joy to worship with this group.
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Pastor Eduard

He feeds and preaches in a small village in the Donetsk region. People are crippled by sin and poisoned with malice because of the war, but the ministry of Eduard and his wife Lyudmila is a huge testimony, the miracle of healing.

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Three Pastors Labor Together

​Pastor Vasiliy together with brothers Mikhail and Roman. A whole missionary movement was organized in the front-line villages of the Donetsk region. As a result of their ministry, new churches were planted in villages and towns, where there were no believers ever before. For example, in one of the villages, there is now a church where 15 people gather. A small group - but this is in a village with less than 40 inhabitants.

Pastor Oleg

Pastor Oleg is a great and humble servant of God. Through his ministry, dozens of former criminals and drug addicts came to God, they now serve as pastors and leaders of rehabilitation centers. The war changed all plans and since 2014 he and his big family have become refugees.

Now they have 7 children, the youngest one is only 2 months old. But wherever life took them, he began to preach everywhere. In a small town in the Kiev region there was a dying church - Oleg ended up there and now life began to seethe there. Oleg handed over the ministry to the young pastor and in the near future he plans to start preaching in the big city in order to plant a new church.

These "abnormal" people are those who drive history, and today I can testify to you, dear readers, together with them: we see and hear every day - the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached!
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Blessed are we all that did not doubt His control over everything and His power to continue performing the miracles of His salvation!!!

Warzone - People, Homes, & Schools Devastated

The pictures below show the condition in the East today. The shelling took place mostly in 2014 although there is daily shelling taking place along the Donetsk/ Lugansk Regions bordering the occupied territory. This leads to the closing article.

Update From April 3, 2021

​Brother Pat,
Here is a brief update on a possibility of a military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Let me start with the facts:

Fact number 1: Ukraine is bordering with Russia and with its ally Belarus for thousands of kilometers.  On the East, South, South-East with Russia and controlled by Russia Donetsk and Lugansk. On the North  with Belarus. On the South we border with the annexed territory of Crimea, which is under Russia now. On the South-West we border with the annexed by Russia territory of Moldova which is known as Transdniestria. Basically only on the Western side of our country we have neighbors who belong to the European Union, - Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania.

Fact number 2: Over the last couple months, the Russian army is increasing its presence in all the regions around the Ukrainian borders. These days you cannot hide anything and people put videos on YouTube showing the trains loaded with the tanks moving close to Ukraine. Heavy military tracks on highways and other staff like that. Russia had to explain what is going on and they explained it like that is part of a military training which is planned together with Belarus.

Question 1: What could be the reason for war? Starting a year ago Russia is giving its citizenship to the people living on the occupied areas of Donetsk and Lugansk. From different sources we heard of 500 000 passports already given to people over there – meaning they’re legitimate citizens of Russia now, but living on de-jure Ukrainian territory.  What does it mean for Ukraine? In Russian military doctrine is stated that The state of Russia will protect its citizens everywhere around the world.  If for example Ukraine will start a military campaign to get back the occupied areas, Russia will take it as an aggression against the civil Russian citizens.  I personally think that from now on, anything may become a casus belli and the war could start at any moment.

Question 2: If the war will happen – would that be only in Eastern Ukraine? Not necessary. It could be everywhere since (accordingly Russians) the whole state of Ukraine is guilty in discriminating Russian speaking Ukrainians and they could decide to protect Russian speaking Ukrainians from the discrimination. And it should be not a surprise for you that a lot of people in Eastern, Central and especially Southern Ukraine are very much pro-Russian. I would be not surprised if the invasion will happen to see big support of Russia on those areas.

What is bothering me with all this situation? I have a feeling that Russian propaganda and Ukrainian media are somehow work in one accord. On Russian TV for last month they are screaming as crazy every single day – “ The Big war is coming!”.  The same on Ukrainian medias – the war is near, we need to mobilize ourselves and be ready for a worst development. What I see now in Ukraine, all the news like that do not mobilize people at all, and do not raise the spirit of a nation, rather create some sort of a mass psychosis. That is the thing which is happening. People are scared of Covid and day by day are frighten with the war. It does not work like that. In my opinion it is too much of information is flowing on people, that makes me doubt if the war is really such close as the propaganda on both sides are presenting. The annexation of Crimea – that was done in dead silence in 3-4 days, when the Russians came and occupied that land. Nobody was shouting – we’re coming to annex.

