On March 27-30, brothers Arkady Slyoza and Vyacheslav Arterchuk again were on a trip to the military in the Donetsk region.
The trip to the East actually began with a trip to Khmelnytskyi, the residents of which prepared many delicious treats for our defenders, in addition to what was purchased in the city of Rivne.
The first meeting with the military took place in Pokrovsk – with our brother Oleksiy and his comrade Andriy from the 72nd legendary brigade of “Black Zaporozhets.” Oleksiy wished everyone a bright Easter holiday.
The soldiers especially appreciate cards from children… Sometimes it seems that this is a small thing, but many defenders, looking at the pictures and reading letters from children, get encouraged because they know what they are fighting for.
Special thanks to everyone involved in the production of camouflage nets! On this trip, we were able to take 25 pieces, although if we had brought 25,000, they would also have been distributed, so it’s to say that this protective equipment is in great demand.
They visited military personnel from the Rivne region, and it is a special honor for us to serve our compatriots and meet their needs.
On the front line, they met with a familiar platoon. Although they were brought directly to the trenches, they were met very gladly.
They went to one of the positions on a chaplain’s minivan, which is smaller and more maneuverable. As soon as they arrived, a rocket landed not very far from them and everyone rushed to the hiding place. After the next air strike, they heard the sound of less powerful explosions – a cluster projectile… The brothers did not have time to get scared, everything was happening so quickly, but the military was clearly tensed up and offered the visitors to leave immediately. They quickly laid out everything they had brought and left. Most likely, the van was spotted by an enemy drone and, accordingly, the position was shelled… Later, it was reported over the radio that the building, in the basement of which the brothers were hiding, was again shelled with missiles. By God’s grace and in response to your prayers, there were no casualties!!!
After that, the brothers visited various units, stopped by scouts, sappers, signalmen… In total, they had communication with five different military groups. The Gospel was shared with many at every place. They prayed together with the men and thanked them for their service. The soldiers of the 109th Brigade, the main part of which is from Donetsk, also sincerely congratulated everyone on Easter.
In addition, the brothers again visited Mykola Leontiyovych, the father of the believing sister Yulia, a student of the Rivne Bible College, who has been living in Poland with her family for over three years. Yulia also came to visit her father, who continues to live in Kostyantynivka under conditions of constant shelling. Recently, there was a detonation of a bomb just 200 meters away. The brothers were able to testify to Yulia’s father about the Crucified and Risen Christ. The Lord blessed their communication.
In Pavlograd, our ministers met the believing sister Yulia from Ternopil. She is a volunteer, helping paramedics at the front lines. Many of her friends had died. She was severely depressed, and she had already completed PTSD rehabilitation and recovery in Sweden. When our brothers were returning home, she drove with them to Poltava to visit and support a seriously injured paramedic friend, an orphan who has no relatives…
Thank you very much for your constant prayer and financial support! May the Lord bless you and keep you, protect you from all evil, and enrich you with good deeds!
Reviews of Trip Participants
“Returning home, I thank everyone for the prayerful support. During the trip, we had very warm meetings with our military and became familiar with new defenders. Each of them received some kind of encouragement, some special treats, and for all this, they are sincerely grateful to all of you, friends, who joined this service. We welcomed them and told them about Jesus Christ, who came to this world and gave Himself as a sacrifice for our salvation. Our soldiers are in great need of Christ, they are ready to listen to the Gospel and have a desire to pray. We prayed together and blessed them with the Lord’s name. And we ask our Lord Jesus Christ to touch their hearts in a special way these days. May God be glorified! Christ is Risen!”
Arkady Slyoza
“I am so grateful to everyone who supported us on this trip. In this difficult time for Ukraine, when the war continues for the third year and in everything: at the front line, in the economy, in politics, in medicine, in education – there are problems everywhere, you can rely only on God, only on Jesus Christ, who has risen. And in Him is our hope, our joy, our whole life!!!
No matter how tired you are of war, it will not stop and the enemy stubbornly seeks to kill, rob, and destroy – this is the reality of current life here. How long and with what intensity the war will last, no one can say for sure, but victory will definitely not come by itself. Either the enemy will destroy us, or this evil must be stopped by someone. Our soldiers are holding back evil with their full strength, but they are becoming fewer and fewer, and evil, unfortunately, is not. What shall we do? Pray that the Lord will tell you personally how you can stand against evil, what is your role in history, and what future you’re expecting? May the Lord richly bless each of you with a deep relationship with Himself, through which you will be able to receive answers to these questions in particular.
Abundant blessings to everyone!”
Vyacheslav Arterchuk
