What We Really Need Is You

Reflections from Ukraine · September 15–October 5

I came home from my twentieth trip to Ukraine deeply encouraged and with a very heavy heart. The goal of each trip is to encourage church and ministry leaders and to help train and equip churches to serve in this difficult time.  And I want to thank you all for your continuing support. I cannot do this without you.

In fact, I wish you could have been with me. I wish you could have worshipped alongside believers who were giving thanks even though their country is at war. I wish you could have heard the pastors describe what God is doing in their churches. And I wish you could have been beside me as people shared stories that are difficult to hear and impossible to forget. It is hard to put into words but I will try and give you a few highlights.

God is working. People are hearing the gospel. Churches are caring for the wounded and welcoming those who have lost so much.

And even though the suffering continues, I thank God for His faithfulness while grieving for people I love.

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Giving Thanks in the Middle of War

Early in the trip, I preached at Barnabus Church in Kyiv and after the service spent time with Pastor Ruslan, my friend Andry and his wife, and others from the church. These visits gave us time to listen, pray, share what God is doing, and encourage one another.

I also attended the Thanksgiving service at New Life Church in Kyiv. There is something humbling about standing among people who have endured so much and hearing them worship so beautifully, giving thanks and praise to God.

While at New Life I had a chance to see repairs which were underway following significant damage to the church from a missile strike six months ago. The church is still trying to determine whether it is safe to use the building.  They are concerned whether the roof can support the upcoming winter snow.

Yet the church continues to gather, worship, and serve.

That day I also spoke with a woman at New Life Church who had three elderly relatives who were trying to walk out of Oleshky that weekend. This is the Ukrainian city, behind enemy lines, where people were starving and forced to eat weeds and grass. All three were over eighty. All three were wounded. The roughly twenty-kilometer (12 mile) journey to reach Ukrainian lines was expected to take them several days because of their age and injuries. I do not know whether they made it.

Think about that for a moment. Three elderly, wounded people trying to walk to safety, knowing their journey could take days.

Since my return, a brief ceasefire has allowed aid deliveries and evacuations from Oleshky.

These are the burdens people carry into church on Sunday morning. They worship, they pray, and they wait for news of someone they love.

God Continues to Build His Church

At Kyiv Theological Seminary, I met with Ruslan, who leads the seminary and with Olexander and Alex, who both teach at the seminary.

We talked about church planting, the needs of the community, and God’s faithfulness.

Alex also planted a church just a few months earlier. There are already 20 to 30 people attending regularly, including several who are not yet believers, but are open to the gospel. It is so cool to see God’s faithfulness in providing a place to meet and bringing people to the church who need the Gospel.

Music Ministry Kyiv

I had a chance to visit with one of my good friends, Serhiy, who is the leader of Music Ministry Kyiv.  This organization supports a number of wonderful ministries, including Orchestral and Choral music, support for widows, hospital visitations, and more.

Their ministry to widows has been supporting four hundred widows and just received approval to expand that care to five hundred. Through this ministry they provide food, various types of family care, and presence to these women whose lives have been so terribly impacted.

While I was at Music Ministry Kyiv, I also spent time with my friend Irena, who leads a trauma-healing Bible study for displaced women called “Happy Woman.” I love that name! The women in this study have all come from  communities now under Russian occupation. They gather regularly to study God’s Word and share life together.

More than one hundred additional women regularly attend two other groups Irena leads in Kyiv. We discussed opportunities for me to speak to the groups on one of my next trips.

There is so much loss. But there are also people faithfully opening their doors, their Bibles, and their lives to one another. God has not abandoned His church.

Just Another Day at School

At a private Christian school in Kyiv, I led chapel for the older students and received some welcome hugs from children I had met on previous visits.

We began chapel and an air raid alert sounded sending us to the basement.

The children knew what to do as it has become a regular part of the school day.

Their resilience is remarkable. But it is heartbreaking that this has become so ordinary.

The head of the school explained how difficult it is to teach when students must keep moving to the basement. Sometimes they stay for five minutes. Sometimes five hours. Imagine trying to teach a lesson, or concentrate on one, through that uncertainty, day after day.

Everywhere I went, people were also talking about winter. Churches and ministry leaders are preparing for further interruptions to electricity and heat. Some are stocking food, especially canned goods, backup generators, and heating systems.

Please pray for these children, their teachers, and their families. Pray for protection, warmth, rest, and the strength to keep going. Pray that they will be strong in their faith.

What It Means to Be There

During another visit to New Life Church, I spent time with Pastor Vlodko, who helps coordinate the work of the New Life churches across Ukraine.

We talked about why I was coming to Ukraine and my goal to help equip churches to care for people wounded physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and spiritually. I told him that one of my key ministries was to encourage pastors and churches.

I also told Vlodko I have been praying for over three years for ten pastors to come with me to Ukraine to encourage pastors and churches. To date, the Lord has brought five pastors and several others have expressed interest.

He stopped me mid-sentence.

He told me that earlier that week, American supporters had called him and asked him what they could do to help. They asked about the need for money or other ways they could help. He had told them that, yes, his church needs money. And, yes, they need notes of encouragement. Both are very important. But what they need more than anything was for people to come to Ukraine.

As he told me this, tears came to his eyes.

He went on to say that when someone comes to Ukraine, in this dangerous time, it demonstrates God’s love to the church and all of Ukraine. It shows that someone cares in a way that far exceeds anything else.

Throughout our conversation, he repeatedly told me how much it meant that I had come so many times and that I plan to continue coming. He told me I was an answer to prayer.

I was deeply humbled.

Our team’s ministry of presence is so important. Not because we can fix much, but because we’re there.

We can spend time together. We can listen. We can pray together. We can hear someone’s story and help carry a little of its weight. We can help people process hard things that they have experienced. We show weary pastors and church members that they have not been forgotten.

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul reminds us that God comforts us in our affliction so that we can comfort others with the comfort we have received from Him. I see that happening through His church in Ukraine. Wounded people are coming alongside other wounded people, sharing the hope they have in Christ.

Please Continue to Stand With Them

I wish you could meet these pastors, teachers, ministry leaders, and church members. They are tired. Many are grieving. They are also faithful, generous, and determined to keep serving.

Please pray:

For protection for people living under continual attack, and for a just and lasting peace.

For families facing winter with uncertain electricity, heat, and shelter.

For strength and encouragement for exhausted pastors, chaplains, teachers, and ministry workers.

For widows, displaced families, wounded soldiers, and those waiting for news of missing loved ones.

For people hearing the gospel through these churches and ministries, that they would come to know Christ.

For wisdom, compassion, and humility for me as I continue to serve and plan future trips.

My heart is heavy for Ukraine. I am also deeply encouraged by the faithfulness of God. Please continue to pray that He will strengthen His church and use us to encourage His people.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and financial partnership. You help make it possible for me to return, strengthen relationships, and sit beside people walking through very hard places.

I cannot take away their suffering. But I can be there. And through your partnership, you are helping me to keep showing up.

In Christ,

Steve Smeltzer

ReachGlobal Crisis Response