Dear brothers and sisters, PIEI AMERICA is our evangelistic partner here in Ukraine. We greet you with the Love and Peace of Jesus Christ!
We are very grateful to God for the fact that during this time of war, for 325 days now, on the territory of Ukraine, God protects us and helps us, the Church of Christ.
Now we all pray that God will help the soldiers defending Ukraine who are fighting for the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar (Donetsk region). Fierce battles are going on there. Only God can help us so that Peace finally comes to Ukraine. And the whole Church of Christ prays for this.
1. Thank God that our Church, not our own, was able to celebrate the New Year 2023 in prayer where everyone thanked God for protection in 2022 and asked the Lord for God's protection in 2023.
Also on January 1, our church had Holy Communion of the Breaking of Bread, remembering the death and suffering of Jesus Christ. Also, together with my wife Larisa, we visited 4 sick people with the communion where we brought great joy in these houses. There were also unbelieving relatives of these sick people who listened attentively to the Word of God. We pray for them.
2. On Saturday, January 7, our church celebrated the Nativity of Christ according to the old style. Since our village celebrates Christmas this way, we were pleased that the youth prepared for this holiday and even went around the village with carols distributing Christian literature and calendars to people. Everyone was very happy to hear the wonderful hymns about the Born Messiah Jesus Christ. They also went and visited those houses where the settlers live. They were also very happy for this visit. We pray for all the people whom we visited so that the Lord would test their hearts. We are grateful to the Lord that married couples from unbelievers came to our evangelistic meetings, along with their children. We also pray for them. The children received Christmas gifts and were very happy about it.
3. This week after Christmas, we were preparing to make packages with gifts for the Christmas for the orphans, scheduled for January 19th.
4. Visited our missionaries and distributed prayer calendars (2023) for the sisters so that they have topics for prayer and study of the Word of God every month of this year.
5. Thanksgiving:
-We thank the Lord for His protection in our region and we can safely serve here both refugees and other people who are in difficult situations.
-We thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters from the PIEI mission, for helping us both materially and spiritually with your prayers for us and for peace in Ukraine.
6. Prayer requests:
-Pray with us for peace to come to Ukraine. To end this war as soon as possible.
-Pray for all those people who heard the Word of God at our evangelizations and for those whom we visited and told them about the love of Christ. For the Holy Spirit to induce them to repentance.
-Pray that we can have a good Christmas for the orphans next week.
- May the Lord continue to give us, the missionaries of the PIEI Ukraine mission, health and strength to work in His Field and protect us all from the arrivals of enemy missiles.
-Pray for our brother missionary Kioresko Grigory, who went back to the city of Gostomel (Kyiv region) to carry and distribute humanitarian aid to people in need. In this city, the Church of Jesus Christ was founded, where people come to listen to the Word of God and at the same time receive humanitarian assistance. The Lord protected our brother and his team along the way.
-For the soldiers of the defenders who defend Ukraine. There are especially fierce battles in Bakhmut and Soledar (Donetsk region)
- Our sister in the Lord, from our church, Nina Kitar, lost her son, Kitar Julius, near Bakhmut. Hasn't been in touch since December 24th. If he was captured by enemies, so that the Lord would protect him.
We believe that the Lord is Almighty to help this son.
Our dear brothers and sisters from the USA, we are always grateful to God for you and for your sacrifice, and we always pray to the Lord for you so that God will bless you clearly and abundantly!
Please accept a heartfelt greeting from my family and be blessed our dear evangelistic partners in the USA!
With love to you, the Petikhachny family, Pavel and Larisa!
