May 2024 Update

​Makarov Christian Church

The way our life is organized, there are enemies in it. These enemies are always of two kinds - external and internal. For example, Ukraine is fighting an external aggressor. But there is an internal enemy - for example, corruption. The fight is brutal: You always have to fight on two fronts. Which enemy is more dangerous? The church has external enemies, but there are also internal enemies. Schisms, divisions, heresies. Which enemy is more dangerous? It is the same with man - in addition to external enemies, there are also internal ones - sin, pride, and self-love. No matter how dangerous the external enemy is, the internal enemy is more dangerous. God, give us the ability to resist the enemy that is within and protect us from external evil!
"But He, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself shall be desolate, and every house divided against itself shall fall" (Luke 11:17)
Maxim Mamakin, рastor of Makarov Christian Church

​Rehabilitation
You have already seen our photos of the rebuilding of the house we were preparing for rehabilitation for men in place of the house in Andreevka that was utterly destroyed by the Russian army.

And now, this house has come to life. For a month now, we have been accepting men for free rehabilitation and a new house in Makarov. We thank God that He led us through all the rebuilding phases, stages of construction, and repairs of the new men's center.

Now that the Word of God is being preached and taught here, new people are looking for a way out of all the difficulties in their lives. We know that the successful way out is only in Christ. The opportunity to show this true way to more people lost in their sins is an absolute joy for our ministry.
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We pray that the Lord will use this house to change the hearts of those seeking a way out of their addictions and that through the rehabilitation ministry, they will come to know Christ and choose a new way in God alone.

​Ministry
Recently, in the city of Bucha, our brothers, graduates of rehabilitation, started Coffee House meetings for fellowship with addicts and those seeking God. The Lord led this ministry, and facilities, faithful ministers, and new people came weekly for fellowship.

Even before the new year, based on such meetings, in complete trust in God, we began the ministry of a new church. A few months passed, and one of our pastors, Bogdan Maisuradze, and his wife, Victoria, moved from Makarov to Bucha. Being on the ground for local church planting is very important. Please join us in praying for this family and their ministry and that the Lord will multiply the church in Bucha, through which our Lord's name will be even more glorified in Ukraine.

​Church
In our fast life, daily routines, and all the excitement of the war, the Lord gave us a fantastic opportunity for fellowship and recreation by the ministers of our churches from Makarov and Kyiv. It was only one day when we could go to the base prepared for such fellowship, but there were a lot of memories. It was a time for study, critical reflections, walks in the woods, a delicious picnic, visits to the museum, fun games, opportunities to serve each other, and to relax.
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For many of us, this church weekend was a much-needed and welcome gift from the Lord to spend quality fellowship and get to know each other better, even though we have been doing a lot of ministry together for a long time and know each other well already.

Prayer needs of the MHC that the Lord will bless:
- the entire ministry of the church and the building of the House of Prayer;
- the filling of houses of rehabilitation and the growth of new ministers;
- our country with peace and the end of war.

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Sergei Datsko, Kharkiv Region, Eastern Ukraine

Peace and grace! Thank you for your letter, Brother Pat. Thank you for your prayers for me and for our ministry that God has given us to do with DMI for over 25 years. God bless . The Donetsk ministry that you started in the Donetsk region moved to Kharkov in 2014 due to the war and seems to be moving even further to the West of Ukraine.

I returned home safely after the surgery and recovery in America. I arrived in Kharkov on April 5, because on the way home I was still in Zhitomir, where my Svetlana is now. She stayed in Zhitomir when I departed  to the USA. The fact is that she is again in a difficult situation, there is a threat of another stroke. Therefore, all my illnesses in America also affected her health in Ukraine. Now the doctors have continued the course of treatment, and until the end of May she should be in Zhitomir undergoing treatment.
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Therefore, I also need this time to be in Zhitomir and Kharkiv. My health is more stable after the surgeries and I can continue to do the same ministry work as before. Serving with a team for military families and wounded and fallen heroes. And also serve our soldiers. To do this, I stay in Kharkiv for two weeks, then go to Zhitomir for a week. This will continue, I hope, until the end of May, after which we are going to return to Kharkiv, God willing, to continue our ministry there.

Today the situation has worsened significantly due to a new wave of missile attacks on the energy system of Ukraine and in particular Kharkiv. Our district and city are simply being demolished by missiles and drones that arrive every day and night. A lot was destroyed, but even since the beginning of the war we rarely had problems with electricity and water in Kharkiv. Due to constant missile attacks on the city's infrastructure, people lost their jobs, and many began to need food again.Now all the stations have been destroyed, and we simply haven't had electric power for several weeks now; they are providing it for a couple of hours from the reserves of other regions of Ukraine. Therefore, because of this problem, there is very poor communication, no Internet, no water supply. 1’m glad that it's warm now, so we're not freezing.

The situation at the front is also difficult, due to our lack of ammunition and equipment, many guys are dying and getting injured. Putin plans to destroy all of Ukraine as a state, and simply raze our eastern parts and the northern borders with Russia to the ground. His dream is to restore the USSR again. Therefore, they have already begun to talk to us about a possible attack on Kharkiv. Of course, we trust God, we continue to pray and serve people by helping those who have lost everything and helping the soldiers. Our ministry always involves preaching the Gospel to them.

​In the church now, our main ministry is the families of those who serve in the army and the families of those who have lost loved ones. We continue to support these families with food packages once a month. But more importantly, we continue to build relationships with them through communication both on a personal level, and we continue to serve through groups of psychological and spiritual help both online. But also live. These women and older people come to our groups, but we also visit them in their homes once a month. These are very difficult people with broken lives and often deep trauma and depression. But God also works in these people. Although many considered themselves Orthodox (Ukrainian), now many of them do not want to hear about the church and God. Many simply stopped believing. We continue to work with children in the Stary Saltov hub. Also in our church premises in Kharkiv, we work with teenagers and young people from military families. We don't know how many opportunities we will have to serve in the future, but today we are trying to use every opportunity. I also want to say that we perform all the listed opportunities and services thanks to your participation with the finances. First of all, these are food and essentials for these families. Today we have 640 families. also holding groups and serving children in the area. We are grateful to you for your help, and we ask, if God allows us to still serve here, to continue to support these ministries.

Once again we express our gratitude for your active participation in our joint ministry in Ukraine. And we thank God for everyone who prays, shares our pain and serves as finance for the Ukrainian people and the Church of Christ in Ukraine.

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