Being here is paradoxical and full of contrasts. It's as if you see evil and experience something infinitely beautiful at the same time.
The ugly part is the war. I have met many who have fled their homes. Families divided, with husbands left behind and wives and children abroad. Add to this the war crimes committed by Russian soldiers.
Look fresh videos about what's in the food parcels and distribution of emergency aid inside Ukraine. Click here Here.
The most beautiful moment was yesterday when I visited a village north of Ukraine's border with Romania, together with the leaders of the relief work supported by Danish European Mission donors.
50 people from a congregation in Mariupol had fled to this village and had been given a nice shelter in a church in town.
The beautiful moment was when I met a team of missionary doctors from several countries who had traveled to Ukraine to help. They were working with the relief teams that Danish European Mission donors support and were providing free medical care and pastoral care to the refugees from Mariupol. There were Christians from Kazakhstan, Americans... and me from Denmark. It was as if Christians from all over the world had traveled to Ukraine to help.
It was a beautiful expression of the global church in action, ordinary Christians, at a critical time in European history since World War II. The refugees are not only given food and medical care. They also receive care, they are offered prayer, they meet people who listen to them, who are there for them. Christians who pass on God's love, comfort and care.
As I sit here in my hotel room in Ukraine, I am touched and encouraged. And grateful that the Danish European Mission, on behalf of many Danes, is allowed to play a small part in what God is doing - in the midst of evil and destruction.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Ukraine. I am met time and time again by a heartfelt, sincere and heartfelt thanks from Ukrainians for the prayers and support from Denmark.
Topics of concern
Thank you for praying with us that, God:
- gives Ukrainians peace, joy, strength and wisdom in the face of resistance.
- touches all hearts and brings repentance to the invading forces, that they may know His will for them and stop the violence.
- Protecting innocent civilians.
- protects our partner organization, which is in the field distributing food, aid and spreading the hope of the gospel.
It costs $357 to help a family in Ukraine with enough food for a week.
MobilePay 452022, label the gift: Ukraine. Include name and address for tax deduction.
Support Ukraine: emergency aid during war
Danish European Mission - from the Eastern Bloc and Ukraine to the Muslim world
During the Cold War, the Danish European Mission was mainly active in the communist Eastern Bloc. In 1992, Danish European Mission donors supported the publication of a children's Bible in Ukrainian. The work was carried out by the Institute for Bible Translation in Stockholm (IfB), which the Danish European Mission founded in 1973 in collaboration with Ljus i Öster in Sweden and Misjon bak Jernteppet in Norway. In the 1990s, the Danish European Mission supported a church in Kyiv that helped families with children affected by critical illness, including cancer. Some of them had come from the Chernobyl area
In the late 1990s, the Danish European Mission shifted its focus away from the former Eastern Bloc countries to the Muslim world. The reason was that the churches in the former socialist countries had largely gained religious freedom after decades of persecution and were now experiencing a lot of church growth. Today, Ukraine is a base for much missionary work in the former Soviet Union and is referred to by some as a Bible Belt in the region.
The situation is different in the Muslim world, where Christians can experience even severe persecution, but where many Muslims seek answers in the Christian faith. In the Muslim world, the need for Danish European Mission projects is far greater than in Eastern Europe.
But old love doesn't rust, which is why the Danish European Mission is currently turning its attention to Ukraine, where we have a project partner doing great work for the many people in need.
