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Ukraine

Winter is Coming in Ukraine

Winter is Coming! Ukraine War Continues.  While Ukraine is winning on the battlefield, the impact on the country contuse.

8 million refugees

3 million left the country and 5 million displaced

Over 100,000 dead or wounded Ukrainian soldiers

Thousands of civilians murdered

Homes and villages destroyed

Electrical power damaged across country

No electricity, no heat, no water in much of the country

Daily fears of what will happen next with air raid sirens and missile attacks

This is the current state in the country of Ukraine!

As I am writing this, Russia is firing more missiles at Ukraine’s power grid to cause more harm.  Our friends in Ukraine need help.  Winter is hitting and people are without power which means no heat, no ability to cook meals, charge phones, etc.

As the country heads into winter, the Russian attackers are doing everything they can to make life miserable for civilians.  They are destroying power plants, transformers and infrastructure needed for electrical usage, water, and sewage.  This has caused widespread power outages and fears of freezing in the cold winter months.  As we talked with our Ukrainian friends, there is great fear around how they will survive this winter.  Right now, the power is out at least 12 hours each day and without power there is no heat and no way to cook meals.  Large cities are discussing plans to evacuate people out of the cities because there are issues with sewage and water and the conditions are not livable at the level of service they have today.

As we talk with our partners and friends in Ukraine, they share their needs with us.  There is a great need for mobile generators.

These are used to produce power for heating, light and the ability to charge batteries for phones and other devices.  Generators are not available for purchase in Ukraine, so they must be purchased and shipped from other European countries.  The cost of one generator and to transport it from other country is between $500 and $1000.

The second biggest need to for resources to purchase supplies to heat buildings.  Churches have been places that people are coming to for food and to get warm.  The churches are having to purchase wood for those with wood burning stoves or coal if they have coal fired furnaces.  Others must purchase fuel to run the furnace.  These costs are much higher now as the building are in use round the clock, so they need to heat all day and not just when services are held.

The third biggest need is money to purchase food supplies and clothing that can be given to those in need.  Most churches are providing food packs for the refugees who have resettled in their community but have nothing.  They have no jobs, nothing but the clothes they left with and a shared living space with someone who has taken them into their home or provided a place in a vacant home or building.

We are doing a fundraiser through Facebook for Giving Tuesday.  Facebook matches the first $7 million dollars given, so we hope to be able to get some of that money as well.  We are hoping to raise enough money to purchase at least 20 generators as well as some funds to help some of our church partners with their heating needs.

Thank you for the way you have generously supported Ukraine this past year.  Across the many different non-profit organizations we work with, I know that there has been a large amount of money already sent, but the needs still exist.  Today’s needs are different than what they experience six months ago, but they still need our help.  Donations can be made through our Facebook fundraiser at this link:

https://www.facebook.com/donate/556583139812354/

or given directly to our website at:

https://www.potentialendeavors.com/donation/donate

All money raised will go to support the needs in Ukraine.

We were planning to be in Ukraine right now, but due to the current situation in Ukraine we felt our being there would place a hardship on our partners.  We hope to return to Ukraine this spring to meet with pastors, thank them for their hard work and dedication and try to be an encouragement to them.  We have plans to do a leadership training for 100 pastors and their spouses.  We will try to bring training that will help them as they lead into the future, deal with the trauma caused by the war and as they work to rebuild their country.

Thank you for caring for Ukraine!  Thank you for your generosity and for making an impact in the lives of the people of Ukraine.  And thank you for helping churches be able to care for people’s needs so that they can share the love of Jesus with them.  Our hopes and prayers are that this war will result in seeing hundreds and thousands of people find a relationship with Jesus Christ through the work of His church.  Please continue to Pray for Ukraine!

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Ukraine

Ukraine Kids

The war in Ukraine has had a terrible impact on the people of Ukraine, but it is the kids who are often impacted the most. They lose their sense of safety and peace and wonder if things will ever be normal again. This past summer, churches across Ukraine held camps for kids. Over 300 camps were held, and 30,000 students were able to attend. These camps were in every region of Ukraine except Luhansk.

