October 7, 2022 News Update
7 October 2022
Dear Friends,
We are heartened by recent news of victories in Ukraine. They have retaken much territory that had been under Russian control. But the war continues and many people are being killed. The Russians continue to send missiles and artillery into many cities and villages. People are suffering.
Many Ukrainians struggle to get by each day after having fled their homes. There is high unemployment, which according to the National Bank reached more than 35%. Ukrainians who have gotten away from war zones – mostly women and children -- are often desperate to find work to support themselves.
Finding a job is not easy and the monthly social welfare for evacuees barely covers their expenses, The government is trying to help their people with financial support, but the monthly social welfare for refugees amounts to only $55 per month for an adult and $82 per child or person with disabilities. Prices have increased dramatically since the war began, making the problem more acute.
Added to this, there are still millions of people living in the war zones, and the infrastructure has almost been totally destroyed so that people do not have electricity, no running water, no natural gas for heating and cooking. For people living in high-rise apartments, they must climb many flights of stairs to get to their apartments. In many places access to the Internet is impossible, either because the capabilities of the providers have been destroyed or because the Russians are jamming the Internet.
With winter coming on, things will become more and more severe. Overnight low temperatures at this time of year are around 40. Without heat in the home, this becomes very uncomfortable. In another month the temperature will drop below freezing. Please continue to pray for victory in Ukraine and a quick end to this senseless war.
Reports from our loved ones in Ukraine continue to show the mercies of God day after day. Our men in the military have all been spared, even though they face constant danger. Our church members, most of whom have been displaced, continue to minister where they are. Pray that many will be brought to faith in Christ through the clear presentation of the gospel. Our heart is still in Ukraine, and we hope and pray that we will soon be able to return.
In the time that we have been out of Ukraine we have had many opportunities, traveling through 20 states and speaking in more than 30 churches. We have been very encouraged to see enthusiasm for sound Bible teaching and more emphasis on evangelism. Several churches we visited are seeing significant growth. We also had the joy of visiting many old friends and making lots of new ones.
Phyllis has written a short booklet about survivors of tragedy, titled “Why Me?” It gives reasons why God would keep a person alive while others have died. The intent is to orient believers to the fact that God has a plan for them and to get unbelievers to consider that God has kept them alive so that they have opportunity to receive eternal life through faith in Christ. The hope is that this will be an evangelistic tool as well as an encouragement for believers to get into a Bible-teaching church. If you would like to read this book, please click here to download it.
We are very excited about the journey we are beginning on October 7th. We will fly to Poland where I will be teaching for six nights. After that we will go to Ukraine for a week where we will be able to see many of our loved ones and to teach the Word of God. After that we will fly to Zambia for two weeks of teaching in three different cities. When we finish there we are going to South Africa to spend a few days of relaxation with Tom and Cheryl Molinar who have been long-time missionaries there.
We are so blessed to be able to continue ministry in spite of the interruption of war. We give thanks to our heavenly Father for His grace in giving us health and strength and the resources to carry on. We thank you also for your effective fervent prayers, your encouragement, and your support.
By grace alone,
Jim
P.S. I thought you might like to see a list of churches we have visited since March of this year.
- Berachah Church – R.B. Thieme, III
- West Houston Bible Church – Robby Dean
- Chafer Seminary Conference
- Sugar Land Bible Church – Andy Woods
- Bethel Independent Presbyterian Church, Houston – Frank Jones
- Yerevan -- conference
- Grace Bible Church, Houston – David Dunn
- Pine Valley Bible Church, Houston – Bruce Bumgardner
- Red River Cowboy Church –Novice Northington
- Free Grace Church – John Brummet
- Fredericksburg Bible Church – Alex Garcia
- Cornerstone Bible Church – Steve Spurlin
- Spokane Bible Church – Jeremy Thomas
- Deary Bible Church – Jared Donigian
- Columbia Bible Church – Jonathan Smith
- Grace Bible Church – Brookings, OR – Virgil Frazier
- Manning Bible Church – Brad Congdon
- Portland Bible Church – Gary Glenney
- Bible Doctrine Church of Portland – video church – Bobby Thieme
- Life Bible Church – Paul Breckel
- Rome Bible Church – Jonathan Lee
- Meeting with pastors: John Eichman, Tanny Sisson, Jesse Acosta, Brad Congdon, Gary Glenney
- Grace Redeemer Bible Church – Andy Stacey
- Tacoma Grace Bible Church – E Dane Rogers
- Evergreen Baptist – Darren Kraus
- Country Bible Church – Mike Smith
- Tullahoma Bible Church – Clay Ward
- National Capital Bible Church – Dan Inghram
- Ed Mushka -- NJ
- Preston City Bible Church – David Roseland
- Russian Church – Greg Allen, University Park, PA
- Emmanuel Baptist Church, Starkville, MS -- Everett McKibben
- Yerevan, Armenia