So, that is the big thing that bothers me and I may think of:

• The war is indeed very close.
• Or something else is happening and they shift the attention of people by this mass psychosis.
• Who are those “they”? I have no idea. Putin, Ukrainian president, Biden?
• I do not know, but I think we need to use our critical thinking when something like that is happening and the propaganda in both Ukraine and Russia are working in one accord.

Hope it helps.
In Him,
Sasha (from yet peaceful suburb of Kiev)

Message From DMI's Chairman

​​Greetings to you all in the blessed and most holy name of Jesus Christ! What a joyous season we are in as we have celebrated our Lord’s death and resurrection. Amid so much confusion and uncertainty in the world today, Jesus coming forth out of the grave, as he said he would do, gives us peace in the midst of storms that life in a fallen world brings to us. You have just read of “storms” affecting our brothers and sisters in the Ukraine. Of course, many more Christians are suffering in one form or another across the world. Even Christians in our own country are beginning to feel the heavy hand of unbelievers in positions of authority. But this is all as Jesus said it would be. For he said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus said this right before his suffering and death upon the cross. These words are manna to all who suffer for the sake of the gospel. Peace is still possible for the persecuted because Jesus has overcome the world!

We, at DMI, have always trusted in the goodness of the Lord and His leadership over these past 28 years. Many things have arisen over these years that had the potential to hinder our ministry of the gospel in the Ukraine. But when doors have been closed, the Lord has opened others. So, we believe now HE has His plans and purposes for the church in the Ukraine in these difficult days.

A Plea for help
The Board of DMI has been in prayer for the church there and for the Lord’s guidance in how we can be a further help. Because of the pandemic, we cannot visit there. Thankfully, we have a means by which we can still send funds over there to meet the needs that we have planned through our 2021 budget. But as conditions there deteriorate, with the possibility of armed conflict, we are concerned about the ability to continue to send the funds that are needed to support the ministers and other needs.

So, we are asking our supporters to consider helping us to raise the remaining amount of the budget for this year so that we can send it over there before the possibility of the country being shut down because of conflict. Our monthly ministry cost for the support of our director, Sasha Malov, pastors you read bout in this letter, rehab centers, and humanitarian aid is $7,000. Thank the Lord we have covered and wired funds already to cover our expenses through May. Therefore, the amount we would need to complete the year is $49,000. With the current funds we have in our treasury, soon be wired, we would need $35,000 to meet our budget for this year."
Please share this plea with family and friends. You can give them the web address so that they can keep up with the current news about our ministry. The website is, www.disciplingministries.org.

DMI, Discipling Ministries International Inc., has been serving our Christian brothers and sisters in various locations around the world since 1993.  Much of the focus, especially in recent years has been in Ukraine.  We have attempted to keep you informed of both the progress and needs of our ministry through the years.  
 
Attached is a copy of our most recent report on programs in Ukraine.  Printed copies were recently mailed to our subscribers.  We respectfully ask that you share your printed and/or this digital copies with others and encourage them to become involved in this important work with God’s people there.
 
Detailed financial information for this work is included on pages 15 and 16.  Please review that information carefully and consider how you, your church and other groups might assist us with this mission.  Also, consider the possibility of becoming a team member to personally visit and work with us on an upcoming trip to Ukraine.
 
There are two immediate priorities.  The first is to help Bro. Sasha, our primary contact in Ukraine, purchase a van to help him with delivering humanitarian aid to the people he visits.  Several years ago, he gave his only van to a ministry that was in desperate need of such transportation.  This shows you the heart of a man of God.  He is always looking at the needs of others before his own needs.
 
The other priority is to have the 1st quarter funds of our 2021 budget in hand by the first of the year so we can send them on to Bro. Sasha, enabling him to distribute them to the folks we are supporting in Ukraine. 
 
If you would like more information, and if you or your church can support DMI financially, please contact Elder Pat McCoy or me.  We are always delighted to tell you about our work and the wonderful people in Ukraine.  Our contact information is below.
 
May God bless you richly in this upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season.  Help us make it a joyous season for others as well.