In these camps, over 3,000 students made a decision to make Jesus the Lord and Savior of their lives! Praise God! Donations from many people made these camps possible, but there is a new opportunity to help. This fall, the leaders of the Baptist Union of Ukraine are holding a 3-day retreat for leaders of kid’s ministries from across Ukraine. This retreat is an opportunity to encourage these workers who have done so much to help the kids impacted by war by providing a retreat away from the stresses of a war impacted life. This retreat will be a time of rest, encouragement, training and preparing these leaders to continue to minister to kids of Ukraine. Originally this retreat was going to be in May and Beth was asked to speak at it, but the war changed that, and now we will not be able to attend.

If you would like to help provide for this retreat, we are helping to raise funds to pay for this event. The cost is estimated at $10,000. This is for housing, food and materials. You can make donations through Potential Endeavors at Donate – Potential Endeavors. Make a note on your donation Kids Workers Retreat. All money donated will go to help pay for this event. You can also send checks to: Potential Endeavors, 840 Aspen Circle, Little Canada, MN 55109.

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Ukraine

Back From Ukraine

I am back from Ukraine!  It was a whirlwind trip, but it was so great to be back in Ukraine and to be able to talk to friends face to face and hear how the war has impacted them personally.  The purpose of the trip was to have leaders from the Baptist Union of Ukraine and Converge (formerly Baptist General Conference) meet to talk about the needs of Ukraine during this war and about the potential for ministry partnerships in the future.  This was the first meeting for many of the people on the trip.  I represented Potential Endeavors and the work that we have been doing in Ukraine over the past 4 years.

The trip was different from any trip I have done in the past.  Since there is no commercial air travel into Ukraine, we had to fly to Poland and drive across the border to get to Ukraine.  Our meeting was in Lviv so it was about a 5-hour drive plus whatever time it would take to get through the Polish and Ukrainian borders.  This was the first time I had been in Poland.  From what I saw it is very beautiful.

Border Crossing

As we entered Ukraine, we saw the effects of war.  There were many checkpoints along the road and a large military presence.  As we were having dinner on the first night, an air raid siren went off.  We were asked if we wanted to go to a shelter, but our Ukrainian partners were used to the sirens and chose to stay at dinner.  We stayed with them.  After all clear was sounded, we heard that there had been a missile fired towards Lviv and had hit 70 kilometers north of the city.  That was close enough to make me a little jittery wondering if another siren goes off what would I do, especially in the middle of the night.  As we walked around the city center after our meetings ended for the evening, we saw a vibrant city life, but noticed that all the lights on the buildings were off and there was a curfew at 11.

Our meetings took place over two days.  We spent time getting to know each other and then we talked about the work of the Baptist Union in providing humanitarian assistance during the time of the war.  As we began our discussion, the first humbling experience was that 4 of the 5 leaders had their homes damaged by the Russian invasion against Kyiv.  They all lived around Irpin and this was the area that saw some of the heaviest damage.  One even had the invaders staying in their home.  Despite what they had experienced personally, they never allowed it to stop the work of aiding others impacted by this war.

Getting to know each other

All the resources that have been sent to the Baptist Union of Ukraine have been distributed to the churches across Ukraine that have provided assistance.  Churches would submit their needs to their regional leadership and then the regional leadership would share their needs to the Baptist Union.  Money was distributed based upon need and impact they could make.  It was impressive how they had detailed documentation showing where the money was spent and how it was used to help.  This is important as it builds trust that resources are not being wasted in any way.

The humanitarian efforts were in three main areas:  Evacuation of people from the conflict areas, housing and care for the individuals as they traveled across Ukraine, and support for people as they resettled into new homes in the western part of Ukraine.  Tens of thousands of people were helped by churches as they traveled across Ukraine.

Due to the war, 450 churches are now in occupied territories, 200 have been forced to be closed and 45 churches have been damaged or destroyed in the war.  There are over 140 dislocated pastors who had to leave their churches and resettle in the western part of Ukraine.  The Baptist Union is aiding these pastors as they have lost their homes, and their ministry.  The Baptist Union is providing for their families and helping them to find new ministry opportunities in the communities they have settled into.

One amazing thing I learned on this trip is how the people from Ukrainian churches who have resettled in Europe are working in the churches to do ministry together and share the gospel with others from Ukraine who have resettled in these communities.

As the war continues, the Baptist Union is looking for new ways to provide assistance.  As Ukraine retakes occupied territories, they are using mobile kitchens to go into these communities to provide hot meals for the people who have no utilities to allow them to cook.  Churches have become support centers to provide food, water and battery charging sites.

