On February 24th Russia invaded Ukraine.

We want to thank all of you who have kept up with the news and continued to pray through these past months as well as have given to help us minister to the needs of the thousands who have been affected by this war.

Right now a number of us are at a family/youth camp in Poland ministering to both Polish and Ukrainian youth. There are many of these camps being held all around the border countries and throughout Ukraine. Thousands of young people and their families are being touched by compassion and care. We are thankful for all the teams that have come to help from all over the world. We had a tremendous breakthrough with the Ukrainians tonight, particularly a whole group of 21 orphans. They were a rowdy group when they came, but to see them so thankful to the Polish people who took them in and brought them to this camp, there was not a dry tear in the crowd.

Thousands have been given water and food in basements and apartments in countless towns and cities. Many have been taken out of these basements and destroyed houses and taken to safety to Western Ukraine and other border countries.

Every week a different group of our workers or partnering pastors are brought out to a city in a border country and taken to a beautiful apartment where they are given rest, comfort and ministry to their souls.

This past week many of the staff were sent on a retreat where they were ministered to by care teams from Western Europe, as well as given tools to help them minister to others.

Thousands of Ukrainian refugees are being taken in by a number of our centers and churches all around Europe. They are being fed and taken care of as more full time housing and living situations are being found. Kindergartens are being set up to care for the children to release their moms to find jobs. Many different means are being used to help children continue their education.

Several projects have been funded to buy and bake bread to feed hundreds in several different cities. Seed and fertilizer have also been delivered to farmers to help them not miss the planting season.

As the war has settled into a longer war on the eastern front, it is time to think of the future. Winter is coming quicker than we think, and we need to plan and work toward preparing for it. This week we will meet with a number of people in Ukraine to discuss the needs and strategies for the coming months. Would you pray for us, we need wisdom and the Holy Spirit’s leading. Thank you so much for your continued prayer and giving. All of the above has been due to your faithfulness!

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team (from Poland)

Family/Youth Camp Poland Lisa W.
Today I crawled under a table and sat with Sasha in his pain and God spoke to both of us.

We were having an activity reenacting Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000.
We had baskets with huge marshmallows as bread and colorful gummy fish, all flexible, sugar-coated and washed in blues, greens, reds and yellows. As we were handing out the sugary stand-ins for the 2 fish and 5 loaves, I saw Sasha run over to a table in the corner, crawl under and lean against the wall with a look of despair.

I went over to the table, got down on my hands and knees, peered into the most beautiful brown eyes and asked, “Sasha, what is wrong? ” He looked at me like his world had crumbled. “I didn’t get any fish and now they are gone”. Somehow, I heard so much more behind that simple statement. I could see the pain in his eyes, the fear, the reality that his 7 year old world was a mess and no 7 year old should have to try to comprehend war.

You see, Sasha is Ukrainian. He speaks Russian, not Ukrainian. He is in Poland with his grandmother living with a family that he just met. His parents are both in the Ukrainian military. They are both in active combat on the front lines in two different places. Sasha is in pain, he is confused. I heard one of the children today ask him if he is Russian because he doesn’t speak Ukrainian. I watched as he emphatically said – “I am not Russian, I just don’t speak Ukrainian, but I am Ukrainian, not Russian” The fierceness with which he responded caught my attention and broke my heart. Sasha is 7 years old. He should be catching frogs, learning to ride a bike, enjoying carefree fun. He should be swimming and eating ice cream and going on summer vacation with his family. He should not have to defend his nationality or make an excuse for the language he speaks. Sasha should not have to fear that a senseless war will take the life of one or maybe both of his parents from whom he has been separated now for months.

I left Sasha under the table and discovered that once again the fish were multiplied. There was indeed more rubbery jelly, colorful fish for Sasha. We found another bag of fish we had missed when putting the snacks out, or maybe God did multiply the fish once again. I grabbed two fish and crawled back under the table with him. His brown eyes lit up as I handed him the fish.

We sat in silence for a few seconds. He munched and gnarled on the taffy-like candy. I looked him in the eye and said, “Sasha, I know things are really hard right now”. He shook his head up and down. “I’m so sorry that your Mom and Dad are not here with you”. He shook his head again. “Sasha, I want you to know how much God loves you and He is with you right now and always will be”. He nodded his head. We sat in silence a little longer just looking at each other.

We crawled out from under the table to join the rest of the class. Sasha ran over to sit with some of the other boys as class continued.

My heart breaks for Sasha and the thousands of children like him.

Lord, please allow these children to know that you sit with them in their pain.
Please show them how you STILL provide and you WILL provide now and in the future.
Remind me again and again how important it is to get down on my knees,
look these precious children in the eye and tell them about your magnificent love for them.

From Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Prayer for the residents from Secerodonetsk
Evacuees from Severodonetsk are only able to travel “towards Russia or occupied” territories in Ukraine. The healthcare situation in the eastern Ukrainian city is fragile and just a few doctors remain. The water and food situation in Severodonetsk is “critical.”

Prayer for residents in Zaporizhzhia
Hundreds of residents are being held captive in Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, “People are electrocuted, beaten, and held for weeks and sometimes months.”
120,000 residents of the city are trapped, unable to escape. Sanitary situation is becoming critical. “Garbage has not been taken out since February. Thousands of tons of garbage lie on the street, rotting. The sewer does not work. There is no water.” Russian forces have “distanced themselves from the locals because they are afraid of getting infected.”

Just happening now in Kremenchuk
Here are some images from the attack in Kremenchuk which left a shopping centre in flames. Two deaths have been confirmed but the number of victims is expected to rise significantly. People are purportedly trapped inside. A number of emergency services are on site trying to rescue those who were caught up in the strike. Around 1,000 people were inside at the time.

We would be grateful for your prayers over the Ukrainian people in these cities. Y teams continue to help where they can get in safely. Also pray for more volunteers to come and help in the ongoing needs.

Anya (Kyiv)
Today is the beginning of the G7 meetings and also an intensive day for Kyiv.
As I am writing it the city of Odessa is being hit!!
This muscle flexing is painful for many, but also proves the evil intention of Russia’s regime!
Please join us in prayer as leaders come together deciding on the respond! We need strong, wise, selfless leaders in this world.
May the Lord grant them His direction and graceful strength to do what is right!!!
May the Lord give us strength to endure this trial and mercy for the sufferings!!
May the Lord break our hearts and fill us with faith and revelation as we stand in prayerful battle!!

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team (From Poland)

Explosions resounded through Kyiv early on Sunday following missile strikes – one person was killed after a building was hit and damaged. This morning’s attack on the capital was one of several Russia launched on Ukraine today

Yesterday, Ukrainian intelligence said Russia was also launching air strikes from inside neighbouring Belarus, a key ally of Moscow.

From one of our Y leaders in Ukraine
“Central Ukraine has been the target in the last couple of days. Over 30 missiles hit this part in the last couple of days. I see people are tired of the war and its getting tougher and tougher to hold on to the hope of a better future.”

“The troops on the North border with Belarus are intensifying too. Please intensify the prayer for Y staff and volunteers who are in this region where the bombing just occurred. Our staff are safe at the moment.

A Number of us are presently involved with summer camps spread across Poland and Ukraine. Yesterday a bus arrived with 21 Ukrainian orphans.. Please pray that we can minister to them effectively.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team (Poland)

War is a horrible thing! The destruction of God’s creation and man’s developments, homes, buildings, roads and bridges. But what is unseen often and is sometimes the hardest to restore is the soul of man.

To watch your city blown apart by bombs, those things that make up your memories, your school, your church, your home. Worse is to see your neighbor killed or maybe your husband your best friend or even worse your children. These are the most terrible casualties of war and many of us have seen soldiers come back to lives that will never be the same.

Yesterday we visited a very special place. It is an apartment that opens up to a view of old town Krakow, Poland. The inside is furnished simply but comfortably. As soon as you walk in you feel the presence of God, of love. This house was built on a vision of a leader of one of our centers in Ukraine. She saw her staff, whom she loved were giving of themselves selflessly around the clock. She saw her friends, pastors of churches and their wives tirelessly living out their lives for others. Who is giving back to these people, who is pouring love back into their lives that are often drained of that same love.

Out of that vision came “Respite.” A ministry that takes these selfless workers into this apartment and works on restoring and giving back that which has been poured out to countless people across Ukraine’s war torn cities and towns.

They come, some are couples, tired and with little left to give. For a week they are blessed with beauty, comfort, listening ears and ministry. Karen, one of the staff says, you should see the difference in their faces from the time they come to when they leave. One pastor escaped with his family from a bombed out city, delivered his family to the safety of a YWAM center then returned to that city to bring more people out. He continued to do this risking his life each time but not being able to stop until his body could take no more. He was able to finally breath and get his life back as he was ministered to by the staff and Holy Spirit.

Will you stand with us in prayer for this important ministry? Pray that tired and wounded souls can be restored. They go back with the things they learned to help restore the people in their towns.

Also, this week a team has come from Western Europe, a care team to hold a retreat in Ukraine for our overworked staff. Pray for rest, restoration and a new empowering of the Holy Spirit. Pray that their teaching and ministry will be powerful and effective and that it will be spread through the whole nation.

