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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? 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 Constantin Church  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. 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. Princess & Her Children 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. The Church will take care of Princess and her children, and we have become part of that care. What will come of this? God knows. Happy Home Ministry 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. We Cried A Lot This Year We cried together with the young Christian girl Veronica (20 years old), whose father died and she became a full orphan in this world. Without relatives and in the house in which the hurricane blew the roof off. God blessed us with participation in her need - not only with finances, but also with the fact that other churches and people not only helped to make repairs in her house, but also accepted this girl into their hearts. We cried together with Pastor Igor Syrbu, a refugee from the Luhansk region, now serving in a small church in the Kiev region. God took his wife, Nadia, to Himself, and Igor was left in a city that was still unfamiliar to him and his children, with huge debts for their new housing that is still under construction, living in the basement, and without his beloved wife.  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. Igor is very grateful for the substantial assistance of the DMI, which helped him pay debts for his wife's treatment and pay off the debt for housing. Igor is a man with a grateful heart. He thanks God for joys and sorrows, for losses and gains. He is sincerely grateful to people for their support. A worthy example to follow. 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. Still weak herself, Rita Petrovna completely took upon herself the care of her husband. She cooks food - whatever Vladimir Vakulovich wants. Consults with doctors, monitors timely medication intake. They decided not to get engaged with the hospitals - they are overcrowded, there is not enough medicine and oxygen there. They rented an oxygen concentrator. Vladimir spends several hours a day with it - when saturation drops to critical levels. Despite the fact that the illness has already exhausted brother Vladimir, he is cheerful in his spirit. He says that he is ready for the transition to eternity. God gave him almost 75 years of life. But he would like to be of service to his family and church. He sees in the epidemic the judgments of God, which should be performed before the coming of Christ. He prays a lot for his native church in Donetsk, where he was a pastor for 26 years. Vladimir also prays for his entire large family. The war scattered all the Velguses in different places, there are no children next to their parents. Vladimir and Rita are very happy that they are not forgotten. They are grateful for the help of DMI, which allows them to financially stay afloat. We are blessed by the fact that we can take care not only of young pastors, but also of those who, after many years of ministry, found themselves having financial difficulties. We try not to forget about those who, for many years, faithfully and very delicately performed their ministry, like Brother Vladimir. 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. ConclusionThis 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. Glory be to Him!
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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? When our souls languish with anxiety and unrest, it is good for us to ask ourselves the questions: "Christ, are You the One I look forward to?" Show yourself to me. In my case, it works in an amazing and humbling way - Christ begins to speak, with confident authority. Sasha, do not think that I stand down. Do not think that I let your personal history, the history of your family, the history of your people, the history of all mankind take their course and that I have no influence and power over what is happening. Do not doubt Me! Find peace in Me! It's as if He is saying, I can give you peace. Will you let Me? I say - yes, of course, I need it! And He takes my hands and begins to show… He shows me beggars who preach the Gospel. People who themselves were in great spiritual need, blindness, lameness and leprosy today set tables full of physical and spiritual food and bless the same people as they were before.  This ministry is carried out by Pastor Eduard and Pastor Eugene in the front-line regions of Eastern Ukraine. People living in poverty and danger come to meetings at laid tables. Food, in their case, is not just a reason for social interaction, but simply because they are hungry. There are no jobs available there. There is no income and the church is a place where one can get such a desired piece of bread and, moreover, spiritual fellowship, which helps to see one's spiritual blindness and the leprosy of sinfulness. Throughout Ukraine, there are dozens of such places where our ministry, thanks to your help, serves people in their physical and spiritual needs. Christ says that the lame walk, and He begins to show me evidence of this. Lena & Her Children 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. Nadia, Alesha, & Toma 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. 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. It is not parents who are to blame for why some people live the way they do. It is not the government that is to blame for my problems. It is not capitalism that is to blame for human problems. It is not God who is to blame for the fact that He cares little about me... The Gospel has the power to open eyes and gives a spiritual understanding of what is happening. And therefore, the strength of our ministry has always been in these two things - to reveal Christ through acts of mercy and through the explanation of the essence of the Gospel. 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.  