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It’s been a few days since the last blog entry on Monday evening when our guests arrived. This group of 18 consisted of 3 married couples,10 ladies, 1 teenager and Pastor Andriy from the Baptist Church from Zhytomyr who served as the driver. The rest of the group are from the Compass Church and also from Zhytomyr. All of our guests have lost a loved one in the war.
The past five days were filled with activities, sharing stories and testimonies, laughter and tears.
Tanya shared her testimony with the group which was very moving. In 2022 she lost her husband in the war and also her mother due to illness, all in the span of 8 months. She said that those months and the months following were the toughest of her life but yet the most fulfilling !! Prior to 2022 she had nothing to do with God, but through her grief and the invitation from the Compass Church to attend their counselling sessions, she received Jesus Christ as saviour and was baptised shortly thereafter. She is now part of the staff at the Compass Church as the church office administrator and also serves as a chaplain which allows her to visit active soldiers that have been wounded in the hospital.
There were many testimonies of men and women accepting Christ after losing a loved one in the war.
It was a wonderful week getting to know the men and women of this group. Pastor Andriy shared last night on what blessing it is to be able to share and pray together as brothers and sisters in Christ, whether we live in Canada or Ukraine.
Please pray for the people of Ukraine… it’s been over 12 years since Russia invaded Ukraine and over 4 years since the full invasion. One lady shared how she feels numb at this point, she hears the air sirens almost every night in bed and when she does hear the siren she just pulls her blanket over her head and prays. The group felt tired and exhausted already, and they just want to get back to normal, but normal for these Ukrainians is living without their loved one which they lost in the war !!