While the churches are providing for the physical needs for so many, they are also providing for the spiritual needs.  Churches are filled with new people who need spiritual support.  People are suffering from the effects of trauma and how to deal with the loss of all they have and how to start anew.  They need the hope of Jesus in an environment that can feel hopeless for many.

As our time continued, we moved to discussing future ministry needs.  Due to the war and people who have emigrated out of Ukraine, the Baptist Union estimates that it will need 1,000 new pastors to lead churches and ministry in the next few years.  With that need, resources to train and develop future pastors and ministry leaders is greatly needed.  This need fits in with the work that we (Potential Endeavors) have been doing with Vasily Furta is developing mentoring groups in regions across Ukraine.  Before the war we had starting 4 or 5 of the groups and were in the process of starting 10 more.  These groups have been put on hold as the war has interrupted the plans, but we hope to get them started again this fall.  We are hoping that we can partner with churches from Converge to provide resources to help these groups.  In addition, it would be great if we could develop relationships between these young leaders in Ukraine and leaders in US churches to mentor and support each other.  When the war ends and it is easier to travel again, these relationships could result in ongoing ministry opportunities.

Meeting time

As our time together came to an end, we spent time praying for Ukraine, the leaders of the Baptist Union and the potential for future ministry partnerships between Converge, the Baptist Union and Potential Endeavors.  It was a great blessing to be able to spend time together and for me it was a blessing to get to know the leaders of Converge.

Our journey home was not without its adventure.  The lines to leave Ukraine were very long and slow.  Our driver got us to the border crossing area with the shortest line and then was able to get us to the front of the line, but the process of getting through the two borders still took over 3 hours.  As we entered Poland all of our bags were searched, which takes a lot of time with all the vehicles who are going across.

Line to leave Ukraine

We made it back to our hotel and had an awesome time debriefing our trip together and celebrating how God has brought all of us together and for what we see as the future partnerships that are possible.

I was so blessed to be invited on this trip.  Blessed to spend time with my Ukrainian friends and with my new Converge friends.  I was blessed to see how God is working in Ukraine and how people are finding Jesus in midst of the war.  I don’t know when my next trip to Ukraine will be, but I know that work will continue.  We will continue to raise support for pastors in Ukraine and continue to look for partners to help with the work of the mentoring groups.  We will be ready to return when the doors of opportunity open up.

Continue to pray for Ukraine.  Thanks for all the prayers that were lifted up while we were in Ukraine.  We could feel God’s hand of protection and blessing on us.  The needs are great and when the war ends the needs of rebuilding the damage churches and lives will just be starting.  Pray for new leaders to be raised up to do the work of God in Ukraine and to continue their desire to reach their communities for Jesus.

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Ukraine

Heading to Ukraine

Today I am leaving for my first trip to Ukraine since the war escalated on February 24th.  My trip will look different as I am not traveling with Beth, and we are not going to the places we normally work from.  We will be flying into Poland and driving across the land border to Ukraine.

We will be in Lviv.  While Lviv has been relatively quiet from a war damage perspective, there will still be impacts of the war we will feel such as the air raid sirens and the number of refugees that have moved from the east to the west of Ukraine.

I will be traveling with a group of leaders from Converge and we will be meeting with the leaders of the Baptist Union of Ukraine to discuss future ministry partnerships.  Humanitarian needs and support still exist, but we want to be preparing for the future and the spiritual needs of the people.  As some of you may know, Minnesota and other parts of the US have been working in Ukraine for the past 30 years.  There has been work with day camps, men’s and women’s meetings, sports camps and church partnerships.  Most of the work was done in the Cherkasy and Rivne regions and we want to talk about how to expand work across all the regions of Ukraine.

We want to listen to the needs and dreams of the leaders of the Baptist Union and discuss how we can continue to build on the existing partnerships and grow them even more.  God knows what the plans are for the future, but it is up to us to search for and discover those plans for us.  This could look like helping with church plants, developing new leaders, supporting missionaries who are being sent to unreached people groups and doing ministry in existing churches such as English camps, kids camps, etc.

As I leave for this trip, I have three prayers requests:

  • PRAY for safety in travel and for our time in Ukraine.
  • PRAY for our meetings that we see clearly where God wants us to partner together in the future.
  • PRAY for Ukraine.  The war continues.  There are humanitarian needs for the refugees impacted in the war zones.  There are economic needs for those who were not refugees but have seen the economy destroyed due to Russia actions.  There are spiritual needs for those who feel hopeless and need a relationship with Jesus in their lives.
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Journey

WHAT CAN WE DO????

