LOOKING back over the articles contributed by my clergy colleagues in the past few weeks, inevitably the focus has rightly been on the terrible situation in Ukraine. And as I come to write this, it’s very difficult to find words that can meaningfully add to what has already been said.

So instead of giving you my thoughts, I’m going to let Maia, a Ukrainian Christian who is the part of the leadership team of a church in Kyiv, speak about her situation, and the Bible verses that help and encourage her. You can read more on her Facebook page ‘Maia Mikhaluk’.

“The night is coming. Today we had 8 air raids during the day. Kyiv is living under tension from day 1 of the war. Russian threats are ongoing. I went today to see the buildings in our area that were hit by debris of Russian ballistic rockets two nights ago. It’s far from casual curiosity. Every Ukrainian who looks at the damage from Russian bombs is making a very personal application. Every one of us is asking ourselves if this hit my building, would my place of shelter have saved me?

Tomorrow most likely our granddaughter will come home from the hospital (we are beyond excited about finally meeting her in person!) and we hope our bomb shelter will be a safe place for her. I pray that none of you, my friends, will ever wonder about that for your kids and grandkids.

Our prayers tonight are with Psalm 46 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”

Last Sunday we had our worship service in Kyiv church on the 25th day of the war. Every moment together is precious! We had a few new people who joined us today because they couldn’t find a church that meets in person in their part of Kyiv. Meanwhile, we are missing some of our regular people. Our prayer list with specific names of those who joined the ranks of defenders on front lines is growing. It especially hurts to hear that some of them have not been in touch for a while.

We are also praying for civilians who have been caught in the suburbs of Kyiv during vicious bombings and advancement of Russian tanks, those who are hiding in basements without heat, water and electricity. Some of those haven’t been in touch for days now.

We continue to pray for Symy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, suburbs of Kyiv and especially Mariupol which are under heavy bombings and ongoing Russian attacks.

The sermon today started with a verse from Psalm 37:10 – ‘A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.’”

Let’s continue to pray for our brothers & sisters in Ukraine, that they would know God’s comfort and presence in the midst of their ongoing hardships.