Jesus told John's disciples about the great miracles He performed. It was a tremendous testimony and consolation for John the Baptist. He received confirmation - Jesus truly is the Messiah. He is the Savior! The miracle of salvation can only be performed by God, by His sovereign purpose. Salvation is His exclusive right and only He has the ability to save people. Ministerial SupportIn 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: Pastor Maxim fights on his battlefields, bringing to Christ's feet hundreds of drug addicts and alcoholics crippled by sin. 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.  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. Pastors Vasily, Mikhail, & Roman: 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! Blessed are we all that did not doubt His control over everything and His power to continue performing the miracles of His salvation!!! Warzone DestructionThe 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.  A home that was affected by a bombing  A bombed library inside of a nearby school  A road sign to Donetsk with bullet holes reminding residents of how the war has divided the area People have no place to go. They cannot leave the cities they have lived in most, if not all of their lives. She is dependent on help from such groups as DMI and LOR. This region is strewn with bombed out homes. People had to flee in 2014 even up until today because there is still shelling taking place in many of the border cities. The people are afraid to try to move back in not knowing when or where the next shelling will be. This region is strewn with bombed out homes. People had to flee in 2014 even up until today because there is still shelling taking place in many of the border cities. The people are afraid to try to move back in not knowing when or where the next shelling will be. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Many are barely surviving after the war in 2014. Families have been devastated. Now it seems that another war may be on the horizon. Russian troops are mounting up on the border of Ukraine on three sides. Troops and artillery are gathering on the northern, eastern, and southern borders of Ukraine. See the map on the last page. Here is an update from Sasha. Update From April 3, 2021Brother 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:
Hope it helps. In Him, Sasha (from yet peaceful suburb of Kiev) A Message From DMI's ChairmanGreetings 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. If you have any questions about the ministry of DMI, please do not hesitate to contact me or Elder Pat McCoy. Our contact information is on the back page of this newsletter. Thank you for all the support, both prayers and financial gifts throughout these many years. God Bless You! Elder Dean Robbins, Chairman, DMI   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.
Printed copies of our most recent report on programs in Ukraine were recently mailed to our subscribers. We respectfully ask that you share your 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. May God bless you richly in this upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season. Help us make it a joyous season for others as well. Dear prayer and financial partners, We greet you with gratitude for your prayers and financial support. Our ministry continues, and we would like to introduce you to the latest news. The first half of the year 2019 was special in the political sense. In April, Ukraine elected a new president, and in July - a new parliament. We are grateful to God that the elections went peacefully, without any civil upheaval, and our prayer is that the new president and the new parliament could work honestly, and positively influence the state of affairs in Ukraine with their work. In this newsletter, we would like to introduce you more closely to the key people you financially support in Ukraine, and to present you a very important project that we are working on now. Eugene Grinishin Please, meet: Eugene Grinishin, planting a new church and ministry for children. My name is Eugene Grinishin. I was born in 1991 in Makeyevka, Donetsk region, Ukraine (now it is a territory occupied by pro-Russian militants). The Lord granted me salvation when I was 14 years old. After school I was admitted to a seminary. I was happy to be a student there, to study God's Word. At the seminary, I met my wife Yana. God blessed us with a son, his name is Nazar, and he is two years old. I like to spend my free time with my family. I enjoy reading, learning English, playing table tennis, and cycling. A year and a half ago, God called me to be a missionary and to plant a new church in the city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region. A pastor from Donetsk region called me and invited to move to Pokrovsk. This is a front-line city with a population of about 70 thousand people. Many work in mines, produce coal. Such a provincial city of working-class. And if you look at it from a human point of view, it was not my dream city, and initially I had doubts that God was calling me to this place to do ministry. But now, looking back, I understand that He arranged everything so that we would move here and begin the ministry. Today we have 18 members in our church. Every Friday, we gather at my home for Bible studies, prayers and fellowship. Every Sunday we have a service where I preach, now we are going through the first Epistle to the Corinthians. We pray for the kingdom of God to expand in Pokrovsk, and for people to come to the knowledge of the Truth.  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. Pastor Gennadiy Prosyanko
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. 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. 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. I realized that in this way the Lord was calling me to help my fellow countrymen. We prayed all together in the congregation, and then collected offerings and used them to buy 500 loaves of bread. I loaded bread in my minivan along with Christian literature and clothes that we were able to gather, and went to the war zone. All that time I was accompanied by my brother Vyacheslav and his wife Lyuba.
