Donetsk, Ukraine – January 22, 2015 – “We are alive,” writes Guidelines’ partner, Pastor Alex Moseychuk, from the war-torn Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine. Only a week ago, Moseychuk faced the end of a machine gun for the second time since the separatist-terrorists invaded:
“I was driving and talking on the phone in my car. The terrorists were approaching me in their armored personnel carrier. One of them was waving his hand to me. I couldn’t just get what he wanted and kept going. When I got closer to him, I noticed his machine gun aimed at me. I raised my hands up and stopped. An enraged man ran towards me with a gun in his hands. He was using a dirty language when he started talking to me. He called me bad names and wanted to shoot. I apologized for not being able to understand him. At the same time, another armed man in a green uniform came to us and took that first man away from me. I thanked God for protecting my life at that moment.”
In October, Moseychuk’s New Life Church and Family Center was entered by Russian soldiers, who searched the building room by room, asking Moseychuk if the church was subject to Kiev or Moscow. They left without incident. This is the second time the church has been searched.
The situation in Eastern Ukraine grows direr by the day. Some 5.2 million people are caught in conflict-affected areas and 1.4 million are considered “highly vulnerable and in need of assistance” according to BBC News. Recent grad missile attacks by separatist-terrorists in the rebel occupied city of Mariupol killed at 30 and injured 83.
Pastor Moseychuk reports: “Separatist-terrorists keep taking away nice cars [and] church buildings from people. Since the banking system and business have been destroyed, people were left without pensions, salaries and social benefits. They don’t have the opportunity to buy necessary products. According to the latest news, on average, up to 30 people die because of starvation every day.”
“People keep coming to our church asking, ‘Help us to survive!’” Moseychuk explained, “Our church continues to feed them. This church service is called a Fellowship Lunch. We have it twice a week. Up to 100 people come there. We do not advertise this program, because people tell about us to one another.”
“Before lunch,” Moseychuk continued, “we give people spiritual bread, which means we have fellowship time for one hour. We talk about spiritual issues. We preach the Gospel authoritatively but showing respect to people’s feelings. After the time of fellowship, we provide meals to people. We also give some additional food to people so that they could take it home. Many of them do not even have some bread at home.”
Most of the hungry are willing to come to Sunday services; many are repenting: “As a result of the ministry, more than 30 people prayed a prayer of repentance during last four months. Praise God! The last hope for the people here is a Church. Church is the hope for the world, and church leadership is a hope of a church.”
Guidelines has been providing emergency financial assistance to New Life Church, which in addition to its feeding fellowship, ministers to the blind, disabled and their families. To help in this time of great need go to guidelines.org/donate/ and select Ukraine Relief. 100% of funds go directly to New Life Church.
Watch for upcoming additional stories of changed lives in the midst of the Ukraine crisis here, at guidelines.org.