Light Of The Resurrection Update

​Dear Friends,

The staff team of the Light of Resurrection Mission greets you in the year 2018!
In this letter, we would like to share our news, experiences and prayer needs.
The end and the beginning of each year is a special and exciting period for us.
We summarize our results of the past year and plan our activities for the new year.

The philosophy of our Ministry:
We do not want our activities to be focused solely on budgets and programs, but we want to be where God wants to see us, and we want to do what He calls us to do. Probably, there is no greater tragedy for any Christian than not being where they should be, and doing things that God does not call them to do. Our team members spend a lot of time analyzing their hearts and motives for their ministry activities.
One of the questions that we ask ourselves is “what place does our organization have in the dispensation of the Kingdom of God?” What impact do we make on the world around us, on the churches that we minister with, on the people we serve? We are afraid to find ourselves in a situation where our activities serve only  ourselves. Then the organization exists just for its own existence and nothing more than that.

The process of such analysis is rather painful for all our staff members, since we have to honestly personally answer the questions about the true motivation of our hearts.
A significant number of our staff members have served in the Light of Resurrection Mission for many years. During this time we have been spiritually growing and forming together. Most of us survived the forced flight from Donetsk because of the war.
We are not as strong and energetic as we were 20 years ago. Some of us have already become grandmothers and grandfathers. Therefore, understanding the limitation of our life on earth, as assigned to each of us, and being at a mature age, we seek God and His guidance for ourselves as well as for the Light of Resurrection Mission more than ever. We want to do what is really important and not waste time on an empty fuss.

With age and spiritual experience, there comes an understanding that God absolutely controls what is happening to us and around us. We do understand that the Light of Resurrection is a small part of His work in Ukraine. We understand that it is His business, His Church, not ours. We understand that He and only He not only determined the future of each one of us but also the place of everyone in His work. Perhaps this seems obvious, but in the context of work of the Light of Resurrection Mission, it gives a special state of peace - we understand and declare that the Light of Resurrection will continue its ministry for the time He appointed for us. If one day comes a time when God will say - The Light of Resurrection has done its work and now I do not need it anymore - I think our team will accept it with understanding and gratitude to Him, for all the good years of our ministry. It seems that He has not yet said this, and gives us His grace to continue serving Him.

Understanding the absolute control of God over all processes gives us peace and contentment about our financial state. Starting each fiscal year, we do not have the slightest understanding about what our budget will look like for the year. It is interesting that when we act in the flesh, trying to solve problems of filling our budget with some aggressive or manipulative methods of fundraising, we are faced with the fact that it does not work and God confounds us for the wrong methods and gives us a great experience of humility. The experience of this year shows that God gives us exactly as much as we are able to bear. Nothing more nor less.

In light of the above, the reader may have a question: “what are the ambitions of the Light of Resurrection team?” Our answer is: to do our work well, even though this work often seems imperceptible and insignificant, and to be ready to leave on time, when it becomes clear that God wants it. In other words, our main ambition is to be the best in what God entrusted to us, and to do everything from the heart, as for the Lord, not for self, but in order to glorify Him. The second passion of our team is the passion for proclaiming the Gospel. We participate in many projects that can be called social, but we keep our firm position that the fullness of the transformation in people's lives is possible only through enlightening of a man`s soul with the light of the Gospel.

Our place in ministry in Ukraine:
These reflections led our team to the understanding of our place in His work. We aspire to be in places and with those people to whom others pay little attention. In working with churches, projects (ministries) and pastors, we first of all try to pay attention to those people and ministries that are located in small towns and villages. The amount of need in such places is huge. Mostly these are small church congregations, which, due to their small number and poverty, do not attract the attention of most large donors. In such places, humanly speaking, it is difficult to assume a significant growth of church congregations. But in these small towns and villages live the people who need the Gospel, and there is where ministry is needed for the poor pastors. We want to be with these congregations and pastors, help them in the implementation of their projects, and serve the poor and disadvantaged. Such people are our main ministry base. Because of their poverty and small size, such congregations cannot finance their projects by themselves, so we come to them and help them. We go where others do not go.

How do we help?
The philosophy of our help is expressed in three components:

Know:
Personal care for the pastors, leaders of the ministries and for all who need our help. This is achieved through regular and quality visits, during which people have the opportunity to speak out in a safe atmosphere. As a result, we know people much deeper and are concerned about them, we pray for them, we know their circumstances, etc.