When we arrived to the residential area of the district center of Maryinka, we saw ruined and burned away houses. There were practically no people on the streets. When we were just standing and watching the ruins in horror, one woman came up to us and asked: “Do you have any food?” We, still in confusion, replied that it was the reason we came, and gave her a loaf of fresh bread and Christian magazine. After that, the woman thanked us and left, but a few minutes later people began to come from everywhere for bread. They thanked us that we came for them, cried and hugged us, sharing their worries and fears. After everything we saw and heard, we still could not recover and did not know what to say to all those poor people. But suddenly those people began to pray and thank God for sending us to them. As we drove back home, I felt that something had happened to me on that trip. I was not just impressed by what I saw and heard. I became a completely different person. After that trip, I realized that God gave me a new heart. The heart of a minister to people in need, where there is so much grief and tears, and where the Lord draws me to be an answer to someone's prayers for help, for a piece of bread or for simple human compassion. Our ministry continues. Many people pray and support us, although lately everyone has become very tired of this incomprehensible and useless war, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to whip up support. But we believe that the Lord will give us everything we need and bless us in the ministry to which He has called us. Please pray for our ministry and for all the people still living in the war zone who are in great need! Pastor Maxim Mamakin Please, meet: Maxim Mamakin, pastor, planting new churches, rehabilitation ministry for addicted people. My name is Maxim Mamakin. I am 53 years old. I am a dad, I have two sons. One is 20, the other one is 21 years old. They have almost flown out of the family nest. One studies to become a lawyer at the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, and the second one tries himself in modern digital music. He is a freelancer and is trying to find himself. I am a pastor of a church in Kiev and a pastor of a church in Makarov. Also I lead a network of rehabilitation centers. We have 4 rehabilitation centers: 1 center for women, 3 first stage centers for man, and 1 second stage rehabilitation center. We are now in the process of building the house for the third stage rehabilitation center. For 10 years we have been engaged in the rehabilitation of drug and alcohol addicts. We believe that this is the most open, the most responsive group of the population, the most fertile soil, the one that brings the most fruit. Until recently, we baptized 30-40 people a year. We usually have two baptisms a year, and this is a very significant fruit for me. This is what I dedicate my life to, the measurable result of our ministry. Well, of course, ministry is more than just the baptized. An especially important for me ministry where I strongly experience God and special joy is teaching the second London Confession or the Baptist Confession of 1689 in the Kiev and Makarov churches. This is a special course to prepare for water baptism those young believers who have just begun to attend the church and take their first steps. This course teaches all Christian teachings. I see how people grow, how they get changed by the Word. This is a great inspiration to me.  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. 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! Winter Help Project
 Over a number of years, in September, we begin our blessed Winter Help program. Through this program, we would like to show God's mercy and care for the neediest people. These are people who, for various reasons, cannot make ends meet, especially in the autumn and winter period.
This is the time when various diseases are aggravated, and money is needed for medical treatment; the time when firewood and coal is needed to warm a house; time when food prices go up. There is a huge number of people who are not able to take care of themselves such as old people, widows, people with disabilities, orphans, internally displaced persons, homeless people, etc. Our ministry to such people is not only to provide finances, purchase food, firewood, diapers and other necessary things, but also to come to such people, pray, take their hands in our hands. The goal is to show that they are not forgotten and not abandoned by God and people. The average cost of assistance per family is about $120 as a one-time assistance. Some people or families get more help, some get less, depending on the specific situation. Each situation is analyzed by us either independently or with the help of a local church. Our goal this year is to help 300 families. A huge amount $36,000. We spoke with Ukrainian believers and businessmen, and we received a long-awaited response to our requests: they are ready to donate $21,000 if we additionally raise $15,000 (or $50 per family). This is a huge breakthrough and a blessing. We ask you to take part in this great and blessed project and help us raise the missing amount Thank you for standing together with us! May God bless you, your families, churches and your country! On behalf of staff members in Ukraine, Brother Sasha 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. OpytnoyeThe 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. 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.