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In 2018, we opened a Day Center for children. This is a place where children from disadvantaged families can feel safe and receive what they cannot get at home. We meet with the children in the church building three times a week and each time we serve a hot lunch for them. On Tuesdays, we help children do their school homework, and study the Bible together. On Thursdays, we have an English club where children learn new words and grammar rules. On Saturdays, we have trainings on various topics (for example: ABC of finance for children, how to build relationships with parents, how to resist bullying and violence, etc.), as well as an art studio where children learn to draw and do useful crafts. ​

In September, we plan to launch computer literacy and vocational guidance courses. Most of the children attending our children's Day Center do not even think about what they will be when they grow up. We want to show them that there are many interesting professions, and they can become whatever they want, but for that they need to study diligently. Our main goal is to bring the Gospel to children, so that the Gospel would change their hearts. We believe that only Christ can influence their lives. Currently, 22 children attend the Day Center, and six of them attend Sunday services. Thanks to the ministry of the Day Center, we began to get acquainted and connect with parents. Our dream is that we could help a family comprehensively working with both a child and parents. And we also pray for every child who comes to the children's Day Center so that what we do would not be in vain, and the knowledge that they receive from us would help them further in life.

Please, meet: Gennadiy Prosyanko, pastor, ministry in the gray zone of the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

​My name is Gennadiy Prosyanko. I was born on October 2, 1963 in the city of Kurakhovo, Donetsk region. Now this city is located 15 km from the demarcation line between the Ukrainian territory and the so-called territory of the DPR.
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Here I finished secondary school, and here in 1986 I graduated from Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages of the city of Gorlovka ​​with a degree in English and German.

Together with my wife, who was also a graduate of that university, we were sent to Pereshchepino, Dnepropetrovsk region.
In that city there was an Evangelical Christian Church, and we became its members in 1992. And in 1997, I became a pastor of a small church, which I am pastoring to this day.

God gave us two children: a son Viktor, born in 1989, and a daughter Julia, born in 1993. Both of them are believers.
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I clearly remember how the Lord spoke to me in prayer with a passage from the Scriptures "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). I wondered what that meant, but at the same time I was sure that the Lord wanted to tell me something through that passage.

​​In addition to rehabilitation, I do pastoral counseling. I teach at the Coram Deo Bible Institute. I conduct a private practice of Biblical counseling. Different people from different churches come to me, families, ministers, etc., who have problems in life. And of course, this is the most difficult part of the ministry for me, but it allows me to see how amazingly the Word of God works when applied to difficult life situations, how sufficient, strong and powerful the Word of God is in bringing the light to the depths of the human soul and changing the very foundation of the human heart. It offers such a depth of exploration and examination of the human heart! Doing so many ministries makes my life very busy. But thanks to a good team of ministers that we have, everything can function without my direct involvement. And this is such a grace that makes it possible for me to focus on preaching the Word of God, on counseling, on the main points of teamwork, on issues of the strategy of the ministry and spending time with my family.

​Now we have moved from Kiev to the countryside, closer to our rehabilitation ministry. We now live in a private house, that God blessed us with. And this brings a huge number of various kinds of issues related to maintaining the house and taking care of it, etc. It’s also a great temptation to do all that, it can take all the time. So when doing this, it`s important to limit oneself and stop on time. Also, recently we got a wonderful pet, his name is Keks. He is 3 months old and he brings us so much joy.
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I also play tennis a bit. This helps me to maintain good physical shape, good health, keeps me from getting stuck, and gives a fresh look at reality, saves from depression and despondency, gives a fresh and cheerful outlook on life.

I pray for my wife, who is also very much involved in the ministry, in a more “earthly” part of it, related to construction, reconstruction, issues related to nutrition, medicine, all household issues, issues related to employees, documentation, accounting and etc. I pray for her to remain cheerful, so that this pile of problems would not “crush” her.

My greatest dream is to build a church in Makarov, which would become a center of Christian life in Makarov and the whole district, where people could every day find some kind of group or ministry activity. So that it would be like a big hive, where everything glorifies Jesus Christ, where there are many different directions of ministries. I dream that this church would serve for the Christians of the Makarov district as a stronghold of Christianity.

