Talking early this morning with Sasha who for many years was our leader in Ukraine together with his wife Lyuda. She evacuated to Poland with her parents. Her father was not well and they went straight to the hospital when they arrived. Sasha reported that early this morning he died. Sasha along with several others is trying to bring everything together with these rescues and movement of people and goods. This on top of everything else, well, you can just imagine. Can we pray for Sasha and Lyuda and their family for special grace today?

As of today, the UN reports that 2,809,200 people have fled Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication has reported that there are 6.7 million internally displaced people in Ukraine. This means that in total, more than 9.5 million people in Ukraine have been forced to leave their homes.

Two young students at Harvard, in just three days have developed and launched the website https://www.ukrainetakeshelter.com, a website in 12 languages where Ukrainian refugees fleeing war can immediately find hosts with free rooms, apartments unused in resorts, big or small cities or school dorms.

Pass this information to other Ukrainians, who are now in European countries and not only, but also to those who would like to host these people in need.

So many people responded to the video of Julia few days ago.. Here is a more recent report of a day in Julia’s life:

• Today we fed 400
• Rescued 29 people and two dogs
• Visited 10 families delivering food boxes
• Delivered medical aid to a grandma
• Distributed 50 bags of diapers and 20 boxes of kids food to moms who lives in our neighborhood and in need of help.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Even when we tired we trying to use every opportunity to help because of generosity of so many people who is sending finances and humanitarian aid. Thank you for blessing Ukrainian nation in such difficult time

Yesterday YWAM Kiev gave you 5 points to pray, So here are the rest of 11 ways how to pray for Ukraine:
6. For protection of lives but also church buildings that were built so sacrificially for years. May these churches be a beacon of light for those who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
7. For many pastors leading their flocks at this critical time of decision and risk. They carry a heavy burden.
8. For many believing men who will have to bear arms against a professional army as the war continues. There is no other alternative for them, that we know about. Pray also for the many women who are fighting as well.
9. For the Lord to cause the opposing army to lose the will to fight, be afraid, be confused, or use other methods to stop the war.
10. For many volunteers who are setting up camps for refugees, so that they will have necessary funds, places for accommodation, and physical strength to serve.
11. For many believers to stay strong, continue trusting the Lord and not to give in to panic, fear and desperation.

Thank you for your prayers, they mean so much to all our workers,

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

News from Kyiv

Its 9:00 p.m and it looks like it is gonna be a tough night. Maybe even the toughest yet.

We hear a lot of blasts in the city. They are big enough to shake our building. We got used to the small ones but the big ones make us uneasy.

Please continue to hold Ukraine in your prayers.

These are the cities under heated attacks right now.

• Kyiv region,
• Kharkiv region – under persistent attacks!
• Mariupol surrounded, cut off electricity, heating, food supplies – there is a humanitarian crisis.
• Kherson
• Melitopil
• Luhansk
• Donetsk,
• Crimea – occupied by Russian military.
• In Melitopil “new Mayor” put by Russian military encourages massive protesting groups to “stop committing extremes acts and get used to new
  normal”
• May Your Kingdom Come, may Your Will be Done!!

SEND international posted 11 ways to pray for Ukraine and we invite you to pray through the first 5 with us today, we will post the next 6 tomorrow. So here they are:

1. Ask God to redeem this situation by drawing many people to Himself. May Ukrainians discover that Jesus is the only true source of peace, safety, comfort, truth and freedom
2. For evacuation and humanitarian aid around cities under attack in Ukraine. Many people in these cities are without heat and electricity.
3. For many churches that opened their doors to neighbors offering food and shelter.
4. For protection of many kids and parents who will spend another night in bomb shelters, metro stations or on the roads to safer places and all brave volunteers risking their lives to evacuate people.
5. For logistics of getting funds and humanitarian aid to churches and refugee camps so they continue to have food, medicine and other supplies.

As we are all aware, this war not only affects Ukaine, but the whole world. Here is a report from a missionary family in a neighboring country in Central Asia:

With the invasion of Ukraine, the world has completely been turned upside down. Here, many locals are worrying about the fall of the ruble and the rise in prices. Most families have at least one family member working in Russia, but they are now sending back far less money than before for families to live on. And with less work in Russia, many are returning home … to a place where work is already scarce. They’re not the only ones coming here. A local news channel interviewed a Russian woman who had recently fled with her daughter. Her friend’s house had been raided and she had been taken to prison for 15 years for having opposed the war. A few local airlines still fly to and from Russia, so she came to our city. Just today (Saturday, March 12), We saw at the local market a family who were clearly not from here but were speaking Russian. When we asked the vegetable seller about them, he said they were Russians who were running away from Russia because they’re afraid of their own government. We do indeed live in an upside-down world when Russians start escaping to Central Asia! Let’s continue to pray peace over Ukraine and for the fighting to cease.

