August 2025 – This newsletter includes recent stories, some are sad, some are encouraging. They all provide insight into how you can both rejoice and pray with us. We work in three different areas of Eastern Europe. Ukraine, Armenia, and Kosovo. Each project is different, and each country is, or has been, profoundly disrupted by war. Thanks again for standing with us, for praying, and of course for your support.
Please Pray For Yana
In the photo at right, our UK director, Peter Wooding, poses with 24-year-old Yana and her daughter at the Hearts of Love Center in Konotop, Ukraine. Peter shared Yana’s story in the October 2024 newsletter. He carried her on his shoulders 16 years ago when she used crutches and could barely walk due to a deformity. He unexpectedly reunited with her last year. Yana is married, has a daughter, is active in her church, and volunteers at Hearts of Love. Her husband, Roman, a soldier serving as a border guard 40 miles away, was killed in late July. Yana was a sponsored child with Mercy Projects, and she asks for prayer during this difficult time.
Pastor Vadim “A Man Of Faith” Is Evacuated
In our March 2025 newsletter, we shared about Pastor Vadim titled “A Man of Faith.” I have known him for 14 years, preaching the gospel together in prisons throughout the Donbas area of Ukraine. Behind us in the photo is the home he built with his wife, who passed away last year.
Due to the Russians’ slow advance in the Donbas, the frontline moved gradually closer to his hometown. Since March 2022, we have used his church as a warehouse for relief aid to families. Today, however, the church has closed, the people have left for safer locations, and bombs drop regularly. Our friend Andriy evacuated pastor Vadim the last week of July.
An Opportunity To Support Pastor Vadim
Amid his grief and loss, Vadim maintains an attitude of asking how he can serve the Lord. We will continue working with him to share the Gospel and serve people this coming year. Please pray for him, for comfort, strength, and financial provision.
We are relocating Vadim to another town 60 miles away. He has lost everything. A special one-time $5000 gift will pay his rent for one year and allow us to establish a new ministry support base.
Without Fear of Evil — By Eliza
“I didn’t know who God was. My family was traditional. We belonged to the Armenian church.”
Eliza continued, “When my sister got sick, a local pastor in our town prayed for her. She got better, and it was a miracle. After that, we started attending his Evangelical church. It is Armenian, but it is not the historical Armenian Apostolic church.”
Eliza, now 21 years old, spoke at the chapel time at camp on the Black Sea.
I didn’t know her beforehand, but her words rang strong and true.
Holding up her bible, she said, “This book is a guide for our lives. I’ve been reading this book for 2 years. I am 21, and it is real. It has the answers for my life and yours. You can live without fear of evil. You can trust God and his word every day.”
Proverbs 1:33 Is A Guide For Life
She continued. “You are thinking about your life now. People tell you different things. They want to guide you with their words. But how do you know it is true?
“We must have a guide we can trust. We must know what the guide says, or we will go the wrong way. Here is what our guide, the bible, says in Proverbs 1:33: ‘But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of evil.’ We don’t have to fear evil because of knowing God’s word.”
Former Camper Now Leads The Way
We are blessed to have an excellent staff in Armenia. Vika, our camp director, attended our first camp in 2009. She is raising her young son, Samuel, to follow Jesus; however, as a single mom, life is not easy.
Today, she is a postmaster in the capital of Yerevan.
Refugees Find Jesus
“Jeff, can we talk to you?” A mom asked. “You don’t remember us, but you visited us when we were refugees. You brought us help. It was our second day in Armenia. You prayed for us.
“I just wanted to tell you thank you and how we praise God! I am so thankful my Greta could attend your camp. Thank you for helping Armenian people!”