 Lyuba 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... Novgorodskoe  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. Nevelskoe 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?” 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 Fellowship with the citizens of Verkhnetoretskoe 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. We then travelled to Novobakhmutskoe, where, together with the village head, we visited the needy & delivered grocery sets to them. Elena (61): 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.  Elena Anna (66): 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. Zhenya with her sons, Novobakhmutskoe.  Anna  Zhenya: 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. Prayer NeedsWe 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:
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 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 Khizhnik 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  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.  Ruins of Krasnogorovka (1)  Ruins of Krasnogorovka (2) Svetlana Alekseyevna Svetlana's Friend, Mira 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. Karina & Yulia 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.  Ruins of Pervomaiskiy Sergey & Tatyana Sergey & 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:
The Light of Resurrection team Praise God from Whom all blessings come. It seems as though 2018 had just begun, yet we find ourselves at the beginning of 2019. 2018 was one of the most blessed years in our history. A summary of the year includes two trips to Ukraine and one to Haiti. Each of these trips accomplished much. In February, Elders Sam Bennett, Walt DeLoach, David Summerford and I traveled to Haiti for a pastors’ conference. There were 45-50 ministers present the three days we met at Grand Guave. The theme of the conference was “TULIP”. We gave presentations on the basic doctrines of Grace summed up in this acrostic “TULIP”: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible grace and Perseverance of the Saints. Most of these pastors had not heard of or knew very little about these doctrines. There was much discussion after each session and many vital questions were answered. At the end of the meeting they asked us to come back again for further study together. Perhaps in the future we will be able to return.  In May Brother Cliff Proctor and I spent two weeks in Ukraine. While there, we traveled across the country visiting pastors and churches DMI supported during the year. We also visited two new ministries involved in outreach to children. Two families in two different villages are ministering through the week to the children in their communities. Most of these children have had very little contact with other Christians and are being introduced to the love of Christ through the scriptures and through the personal love shown to them by these couples. Our worship on Sunday was with Pastor Max and a congregation made up of people from five rehab centers for drug addicts and alcoholics. These men and women, in these separate centers, reside in their respective centers during the week. They meet together for worship on Sunday in a city auditorium. There were about 150-200 present. One of the highlights of this 2.5 hour worship was our celebration together of the Lord’s Supper. How beautiful it was to celebrate this Ordinance with these believers! Brother Cliff and I also visited the construction site of a new house of worship. The land was donated by one of the members of the congregation, DMI furnished the funds for construction and the men of the congregation did the construction work. Final touches were being made on the building making it ready for the first service, which we held on our last trip of the year in October.  October arrived and Elders Craig DeLoach, Dean Robbins and I made our final trip to Ukraine for the year. This trip took us to southern Ukraine for a church leader’s conference. There are so many different ministries being carried on through as many different churches. These ministries include rehab centers, ministry to orphans, ministry to children through daycare centers, ministry to the elderly and ministry to the homeless. Through the past 25 years, we have seen so much progress and aid given to people in Ukraine. There is such a heart to help those in need. Assistance is not “handouts” as we see so prevalent in the States. The assistance is centered on the love of Christ being shown and taught through deeds of kindness and through the ministry of the word of God. These ministry leaders and pastors sometimes feel like they are making little or no progress. Opposition arises and they seem to see no fruit being born for their labors. Thus, they become discouraged. Our ministry, during this conference, was to encourage and remind them that God is with them and will strengthen them and bring them through the tough times.
As we begin a new year, we first want to thank God for His leadership in the ministry of DMI during the past year. He has continued to open doors for service for 25 years. Secondly, we want to thank you for your prayers, participation and financial support of DMI. Without your financial contributions, we would not be able to do what we do. Our budget for 2018 was met and exceeded our anticipated needs. We received over $125,000. All of this went to support three pastors, aid a shelter for teen girls, build a sanctuary and help many poor families with winter help such as electricity, food and heating. Our budget for 2019 is $100,000. This is based on the average yearly income for the past five years. Below is the breakdown of our proposed support in Ukraine. There are 38 different projects Light of Resurrection is sponsoring. Support comes from the local churches, local business men, DMI and two other western organizations. These contributions aid churches, pastors, needy families, homeless, and children. With the support of DMI these pastors below are able to assist thousands of people in need.'