Thank you for your continued prayer for Ukraine and Russia

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Just too much pain. No child on earth should experience this. I read in Ihor Huryk that 300 children from Mariupol who lost their parents have arrived in Frankivsk today. I pray  that each child will find a new family. Mr. Igor has details on the page that can help you financially. And become a guardian, if you have the opportunity. Now these are our children.
– Tanya, Family Ministries Ukraine

A lot is happening here in #hurlach. Right now 40 Ukrainian people are staying in the castle. Unfortunately around 20 of them had to go into quarantine. Please pray for them as this is extremely challenging in such a situation.
11 bus trips were made to the border and a 20 ton and a 7,5 ton truck brought relief goods into Ukraine.

DTS 2022 Open
In this difficult and uncertain time, seven brave children dared to dedicate their lives to Jesus for five months. In this time, God will change their characters and life values, go
through the challenges that will prepare them to further fulfill God’s calling in their lives. Please pray for our DTS students, they need your support during these difficult times
– Y Russia

It has been another difficult day. The bombing continues in the south and is moving toward the west now. The corridors didn’t open making rescues difficult. Pray for our drivers. Pray for our Y kids in Russia. It’s getting very difficult for them as well but they won’t quit their DTS.

These next days are expected to get much worse, please pray!

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

These are some of the needs and prayer points coming in today… Please Pray…

The Green corridors (cease fire zones) did not open for Mariupol and some of the other badly hit towns where rescue and feeding operations are extremely difficult and dangerous. Please pray for our drivers and staff in those areas. Pray that these corridors will be established until these innocent people can be evacuated, they are mostly elderly people.

Another prayer point for those receiving refugees in Europe is for protection against Covid transmission. This pandemic is not over yet, and Ukrainians were only about
30% double vaccinated. Some of our receiving bases are experiencing outbreaks, and that slows down their ability to serve the refugees.

Post from European Initiative: After a long day and night in Ukraine my EI staff and I arrived in Budapest after 1:00am. We walked by the downtown train station and saw 15 or more buses parked with engines running. After a closer look, the buses contained Ukrainian refugees – engines running to provide heat. Not enough housing for the millions streaming into Eastern Europe.

We are in great need of Ukrainian/Russian speaking volunteers that can volunteer for a minimum of 2 weeks.
This is needed in Germany/ Polen/ Slovakia/ Hungary and Romania.
Please contact: ukraine@ywamce.com

Al Akimoff and Slavic Ministries Team

The Dutch Brothers have arrived

A truck arrived from Holland bringing goods and gas, in fact a big barrel with a pump, we now have our own gas station…

Praise and prayer report!! There is a part of Kyiv region that was heavily bombed and is occupied by Russian forces. We got many phone calls from their asking for help to get out, including a baby orphanage, but it was too dangerous and pretty much impossible, under shooting. Today they have agreed for a green corridor from it. Many vans are lined up in meeting Points getting people and it was officially announced that the orphanage is also being evacuated. We contacted people that asked us for help to make sure they are getting out. Some of them are too far from meeting points and they are too scared to walk.

Please pray for these agreements with Russians to less longer. We need to get people out of their situations and let’s pray for the same for Eastern Ukraine, Mariupol.

Unfortunately the green corridor didn’t apply to everywhere and Mariupol was hit again and this time a children’s hospital.

Our drivers are going deeper and further to reach people, especially these cities that have been bombed. Pray for our drivers, this is Sasha one of our Y people who moved to America. He has now returned to help and is now driving one of the newly provided vans. Pray for them, it’s dangerous but they are dedicated.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Strollers left by women at a train station awaiting refugee mothers with children.

I listened to a TV commentator asking the question why has there not been an amphibious attack on Odessa? We heard that it was coming, what happened?

This is a report that came out of Belarus,
“When the Russian military fired at the military unit in Volyn, they were supposed to be followed by troops from the Belarusian border. When the Russian paratroopers jumped with parachutes, the wind picked up and BLOWED THEM BACK!”

Wind! Blown away!

Another case of a battle of the elements occurred when the Russian landing force could not land in Odessa, due to the fact that during the planned landing at sea a storm arose and did not subside for three days. They gave up trying to land. How many cases are we not aware of?”

In Kyiv they report that more and more people are coming and they are feeding up to a thousand a day. At the same time trucks are arriving with food and supplies. Our local McDonalds manager came by and said he wanted to help. He is now sends two trucks of food every day. We are now the local McDonalds serving hundreds of cheese burgers.