My dream is that we build one more rehabilitation center. Gradually, from a very poorly organized and poor 10 years ago, our ministry turned into such a complex, organized ministry with premises, houses, people and a team of ministers. It is structured much better than before. Now rehabilitation program consists of three stages. Stage 1 is three months long, Stage 2 - half a year, where a person already works for himself, takes the first steps of a new life for Christ, but is still under the close supervision of the leaders of the centers. He is in such a reporting system and immersed in a Christian atmosphere with obligatory activities: home groups, fellowship, ministries. He is under close attention of mentors. And the third stage - when he began to receive greater freedom and independence, he begins to slowly create a platform and foundation for a future family life, he prepares to start a family, and earns money for it. At the same time, he remains in the ministry of the church. It is such three-level rehabilitation program. Of course, now this ministry is on a higher level than it was before. Now, by the grace of God, a rehabilitation center is being built - a house of 600 square meters to be used for the second stage of rehabilitation. We hope that this house will be completed within a year. Then the second and third stages of rehabilitation will have each their own house.

Over 10 years, about 3,000 people have passed through us. Over the past 5 years, many families have been started within our ministry, about 25 families. Now we have about 50 people on rehabilitation of the first stage, about 20 people are on rehabilitation of the second stage, and 10 people are on rehabilitation of the third stage. I dream for this mechanism to work very well, so that the Makarov and Kiev churches would continue to be replenished by people who complete the rehabilitation program, and develop. So that people from Makarov could join the church, repent in their sins, believe, and strain after holiness. So that the church could have a significant impact on the area. In addition, the Makarov church is developing serious ministry to the people with disabilities and ministry for teenagers. We dream of making it stronger. We have a good worship group, and at least 120 or more people participate in our Sunday services. In the Kiev church, too, many people join. A pastoral team is growing there, and all this is very inspiring when we see how God acts and continues to save people, how He is glorified through people. We are grateful to Him for this.

Sasha Malov: We are honored to support the ministries of these three brothers financially. For their financial support, we need $2,500 a month. Thanks to your donations, we were able to transfer the support to them up to and including September 2019. We ask you to continue supporting them financially so that we could transfer to them the support until the end of 2019. Through the ministries of these brothers, God touches hundreds and thousands of people. Be the part of what God is doing!

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​Greetings to you, dear partners of the Light of Resurrection Mission!

We appreciate that you remain with us. Thank you for your interest in our ministry, and for supporting us with prayer and financial aid. In fact, we all do one thing, we are co-workers in the work of God.

As a mission, we try to ensure that our ministry is not just about “project monitoring”. One of our values ​​is “to know people”. This includes involvement and being present "in the field". Both are an important part of our lives and minisries. We all visit day centers and various shelters. We visit in the home of people we help from the budget of the Emergency Relief Fund. We communicate a lot with the local ministers.
I would like to tell you about our latest trip to the east in June. It was a bit unusual. First, I had no work related goals. I wanted to immerse myself in the ministry for 10 days. Secondly, I had my son Sasha on a trip with me. We believe that it is important to pass on the spirit of the mission to the younger generation. During these days we went to 10 front-line cities and villages, visited people, delivered food and water, conducted small group studies, and participated in church services. Below are some of our most vivid impressions of this trip.

Opytnoye. The village located near the  runway of the Donetsk airport. The epicenter of the shooting war in 2015 - 2016. Now only one road leads to this village - a rough track through minefields. 

In the village live 38 people instead of the pre-war population of one thousand residents. Here, almost all the houses are ruined from the shelling. For 5 years, people live without electricity, water, and gas. No store, no hospital. There is nothing here. They cook food on fires or gas burners, volunteers deliver them water. Two times a month, people are taken out to the mainland for different matters. They travel to the nearest city, Avdeevka. That is if the weather permits. When the rough road is eroded by rain or snow, people walk to the city which is 7 kilometers one way.
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We brought groceries, water and other supplies with us. We talked to people, listened to their sad stories. They talk about their lives almost calmly, however, their eyes are full of an incredible grief.   

​One woman, Lyuba, wanted to show us where she lives. This is a partially destroyed apartment building. Lyuba is the only person living there. Her apartment is dark, damp, and gloomy. Windows are covered with plywood or plastic food wrap instead of glass. In winter, Lyuba warms herself near the wood stove which she installed right in the room. This is very dangerous. Near the house entrance there is a place for a fire. There Lyuba cooks food when the gas in a small tank runs out. She smiles and says that she is used to such a life. But we all understand that it is impossible to get used to such life...