This too is warfare of a different but very needed kind.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team (Poland)

Extensive destruction in Lysychansk, the last city in Luhansk region still under Ukrainian control. The city is “half-destroyed by Russian artillery.”
The city’s roads are deserted — littered with upended vehicles — and the sound of incoming rounds seems almost constant. One citizen from that city says: “People die in their apartments, in their homes, in their yards.” Communications are difficult because the Russians are employing electronic warfare measures, meaning the state emergency service can’t reach victims of the shelling, nor organize evacuations.
Please pray for those in hiding within the city that they can receive food and medical supplies. Also, for a safe evacuation.

Report from Y Ukraine for prayer

Our Y teams continue their efforts to help many by delivering food and medical supplies. On going prayer needed for their safety as they travel hazardous roads to get to the people in need. Thank you!

“We have set up small hubs with humanitarian aid and evacuation along the front lines in Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhya, pray for our guys and their protection every time they are driving closer to the places of bombing.”

Thank you for your prayers, continue to pray for the many family, kids and youth camps going on. We begin one in Poland this week.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

More thoughts from Ira (Kyiv)

Day 94
It is the end of May, a traditional end of the school year in Ukraine. I remember how it made me feel when I was a child – a little nostalgic yet excited for the endless opportunities of the summer break. That’s how the kids should think about it. However, this year is different. Ukrainian children will not have their traditional graduation parties. Most of them are scattered all over the world or are busy sheltering from Russian bombs and missiles. Our children have matured overnight because of the crazy ambitions of the Russian dictator.

Please, take your time to pray for the children of Ukraine. They ask serious questions. They are dealing with anxiety from sirens wailing with air raid warnings. They are learning to manage their emotions, especially anger at the situation. They experience losses on various levels – loss of security, their home, loss of a friend or a family member, loss of limbs. The war scars their childhood, and we pray for their future not to be crippled by this experience.

In these past three months, whenever I was thinking about the children in Ukraine, I would be reminded of the passages from Deuteronomy where God instructs Moses and the Israelites to make sure their children and their children’s children know about the great deeds of the Lord and understand and keep His commandments. Children will grow up to be the new generation, yet their childhood determines which way they will go as adults.

Will our children hate Russia forever? Will they learn to be cruel? Will they recover from the atrocities they experienced in their lives? If they left Ukraine as refugees, will they ever return home, and which country will they call their home? Will they always be afraid of thunder and the sound of an airplane? Will they understand what values their nation was fighting for, or will they take it for granted or disregard it completely?

The answers to these questions depend on what we, as parents, do today. They will learn from our responses and our actions. May God grant us wisdom in fulfilling this responsibility: “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children”.” (Deuteronomy 4:9-10)

The poem in today’s picture was written by Pavlo Vyshebaba, a Ukrainian man who currently serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. His family is in a safe place in Europe, and when his daughter asked him what she should write him about in a letter, he gave her this response. I am deeply moved by this poem because it shows the true heart of a father wanting to preserve his girl’s childhood.

According to the official reports, 242 children were killed in the war, and over 440 were wounded. Please, keep praying.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Day 92 Thoughts from Ira/Kyiv
As the fighting in the East of Ukraine intensifies, we need your prayer. The next few days (or weeks) are going to be tough. Belarus is conducting “military training” within 60 kilometers (40 miles) of the Ukrainian border. There is evidence of Russia accumulating troops in the Belgorod and Voronezh regions, which may mean renewed attacks on Kharkiv (and possibly Sumy) region. They have set up missile launchers in various locations along the border, so we expect many missile attacks. They will primarily aim at railroad stations and important infrastructure objects to prevent the supply of ammunition. Still, since we’ve seen their lack of precision in the past, anything can become a target. Please, pray for divine protection!

Pray for the temporarily occupied territories. There is a flood danger in Kherson region. The hydropower station in Kakhovka needs repair, but the occupational forces do not allow it. There is already some flooding, but many villages may end up underwater if the situation gets worse. My heart breaks for Kherson region – my grandparents were participating in the construction of the hydropower station in Kakhovka, and my parents spent their first years of marriage (and my first year of life) in a village that is just a few kilometers down the river from Kakhovka. And these are just a few personal connections that we have, but our friends have family members there.

The situation in occupied Mariupol is very sad. The city may be on the verge of a cholera outbreak because of a lack of sanitary conditions. People still don’t have electricity or running water, but the first thing the occupational forces did was set up giant screens to broadcast Russian propaganda. They announced that there would be no summer break for schools in the occupied Mariupol so that the children could “catch up on Russian language and history” (a.k.a. intense brainwashing). At the same time, the occupational government in Crimea suggested removing the English language from the school curriculum, explaining that it’s dangerous (it may get a child interested in other countries) and useless to people who will never go to London. At least they admit they are afraid of open-minded people.

Today’s picture is from a world hockey championship that’s taking place in Finland. The game was between the Czech Republic and Latvia teams, so the organizers wouldn’t allow any other flags to be displayed there. The creative Czech fans came up with a solution. On their national flags, they wrote a famous slogan from the days of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, “Ivan, go home; your Natasha is waiting for you.” They put up a poster that asks you to imagine a Ukrainian flag in the middle. Thankfully, the countries that underwent Soviet oppression understand the actual danger of the Russian invasion and have the courage to speak up.

