04/05/2025
UPDATE FROM UKRAINE:
April 2025
Dear friends and family,
This is probably the longest we have ever taken for an update to be released. We do apologize for not writing for so long. We are alive and healthy, and we thank God for protecting us and keeping us safe. We apologize if this update at times is not always as up-beat as we would like to make it, but we currently live in a nation at war, and we have both good times and difficult times. Our God is still on His throne, and even in the midst of war, He is moving and working, even when we can’t always see it clearly.
Spending time with good friends
It has been a really rough winter. When we got back to Ukraine in October, ruzzia was already sending many drones every night, and most of them were being shot down. For the first two months we stayed with Irena’s parents who live in a fairly quiet area so we weren’t woken up by explosions very often. When we moved to our house the difference in the number and sounds of explosions was massive. Our house is situated in an area between some important military targets, so drones and rockets fly over us almost every single night. Our area has a great team of experienced soldiers that shoot most of the drones down, but it gets very loud at times. In the beginning after we moved into our house we were shocked how loud it was at night with all the drones being shot down, but then we gradually got used to it, and would just go to sleep.
The sky as we drove home one evening.
But one night we were woken up by several very loud ballistic rocket attacks that felt like the sound of an oncoming train combined with an earthquake. It was very loud and the shockwaves from the explosions cracked part of an exterior wall in our house. We heard the wall crack, and Irena had a very long panic attack lasting almost 30 minutes. After that attack I (Irena) have had really hard time falling asleep in the evening and sleeping through the night. I am not alone in this. Unfortunately, many, many in people in Ukraine feel this way. Each evening as it gets dark, we get air raid notifications on our phones that drones are flying towards us. The air raid warnings for cruise missiles and ballistic rocket attacks usually start around midnight and can last for several hours. One night we had around 15 drones fly over just our area. They fly just above the top of the trees and have a very distinctive sound, like a moped or small motorcycle engine going by. Thankfully all of them were shot down.
After the American election, when all the political diplomatic talks started about a ceasefire or end to the war, it got much worse. Instead of 50-70 drones per night, ruzzia would send around 150 every night, and sometimes over 200. These are not the tiny drones that you see on sale at your local big-box store. These drones are very big. The most common are about 11 feet long, 8 feet wide, and carry about 110 pounds of explosives. The latest versions of these have upgraded engines and can carry over 200 pounds of explosives.
Only the last two nights has it been quieter, and we savor each quiet night. Amazingly Esther sleeps through all the noise and doesn’t have any fear of loud noise. We pray regularly for her to sleep deeply and well. The Lord is Faithful to protect us each night.
Despite all the turmoil and difficulties, we continue to serve in as many capacities as we are able. My (Irena) Mom and I visited all the local neighbors who lost sons and grandsons at war, or have a husband in the military. My mom invited some of them over for coffee later and they are extremely open to the Gospel and fellowship. We will continue to serve them and pray for them in this difficult time.
The amount of humanitarian aid coming into the country has slowed over the last year but it does still come in and the needs are still there. The “We stand with Ukraine” warehouse continues to operate. Each week we distribute to numerous churches, chaplain groups, and team members travel to take aid into hospitals, homes for the disabled, and other under-served groups.
Aid distributions from this past week.
Several updates ago we shared a bit of how some of our mission school graduates were serving in different capacities during the war. A couple of weeks ago one of our graduates who was serving as a medic near the frontline was badly injured. A drone hit his position and while it is a miracle that he is still alive, he has lost the lower part of one leg and his other leg is severely damaged. He also will need several surgeries to remove shrapnel from other parts of his body. Just one week later while he was in the hospital, he got the news that one of his brothers, who was a soldier, was killed in action. Please pray for Andrew as he is having an extremely difficult time with all of it, and can’t sleep because of excruciating pain. Some of you have given towards helping him, and we were able to buy him some medical aids to help during his time in the hospital. We try to visit with Andrew each week.
We also help chaplains that visit injured soldiers. They always need more New Testaments and food, or fuel for travel. We are so grateful to be helping those that protect us and encouraging the chaplains that serve them. The needs are so many and they increase with each day.
Many of you remember that one of our cats died unexpectedly while we were in Poland. (Sultan, our 10kg/22lbs Maine c**n) We had been thinking about getting another cat for some time, but the timing did not seem right. Since we got back to Ukraine, we decided to adopt one of the many kittens that have been evacuated and rescued from dangerous areas. A couple weeks ago, we received the latest member of our family, Lucy. Our other cat Olive is still adjusting to another cat in the house, but Esther absolutely loves it, and enjoys throwing toys for her new playmate.
We are so grateful for the arrival of spring and longer days filled with sunshine. It feels like nature is waking up and hope is so much easier to be found when the days are not cold and dark. Thank you to each one of you for each prayer, encouraging word and support. It carries us through each day and difficult night.
Thank you 💕
Blessings in Christ Jesus!
Joel, Irena, Esther, Olive & Lucy
