Aktuella böneämnen (på engelska)
Ukraine:
- Pray for our Puppet theatre team sharing the message of Easter. They are travelling every day this week – Monday to Saturday to different villages. We had a couple of explosions today – missiles that were aimed at the city where we are have been shot down, but two hit in villages in the province.
- Keep praying for people (mostly women and children) trapped in the cement factory in the city of Mariupol. All information indicates that food is running out and the Russian forces do not stop bombarding the area.
- Pray for internally displaced people that our teams have the honour of serving. Many are hearing the Gospel for the first time.
- As the fighting intensifies in the east and many cities are being hit by missile attacks, pray for safety for those driving to distribute humanitarian aid and evacuating people.
- Pray for strength, health and wisdom for our teams.
Russia
- Today a few members of our leadership team are on the way to Taganrog city to serve the refugees from Ukraine. Please pray for this trip. They will visit a few churches, observe local ministry needs of the refugees. Pray that God gives them understanding in further decision making to develop ministry in Taganrog.
- Pray for Russian believers not to be afraid to serve God in times of uncertainty and crisis in the country. Ask the Lord to mobilize and send more laborers to the harvest among the least reached. Pray that people fix their eyes on Jesus.
- Pray for the readiness to act in creative and new ways in ministry. Spiritual capacity to make ready our nets for the harvest and discern ways of how we do it.
- Pray for the war to end. Proclaim God’s shalom between Ukraine and Russia. May God heal land and hearts of two brotherly nations.
Moldova:
- As Moldova follows the Orthodox calendar – just like Ukraine – Easter is celebrated this weekend (Easter Sunday and Easter Monday being on 24 & 25 April) and a week later is followed by another important celebration, the “Easter for the dead”, when traditionally people – together with an Orthodox priest – visit the graves of deceased family members, pray for them and eat consecrated food at the cemetery. These are very important days in local tradition, so for many Ukrainian refugees it will be difficult knowing they are not able to do this duty, while also grieving about the many deaths caused by the war. During this whole period, we are planning several activities for the Ukrainian refugees who are housed at our OM buildings, to give them the opportunity to celebrate Easter in some way, but also to share the true meaning of Easter with them. Pray for good fellowship, meaningful conversations and open hearts, and that people will earnestly seek God, in circumstances where many of their earthly hopes and securities have been shaken. Pray also for the local evangelical churches here in Moldova to be able to clearly communicate the hope Easter brings, as during this period they reach out to the Moldovan population as well as the many displaced Ukrainians that have taken refuge with them.
- Continue to also pray for the other areas of our refugee ministry, besides caring for refugees at our OM centre, as we also maintain our permanent presence at the border, as well as provide support and physical aid for churches across Moldova that have taken in refugees.
Romania
- Pray for peace in the hearts of our Ukrainian friends during our Easter celebration. Some refugees decided to go back home for Easter but others decided to stay in Romania in spite of all the trauma they face by missing their dear ones.
- Pray for rest for our team and for all our volunteers during Easter. We need this time of rest after two months of intensive ministry among refugees.
- Pray for a new wave of refugees who started to come recently from the Odessa area, where the Russian army attacked few days ago.
Czech/Slovakia
- The Slovak Baptist Union (SBU) will be sending another shipment of humanitarian aid to Ukraine by the end of the month. Please pray for the preparation of this aid shipment – that it will be prepared on time, that there will be enough volunteers, and for good organization.
- The Palisády Baptist church in Bratislava started planting a Ukrainian church in the autumn of 2018. The first church meeting was attended by five people. In May, 2021 the first church service took place. Before the war, about 50 people, including children attended the services – now the number is closer to 150! They have already helped more than 160 adults (and about the same number of children) who have been impacted by the war in Ukraine. Some stayed for a short time and then moved on, others are remaining in Slovakia long-term. Those who have stayed in Slovakia have been offered assistance, such as being accompanied to state institutions or to a doctor, being helped with obtaining schooling for their children, or being helped to find work. Please pray for the spiritual growth of the new members of this Ukrainian church plant in Bratislava.
- As mentioned last week, the number of refugees who are participating in Czech courses in our base town of České Budějovice is now more than 80. Please pray for patience for the additional Ukrainians who are now waiting for new courses to open (probably at the beginning of May). A couple of church members have visited classes to determine if they should teach as well – pray for the Lord to clearly reveal His will for them in this area. Also, please pray for the provision of a Christian psychologist who speaks Ukrainian.
- The Czech Ministry of Health is providing Ukrainian doctors and nurses the opportunity to work here, even though they don’t yet know the Czech language. Pray for such doctors and nurses to courageously go to hospitals in their districts to apply for employment.
- Many Ukrainian mothers and their children are living in substandard conditions here. On Monday two of us will go to a town about 50 km away to ask the town hall if they might have a solution for a mother and her child who are living at the train station there. Please pray for God’s provision for them…
Poland
Warsaw Coordination Center:
- Pray for the implementation of the project to assist children who experienced trauma, as we now invite partnership from local churches and networks. Pray that many in the Body of Christ here in Poland will receive the call to journey with war-affected children and youth, offering them wise support and the hope that can only be found in Jesus.
- Praise God for an opportunity we were offered to start a nationwide child safety program at the reception centers, with cinema events reaching children and their carers. Pray that those protection efforts will lead to greater awareness of safety threats and protect the most vulnerable refugees from risky situations. Pray the spiritual message of Psalm 23 shared there will resonate in kid’s hearts.
From ministry at border crossing:
- The queue of cars going back to Ukraine gets longer every day. Pray for patience for people waiting to cross the border. Pray for safety as they travel. Pray for the volunteers as they seek creative ways to connect with them.
- Pray for good conversations with volunteers from other organisations working at the border. Pray for openness and opportunities to share the Gospel with them.
- Praise God for the spiritual hunger our volunteers observe as they speak with refugees. Pray for insight and anointing, so that the volunteers will know how to start meaningful conversations and minister to them best.
- Pray for our volunteers who speak Ukrainian or Russian as their second language, that they would be able to connect well with people and overcome language barriers.
From the work in Kutno – OM church plant with refugees:
- We still need to find homes for the refugees who have been staying in the local hotel. The government funding will finish at the end of the month, but we are thankful the owner will cover the costs for them to stay on for a few weeks more. Please pray for a longer-term solution to be found as soon as possible.
- We are starting a new project for children’s day care. We have two Ukrainian ladies who will take care of the young children, so the mothers are free to look for jobs. Please pray for the arrangements of this and for it to be a blessing to the Ukrainian mums.
