Dear Praying Friends and Family,
Greetings! I pray this letter finds you well in the Lord and excited for His soon return! People have asked us about the situation with the war with Russia and whether it affects us. Some have asked if there have been any “incidents.” So, I decided to include a few anecdotes for your consideration when you feel led to pray for us.

Life And Ministry For Now: July 4, 2026 will mark my 34th anniversary of first stepping foot on Ukrainian soil to bring the word of God to the people of Ukraine. So much has changed since the Soviet days to this present war. Knowing the volitivity of life here I am deliberately taking time to get things set up for long-term fruit. Over the years we have slowly been building this work towards a larger church planting ministry, which I am no longer sure will be able to be realized in this current atmosphere. Not to mention, many men whom I had hoped would be profitable to me for the ministry (2 Tim. 4:11) are either consumed with their own ministries, in the army, left the country, dead, or backslidden. We are truly waiting on the Lord, who has no limitations, to make our next steps clear. In the meantime, we are helping the church in Rozdilna in various ways and reaching out to the lost in the community in our daily lives. We are still trying to stabilize our home and catch up on our home schooling obligations. Naomi is using her talents to minister to people with their health. Christopher is graduating this year and needs a lot of prayer about his future. Michael is turning eighteen in July. Naomi and I recently celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. Miriam recently arrived and is praying about her future here on the mission field as well.

Miriam’s Arrival Begins with a Bang: We thank the Lord that our daughter, Miriam, was able to return to Ukraine after renewing her passport and replacing her lost ticket. We met her in Chisinau, Moldova, where she safely arrived without her luggage! We decided to stay the night, since there is no delivery service into Ukraine. Thankfully, we picked up her luggage the next morning and crossed into Ukraine without any problems. There is a stretch of road about five miles long, between the border of Moldova and a major military checkpoint in the town called Maiaky located on the Dniester River. Traffic was stopped just before the bridge over the Dniester where we waited about 40 minutes. Then, without warning, a Russian rocket exploded about 100 yards in front of us missing the targeted bridge. Did you know that your head will involuntarily duck when an explosion occurs nearby? The rocket hit just a few yards from the road in the embankment between the river and road. Since the road was higher in elevation the embankment shielded all the people in their cars from the blast. There were no casualties! This was Miriam’s welcome back to her birthplace, Ukraine!

A New Meaning to “Watch and Pray”: On another occasion we were in prayer meeting when the air raid sirens began to sound their familiar alarm. Naomi was in with the main congregation in prayer when she heard something fly overhead. All heads were bowed and eyes closed but Naomi decided to peek! She looked out the window just in time to see a Shahed drone get shot down over our town during prayer. I was teaching a discipleship course in a different room in the church and was not paying much attention to any of the noises outside. Strangely, my students heard the explosion and I did not! After the meeting she described what happened. To which I responded, “gives a new meaning to the Lord’s command to watch and pray!”

Danger From Without: The attacks on the city of Odessa have been intense over the past few months. We try to avoid going there unless there is a need. Such a need arose when our refrigerator of 26 years decided to give up the ghost… right at the onset of summer. Naomi, Christopher, and I went to Odessa to place an order for a new one. My son decided to stay in the car while we went into the store. While inside, the air raid sirens sounded an alarm of an incoming drone attack. We returned to the car where my son told us that he just watched the Ukrainian defense system fail to shoot down the drone. It exploded about a mile away from where we were parked. There was a huge pillar of black smoke ascending from the area where we used to order Christopher’s special orthopedic shoes. In the following prayer meeting Christopher praised God for His protection.

Danger From Within: Perhaps the most unsettling incident due to the war happened last week while Naomi, Christopher, and I made a trip to Odessa. We had to pass through the usual military checkpoint, which has never been an issue. This time, however, the recruiters were on the hunt for fresh recruits to send to the front and saw my son sitting in the back seat. They stopped us and asked to see our documents, then said specifically, “We want to see the documents of the young man sitting in the back.” I pulled out his US passport which usually ends such an encounter. Not this time. They opened it and saw that he was born in Ukraine. The recruiter perked up and told his partner to run his name through the database. At that point my mind was running all sorts of scenarios and questions. What if there’s a glitch in the system? What if they’re just corrupt and try to take him anyway? I was already thinking of going “Rambo” on them, when I could see by their faces that my son was not eligible, and they handed back his documents. I hate to think what would have been had I forgotten to bring his passport, or if I had grabbed the wrong one. It has been difficult to shake the experience, knowing what could have been had it not been for the Lord’s protection. Thank you for your prayers for us.

Document Process Begins Again: Please pray as we begin again the process of extending our residency permits. The timing is crucial. We (Naomi, Miriam, Christopher, and I) must extend our permits early enough to leave six weeks leeway for Michael to extend his before it expires. Otherwise, we will have to return to the USA to start the process all over again from the beginning. The last time that happened it completely emptied my ministry war chest and then some. We are still recovering and do not want a repeat. Please pray all goes well.

Prayer Requests: Please continue to pray for God’s guidance into the future with our ministry as we stay busy in the current circumstances. Please pray simply for God’s blessings on this work and our future in it. Pray for our men who are serving. My family and I would like to thank you all for your friendship, fellowship, prayers, and support of us in this work that God has given us. May the Lord Jesus bless you as you continue to serve Him.

That Ukraine May Know Him,

Christopher Rue

Phil. 3:10