Aktuella böneämnen (på engelska)
Ukraine:
- Praise God we were able to purchase a new van that will better support our ministry to transport goods and people within the country. Thank you to all who donated and made it possible.
- Please pray for humanitarian aid convoys – safety, that they will be able to get through to areas in need, even occupied territory.
- Mariupol and the whole oblast is in desperate need of aid and of evacuation. There are places on the east of Mariupol where people are wounded and unable to get medical aid.
- Pray that medical aid will be able to get into the country and distributed to areas where the biggest needs are like field hospitals and war hospitals in Odesa, Vinnytsia, Lviv.
- Please pray for our partners – especially those still serving people in Donbass.
- Please pray for the city of Lviv today as they have been hit with 4 missile attacks in the early hours of April 18.
- Pray for our teams for strength and wisdom in ministry and for safety for those delivering aid and evacuating people.
- Pray especially for elderly in areas where fighting is continuing. Many are unable to get to evacuation points and are paying individuals a large amount of money to bring them out.
- Pray for plans for future ministry of our teams and the church in Ukraine. For reaching the lost and healing of Ukraine by the hand of God.
Russia
- Pray for the churches in Russia – especially elderly people who do not have access to other news rather than TV; some really believe and think that the war in Ukraine will give them freedom. There is split and disunity based on this among the belivers. Pray wisdom and strengths for church leaders, pastors and bishops in guiding the church in times of crisis & media war.
- Pray for OM Russia’s team members emotional and mental well being, pray we find People Care who speaks Russian language and can serve our team.
- Pray for the ministry to the refugees, many churches are serving them. There is still great need for volunteers.
Moldova:
- Besides the activities and spiritual input which we offer to the refugees staying at our OM training centre, and the personal conversations our team members have with them, we have now also started professional counselling sessions for these refugees. Pray for our main psychologist – a Christian lady – to have wisdom and strength for all these conversations; and pray that the refugees (mainly women) will receive the psychological help they need, but will also be open to the healing that can only come through faith in Jesus.
- Pray for wisdom in re-evaluating the situation and adapting plans – e.g. as less refugees arrive at the border, but more stay in the country longer-term. Pray also for long-term planning: Some refugee ministries will continue longer than we first anticipated (e.g. we hear that the worst need for humanitarian aid in the Ukraine is expected to be in autumn), while we also need to consider how/when to again free up some of our people and facilities for other ministries and needs in the country.
- Pray for the support we offer to churches, as they care for many refugees but also for people in their communities. The crisis affects the population (which is generally poor), not only because there is a very large number of refugees that need to be additionally provided for, but also because of a huge increase in cost for food and for gas/electricity/fuel etc.; while the Moldovan economy suffers, being strongly tied to both Ukraine and Russia. Pray for wisdom for us, together with the churches, to know how to best allocate available resources, time and people among so many needs.
Romania
- Praise God for open doors from the officials in our country to send large quantities of antibiotics into Ukraine. We have been informed that this is now a great need for different people who have been injured during this war. In Romania we have some restrictive laws for distributing antibiotics. Therefore, we need a special permit to buy antibiotics here in Romania and transfer these medicines to Ukraine.
- Pray for a blessed time for the Ukrainian refugees who decided to stay in our country during (orthodox) Easter time. We would like to show them how God’s love has been manifested in Christ through His death on the cross and how great is His Resurrection. The power of God’s love is greater than the power of Putin’s war!
- Wisdom to know how we can better serve those people among the Ukrainian Refugees who are extremely traumatized.
Czech/Slovakia
- The Slovak Baptist Union (SBU) continues to send humanitarian aid directly to Ukraine. The warehouse space in Nové Zámky (Slovakia) has been leased for a longer period and will continue to be used for this purpose. In cooperation with the Free Evangelical Church (Cirkev bratská), an external warehouse in Prešov is available for the east of Slovakia. Two vans are available, and the use of a large truck is currently under negotiation. As the need to provide accommodation for newly arriving refugees has subsided, the brothers and sisters in Košice have shifted their focus to also become more involved in distributing humanitarian aid. The SBU has been able to deliver humanitarian aid directly into Ukraine, and they are currently negotiating the use of a warehouse there. From these places the aid is distributed further east to areas where fighting has been or is still taking place. Please pray for all of this to come together well so that maximum humanitarian aid gets to those who most need it.
- The number of refugees who have registered for Czech courses in our base town of České Budějovice has already doubled to more than 80, so from Tuesday a second local church (Církev Bratrská) will start classes in their church as well. Please pray for wisdom and strength for all the teachers from both churches, and also that they would find space to share the Gospel with students. One of the teachers also leads worship and would like to invite students to a concert where she will be playing/singing.
Poland
From ministry at border crossing:
- We see there are more people who decide to go back to Ukraine. Please pray for their safety as they travel home and for continued security of their hometowns from further attack.
- The refugees arriving to Poland are often traumatized and confused. Please pray for God’s love to comfort those who are distressed. Pray also for our team members, as they serve as peacemakers: for good opportunities to process and receive support.
- Our teams have many opportunities to chat with volunteers from the other organisations also serving at the border. Please pray for our relations with them and that we can be intentional and shows God’s love to them, many of whom are not believers.
- Wisdom: Please pray for our volunteers so they can be wise in all the work they are doing, but specially in the conversations with refugees and be sensitive to their needs, in this way they can be a relief when they are crossing the borders.
- Please pray for each of the conversations that the volunteers have with the refugees, as there are many opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus. This week the teams are distributing Easter cards with some Bible verses – pray it will be a very special reminder of God’s love to many.
- Some people seem to take advantage of the situation (i.e. demanding huge amounts of money for transporting people from Ukraine). Pray for unity and collaboration among Ukrainians and a cleansing from bribery and corruption.
From the work in Kutno – OM church plant with refugees:
- Please continue to pray for the refugees who are currently housed in a local hotel but will not be able to stay there after the end of April. Our team are considering the best way they can meet this need, so please pray for God’s guidance in finding a workable solution.
- We praise God that for the successful purchase and installation of a container to become our resource centre, which will free up space in the church building for social activities and children’s ministry. Please pray that we would also be able to get a second container to complete this project.
