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!