Our world is so full of depressing news right now.  It seems like every day something else bad happens.  2022 has been a rough year!  Here are just some of the things that have happened:

  • War in Ukraine
  • School shootings
  • Parade shootings
  • Mass shootings all over
  • Higher inflation
  • Higher food and gas prices
  • Ongoing political division
  • Supreme Court decisions that have either caused celebration or anger
  • A mother killing her three young children and then herself after her husband committed suicide.

You wonder when it will end and what can you do to stop it.  It seems like our world is getting more divided and all we are doing is shouting at each other.  Our elected officials are working to pass laws and regulations to fix the symptoms of our problems, but the reality is we have a heart issue.  Laws and regulations may impact behaviors, especially for those who are rule followers, but they do not change the heart.  Yes, people are making bad decisions and doing bad things, but when you hear their stories, they are almost all loners, outcasts, come from abusive backgrounds or have been victims of trauma somewhere in their past.  That does not excuse their actions, but it does give us things to think about.  As I have been thinking about these tragedies, I feel there are three things we can do to make an impact:

PRAY

When Nehemiah was made aware of the hardships and difficulties his people faced in Jerusalem, his first action was to pray.  He prayed for the people who were impacted. He prayed for wisdom on what to do and then he acted.

When Daniel was threatened with death because no one could tell Nebuchadnezzar his dream, Daniel’s first response was to pray that God would show him what the dream was, and then he went to the king.

When Jesus was facing his arrest, trial, and execution, He first went into the garden and prayed.  He prayed that the upcoming burden would be taken away from Him, if that was God’s will, but then prayed for strength for Himself and His followers.

I know that far too often when I experience bad things, my first reaction is to get mad or express my emotional reaction, but I am trying to learn to first take it to God in prayer.  Let it break my heart.  Allow myself to be empathetic to those impacted and to pray for them first and then pray about what my response should be.

LISTEN

How different would our world be if we spent more time listening and seeking to understand other people’s point of view rather than working hard to make sure that people hear our opinion?  It seems like we have lost our ability to listen first and try to understand the other person.  Now if somebody doesn’t agree with an opinion, we just try to shut them down and exclude them.

I also think that is true in our communication with God.  We tell God what we want, but our busy schedules and addiction to social media keep us from listening to the quiet voice of God trying to tell us what we should do for His glory, not ours.  We have our agenda, and we want God to bless our plans, but we often don’t slow down enough to ask God if these are His plans and listen for His promptings and guiding.

I have struggled with this throughout my life.  I have been one to act and then ask God to bless my plans, but over the past 10 years, God has taught me the importance of listening to Him and waiting for His direction.  Often it is not what I thought I should do but looking back I could see it was God plan at work.

ACT

The third thing we need to do after praying and listening is to act on what we hear God asking us to do.  When we pause to listen to the needs of others, we hear ways that we can be an encouragement or helpful to them.  We hear about the challenges others have and we ask ourselves what we have that we can use to help that other person.  When we listen to the news and hear all the things happening, we can feel like the problems are too big to help, and the reality is that we cannot solve all the world’s problems.  We will always have difficult times and bad things happening because we live in a fallen and broken world.  But we can make an impact in the lives of at least one person.  Our actions to help someone else may be just the encouragement that person needs to change the direction of their life.

You may ask, why should we do this?   It gets back to the cause of the problems in the first place.  We have issues with the heart.  Our world is missing the love of Jesus.  If we want to change hearts, we need to show people the love of Jesus which is unconditional love.  Love is what will change the heart, which then will change the behaviors we want to fix.  When we show unconditional love to others, we should be prepared to share why we are able to this – which is because of what Jesus did for us.  Our greatest testimony of a changed life is not our words, but our actions and whether we are able to show love to others, especially those that are not like us or who have different beliefs than we have.

When I was young, I was taught the saying “hate the sin but love the sinner”.  And while that statement may be true, I have often been more focused on judging the actions and less on loving the person.  The reality is that the faith that I have is only contagious and interesting to others if people see that my life reflects the love that Jesus showed to me and that I can be accepting of others, even when their actions reflect values I do not agree with for my life.  But in the end, God will hold me accountable for what I have done in my life and the love that I have showed to others, not for the actions that others do with their life.