In Novgorodskoe, there has been no water for the whole month. Disruptions to water supplies have happened before as well. These disruptions were associated with the shooting war: shells damaged the public water supply. It is said that now there are some other reasons. The Ministry of Emergency Situations brings clean water to the population. Older people struggle to carry a wheelbarrow with containers from a cistern. Together with the local Pastor Dmitriy Chernysh, we delivered drinking water to the neediest people. There was a good opportunity to talk with people about the living water that Christ gives.

​In Nevelskoe, near Donetsk, fellowship with the locals was not easy. The Word was received with hostility. Questions were asked like this: “Why did God allow the war? Are we the most sinful? Why did God not punish those who started this war? Why are we suffering for 5 years?”
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I remembered the Prophet Jeremiah and his Lamentations. I said, in his time everything was like in our time. Just even worse. And Jeremiah said the same thing to God. He complained, asked questions, lamented. And then insight came: “It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, they are new every morning.” And the man again felt the ground under his feet. Let us also try to recognize that the Lord is merciful to us. My listeners were silent, thinking. With that we ended.
After that the woman who was one of the harshest in the discussion comes up. She asked: “Do you have a Bible? Show me that Lamentations that you were talking about. I want to read it myself.” I gladly gave her my Bible. And put a bookmark on Lamentations, chapter 3. She said: “Thank you for listening to us, we need to pour out our soul to someone”.

Her name is Svetlana. Tears covered the eyes as she spoke to me. Mine too. To the lamentations of Jeremiah our lamentations were added... Behold, oh Lord, from heaven the sufferings of people. Comfort them, tear away tears of those who are crying. Do not punish strictly for mourning. 

Verkhnetoretskoe is located practically on the line of demarcation. To get here one has to go through an unusual way. The village was badly damaged by the shooting war. The only way to get here is by pontoon ferry, since the bridge is destroyed. There is a family of believers there, Zhenya and Lyuda. Together with Pastor Dmitriy Chernysh we visited them. Before our arrival, Zhenya and Lyuda had gathered neighbors in their yard. We shared spiritual bread with people: read the Word, and prayed together. We also handed them grocery sets . 

​Novobakhmutskoe. Together with the village head, we visited the needy, delivered grocery sets to them.

​Elena, 61 years old. In 2015, a shell hit her house. Miraculously she survived. The International Red Cross has restored her housing and bought some needed equipment for her. But another trouble came. In 2017, Elena injured her leg, gangrene set in and the leg had to be amputated. She has a minimum pension. We talked a little, urging her to hold on to the Lord. 

​Anna, 66 years old. All her life she worked as a milkmaid at a local farm. Her health was undermined by hard  work. She has a minimum pension. 2 years ago her house burned down. At that time many houses burned down in the village in one day. The grass caught fire from the missals and the fire went to the housing of people. She moved into a half-ruined house. She cooks on a wood fire. Anna's son has recently been released from prison. He returned home with cancer. He cannot work, and there are actually no jobs available in the frontline village. He goes fishing in the local pond to be able to provide at least small addition to their support. Anna accepted the grocery set with great gratitude. Attentively listened to a short word about our Savior. 

​There are also children in this village. We visited Zhenya, she has 3 children. She takes care of them by herself. Her eldest son, Sasha, finished the 1st grade. And younger boys, twins, Artem and Maxim, are 6 years old.
The boys have developmental problems, both physically and mentally. Zhenya`s house also burned down. She lives in an old house that needs repair.

​We see that in the Donbas, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Therefore, we would like to organize trips of teams from the peaceful regions of Ukraine for a short-term mission. These teams would be a good help to local ministers. It is also important that young people see the real needs of the people, get a taste of the ministry, catch the fire of the missionary spirit. We do not know yet how to do it all in a right way. Furthermore, we do not have special funds for such trips. We are looking for advice and wisdom in these plans. 

Please pray:

• For all the people whose stories we shared in this letter;
• For the ministry in the frontline zone;
• For the security of the staff of the mission while traveling to the frontline zone;
  
• For organizing short-term mission trips to the frontline zone;
  
• For the end of hostilities in the east of the country.

