Responding in Ukraine

By Sasha Grebenyuk, ChangeMaker in Ukraine

In the midst of darkness, pain, and tears, God continues to work through His church to accomplish His purpose. We are pleased to share that Water of Life Church in Lutsk, Ukraine, has selected Oleg Hotsyk to serve as a youth pastor. This occasion is a powerful testament to God's love and strength. Oleg and his wife, Dasha, represent the fruit of many years dedicated to discipleship and spiritual influence by the church.

God has given our church the opportunity to serve orphans and those abandoned by their parents. We have witnessed how He heals broken hearts and restores hope to those who have lost it. Fedor and Vika, who were abandoned by their parents, felt unwanted and had no home or future. But God used the church to instill hope in them. Fedor committed his life to Jesus a year ago, and now Vika has made the same commitment. Their story is a powerful testimony to God's love, which He has demonstrated through the church. We are called to serve others with love and to grow them as disciples of Jesus.

When people ask us about our church, we respond simply: two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and almost three years of war. We are grateful to God for these five years of life and ministry, during which we have witnessed His love and care, tears of joy from people who turned to Him in prayer, and most importantly, we have come to clearly understand the plan to which He has called us.

Discipleship groups are the heart of our church, where disciples are nurtured and leaders are developed. Age does not matter — children, youth, adults, men or women — everyone finds their place. In these groups, we learn to understand what God expects from each of us and how to serve our neighbors by sharing the gospel. Jesus teaches us to love others and to keep our hearts open to the pain and suffering of those around us. We continually respond to the needs we observe, particularly among abandoned children and suffering families. Through this work, we share the gospel and make disciples.

Please pray for us in these areas:

• We support the establishment of new churches by training teams and securing resources. Our small missionary movement includes five young churches that have been formed in the last three years.

• We assist families in crisis with a big focus on children. We provide support for food, education, and clothing. Additionally, we organize hot lunches for children at the church.

• We have several small groups where we teach children the gospel.

• We have children whom we helped raise, and today, they are young people dedicated to serving God. We strive to support these young people financially so they can attend university or college to obtain an education and a profession. Many of these children are orphans and live with their grandmother or other relatives. Currently, we have about 200 such children.

• We also work with refugees, thousands of whom pass through our church during the war.