In closing, let me encourage you to do the following:

PRAY for those who have been impacted by tragedies.  Pray that God will put people in your life that you can show love to.

LISTEN to the needs of the people that God brings into your life and listen to what God wants to you do to be an encouragement to them.

ACT by showing God’s love to at least one person that God brings into your life.  We can’t impact everybody, but if each person could impact one other person, we could make an impact!

Categories
Journey

Five Years

Five Years!  It is hard to believe that it has been five years since we started Potential Endeavors.  When I look back, God has given us so much more than we could have ever dreamed of when we started this ministry.  On May 31st of 2017 we submitted our paperwork to the IRS for approval of our non-profit status.  The approval took longer than expected because we indicated that we were working with Ukraine, and we had to submit that we were not working with terrorist organizations in Ukraine due to the Russian takeover of Crimea.

The last five years have connected us with so many new people and opportunities that we could never have imagined. 

I think of Dima and Alla and our friendship and connections with Campus Ukraine.  I think of the many leaders of Campus and the students we have met and become friends with.

I think of Vasily and Alla and the partnership we have developed over the five years.  What started with 20 pastors and their wives in the Cherkasy Region has grown to working with Senior Pastors and their wives across 15+ regions in Ukraine.  We were beginning mentoring groups with new pastors to train and develop them to start new churches or lead existing churches and to be passionate about reaching new people for Jesus.

I think of Yan who is focus on caring for the homeless, single parents and addicts in his community.  He is helping get people off drugs, but with that comes the danger of drug dealers threaten his life.  But his church is growing and reaching people for Jesus.  Now with the war, they are caring for refugees who have settled in his town to avoid the war.

I think of Kiril and Yana and how impactful they have been in our ministry – from helping us dream about starting this ministry, to working in Ukraine, to publishing my book in Ukrainian.  We are always challenged by their ability to never let barriers get in the way of reaching their dreams.

I think of Adam and the friends we have made through Embrace Church and its network of churches.  We have been blessed, encouraged, and fulfilled through all the relationships and friendships we have made because of working with Embrace.

I think of the pastors I have met as part of Mission Minnesota and their heart for planting churches across Minnesota.  The opportunity to network and learn from this great group of leaders.

I think of the churches we have been privileged to work with and the people I have gotten to know because of our ministry.

The list can go on and on, but these are a few of the things I could never have imagined when we first started five years ago.

I also think about all of things that God has taught us during the past five years:

Dream God sized dreams. 

When we started Potential Endeavors, we selected our them Bible verse to be:

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish immeasurably more than we might ask or think.”
Ephesians 3:20

However, I am not sure we believed it based on what we thought we would be doing in our ministry.  To begin with we thought that maybe we would work with 1 church in Ukraine and maybe a couple in the upper Midwest.  But God taught us that we were not dreaming big enough.  We thought maybe 20 churches in one region of Ukraine and 5 or 6 in US, but God told us to dream bigger.  Now we are having an impact on hundreds of churches across all the regions of Ukraine and have worked with over 20 churches or leaders in the US.  More than I could have ever dreamed of, but nothing in God’s eyes.

Trust God and live by faith.

As followers of Jesus, we often talk about living a life of trusting God and living by faith.  While it is easy to say this, learning to truly do it is much harder.  Having a job and a steady income makes it easy to say you are living by faith, but we found that when you are dependent on the gifts from God to do your ministry it puts faith and trust in a totally different perspective.  Over the five years we have led Potential Endeavors, we have been blessed to see how God has given us what we have needed to do whatever door God has opened for us.  We have learned to say yes when an opportunity presents itself and then trust God to provide the resources needed to walk through that door. 

Let me share an example.  Early in our ministry in Ukraine, we were asked for resources to buy chairs for a new church that was being started.  The amount needed was $1500.  We did not have this money, but we felt that God wanted us to say yes and trust him.  At that time, I did a wedding for a friend from high school.  When he asked us how much we charge, I said to give whatever he felt led to give.  That next week we received a payment for the wedding that was exactly the amount needed for the chairs.  When I asked my friend why he gave us what he did, his answer was he just felt God was telling him to give that amount!  God works in amazing ways when we allow him to show up.