We also ask you to pray for the restoration of health of our staff member Igor Semenov. He underwent medical surgery. Thank God, the surgery was successful, the terrible diagnosis was not confirmed. We pray that the Lord will fully restore our brother's health.

Blessings to you in everything -
Andrey Malov and all the staff members of the Light of Resurrection mission

​If you are interested in helping DMI support any of these ministries please contact us.  

​Send your contribution to:
DMI
P.O. Box 69
Culloden, GA 31016

​OR

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​Greetings to you, dear friends of the Light of Resurrection mission!

We are sincerely grateful to you that you remain with us!

We would like to present you our news for the first quarter of the year 2019 in the form of a report on the latest trip of our Project Coordinator Andrey Malov.(Andrey is Sasha Malovs brother)

Knizhnik Family
“The first destination point of my trip was the town of Kotelva in the Poltava region. Our good friends, the Knizhnik family, live there. Andrey and Alla have five children, and three of them are adopted. The youngest, Cornelius, is only 9 months old. Recently, the Knizhniks learned the terrible news that baby Cornelius has cancer. Neuroblastoma, third stage, with metastases in liver. Now Alla with the baby is in the regional hospital, in Poltava, undergoing a course of chemotherapy. Andrey stays at home with the other children. In addition to the family, Andrey takes care of the church, as he is a pastor. Moreover, Andrey himself also has cancer, for many years he is been taking strong medicines that suppress cancer cells.

I arrived when Andrey was alone at home as the children were at school.  It came in handy as we could talk heart-to-heart over a cup of coffee. Not about work, but about life. About pain, about despair, about disappointment. About gaining hope. About the hand of God. About how God reveals Himself in the valley of lamentation. We spoke frankly, even about a possible tragic outcome and readiness for it. Prayed together. I shared my worries with Andrey, he gave good advices. This fellowship was helpful to both of us. Andrey said that many people support them at this time, including financially. But a lot of money goes on almost daily trips to Poltava, which is about 70 km one way. The road is worn-down, so the cost of the often car repairs is also high. In addition to our one-time assistance, we are looking for an opportunity to support the Knizhnik family on an ongoing basis.

​Then I headed to the east. The car was loaded with diapers, which we distribute as a part of the Dignity project. The goal of the project is to make life easier for the sick, to help people who have a delicate problem to gain human dignity. In the war zone, life is hard for everyone, and especially for bed patients. Together with Sasha Radin, the missionary in one of the frontline villages, we visit those who need diapers.

​Nina Sergeyevna
Nina Sergeyevna lives with her paralyzed husband in an apartment on the first floor. The diapers are meant for him. These people heat their place with the wood stove, and use it for cooking the food as well. There is no gas in Krasnogorovka for a long time. ​

Cheban Family
I visit another family of missionaries - the Cheban family in the village of Chulakovka. Kostya and Yana moved to this village a few years ago. They have three wonderful kids. They live at the church. And the church is a former collective farm office. Their living conditions are more than modest. But they do not lose heart. They actively work both in their village and in three others. They do multiple ministries: small groups, day camps during all school holidays, sports with children, physical labor - to help those in need to plow the garden, to mow the grass. Kostya passionately talked about all of this while showing photos on a tablet. It is evident that he is bound up in ministry, he is on fire for God. I asked Yana if Kostya was not too carried away by the ministry, if he has time to attend to his family. Yana said that everything is well balanced. I believe her, their family radiates love and mutual care. We are glad that we can support the ministry of the Cheban family.​ 

In addition to these visits, I also had a meeting in Kherson with the Promise ministry for young people with disabilities. Possibly these are our future partners.
The whole trip took a week, I drove more than three thousand kilometers. Most of the roads are in terrible condition, especially after the winter.”

Please pray:

• For the Knizhnik family, for the health of their baby Cornelius, for accepting God's will in trials;
• For the needy people in the war zone;
• For resources to help people;
• For the continuation of the Dignity project (purchase of diapers);
• For missionaries in the Kherson region, for the development of the ministry in Kalinovka and Chulakovka;
• For us, the Light of Resurrection mission, for us to be able to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of people.
  
  

May the Lord bless and keep you in all your ways -
The Light of Resurrection team ​