Teams continue to minister to towns and villages, the need remains great. Please pray for them as they travel far afield every day.

Thank you for praying and giving,
Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Another good word from Marie John (Kyiv)
The return of the horses
One young woman we met in a village just outside of Kyiv told us a story: As the whole village was under occupation, the Russians set up their headquarters close to the horse farm. Days passed, and they would not allow anyone in to feed and take care of the horses. So, this lady who happens to live right next to the farm came up with an idea. She took heart and went straight to the Russians, asking them to free all the horses so they would not perish from hunger and thirst. Miraculously, they agreed. It is an even greater miracle that after six long weeks of occupation, just days after the Russians left the village, the horses returned. The girl smiles as she says, “One by one they returned. Not one is missing. Somehow they knew it was time to come home.”

But there are some who are not coming home. Three neighbors, who were dragged out of their homes and into the forest, close to the occupiers’ camp, did not return. We spent the afternoon walking the mined area very carefully and searching every square meter with a drone.
It feels so unreal. Suddenly seeing something in the thick grass. This fearlessness in our hearts when we look at each other and decide to slowly lift the cover of something (or someone) laying there on the ground. Knowing a mine could burst and swallow us at any moment.

We don’t have a death wish. We do live a bit more dangerously these days. I dearly love this verse: Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him (2 Samuel 14:14). Indeed, he has made a way so that everyone who believes will not be estranged from him! Have we realized that? Not just in a cognitive and theoretical way, spelling it out in credos and liturgies. How would we live if we realized that Christ is indeed truly risen? Would our lives not suddenly start looking differently, would we not stop trying to grab things and hold on to things that ultimately perish?

Paul says – If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
Ultimately, knowing Christ is risen gives us the certainty that we too will return home. And on this side of the world, there is an inner compass guiding and returning us ever so back to Him, no matter how far we might have gone astray. The decision to follow it is ours though.

Thank you for your prayers and giving….
Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team

Some thoughts from Ira from Kyiv
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
This verse came to mind as I was praying tonight. We went outside today to check on our vegetable garden when we heard a loud noise in the sky. A Russian missile rocket was flying over our house. It was low enough to see it very well. At that moment, I felt a whole range of emotions – fear, anger, helplessness. I started yelling at it, “Disappear! Disappear!” The anguish of knowing it will bring destruction to some unsuspecting people and being powerless to do anything about it. The only thing I could do was pray, so I prayed for this missile to be shot down, for it not to bring any destruction and death, for the protection of our air defense forces, and for God’s punishment on those who came to kill. The missile was gone in a matter of seconds, but we were pretty shaken and would stop in our tracks from any noise.
When I went inside, I immediately went online to check if a missile attack did any damage. Praise God, there was a report about at least 4 missiles rockets shot down. There was also a report about another missile rocket that fell into the river, not causing any damage. A couple of days ago, another missile hit an empty toilet at a beach in Odesa. According to the reports, the success rate of Ukraine’s air-defense system went from 29% at the beginning of the war to 72%. I know that there are thousands of prayers and hundreds of lives saved behind each of these reports, and I praise God.

Russia is launching another information attack on a world scale. In the past week, there were statements made by different people in different countries with a similar idea that Ukraine should give up currently occupied territories to let Putin “keep the face” and let the world get back to normal. We know how Russian propaganda works and how well-meaning people can be fed false ideas to be brought to the conclusions that would be useful for Russia. These statements that just happen (coincidence?) to be so similar are as far from a good solution as possible. Russia occupied Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014 but didn’t stop there. It just waited a little bit and came back for more.

You know, many Russians believe that Alaska was given to the USA as a gift or that it was “rented out” to the US for some time. What if they decide to reclaim Alaska as their territory? After all, that’s the reason they used to explain the annexation of Crimea. Would you agree that Alaska should be just given to Russia to appease the madman? And what about the people living there? Should they be gifted to Russia along with the land? Would it qualify as human trafficking? I hope you see how absurd these ideas are once you look deeper. So I pray for God’s truth to prevail in the hearts and minds of all people, but especially those in the position to make critical decisions. I praise God for all the support we’ve been given and pray that we’ll have grateful hearts.

Today’s picture is from Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia region). The occupational government ordered to burn down books on Ukrainian history (and other dangerous Ukrainian literature). I remember reading “Fahrenheit 451” in high school and thinking it was too dystopian ever to come true. I guess we’re seeing it come to life along with Orwell’s “1984”

Some thoughts to help you as you continue to pray for Ukraine, pray against this powerful propaganda machine that continues to deceive so many around the world. Pray for truth to prevail.

Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team