A second story of how God works comes from the recent war in Ukraine.  We have raised money to support the humanitarian needs of churches and pastors working with refugees from the war.  A driver of a bus in Mykolayiv transporting refugees from that war area was at a gas station to get fuel but did not have the money to pay for the fuel.  The driver contacted his pastor, who reached out to his regional Senior Pastor, who contacted our partner Vasily, who contacted me and asked if we could help.  I was able to send the money electronically and it was able to be transferred to the bus driver to pay for gas all within 60 minutes.  Only God could do that!

Its all about the relationship.

Probably the biggest learning over the past five years is that having a relationship with the people you work with is the most important part.  When we started, we would lead conferences and share content that we felt would help make a difference.  While the content was good, it was not until we spent time getting to know the pastors and their wives that we saw ideas being implemented.  To make an impact, it is not just sharing content, it is taking the time to listen to their challenges, understand their needs and demonstrate that you care about them personally before they will truly apply the materials you share.  People needed to see that we cared and that we were going to ask questions about their progress and come back to follow-up on what we discussed.  Conferences are helpful, but they can never replace the time spent around a table having coffee or tea and just listening and learning about each other.

As we wrap of this review, one final story comes to mind.  It was one year ago that we were in the Donbas region of Ukraine and visited Sievierodonetsk. 

When we were there, we were told that we were the first Americans to visit since the war began in 2014.  We met to encourage the pastors and leaders because the war had made things so difficult for them.  As we were leaving, the Senior Pastor for the Region shared about a need in the occupied territory for resources so that a church could do a camp for kids.  What was needed was what we had available to give so we gave it to do this camp.  Now this area is in the center of the war between Russia and Ukraine.  I think about the kids who last year had a chance to be part of camp to learn about Jesus and are now in the middle of war.  My heart breaks.

As we look forward to what God has for us next, our plans are uncertain once again.  The war in Ukraine has put our mentoring groups and training on hold, but we know that there is still a need, and that God has plans for us.  The focus may change with a greater need for help with leading through trauma, but we will trust God and walk through the doors He opens for us.

Thank you for your support over the past five years.  We have felt your prayers and encouragement and could not do what we do without your financial gifts.  The needs are still great, and we appreciate all that has been given and that which will continue to be given.  You can give on our website at https://potentialendeavors.com or you can send checks to Potential Endeavors, 840 Aspen Circle, Little Canada, MN 55109.  We accept all forms of payment – credit cards, PayPal, Zelle or checks.  If you would like to designate it for Ukraine support for the war, just notate Ukraine Support on your donation.

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Uncategorized

A Message from our Ukrainian Partner

This video is from Vasily Furta. He is a deputy to the President of the Baptist Union of Ukraine. This is one of our partners that we work with in Ukraine.

Here is a translation of his comments:

I am now at McDonald’s in Bucha, where we had lunch on our last visit. We had dinner here, planned our future visits and ministry work. But the circumstances are such that God gives us help through your support to help people in the city of Bucha. Today we brought help from Buzivka Church to Bucha. We delivered assistance to various regions and districts in Ukraine. Today we also met with the mayor of Bucha and he thanked us for the help, we conveyed greetings from our church and part of the amount you gave we donated to Bucha. Then we plan to transfer aid to the next points in Gostomil and Borodyanka. Also, I gave the second half of the aid to Valeriy Antonyuk (President of Baptist Union of Ukraine), who has now gone to Kharkiv and he will transfer it to Kharkiv. On behalf of the churches of the Baptist Union and all the people of Ukraine, we would like to thank you for your help, support and resources. Our people are very self-sacrificing, they give a lot of different help, but our resources are very depleted. Thank you for your support, prayers and finances. May God bless you! With God!

Thank you for your donations for Ukraine. If you would like to donate you can donate on our website: https://potentialendeavors.com Just note Ukraine Aid in the comments.

If you have questions or would like to discuss, you can reach me at Rick.Post@Potentialendeavors.com

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Ukraine

How your Donations Help!

We are so thankful for the many people who have made a donation to support the people of Ukraine. We have received $29,700 which has been sent to pastors, churches and ministry leaders in Ukraine who are providing aid to the many people impacted by this terrible war. Below is letter from a church leader sharing how the money they received is being used:

According to Zhashkiv church, we bought cereals, oil, things of the first necessary and packed 16 bags for families with children with disabilities, large families, and pregnant mothers. Also, today we handed over to our local military battalion in Zhashkiv food packages for their families. According to them, this is a great support for their families and children who do not see their fathers. That is, we distributed these packages to families whose husbands serve in the army.