We strive to ensure that the Light of Resurrection Mission has the reputation of an organization that is open for contacts, meetings and interaction. We strive to ensure that all the members of our team are not detached from the realities of life, that they speak a language that people can understand, that they are simple and able to show compassion and help.

Influence:
Cooperative identification and analysis of needs and problems. Together as we work on a project we ask questions and look for answers together. As a result, we minimize poor-quality or artificial projects. Holding meetings and conferences, e we discuss the needs and practical issues of ministries. It is a big mistake to try to influence without deep immersion in the lives of people we serve. Therefore, influence is possible only when we know situations and circumstances and when people trust and listen to us. One needs to "deserve" the right to influence.

Help:
Providing financial assistance and providing channels for access to other resources. In fact, in every sphere of Christian ministry or charity, there are people who specialize in one or another sphere. Someone works with orphans, someone works in the area of rehabilitation, someone helps the homeless, someone works with children with special needs, and someone does pastoral counseling. These people have knowledge and experience. We cannot be experts in all spheres, but we can connect people.

This corresponds with our broader philosophy - we are looking for cooperation and partnership with like-minded people in Ukraine and abroad - we believe in non-competitive partnerships between organizations, national and foreign donors, churches with the same goals and methods of work, and based on mutual trust and respect.

We look for such partners, for whom the expansion of Christian influence in society stands above the interests of their own organizations and we are ready to be such partners for others.

The map represents the work of the Light of Resurrection Mission in Ukraine:

The Light of Resurrection Mission 2018:

1. Administration: 4 staff members

2. Project Coordinators: 2 staff members

3. Prison and Rehabilitation Ministry: 9 Members
· Preaching the Gospel in 14 prisons in Eastern Ukraine
· Rehabilitation center for men, Makeyevka
· Rehabilitation center for men, Zaporozhye
· Rehabilitation Center for women, Zaporozhye
· Rehabilitation center for men, Mariupol
· Adaptation Center for women, Zaporozhye
(The total number of people who presently are in rehabilitation centers
of the Light of Resurrection Mission - 38 people)
· Preaching the Gospel in hospitals for people with tuberculosis and HIV, Zaporozhye
· Ministry to homeless people, Zaporozhye

4. Book ministry: 1 Staff Member

5. Support for pastors and ministers of rehabilitation centers: 31 people

6. Day centers for children from disadvantaged families:
· Kolo Druziv (Circle of Friends), Kiev - work with children with disabilities
· Baptist Church, Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, Kyiv region
· Reformed Church, Ivano-Frankivsk
· Baptist Church, Strumok, Odessa region
· Baptist Church, Pechanovka, Zhytomyr region
· Baptist Church, Lubar, Zhytomyr region
· Baptist Church, Rhea, Zhytomyr region
· Baptist Church, Mariupol, Donetsk region
· Evangelical Church, Zhitomir
· Baptist Church, Kovel, Volyn region
In total: 195 children and 13 staff members

7. Kids Sponsorship Program:
· Kharkiv
· Izmail, Odessa region
· Chernivtsi
· Kherson
· Mariupol
Total:  93 children

8. Ministry of Oleg and Anna Serbo, Kramatorsk:
· Rehabilitation Center for women - 8 people
· House for elderly women - 8 people
· House for girls orphans - 8 people

9. Ministry for refugees and children from crisis families:
- Izyum, Kharkiv region, 20+ people

10. Ministry to ministers (M2M):
​​- Care of young ministers, 20+ people

11. Ministry for women in crisis pregnancy (Pro-Life)
- Ivano-Frankivsk - 10+ people

12. Emergency Relief Fund, 50-100 people monthly:
Through this program, we provide not only individual assistance to the needy, but also medical help and help in the form of food to some rehabilitation centers and ministries for homeless people.
​
13. Winter Help:
- Assistance to churches in the so-called gray zone,
​Eastern Ukraine, 500-800 people, 15 church congregation.

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​The map represents the work of the Light of Resurrection Mission in Ukraine:

We are grateful to God for the finances He trusts us, and for the opportunity to serve such a large number of people. Our prayer is that God through the power of His Gospel would touch unsaved people and would give strength for serving to those pastors and ministers whom we provide help. As always, we profess our dependence on Him and ask for prayers for all the staff members of the Light of Resurrection Mission, both for those who work in the fields, and for those who do an important and inconspicuous office work.

Your Servant In Ukraine,
Brother Sasha