In January the Russian military launched over 300 missiles of various kinds, and nearly 600 drones, to terrorize the civilian population of Ukraine. Every day and night the air raid sirens sound warning of the possibility of incoming missiles and drones. Can you imagine the anxiety this causes for every person in Ukraine?

We are approaching the 2-year anniversary of the full scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, and will soon mark the 10 year anniversary of the occupation of Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in Eastern Ukraine. It is so sad to think of all those days of war, of all the money spent on hate, of all the destruction in Ukraine, of all the lives lost and people injured and traumatized by war.

Each week I can see and hear the stress of the war in the faces and words of the people in our spiritual family. It breaks my heart that they continue to live under the “sentence of death,” to use Paul’s words. While the danger is real and ever-present, their faith is also strong and growing.

Sometimes people ask me: “How are the people in Ukraine? What can I do to help?” Here is my answer. They are hurting, finding it increasingly difficult to hope for a good outcome in this war. They are trying to stand strong. You can help in two ways, first, pray daily for the people of Ukraine. Pray for peace. Pray for the destruction to end. Pray for the invaders to leave Ukraine and return to Russia. Second, you can donate to Cross Culture to help the people of Ukraine with their pressing needs during this war.

Thank you to everyone who is a ministry partner for our work in Ukraine. We cannot do this work without your partnership.