The new wave of COVID hit Ukraine. The case rate level is higher than ever before, and the death rate level has multiplied five times. We are now under strict quarantine restrictions again. Many of our partners get sick. Some passed away, young and old, and it is extremely painful – we could never prepare ourselves for this.
However, what we were prepared for during this new wave is shifting our teaching, preaching, studies, and fellowship to online format again. We are well equipped and much more experienced compared to a year ago when the pandemic just started. The Kingdom’s work never stops!
Nevertheless, the month of March provided a brief window between the two lockdowns, and we did our best to get the most of it for the ministry. The biggest project of that period was a short-term trip to the city of Kherson. It included meetings with regional leaders, a seminar for youth leaders of the town, and a South Ukraine youth conference.
The seminar was in a format of interactive fellowship on the biblical principles of leadership development for the church and missions (see the picture attached). The conference’s theme was the evidence for God’s existence provided by the Bible, science, history, philosophy, experience, etc. Based on the experience of last month’s conference at Rivne (Western Ukraine), we have already planned it for 200 people, rather than 50 as it was our mistake last time. And we were wrong again! 250 young men and women signed up for it in advance, and some more showed up at the last moment. It was a great joyful time celebrating the love and wisdom of the Lord together. The participants were excited about our books for equipping themselves and others for the ministry work (see the pictures attached). The video report from the conference will be available soon. Please join our prayers for these children of God who are to pass the baton of solid biblical faith to the church’s next generations!
We had to cancel most of the offline projects scheduled for the month (like teaching at Transcarpathia and seminars at Ternopil). Nevertheless, we decided that the public schools’ Christian teachers’ conference on shaping children’s worldview is too strategically important to cancel it (new restrictions were announced just the day before it). We changed its format. Though the conference was initially for teachers from many regions, we limited the attendance to only the local ones who are in contact anyway (see the pictures attached). The rest joined it online – the on-demand video is now also available. We used those days of softer restrictions in the best way. The quarantine restrictions became much tougher two days later. All the schools are closed now till at least mid-April. Please pray with us for God’s guidance, wisdom, and protection for our teachers.
Another great news: we got the first university-level textbook on Christian doctrine published in the Ukrainian language (see the picture attached). Due to the partnership with Tavriysky Christian Institute, it is approved for use at colleges and Universities of the country. Even students in secular schools will now be able to study the foundational issues of Christian faith by the book produced by Christians, not by atheists like it was before. May the Lord be praised!
The fraternal fellowship with the Ukrainian Evangelical Seminary administration (see the picture attached) complemented the joy of the month. We evaluated what the Lord teaches us during times of uncertainty, shared the experience we got, discussed the possibilities the future may provide. The partnership’s upcoming plan is to video-record the Bible and Logic course at the end of April. It will be used for the combined training format we practice (offering the lectures’ videos followed up by online discussion afterward). The format of the recording itself will depend on the epidemic situation. Please keep these plans in your prayers.
Please pray for our country, for all our partners’ health and safety, for the opportunities to reveal God’s greater glory through the challenges we face.