*DMI provides full salary for Sasha Malov for the year. This amount includes his travel expenses each month. Sasha travels over 1,000 miles a week, sometimes nearly 2,000 as he visits the various ministries to see how they are doing and to encourage and strengthen them. **The new van is necessary for Sasha’s travels each week. There was a new ministry which started this past year and they need a van to carry on their work. He gave them his van and has been using his own personal car for travel. A van is so necessary for him as he carries supplies to the refugees and winter help to the poor. Please be in prayer that God will provide the needed funds for these ministries. It is amazing what God is doing in the lives of so many people in this one country alone. As we come to the end of the year you may be considering making financial contributions to different ministries. Please remember DMI in your planning. May God bless you today and always, Elder Pat McCoy  Oleg & Anna By Brother Sasha Dear friends, Let me share with you the latest news about the Girls’ shelter ministry in the city of Kramatorsk. This ministry was started by Pastor Oleg Serbo and his wife Anna in 2016. God turned their attention to the destiny of orphaned girls who graduate from state boarding schools at the age of 17-18 years old and are left to their own - without any skills, without experience, and without any good friends who would be able to help them find their way in life. Moreover, it is especially hard for those girls who have some physical or mental disabilities.  For such girls, the house was purchased, becoming their home during the time they are getting education and acquiring social skills. Most of the girls study in the specialized schools, where they learn a profession such as a cook or a painter. In addition, during their stay in the House the girls get acquainted with the church and with believers. This House is like a beehive. There are many people there and it is noisy and fun. It`s interesting for me to see how the girls change after they move into this House. At first, they are closed and cautious, but then every time I visit the House, I see how they thaw. The House is a temporary place to stay. The goal of the center is to help girls as much as possible during 1-2 years, so that they would be able to live independently, though still under the supervision of the House staff. The biggest problem for all girls is not having their own house. The state is obliged to provide orphans with social housing or with the money for its purchase, but not all girls have such an opportunity. Some of them are biological orphans and in these cases, the chances of getting help from the state are much higher. For those girls whose parents are alive, even if they do not care about them, the state social programs do not apply. It is not an easy task to break the bureaucratic obstacles of the state. Often these orphans do not know about their rights, especially those who have mental disabilities. By the grace of God during two years, the issues of purchasing housing for Masha, Nina, and Nastia were resolved. Now their apartments are being renovated. Ira got married and together with her husband, she is expecting the birth of her child in July.  Vika and her daughter Ksenia are waiting for the completion of construction of their apartment. They will receive this apartment from the state, as they are refugees from the war zone. All the acquisition of housing would be impossible for the girls if the staff of this ministry did not make every effort to help them. For now, none of the girls is ready for a completely independent life, but they are preparing for the day they will leave the Shelter and begin an independent life. Then new girls will take their place in the House. Some of them have a job and already earn their own small money.  One of the most amazing girls in this group is Tanya. She is unusually attached to Anna and other House staff members. It is important for her to be close to someone. She can walk several kilometers on foot just in order to stand next to Anna in her house for a few minutes. She likes to walk and walks a lot. If there is a need to buy medicines and take them to the elderly home (another project started by Oleg and Anna) or to the rehabilitation center for women then Tanya is the first person who volunteers to do this. Her attachment and care sometimes create tragicomic situations. Once she saw some abandoned graves in a cemetery, fences around the graves were rusty, all overgrown with weeds. It touched Tanya`s heart, and she immediately, sincerely told Anna: "When you die, I will watch over your grave. I'll paint the fence, and clean up weeds." It was so sincere, but with Tanya`s mental development, she does not always understand what is appropriate to say and what is not. Of all the girls, her legal situation is the most difficult. The state did not recognize her as an orphan although her biological parents disappeared from her life many years ago and most likely they are not alive. The staff of the House managed to register Tanya for a mentally disabled pension, although for the sake of it, they had to go through all the circles of bureaucratic hell.  The latest biggest and most joyful news is that thanks to donations from many people, money was gathered to buy an apartment for Tanya. Now the necessary documents are in the process of finalization and soon the deal will be completed. The apartment is located close to the House, which will be good for Tanya when she starts to live on her own.
