You may recall Maxym and Anya who are part of our MCNet Coaching team in eastern Ukraine. Over the years it has been a privilege to work with and coach Maxym and Anya’s team. Phil had planned to be in Ukraine in April, which of course has been postponed for now. With the start of the war (or more accurately, the continuation from 2014), Maxym and Anya have remained in eastern Ukraine  (Zaporizhia, a city of 1 million) to serve those fleeing from the warzone which is about 25 km further east at this point.

In previous newsletters we have shared the work they have been doing through their ministry, New Hope Centre. Their team has currently seen about 150 people hosted and served through their facility in the last month. They ask for prayer for: 1) the war to end, 2) strength for their team and for refugees to find good homes, 3) that they will be able to help restore not only the destroyed infrastructure, but also the shattered lives of so many.

It seems the events of the last few years continue to remind us that while we may make our plans….it is God who orders our steps. As many, over the last years we have had to adapt to the realities of shutdowns and how we can continue to fulfil our ministry. How and where we were able to work in both Ukraine and Russia changed when the war first started in 2014. As we mentioned in the last newsletters (before the last military escalation), we had planned on meeting in June with our Ukraine and Russian team members in a country they each could easily travel to (Turkey). Due to the recent escalation our plans have now been postponed.

Our friends in Russia, due to the current high cost and other logistics, could also not travel at this time. One of the key purposes was to meet in person with these team members since we could not secure a visa  for Russia. We continue to pray for the whole situation and look forward to a day when we can meet together again. Until then, each of the MCNet team members continue to serve the Lord in the face of challenging new realities and we are in regular contact however we can.