![]() 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. Vera Viktorovna (72 yrs old, widow) She lives in Krasnogorovka, which is located in close proximity to the front line. Her apartment is on the last, 5th floor. A shell hit the roof of the house, so in the rain the apartment gets flooded. There is no central heating, so an electric heater is the only source of heat. Vera Viktorovna has diabetes. Because of diabetes, she became blind, and two years ago she had both legs amputated. Her son takes care of her. But he drinks, so the care is irregular and not always proper. There is no possibility to call neighbors for help as only a few apartments in the whole residential building are inhabited. Vera Viktorovna is happy with diapers, they are very useful to her. I looked at the photo on the wall. Vera Viktorovna with her husband in their young days. She was beautiful. They were happy. And now it is coldness, sickness, loneliness, helplessness, and fear. We spoke with Vera Viktorovna about Christ, prayed with her. During our prayer, I was ashamed that we ask the Lord to help this poor woman, while we ourselves are in a hurry to get out of there. Together with Sasha, we wiped off with the rags the puddles of water on the floor. ![]() 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. From the area of the five-story buildings we moved to the private sector. We drove past the ruined houses, and burnt cars. ![]() Svetlana Alekseyevna, (88 years old) She lives alone, she has no relatives. Her friend Mira Alekseyevna visits her. She stays for the night because together it is not as scary in a deserted village. Svetlana and Mira are not only friends, they are also sisters in Christ. They said that they often sing Christian hymns. We proposed to sing together. We sang "You are my holy God, I strive for You, for I know: there is peace in You." A well-known hymn, but in the military Krasnogorovka it sounds in a special way. We brought a grocery set for Svetlana Alekseyevna. We asked if she also needs diapers. Being embarrassed, she said she could do with diapers, because recently she has problems with going to the toilet. Actually, the smell in the room confirms this. It is good that we had diapers for Svetlana Alekseyevna too. ![]() Yulia & Karina Yulia with her daughter Karina lives in Pervomaiskiy. It is a village near Donetsk, not far from the epicenter of hostilities - the airport. Unlike other houses on the street, their house survived. A fence battered by shrapnel doesn’t count. Karina is 14 years old, she has a severe form of cerebral palsy. Yulia and Karina welcomed us warmly, they are open and friendly people. Despite the fact that Karina hardly moves, Yulia takes her for a walk, if there is no shooting and the weather permits. A teenage girl needs to go out of the closed space of her room. Diapers are simply a vital necessity for Karina. She needs a lot of them, at least three pieces a day. Yulia and Karina are very grateful for the help. In addition to visiting people, on Saturday I took part in the service at the church for refugees in Pokrovsk. The brothers asked me to say a sermon on the topic "Blessed are the peacemakers". On Sunday, they invited me to have a short speech for the youth at the camp ministry workshop. The youth will conduct summer camps for children from the frontline villages. "Someone has touched me". We also come in contact with people. It is important to feel the touch of faith, to respond to it. To encourage those with whom we adjoin. Immediately after the fellowship with the youth, I headed to the south, to the Kherson region. ![]() Sergey and Tatyana In the village of Kalinovka we support the Day Center. Sergey and Tatyana moved to the village from Kiev. They came there as missionaries. Adults are not really drawn to the church, but children are more willing to respond to the Gospel. Tatyana is a physics teacher. Every day children come to her, she helps them with their home assignments. Children often come hungry, so aunty Tanya feeds them. Of course, there is always room for talking about the Word of God. Such a simple, but necessary work is being done with rural children. And we call it the Day Center. ![]() 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:
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