Ukraine – A Terrible Crisis

The House of Hope in Odessa suffered rain damage in a severe storm.

The rain from a severe thunderstorm over Odessa began leaking into the House of Hope kitchen and undermining the foundations of the new building. Upon investigation it was found that the original kitchen foundation, built by volunteers in 2012 in the small two-storey house had this fault. The big new house was built over that kitchen. We have had professional advice to rectify the original fault, otherwise it could cause ongoing damage and growing mould and fungus that could cause infections. This is going to cost around $40,000 to repair.
We’ve called in some of the builders from Lviv (on the Polish border) who built the now six-storey House of Hope during the COVID period. They’re out of work as a result of the war and have come over to Odessa to fix the house, that is really their pride and joy. The present fault is not their mistake, but they’ll gladly fix it so that their building trophy (our House of Hope) doesn’t suffer.
We need to get this rectified to ensure the safety and health of many hundreds of orphans and poor families who have already started moving into the House of Hope. When my manager, Sasha, was in Odessa recently, the word was out that there was going to be a huge onslaught on Odessa by Russia missiles to gain control of this important Black Sea port. Please pray that we’ll be able to get more drivers to drive our vans to get more people and children to safety.

Big Rescue Van broken down

One of the big budget items for your prayers this month is our main delivery van in Ukraine which has broken down and is still in need of repairs. This is the van that delivers food, medicine packs and Bibles, to Kherson, the devastated eastern Ukraine city, and evacuates refugees from the war zone.

House of Hope Teenagers finally accommodated in Dusseldorf.

Thank you for your prayers that have helped the House of Hope Children with their needs as refugees in Germany. I was there just recently to check on the accommodation into which they have moved – a big old house built in 1860 that will need furnishing and equipping for them to continue studying and complete their final year of school. The German Refugee Agency pays the rent but retains 400 Euros each month as a “security deposit” which we have to pay. It needs dehumidifiers and a lot of maintenance but it’s a roof over their heads and a place to come home too.

They have finished their final high school examinations and are confident of good results. These are teenagers who have known no real home except the ghettos, the sewers and drains under the city of Odessa, or a residence where they were molested by their “mother’s” live-in boyfriend. They miss their home in the Odessa Province but are so grateful to be safe with a roof over their heads.

They joined me in an Evangelical Free Church in Bonn where I ministered at a special Mother’s Day service – much like an evangelical Uniting Church in Australia. I honoured the Mothers and Grandmothers of the Church, and especially the single mothers of Ukraine whom we evacuated from Ukraine to a different country, culture and language system, having left their husbands behind in Ukraine - either dead or conscripted into the Ukrainian army to withstand the Russian forces.

It was a very emotional service – I was close to tears, as were many in the congregation. I took some of the House of Hope leaders and the Homeless Kids out to lunch afterwards, and some of girls who’d never known a mother, said, “I want to be a mother like that.” God grant them that.

The Great Escape from Melitopol to Norway

I met this brave group of Ukrainian musicians over my last weekend in Norway, whom we helped to get from the war zone of Melitopol, Eastern Ukraine. In our February 2023 newsletter I talked about their great escape, which they told me about in person.
Driving through the city, they saw bodies lying on the streets, houses burning, and people screaming. Getting through the roadblocks was nerve-wracking, being interrogated each time – the men were led into a booth and women into another and stripped naked. With the dirty jokes, threats, and mockery, it was so humiliating.

The rough ground shredded their car tyres, and they were driving on the wheel rims. There was another car about 500 metres ahead. Then there was an explosion and another one. The car in front was obliterated, and so were the people. That is when they realized that the field was mined.

They got out Ukrainian flags and walked in front of the cars, making themselves visible with a mobile phone’s flashlight. Hours later, they were seen by a Ukrainian army patrol who helped them to the other side.
Then there was another long journey out of the country – through Odessa–Moldova–Romania–Hungary–Slovenia – Germany and then to Norway.

