Father and son Yuriy and Mykhailo are forced migrants from the the city of Lysychansk, in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. At the end of April 2022, during the artillery shelling of the city, they opted to leave. Having asked advice from others who had already evacuated, they decided to travel the village of Blagodatne in the Cherkasy region. They explain what has happened since.
“Upon arrival, we found our friend Lida (who had left our city before us), who was attending the Baptist Church in Blagodatne. She asked people in the church to help find us a place to live; one of the church members, Petro, agreed to give us his empty house and let us for live there for free.
“Later, the church brought us a refrigerator and washing machine, bed linen, and blankets, which greatly helped as we got acclimatised to this new place.
“Then Petro invited us to the church for Easter, where we got to know the pastor and other church members. These people helped us a lot to settle in our new environment. Since then, we have been attending church meetings regularly. Every month we receive food aid from the church, and all kinds of other help with things that we need.
“During this time, we learned a lot about God; things we did not know before. Now we read the Bible constantly, pray at home and attend Bible study classes.
“We are very grateful to God that He brought us to this village and to this church, where we were able to learn the truth and to receive a new life in Christ. Glory to Him for everything, as well as to all Christians who have shown us their extraordinary care and love.”
Ukraine Christian Ministries Registered Charity No 1061221