Dear Praying Friends and Family,
Greetings from Ukraine! We are thankful to finally give an update on our family and ministry from the field. Before we embark on a new chapter of our lives, I’d like to first say a few words about our past furlough. First, it was not only a furlough but a temporary adjustment and adaptation of our ministry to the ever-changing demands of war weary Ukraine. Since the war began the Lord allowed me to make several trips into Ukraine for preaching the Gospel and distribution of Bibles, New Testaments, literature, and humanitarian aid. Fund raising for this work yielded over 100 tons of aid going into the formerly occupied territory of eastern Ukraine where the desperation is markedly worse than the rest of Ukraine. Literally thousands of people heard the Gospel message. The Lord blessed this work with more people receiving Christ in the last three and a half years than in my previous ten years on the field combined! We have yet to see where the Lord will lead in this work in the future.
The other side of furlough was equally beneficial and necessary. There were several things that needed to be accomplished if we were to return to the field ready for another go at it…and survive! The work included: updating all our supporting churches; helping two of our sons transition to life in the USA; getting some much needed medical and dental attention; replacing lost support, in addition to raising additional monthly support to keep up with the economic changes taking place in Ukraine as she integrates with Europe; and raising funds for various personal and ministry projects in preparation for our return. Many thanks to God (2 Cor. 1:11) for everyone who has helped us navigate the stormy waters of uncertainty and held the ropes for us without cutting us loose. Had it not been for the Lord’s continual comfort and guidance we would not be missionaries today. We are now, however, safely(!) in Ukraine. Glory to God!
Our journey back to the field was made much easier with the help of Brother Paul Hamilton who met us at the airport in Moldova. He made all the arrangements for our meals, lodging, and transportation to the border. We are always refreshed by Brother Hamilton’s hospitality and fellowship.
While crossing the border into Ukraine the border officers took me aside for questioning. They were puzzled why I would take my family into Ukraine right now and were hesitant to allow us entrance. It turns out that we knew a lot of the same people and one of them said that he would like to come and visit our church! They even called our neighbor, a mutual acquaintance, and announced that we would soon be home!
First impressions of life in Ukraine are hard to describe. It is obvious that many have left the country. Houses sit empty, building projects ceased, and fewer people travel on the roads. There is an obvious diminished number of young men on the streets. Then there are the air raid sirens. Thankfully, the loudspeaker that was once outside my bedroom window is no longer operational. The one in the center of town, right across the tracks from our church, is very loud and unnerving. These sirens give warning when Russian missiles, rockets, and drones invade our region’s airspace. They sound the alarm almost every day, often several times a day. Thankfully, the system has been upgraded and now they only alert us when there is danger in our particular region. If you are interested download the app “Air Alert!”, which will give you notifications when Ukraine’s airspace has been invaded along with details on the number and direction of the drones. At the prompt, add our region, the Odeska region, to get updates close to us. These notifications will certainly help keep your prayer life active (1 Thess. 5:17)!
Our first church reunion was sweet, with many emotions. Seeing Pastor Alexei and his wife and kids was a special blessing. Noting how they have grown in the ministry, and how he has been a faithful pastor leading the church during these tumultuous times was very gratifying. We were so happy to see those who have remained and rejoiced at the updates of the soldiers from our church, that not one has been killed. At the same time, we were grieved to hear of the spiritual condition of some of the women and children who relocated elsewhere in Europe.
We are currently getting settled back into our home trying to get things stable for daily life, home schooling, and ministry. This is going to take longer than I anticipated. There is so much work to do to make our home functional and safe that it is hard to know where to begin. The list includes: replacing the water pump, water heater, and several appliances; removing kitchen cabinets to kill the mold that followed a busted pipe while we were gone; rerouting indoor plumbing through four rooms; and two windows that need to be replaced. While we were away the men from church did an amazing job of rebuilding our treacherous staircase but didn’t have time to finish the banisters. That is a hazard that must be completed after we fix our water pipes. We also have a foundation problem in the room we use for home school. The foundation has been compromised by two earthquakes, along with poor outside drainage. It is structurally unsound, causing the corner walls to slowl y crumble under the load. Please pray for my wife as we deal with these issues one by one.
Please pray about our first prerequisite for the work here, namely our residency permits. Upon our arrival things immediately became tense. There were some changes made to the application process, shortening our window of time. If we missed the deadline, we would have to return to the States and start the application process all over again. Everything came down to one necessary document from the Department of Religious Affairs. If they failed to give us our letter on time, we would have to incur a great loss of time and money. Praise the Lord, after two anxious weeks, we were finally able to apply for our permits a day before the deadline! Praise God!
During our first month back we had our first encounter with Mr. Putin’s Shahed drones. Russia has decided to further terrorize Ukraine by targeting the power grid of the electric train railways to paralyze transportation. One of those power stations is located a mile from our house providing me a front row seat. We were rudely awakened one night by an explosion that shook our house. All the kids came out of their rooms wondering what had happened. I went outside to investigate and noticed that the city’s power was out. I heard several drones flying over our house. The people here have nicknamed them “mopeds” because of the sound they make. Our backup power was working and the kids started turning the lights on. I immediately motioned to turn them off. We did not need to be the only visible target on our street! Then I saw and heard gunfire, with red tracer bullets, attempting to shoot them down. A second explosion was first seen, then the shockwave shook the house. Little Joey started to panic, so Naomi and the kids went down to our cellar for cover. I continued to monitor and watch as the third explosion lit up the night sky with plumes of smoke and the third shockwave again shook the house. It lasted about forty minutes, then it was over. Just quiet in the darkness. All that was left was the fire lighting up the horizon. We are thankful that no one was killed. Since then, every similar sound slightly triggers our fight or flight mechanisms. It makes you stop and pause what you are doing for a moment to listen. I get out of bed now with every noise watching, waiting, listening. If only I had a similar inner mechanism so tuned and sensitive to look for my Saviour’s return!
That Ukraine May Know Him,
Christopher Rue
Phil 3:10