25 July 2022

Dear Friends,

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that Moscow’s overarching goal is to topple the government of Ukrainian President Zelensky as Russian forces continue to pummel Ukraine with artillery barrages and airstrikes. He said that Moscow is determined to help Ukrainians “liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime.” “We will certainly help Ukrainian people to get rid of the regime, which is absolutely anti-people and anti-historical,” he said. This is pure propaganda. The Ukrainian people are certainly not being oppressed by the Zelensky government. My question would be, if Zelensky agreed to step down, would the Russians withdraw their troops and allow Ukraine to determine its own future? I doubt it.

The Russians agreed to allow Ukraine to resume exporting its massive grain exports, but then immediately began shelling the ports from which the grain would be shipped. You can't rely on the Russians to keep any of their promises. The Ukrainian forces continue to fight to defend their homeland. They have been courageous and relentless in their struggle for freedom. More than ten million Ukrainians have been displaced because of this war. Thousands have been killed, more have been wounded. The destruction of cities has been incredible.

Pray for Ukraine! Pray for victory, pray for peace, pray that the Lord will preserve this nation. Pray that God will be glorified through His people who are using this conflict as a platform for evangelism and Bible teaching, both at home and in the surrounding nations.

Here is a recent letter from Pastor Oleg in Kyiv:

We have no changes in our church life here. We have prayer meeting twice a day and Bible study twice a week, as well as Sunday morning service. The church meets in person for those who are still in the city, and online for the rest.

Luda is doing ministries in Warsaw serving Ukrainians. They did two camps for kids there. In addition to that, they ministered to the mothers afterward. She has very good ministry there. Lusya is in Czech Republic. She has started a ministry for a kids at her dormitory.

Olga, Lusya's sister is in Czceh Republic too, but in an another city. Their husbands are in Ukraine. Uliana had an incident at her school where she teaches. She fell and hurt her face which has left some scars, causing her distress.

Katya is in Germany looking for a job. Her husband, Kostya, is at home in Ukraine. He is working with the youth in their home city and keeps building a house. Ira has stayed in Ukraine with her husband. He is looking for work and Ira is doing some ministry for women.

Maxim, who was wounded in battle is back with his unit in the East. He was doing fine, but for the last ten days we haven't heard from him.

Vova had a concussion. He lost his ability to hear and see in his left eye and ear. He was at the hospital for two days and then they sent him back to his position. His condition is a little better but he hasn't recovered yet.

Denis recently met another man from Poland who was Paul Miles' student at the Word of Life college. That man said that Paul recommended that he listen to the courses from our Bible College, which he did. Now this man and another former student of the Word of Life college, who is pastor of a church, plan to start a Bible school at their location. They invited Denis to help them. I don't know any details yet but I will keep you informed about it.

Zhenya, pastor from Baryshivka has started a meeting for pastors, so we have a meeting on Monday, once a week just for fellowship and prayers.

Phyllis and I are back from our six-week trip to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, where we visited 15 churches. It was a wonderful time to renew acquaintances and to also meet some pastors from churches that were new to us. It is so encouraging to know that there are men who are faithful in teaching sound doctrine and presenting a free-grace gospel. We also had the joy of spending a little time with Bible college graduates Robert and Elvira Bolender who are now living in Bellingham, WA.

We leave later this week for a journey to the east, going to Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Connecticut. So we will be on the road until Labor Day. But we will keep you updated as we get news from Ukraine. We are so thankful for your prayers, your encouragement, your support.

All by grace,

Jim