God is the one who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” Psalm 147: 3
On September 12-14, a missionary conference was held in Slavyansk, Donetsk region. The conference organized by “Good News” Church of Slavyansk was attended by missionaries who are serving people on the front lines, guests from several countries and representatives of various charitable organizations.
CBN-Emmanuel, which has been supporting missionary centers in war-affected eastern Ukraine since 2014, was also represented at the conference. Galyna Kucher, CBN-Emmanuel’s Director of Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Projects was able to share about the results of their works in eastern Ukraine.
“Emmanuel works with children in 46 settlements of Donbass and this children’s ministry cannot be underestimated. Today, the ministry covers 1,500 children and it’s a big “army”. Children are the future of the church, and it is very important that we remember this”, Galyna shared.
At the conference, we were able to see several people who we came to know through CBN-Emmanuel’s humanitarian projects, in particular, Tatiana Rybakova and Oleg Sidorov who were helped in the framework of CBN’s “Life-Changing Surgery” project.
Tetyana had lost her husband back in 2018 and was diagnosed with a very grave disease right after. Thankfully, the Lord turned everything for good. Tatiana met missionaries who came to her village to pray for people and distribute seeds in the framework of Orphan’s Promise “Something To Eat Every Day” (SEED) project.
When talking to the missionaries, Tanya shared her difficulties and asked for help. Just 10 days later she was traveling to Kyiv for a thorough medical examination and surgery which was completely covered by CBN-Emmanuel.
Now that Tatyana is back home and healthy, she walks 5km every Thursday to listen to the Word of God and have fellowship with Christians.
In addition, thanks to the financial support of the “International Gospel Center Church”, Tetyana was able to start a small farming business – she breeds poultry and grows vegetables.
Tetyana’s looks have changed a lot – she is constantly smiling, has stopped worrying about the future and wants to help others the way they once helped her. During the conference the woman was baptized!
Oleg lives in Zalizne, Donetsk region with his wife Victoria and two sons.
Last summer, an unlucky incident drastically changed Oleg’s life. One day he fell into a pit in the grass that he didn’t notice and injured his leg badly – he couldn’t flex his left leg and could no longer walk without crutches. The injury affected not only his physical condition, but also his moral and emotional status.
Thankfully, Good took care of Oleg’s situation. Oleg’s wife was attending the church at that time and through their church she contacted CBN-Emmanuel to ask for help. Oleg was brought to Kyiv and had a very successful surgery.
He is now able to move and live a normal life!
Looking at these changed lives, we do not cease to thank God for His mercy and love. Thanks to the ministry in the war-affected eastern Ukraine, people are able to know the Savior. CBN-Emmanuel has been and will continue to be a faithful agent of these changes!
“The LORD is good to all, he has compassion on all he has made”, Psalm 145:9
By Liudmila Gamaliy, CBN-Emmanuel