This is a good ministry and I always rejoice in my heart when I am there. Not everything always goes smoothly, various difficulties and trials are part of life. The girls are not always obedient. They do not always show the fruits of salvation in their lives, but this painstaking work is worthy of respect and prayer. One of the prayer needs of this ministry is related to funding. Today there are people, mainly from abroad, who financially support this ministry. We are grateful to God for this, but nevertheless we feel the need to search for opportunities for earning money independently. To do this, a poultry-house was built in the yard of the house with a capacity of 300-500 chickens. In the fall, pullets will be purchased and an attempt will be made to start a small business to grow chickens. This is a good idea, so please support us in prayers for the blessing of this initiative. May the God of peace be with you all! 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
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:
In total: 195 children and 13 staff members 7. Kids Sponsorship Program:
Total: 93 children 8. Ministry of Oleg and Anna Serbo, Kramatorsk:
9. Ministry for refugees and children from crisis families:
10. Ministry to ministers (M2M):
11. Ministry for women in crisis pregnancy (Pro-Life)
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:
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  Igor Lysykh and family An example of the ministry of a "small town" pastor, whose ministry is supported by the Light of Resurrection Mission. Igor Lysykh, his wife Natasha and their three children now live in a small town of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, located 80 km from Kiev. In 2014, when the war began, they moved here from the Lugansk region, from a city in now-occupied territory. There they had their own house, business and a blessed ministry in a small Baptist church. In one day, being able to collect only personal belongings, they were forced to leave their home and like Abraham move to a place they did not know. God led them to Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, where they literally began their life from scratch. Igor actively joined the ministry, started preaching in the surrounding villages and helping other refugees. As a result of his preaching a new church was founded in the village of Vypovzky. After a while, the local brothers where he lived invited him to take a position of a pastor in the church in the city. This is a small congregation of about 50 members. Igor accepted this invitation and began his ministry there. We often communicate with him and visit him. It turned out that the congregation is in a rather complicated internal state - many people who have been in the church for a long time do not show the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. Indifference and apathy is seen on their part. There is a lack of desire to change anything, both in their life and in the life of the congregation. Once in desperation, Igor said - "I do not see that these people who are in the church can change. It seems to me that it is much easier to evangelize and work with nonbelievers than to expect changes in the lives of current members of the church." One can disagree with Igor's conclusion, but this is the way he sees the situation from within. Igor asked the Light of Resurrection Mission for help. The congregation does not have financial means to support him full time as a pastor, so we included him in our pastors support program. Now, we not only support him financially, but also help to pay for the rent of a small apartment.  Then there was another request from Igor - there are many dysfunctional families in the city, and in such families children are not given much attention. We need to start a Day Center for such children where they can get attention, care, Biblical counsel, hot food, and help with homework. Maybe working with the children will give access to their parents and will give an opportunity to share the Gospel with them. Our team decided to support this ministry. Currently 25+ children come to classes in the day center 3 times a week.  Here is how Igor describes the story of one of the girls for whom the Day Center became the first contact with believers in her life: "... And this is Sasha, she is 12 years old. She is one of those girls who never skips the Day Center meetings without having important reasons. When you look at her, you can see her shyness and slight lack of self-confidence. But she's very good at making friends. Her friendship manifests in the fact that she first came to the Day center club with her classmate Katya, and now Julia and Alena are coming along with them. All the girls listen attentively to what is said in the Bible lessons, because it's all new to them. At home, nobody speaks to them on such topics. And when we have personal conversations with children, we can see how little they know about God. Sometimes they ask questions that show that what is being said, it does not pass by them, but the Bible truths remain in their hearts..."  Having become further acquainted with Sasha, you learn that she has both father and mother, and an older sister who already has a job. None of her relatives know the believers and Sasha is the first one from the whole family who came to church. Sasha really likes doing crafts. When there are sport games at the Day center, she does not show much interest, often we need to invite her several times, but when it comes to crafts, there she shows special interest and diligence. When Sasha manages to create something special, you can immediately see how she begins to feel more confident and wants to take her craft home. And how important it is to understand that such small moments in children's life are vital, this way children begin to "grow in their own eyes." When we began to talk her dreams, what Sasha wanted in life, among common childish dreams there were dreams that are mature enough, that she formulated clearly and intelligibly: Sasha dreams of peace for the whole territory of Ukraine, and that people would no longer kill each other, but learn to love and forgive. It is a special privilege to work with children who do not know and have never heard about God, but at the same time it is a great responsibility to correctly and accurately convey to them the Bible truths, and by reflecting them in our own lives.” Day Center is a work that does not lead to quick results, but its success is possible only in laborious daily work with children and their parents. Our prayer is for God to use the ministry of the Day Center for the profound transformation of children and their parents, for their salvation and for the filling of His church.  