In Buzivka the center of help was opened. The money you have sent was used to buy different products to this center. We also received humanitarian aid. And people call us, ask what they need, then they come to this center and receive help. Some people need products, some need diapers for kids or food for kids, some need clothes etc. We help refugees and needy people.

Thank you so much for your support! God bless you!

Sasha Kuts

We continue to accept donations for Ukraine and send the money to our partners as soon as it is received. You can donate through our website: https://potentialendeavors.com or through checks made payable to Potential Endeavors and send to our address:

840 Aspen Circle

Little Canada, MN 55109

If you have questions, feel free to reach out to rick.post@potentialendeavors.com

Note: We are an approved 501c3 and all donations are tax dedictible.

Categories
Ukraine

Ukraine Update

The past two weeks have been heartbreaking.  I have been watching the devastation of a country I love and seeing innocent people being murdered and lives forever changed due to the loss of their homes, family, and friends.  Yet despite the terrible times there are glimmers of hope.  I have talked to pastors who have shared the work that is being done to help others.  Churches are being used to provide shelter, food and comfort to people who have lost everything.  Churches and ministries are donating or buying food, medical supplies, and transportation.  Vans are loaded with supplies and drive to the war areas in the east and then filled with people from the east and brought back across Ukraine.  The stop at churches along the way for a place to sleep and be fed and they continue their journey.  In the Cherkasy region alone over 1000 people are being fed and cared for each day. 

Here are some pictures:

Because of the generosity of so many people, over $27,000 has been donated through Potential Endeavors.  We have sent this money to churches and ministries in Kyiv, Cherkasy, Zolotonosha, Buzivka, Korsun, Nikolaev, Lviv and Odesa.  Your donations are being used to pay for supplies and fuel to move people and supplies across Ukraine.

When we started this fundraiser, we were hoping to raise $10,000 but God had bigger plans than we could imagine.  I am working to connect with the Senior Pastors of regions across Ukraine to encourage, support, hear their prayer request and provide aid when we can.  Each dollar that has been given is in the hands of a person in Ukraine that I know and trust.  Your gifts are making a difference in lives across Ukraine.

There is still time to give.  Our fundraiser in Facebook is still open and we will be accepting donation there until March 31st.  We will also accept donations on our web site at https://potentialendeavors.com/donation/donate/

We also accept donations via checks made payable to our non-profit Potential Endeavors or through Venmo at @bandrpost.  Just make a note on any donations that says Ukraine Support.  All donations are tax deductible as we are an approved 501c3 organization.

Our address is 840 Aspen Circle, Little Canada, MN 55109.

If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me at rick.post@potentialendeavors.com  

Categories
Ukraine

Ukraine Support Update

It has been just one week since the attack on Ukraine started.  It is amazing how much can happen in one week!  This week has been hard to focus.  I see the pictures of the war in Ukraine and my heart aches.  I hear the stories of destruction, but also the strong desire to fight for their independence.  I have heard from my friends who have left their homes in search for safety.  I have talked to church and ministry leaders who are using whatever they have to help others.

I have also seen the amazing generosity of people wanting to help Ukraine.  Friends of ours from Ukraine left their homes and have arrived here in Minnesota.  People have donated clothes, beds, kitchen essentials and so much more.  People have given gift cards and even a car, and they keep asking what more can they do.  Our friends are overwhelmed at the generosity of people helping them.

Potential Endeavors started a fundraiser for Ukraine.  In three days, we have already raised over $17,000.  This money has already been sent to Ukraine to help with humanitarian support.  I have talked with the people who we have sent money and asked them how they are using these gifts.  Here is what they shared:

Vasily from the Baptist Union of Ukraine shared that these resources are being used to provide food, medicine, and transportation to help refugees.  Food and medicine are in short supply, so churches are going to Poland to buy food and medicine and they are transporting it to the war areas in Kyiv, eastern Ukraine and southern Ukraine.  Then these vehicles are used to transport refugees of women, children, and older adults to safer places in the west.  Churches along the way are providing places for people to sleep, get a warm meal and rest and they make their way along the slow roads heading west.

Vitaly from Camp Maximum shared how they are transporting supplies into Kyiv and then bringing people to Camp Maximum for a meal on their way west.  They are purchasing additional vehicles to help more people and carry more supplies.

