Faith in Action Missions - Ukraine:

Read special update here:

 

Alcohol & Narcotics Rehabilitation Centre

Sasha was a Heroin addict until God touched him and saved him; he has gone from taking and selling drugs to serving God, what a wonderful turnaround in a life! We have been supporting the centre now for 3 years, we help them by providing the materials that are needed for the comfort of the people and for the furtherance of the gospel.

People who’s lives have been totally and utterly destroyed through the horrors of drink and drugs, families that have been torn apart, marriages that have been wrecked, and lives that have just been ruined through these two evils. But thank God we have men and women who care and who want to help, our brothers and sisters are doing a great job with the addicts. Not only do they draw alongside them and comfort them when they are at their lowest, but, praise God, they are there 24 hours a day for their spiritual needs too.

Many of the addicts have now been touched by God, saved, sobered, and cleaned up. Now they have a reason for living, now they are being reunited with their husbands and wives, now they are being reunited with their families. Now they have hope, but only because they have Jesus. . Please pray for this extremely difficult work.

 

Ministry in the Churches

Thank God for good churches to back up our work, 6 Baptist churches have united to preach the gospel and minister to people in the 9 hospitals and in the prisons. It’s a privilege to be associated with such sound bible teaching, Jesus loving, God glorifying, church folk who are totally dedicated to the call that God has given them.

Pastor Vladimir is the main pastor in the Baptist Light of the Gospel Church in Kharkov. Sergey is the second pastor in this church, he has just been inducted to be the junior pastor for the next three years. When pastor Vladimir was 6 years old his mother told him that Jesus loved him, and because of that the authorities put him into an orphanage for about 9 years.

When he was released from the orphanage they sent him to prison for a further 6 years, and all because he loved the Lord Jesus Christ. . Today Vladimir is the pastor of the church that we work through.

 

Ministry at the KGB Holding Centre

Four years ago as I was travelling through the city of Kharkov I saw policemen everywhere, one day I prayed Lord it would be great if you would open a door to speak to the police of this city. One day, as I was sitting at home in Newtownards, the Lord spoke to me and told me to go and speak to the police in Kharkov, I was so excited about this. When I arrived in Kharkov I told the elders of the church that God wanted us to go and speak to the police, they tried making phone calls to get this door opened but nothing was happening for them. Then the very next day as we were driving through the city the driver stopped the mini-bus and said, “Donald maybe this is where God wants us”, I said, “what is this?” He replied, “this is the headquarters of the State Security Police [KGB ], maybe this is where God wants you to speak.”

The very next day I was sitting in front of the general of the KGB, he asked me, “why are you here in my country?” I told him that I was there to help the sick and the poor. He asked, “where do you get all of these things to help people with?” I told him that God provides everything we have. He said, “can you help me?” Here was the general of the KGB asking a born-again Christian for help. I said, “what do you mean help you?” He replied, “we now work with lots of youth and we need clothes and shoes for them, can you help us?” I told him, “yes we can help you, but will you let us speak to the youth about Christ?” He said, “yes.” Friends it’s a wonderful door that has been opened as we go to help the youth, we can also preach the gospel to them. Youth as young as 13 years of age, some of them have turned to prostitution, others to stealing and robbery, and many others things. But through the gospel message there is hope for them, Christ will take a broken life and change it completely. . God loves the KGB and he loves you, no matter who you are, God loves you.

 

The Prison Ministry

The ministry to the prisons is a very difficult work, because we find that many people today will help children but they will not help prisoners. But God cares for them and loves them, no matter what they have done God still loves them. [ Remember, there, but for the grace of God, go I ] 7 prisons are being helped today. Our brother Victor Dudka and his wife Nadia are doing a wonderful work going to the prisons, not just to preach but to help and to care and to love whosoever God sends their way.

The clothing and computers and the musical instruments are sent to them by container, each container is sponsored by different people, so if you would like to help in this area please give me a call. . Through this ministry many souls have been reached and won for the Lord Jesus Christ. When they leave prison they move into the prison rehabilitation centre that has been built, plus two family homes that have also been built to help them. While they are there they get attached to a good local church and begin a life of service to God in serving others.

 

Ministry to the Hospitals

Faith in action started helping the hospitals in Ukraine 6 years ago, it started with one old cancer hospital and today we are now helping 9 hospitals. When we were invited to visit these hospitals we noticed very quickly how run down they all were, and the equipment that was being used was ancient, second world war sort of equipment.

So we started to pray for them and very quickly God started to provide for them, from beds & mattresses to ultrasound machines and many other things. Why do we help them? Because I believe that in order to reach people first we must enter into their interests and problems, and we must meet the people right at the very point of their needs. We must show people that we not only care about their soul and their spiritual needs, but also about their bodies and their physical needs.

All of the main hospitals in Northern Ireland are helping us now by providing the things that are needed for the work in Ukraine. The containers are sent by sea to the port of Odessa, and from there by road to Kharkov, and then on to the hospitals. . Through the help that we give to the hospitals this has encouraged them to open the doors for the gospel, all nine hospitals have now opened their doors to allow God’s people to preach the good news to the sick and dying, and to the young and old.

Many thousands of people today are hearing the gospel because we showed an interest in them. May God continue to bless this work. . This is Peter, at one time he served with the KGB, he now serves the Lord through the hospital ministry.

 

Ministry to the Orphans

Surely one of the most difficult ministries of all is working with orphans, children who have been abandoned, neglected, unwanted, and unloved. It really does move a grown man to tears when the child holds on to you and asks you to take her home with you. Difficult work but worthwhile work, just to be there with the children, and to try to make that child smile and to put some hope into their hearts. You see we just don’t help the children with new clothes and new shoes, all of which are provided by the manufacturers here in Northern Ireland.

But we also help them spiritually, we give them hope for the future, we encourage them to put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because without Jesus there really is no hope, for the orphans or for you. We have had the pleasure of seeing young broken lives being changed, we have seen their attitudes being transformed. For example, when our brother Dima started working with the children he said that their knowledge of Easter came down to painted eggs, and having the eggs blessed by the priest.

But now when we ask the children what Easter means to them they say that "Easter is a great time of victory, because our Lord Jesus left the glories of Heaven and came down to this earth to die for us and rise again. And, if we will only repent and put our trust in him, then one day we will be with him." Now that’s what I call a transformation in the way that they think about Easter, and because of Easter we all have hope. Today we have six orphanages and sanatoriums to look after, that means about one thousand orphans. So please pray for this very difficult and at times heartbreaking work.

 

The Beginning of Wisdom Christian School

Six years ago I received a letter from a man called Alexander Vyalov, this man was the headmaster of a Christian school in Kharkov Ukraine. There was great difficulty in trying to open and run a Christian school in this country as they did not receive any funding from the government. When we received the letter we spread it before the Lord and prayed about this school, 4 months later I was in Ukraine for the first time, and there to help a man that I had never met before. Now six years later we can look back and see how God has moved in our lives and in the lives of the people at this school. We have been blessed time and time again as God has provided all that we have needed to keep the school open.

 

They now have a very good computer room, a new dining room, gymnasium, great classrooms, musical instruments, and many other things that make up a school. All of these things were provided by God through the people of Northern Ireland, and sent out by 40ft containers, and now today we can say that our school is as good as any other school thanks to God.

Finances are important in all schools, especially schools that receive no funding from their government, but again God provides exactly what is needed to accomplish his work. Another school year has just ended with another ten pupils having graduated and now they will move on to university, but with a good Christian education behind them. Please pray for our brother and sisters in The Beginning of Wisdom Christian school.

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