Tuesday 8th March 2022
Praying for Ukraine
Louise Morse
Sharing the London City Mission building, where our central operations are based, is Mission Without Borders, the charity that has been operating across Eastern Europe for 60 years, and in Ukraine since 1991. Its work in Ukraine is continuing throughout the conflict, and it expects it to increase following the Russian invasion. Every day in our scheduled prayer times we lift Ukraine and the work of Mission Without Borders to the Lord. We also pray for the son of a friend, a British man who has been a pastor there for over twenty years. He sends us daily updates from the ground, and has asked not to be widely published for security reasons. He is also a personal friend, and I am sharing a little of his updates so you can pray for him and his family, too. (His wife is Ukrainian, and I’ve changed her name to Maria in this account.)
David’s work now is on a war footing. One of his first updates read:
‘Two years ago, with the help of many people around the world, we built an amazing school. Ironically, little did we know that we were actually building a bomb shelter. In our city, the designated bomb shelters are full – some turning people away – some only letting women and children in. About 40 from our team gathered at the school and distributed blankets and mattresses in preparation for the night ahead. We will provide shelter for anyone who needs it.
‘How do we explain what is going on to Susanna, our seven-year-old? What affect is this dark situation going to have on the future of our nation? How many people are going to have to die for there to be peace? How many people are going to turn to Jesus as they understand he is the only hope for this broken world? So many questions.
‘But prayers were answered for us, and by 10pm we received the all clear, and were able to return home as the night curfew began – because martial law is in place across Ukraine. Other cities in Ukraine are not so blessed as us, and the bombing continued through the night.
David’s most recent post said,
‘The sirens start to get in your head. Was that a siren or not? The electric trolleybuses in our city sound like sirens when they accelerate and brake. Sitting round our supper table as a family, finding something to laugh about together, a sound is heard, we all stop to check - was it an explosion? Or just a neighbour banging at something in his garage.
‘We met this morning with our core team of leaders to share, plan and pray. Some are exhausted, some are fresh. Some slept at home, some slept in cold basements. We try to be open and honest about our feelings. My eyes are hurting - the consequence of spending too much time by the computer with unsuitable glasses. But we prayed together. The peace was broken by another air raid alert. We scattered in different directions to shelter. Other cities are not so fortunate. The bombing is frequent, the destruction devastating, leaving dead and wounded everywhere.
‘The thoughts, the fears, the pain and the questions that are piling up - we live in a hidden place that we will have to return to some time in the future. Although our team, led by Maria, that today started the Psychological First Aid course that has been set up for us online, will soon have a plan to deal with that.
‘For now we put our human trust in the brave men and women who are protecting us and fighting for our freedom. But more importantly we put our trust in God - all of our faith and all of our hope, all of our tears and all of our pain.
He is the Prince of Peace. He is coming back. The world needs to know Him. Here in Ukraine, we all need Him more than ever now.’
‘We say a loud ‘AMEN’ to that! Our prayers for David, and for Ukraine are that God would protect them, that He would provide all they need, including peace of mind, that He would give the whole family of God in Ukraine a sense of His presence, and that He would bring the invasion by Russia to an end. Also, and importantly, we’d be glad if you would join us in praying for older people in Ukraine, particularly the frail elderly and those living with dementia, including those living in care homes.’