When I met this brave team in Norway, I ministered to them and worked them in Trondheim and Levanger. Their worship and musical ministry drew in so many other refugees and local people, that I was able to lead many to Jesus.
I was very impressed with their musical skills and their wonderful attitude. They will bring many people to Jesus in Norway and beyond. They have asked me to train them in evangelism so that they can win others to Christ as well.
We were able to give them a very good used Peugeot 7-seater van to get around in.
They were so grateful for what has been done for them – to save their lives and get them out to safety. It was quite emotional. We’re putting a budget together to help them financially while they are getting their ministry started in Norway and beyond. They will be able to win many unchurched people to Jesus.

Floods in Ukraine

The breaching of the Dam Wall over the Dnipro River has caused devastating floods to crash down on South-Eastern Ukraine all the way down to Kherson on the south-western part of Eastern Ukraine. These are areas that we have served for more than a year – taking packs of food, medicines, and Bibles to many hundreds of families each week. Our van drivers are now prohibited from entering SW Ukraine because of the danger of floating mines that were released into the flood wates by Russian troops. Our drivers have been told to notify all the churches to tell the flood victims to head south-west to the House of Hope for refuge and care – normally an 8-hour journey by road. The House will live up to its name again. The House can care for 300 people at a time, whom we’ll evacuate via Moldova each day, and then take more refugees in, on a daily basis. This will go on for a long time. It will be a huge adventure caring for these families but think of how many hundreds and thousands we can bring to Jesus over this extended time.
I’ve just received a message that there is a very high possibility of cholera infection in the flood water that people still use for various reasons, because the floods have washed away cemeteries and graveyards, and rotting corpses of humans (and animals) are floating downstream. The risk infection is huge. Please pray for these needy people and stand with us as we try to rescue as many as possible.

Kherson Flooded and Blocked as a War Zone

Our drivers went to Kherson today and had two locations to deliver food parcels. One of them was a nine-story building we have been providing for which is currently surrounded with water with about 50 families in there. They had a contact with a ferry-boat man, but this morning that area was under fire and the boat man was injured. The army and rescuers have closed off the area and no civilians or volunteers are allowed in there right now. So, we were not able to get to the needy people and decided to distribute food parcels to drier areas instead. We will wait for the time the blocked area opens up.

Please pray for the people there and the injured from the shelling from Russian forces.

The overall situation

On the Ukrainian side we have taken care of some of the urgent food issues, and now everyone is waiting for the water levels to go down. Then there will be a lot of cleaning up to do. For those purposes, rubber boots, shovels, cleaning solutions and other necessary products will be needed. It will be essential to get a water pump and be able to travel around and help people get the water out of their homes in the low-lying areas.

Because of the pollution of the water, we want to bring in fresh drinking water, and also distribute soluble water-purifying tablets. We hear these would be better than filters in some situations.
As to the Russian-occupied side of Kherson region, it looks like there is almost no help being provided to the people there. This is a huge need, so please pray. We hear of horrible things almost of dead bodies floating around, because there is no organized help and no one from our side can access that area.

Many Ukrainian Forces are on their way to this War Front. A trusted war reporter says, “It looks like the biggest battle in Europe since World War 2 is about to begin.”

This is our emergency budget for the Kherson area. Please help us if you can

And please pray for our normal Ukraine, Germany and Norway monthly budget.

1. Rescue packages for poor villages 400 food parcels x 25$ 10,000.00
2. Salaries of the workers per month $ 3,500.00
3. Esther Missionary support $1 ,500.00
4. House of Hope utilities and maintenance $3,540.00
5. Hydro Insulation repairs of House of Hope Building Foundations $ 5,000.00
6. Kherson rescue packages 600 parcels X 20 $ 12,000.00, Plus wages for drivers 500 .00
7. House of Hope Children’s Driver fuel and support   $ 2,550.00
8. Melitopol Music Group Ministry in Norway $ 830.00

Giving a grand total of  $ 39,420 .00

Yours in the Spirit of Rescue,

           Dave and Margurita

“The love of Christ compels us.” 

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