Then Igor turned to us with one more need: preaching at the villages, he saw that old people live in dire need. They live in such poor and meager conditions, especially those who do not have relatives. Many do not have an opportunity to move around and take care of themselves. Many do not have the money to buy firewood to heat their homes.  Igor asked us to consider a possibility of providing monthly assistance to 10 old people and single mothers with children. Help is needed for food, medicine and for firewood in winter. We decided to provide assistance from our Emergency Relief Fund program. We know that Igor and his team not only render material assistance, and help in the practical needs of the elderly, but also testify about Christ to these old people who are very close to the transition to eternity.  Having moved to Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky and communicating with pastors of churches in the region, Igor saw how divided churches and ministers are. Every minister lives his own life and tries to solve problems in their churches all alone. Pastors and ministers lack communication. Igor asked us for partial financial assistance in holding a two-day meeting of pastors from that area of the Kiev region. Assistance was provided and preparation for this meeting began. Pastoral Seminar Again, we give the floor to Igor: “Greetings to you, dear Brothers! A few weeks ago, in Pereyaslav there was a pastoral conference for the ministers of the Pereyaslav region. I would like to share those blessings that we experienced during these two days. Due to the fact that in order to participate at the meeting the brothers were not only to travel long distance, but also to leave their work, ministry and families, we did realize that they should get something worthy at the meeting. This entailed an additional burden of responsibility. 43 people representing 23 churches managed to come to the meeting. Those are mainly ministers from the villages and from those places where such fellowship meetings of brothers are rare. Because such meetings of brothers were arranged so seldom, the taste of fellowship of brothers was lost. For some it was difficult to make a decision to leave home for 2 days. Some brothers no longer saw it necessary...."  At the meeting were raised several topics for discussion and decision-making. To speak on those topics was invited an experienced and respected pastor - Vasiliy Davydyuk. He spoke with brothers on the topic of Unity, Dedication, and the Importance of Fasting in our lives. There were many examples visibly showing how these principles work in life. There were presentations of ministries, which are conducted by brothers in the villages. All who were present at the meeting prayed for these ministries.  During breaks, there was a good time to fellowship while having a tea or coffee together. Sisters prepared delicious lunches and dinner for brothers, which created a very good atmosphere for further fellowship. One of the difficulties in the ministry is the fact that such motivational and supportive meetings are arranged VERY rarely. At such meetings, brothers see that someone "is in even worse situation than me" and on the other hand, they see who to look up to. Often brothers who are in ministry feel loneliness and the state that nobody needs what they do. Because of household problems and work load, brothers are not able to develop their ministries with more dedication. Such retreats are very helpful in "staying afloat" and keeping in the right direction.  Brothers also asked to support them in prayer for the following needs:
I would like to express you a great gratitude on behalf of all the brothers present, for the opportunity to have such a conference!!!” Igor's ministry is a good illustration of the projects and kind of people we want to support. It is important for us to find the right people, who we can learn to know, can influence and help each other. We support him as a pastor - praying for the strengthening of the church in Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky. We support the Day Center, hoping that God will continue His salvation work in the lives of children and their parents, and will add to the church daily such as should be saved. We support the ministry to elderly people, hoping for the grace of God towards them. We support meetings for pastors of the region, hoping that this will make church stronger and will support tired pastors. Igor's health is weak and he needs our prayers. Igor does not have his own house, and we intercede for this need. We do not announce the cost of housing for him and his family, but if someone will have a desire to participate in financing this need, please contact us and we will provide you with additional information. The staff team of the Light of Resurrection Mission sees ourselves as a small particle in His work here on earth. We are small, weak and tired people, but by the grace of God we are, what we are. We praise Him, because He uses us and we are happy to have all our prayer and financial partners together with us. Thank you! May the God of peace be with us all! Your Servant In Ukraine, Brother Sasha |
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