Here is a newsletter from an American missionary family in the Ukraine. Pray for them. Dear Friends, Going into the weekend we want to bring you up to date on the situation in Ukraine. Things remain tense, as you know. Many reservists are being called to active duty, some in our church have received their call-up and others expect it any time. Most active duty troops have already been transported to the east and the south of Ukraine. This is more a defiant gesture than really offering any kind of resistance to Russia’s far superior military machine, but it has to be done. On Sunday Crimea will have a referendum. Russia would like the world to believe the people of Crimea are going to decide for themselves whether to join Russia or not, but the truth is the referendum gives two choices: 1) join Russia now, or 2) be independent of Ukraine now and join Russia later. There is no choice to stay part of Ukraine. We have heard reports that families are trying to leave Crimea, only to be told they cannot leave by the Russian forces who have closed off Crimea from mainland Ukraine. People are also reporting that if you are found with a Ukrainian passport, it is torn up and thrown away, and you are told that if you want a passport to apply for a Russian passport. We have been so proud of our city of Lviv and the mayor here, that they have organized people who have opened their homes to families from Crimea who were able to get out before Russian troops locked it down. Most of those who got out were families of military personnel and ethnic Tatars. There are hundreds of refugees in Lviv now, being housed and fed by these wonderful people. To be sure, some on the Crimean peninsula would prefer to go under Russia. But the fact is that Crimea is part of Ukraine, and at least 50% do not want to go under Russia. Sunday will be a day of prayer for all the Evangelical churches in Ukraine as that is the day of the referendum in Crimea. We would ask you to please pray with us on Saturday evening, (Sunday morning in Ukraine), that God will intervene and peace be returned to Ukraine. Pray also that the Lord opens hearts to the saving hope of the gospel. Excerpted from the Kyiv Post - Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Andriy Parubiy is warning that he has “every reason to believe” that Russian forces along Ukraine’s southern and eastern borders will invade. “Ukraine now faces the threat of a full-scale invasion,” Parubiy said at a press conference on March 12...Parubiy estimates that more than 80,000 Russian troops have amassed along the Ukrainian border, along with as many as 270 tanks, 180 armored combat vehicles, 380 pieces of artillery, 18 rocket launchers, 140 combat aircraft, 90 military helicopters and 19 combat boats and ships. He said that Ukraine’s Interior Ministry is seeing the first traces of the Russian incursion into continental Ukraine.” In Lviv, we are far from the east and south of Ukraine, and don’t expect fighting to come this far. We are realistic, however, and know that if war breaks out with Russia, it could involve the entire country. We have prayed about it and have not felt any leading that if war breaks out we are to leave. So, as of now and unless the Lord directs differently, we will stay. We also must consider what it would say to the people we are here to minister to, if we were to leave in their country’s greatest hour of crisis. We will be sending out a newsletter soon, but wanted to send out an update regarding the current situation. Thank you for your prayers and concerns for Ukraine and for our safety. We appreciate it so greatly and continue to serve in the joy of the Lord knowing that He holds the hearts of kings, and directs the affairs of nations. Blessings,
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 16:06:43 +0000
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