Our Ternopil center is experiencing a huge increase of people coming through. The center is full, churches are full, we have to keep the people moving toward the border. Meanwhile our people are exhausted, working around the clock catching bits of sleep when they can.

Schloss Hurlach (Our Y center in Germany)

As soon as the word got out that we want to help in the Ukrainian crises, within two hours our little Hurlach village filled up a room with all sorts of donation needed. The mayor Andreas Glatz was able to work together with the fire department of Hurlach to released the fire truck to be used to transport all the donation that people brought in for the Polish-Ukrainian border.

Today we received 27 refugees, orphans from Odessa.

There is much to praise God for, generosity of people around the world providing food, supplies and shelter for the people both inside and those fleeing the country.

• Pray for all those involved with transporting food and people in and out of the country and those bringing it to those stranded in difficult places.
• Pray for many now arriving from around the world to help, that they can be coordinated and put to effective use along the borders and centers that are receiving the refugees.
• Pray for more miracles, for lives to be spared. For more winds to come from heaven to blow harm away.
• Pray for the spiritual battle going on in heavenly places.

Al Akimoff and Slavic Ministries Team

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is the case, then here is a whole story. This is the train station in the city of Kharkiv.

Pray for our workers all along the border, this is what is headed for them in the coming days and weeks.

Praise God for the many trucks and vans arriving from all over Europe with goods. They are a miraculous answer to the prayers of so many.

Praise God for the safety of the many young drivers, who continue to risk their lives daily to deliver these goods.

Report from Kyiv:

• In the last ten days we packed over 4000 portions of food.
• Delivered groceries to old age homes.
• Handed out supplies at blockposts
• Helped young moms with products
• Drove many many people to safety.
• and so on and on
• But with the new shipment that came in, we will be able to do much more and we are super excited about that.

Thank you all for standing with us. If not for your support, we could not have done any of
these. Please continue to pray!

Al Akimoff and The Slavic Ministries Team

I pass on these words and prayer requests from Anya, a leader of our Kyiv center. She carries a big weight and burden, she and her husband need lots of prayer. She is one of those Heroes that have been raised up among the Ukrainian people.

Her words….
“ I woke up this morning with a picture of Aaron and Moses. It’s been 10 days, hard, heavy, devastating 10 days for the people on the ground in this horrible situation.

Please pray, lift up the hands, the voices to support their spirits, their emotions to support their pain and success.

Specific needs, safety for our drivers. It’s getting more and more dangerous. We need more drivers coming to Kyiv and more in other cities that are not close to the western part.

Pray for the Green corridor to be opened. Today there was an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to make a safe zone from Mariople but the firing did not cease so the corridor has not opened. People want to get out of the hot zones. We are getting messages from many people stranded in places asking for help to get out. It is quite hard. In the villages there are no medications, they have food but no medicines. Pray that we can get the supplies that are needed and for safety for the drivers so that we can get these to the villages where they are needed Many people are arriving in the west, some moving on but many wanting to stay in the west.

Tons of miracles happening every day. Your prayers do matter, the prayers are the changing point in this situation. Don’t cease to pray. Keep crying out, keep standing firm in faith that God’s good plans for Ukraine will prevail.”

Al Akimoff and Slavic Team

Last night was a frightening experience for much of the world. Minutes after it happened it was sent to us and was sent out immediately to thousands of prayer warriors around the world. Praise God for a quick resolution and the fire was put out at the Atomic Reactor power plant.

The most commented on thing these last few days is the amazing response of y people in Ukraine, the border countries and the world. The networks have been amazing. Covid and the zoom revolution also produced a built-in communications system that has been revolutionary in our response during this crisis.

Y drivers are taking people out of Kyiv and to the borders in a systematic way that most transit systems would envy, all in the midst of peril to their lives. Most are women and children and a number of groups of orphans. It is reminiscent of Corrie Ten Boom and her rescue of Jewish babies. Pray for these brave young drivers, they have stories to tell.

Many teams are forming at the borders as they are arriving from many countries. Pray that they will be able to be coordinated and well supplied. A number of Bibles are being donated as well as other helpful materials. One young Dutch lady, who led a ministry of anti-trafficking in Y Latvia, is now working for a government agency and was able to put together a pamphlet that is now being used to prevent this crisis from being exploited in that area.

Pray for our wonderful Y family in Kyiv these next few days, pray fervently as they are coming under intense attack. They are tired and their emotions are spent, rarely do we talk with them that they don’t break down and cry.

I am including a video of one of our beloved Kyiv gals that many know, she serves as DTS coordinator for Ukraine. Hear her story and please pray!

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Team