Mykola from Kyiv is helping providing food and transportation to help people who have stayed in the city and are facing daily bombing from Russia.

Thank you to all who have donated to help Ukraine!

As I talked with Vasily, he shared with me how churches across Ukraine have played an important role in supporting the defense of Ukraine.  Churches are providing meals for the soldiers; Chaplains are going to the war zones to pray with and support the soldiers.  Soldiers are telling stories of success against Russia that they cannot explain but know that it is God helping them.  The weather this past week has been stormy and windy.  This has kept naval ships from attacking Odessa and winds in Belarus have kept airborne troops from being parachuted into Ukraine.

However, this is only the first week and the war does not look like it is going to stop any time soon.  It is hard to watch the attacks against civilians and innocent people go on with no way to stop them.  I know that weapons are being provided to help Ukraine, but it feels like at some point NATO and the US must step in and help.  I don’t know what would happen next, but I also know that we can not stand by and watch the slaughter of thousands of innocent people and do nothing.

All we can do at this point is to pray and to provide whatever financial support we can to help the people of Ukraine.  Vasily shared three prayer requests with me:

  • Pray for peace in Ukraine and that Ukraine will win this war.
  • Pray for wisdom and protection of the leaders of leaders – government and religious leaders – that they will know what needs to be done to help the people.
  • For the churches to have the resources they need as they help needy people across Ukraine.

If you are interested in helping, our fundraiser in Facebook will be open until March 15th.  You may also make donations on our website https://potentialendeavors.com  Just note Ukraine Relief in the comments.  We also take Venmo @bandrpost and checks.  These can be made payable to Potential Endeavors and sent to:

              Potential Endeavors

              840 Aspen Circle

              Little Canada, MN 55109

Categories
Ukraine

My Heart Breaks for Ukraine

As I sit down to write this post, I am saddened by the events that are happening in Ukraine.  Over the past few days, I have shared posts from different people who live in Ukraine and have shared their experiences of the terrible things that have been going on.  I have not shared personally though, and I felt I needed to explain a little bit about why this is personal to me.

These events are not just happening to a country that wants freedom and independence.  These events are happening to my friends and to people I love deeply.  My wife and I have been travelling to Ukraine for almost 30 years.  The first 15 years we were doing day camps with children, children who are now young adults fighting to keep the independence that is all they know.  They were born after the fall of the Soviet Union and have never been under Russian control.  Today they are mothers and fathers raising their own families.  They are workers in IT or pastors in churches.  Their lives were filled with opportunity and freedom.

The last 5 years our visits to Ukraine have involved ministry and helping pastors and churches lead changes that will help their churches to reach the next generation for Jesus.  Changes are hard.  The older generation came out of communism and remember the oppression of the church by the soviet leaders.  They remember how people came to the church after their freedom because the church offered hope from an oppressed past.  Today these churches are trying to reach a generation that does not remember times under Russian oppression.  Hope looked different to them – until this week.

We have had the privilege of working with hundreds of pastors and church leaders over the past five years.  We have been able to listen, encourage, support, and challenge them in their efforts to lead their churches and offer hope to those in their communities.  Today these churches and pastors are offering a refuge of hope and support to people who are under attack.

These pastors and leaders are not just people we came to help.  These men and women are people we have grown to love.  We know them and their families.  We have listened to their dreams and challenges.  We have laughed together, cried together, and prayed together.  Today some of these families have been forced to leave their homes to find safety.  Others have been forced to go into the subways to find a place to avoid the bombings.  Others have had to hunker down in their homes and listen to the sound of missiles, aircraft, artillery, and gun fire around them.  I feel helpless but know I can pray.  Pray for their safety!  Pray for peace to return to their land once again!  I want to see the governments of the world stand up to this bully and hold Russia and Putin accountable for the death and destruction his army is causing.

This morning, this passage of scripture was in my devotions, and I found it so timely:

From the book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision. How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted. The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.”
Habakkuk 1:1-5 NLT

I found hope in the response from God.  God is doing something that we would not believe.  My prayer today is that in this time of uncertainty and destruction that God is going to do something amazing.  Maybe it will be in this time of attack and destruction that people will find that their only true hope is in salvation in Jesus.  Governments can’t save you!  Money can’t save you!  Only Jesus can save you and provide the hope and future we all want!