July 2025
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
We are breaking from the usual bimonthly newsletter to announce that we have, at last, received our visas and return tickets! It was quite an experience dealing with the changes in the visa application process. We arrived at our scheduled appointment at the embassy in Washington DC so they could take our biometrics. The website said that it would take about fifteen minutes per person. However, it took over four hours to complete. The embassy worker had to run back into the inner office several times to verify details as we worked through the problems. Evidently, they do not have a lot of Americans traveling to Ukraine with underage children right now. We are thankful to the Lord for having successfully fulfilled all requirements to obtain official religious visas for myself, Naomi, Miriam, and Christopher. My other sons, Michael and Joseph, are underage and do not require visas to enter Ukraine. However, upon our arrival we will need to file more paperwork for them to live in the country legally after we arrive.
After filing our applications, we had to wait for them to be processed. The embassy said that we would be notified by email when we could pick up our passports and that we would have to do so in person. This meant that we would have to make another trip to Washington DC. We received the notice fifteen days later at 8:00 PM that we could pick them up the next day. We were packed and in the car by 9:00 PM to make the trip from Cincinnati to Washington. We arrived the next day at 2:00 PM thinking we had plenty of time after checking the website. We were so disheartened upon our arrival to find that the embassy was closed. The bars to the front gates were tightly locked with a sign saying that they close at 1:00 PM on Fridays! I decided to try the back door to get someone’s attention and, thankfully, a kind Ukrainian man took our information into the interior to see if they would make an exception for us. Praise the Lord, we received our passports with our new visas inside! Thank you for praying for us.
With our visas in hand, we began coordinating the logistics of our return with Brother Paul Hamilton who offered to meet us at the airport in Moldova and take us to the Ukrainian border. We agreed on a date best for everyone. It has been a long time coming but we are thrilled to announce that we have our tickets to fly back to Ukraine on August 25!
During our visit to Washington DC, we had an opportunity to experience what it is like to meet your first grandchild! My son and his family now live in the area and just had their first baby, Yulianna Naomi Rue. She was born at 28 weeks and weighed under three pounds. We got to meet her on our first trip and got to hold her when we went to pick up our passports on our second trip. She is beautiful, gaining weight, and getting stronger. Thank you for praying for our children over the years.
In addition to the usual work in the ministry, the Lord gave me an opportunity to give a Bible study to a couple of families who were interested in Ukraine and end times prophecy. We intended to meet for an hour but they were so interested that it lasted over three hours! I was also asked to speak at the internment of my cousin’s husband who unexpectedly passed away from cardiac arrest. The Lord allowed me to clearly communicate the Gospel to those who gathered. I pray the Lord bless it with fruit in eternity.
Please pray for us as we prepare for our return to the field. There is a lot to do to set up our home for safety and functionality. We are also well aware that Ukraine has changed, perhaps forever, and we must get to know life over there all over again. I look forward to writing the next newsletter from the field. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support during this war.
That Ukraine May Know Him,
Christopher Rue
Phil. 3:10