October – November 2024
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
I hope this letter finds you all thankful in the Lord Jesus. It is the day after Thanksgiving and I’m reminded how the Lord Jesus has been so very gracious and kind. There is much to be thankful for (i.e. salvation, the Bible, the Blessed Hope, etc…) But, sitting to write a prayer letter gives me occasion to think of you, our supporters. I want to thank each and every one of you for every prayer on our behalf in this work. Your support of every kind has encouraged us to continue. I pray all you’ve invested in this ministry will be the source of great rejoicing at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The Lord has graciously provided for another trip into Ukraine for evangelistic work in the former occupied region of Kherson. This time my son, Samuel, will be joining me and I am very excited to serve alongside him in the trenches, so to speak. Our departure is the first week of December. Our plans are to evangelize new towns and visit some of the old ones to check on things as time allows. While I am a church planter at heart and always emphasize long term missions, the situation in Ukraine gives special urgency to evangelism. We want the people in these areas to simply have a chance to hear and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ before going out into eternity. The possibility of the door closing if Russia takes control of the region is another scenario that soberingly reminds of the Lord’s words, “the night cometh, when no man can work.” Lord willing, when peace comes to the area, we hope to engage in more long-term work.
There is a lot of preparation and planning that must go into this evangelistic trip. God has provided the funding; we now need lots of prayer. I’ve already wired the money over for the preparation of 1200 care packages containing food and literature. In addition, we will have even more literature to carry, along with about 800 loaves of bread, and more emergency rations of rice and dehydrated meat. Lord willing, most of the preparations will be finished by the time we land. Please pray for power and conviction of the Holy Spirit as we preach and for God’s protection since we will be very close to the front and things have escalated over the past month.
We look forward to spending some time with our church in the Odessa region and will need a few days to work out some details for our permanent return. The men in our church have finished updating the wiring and breaker box in our house. It is now ready for a gas generator. We are still praying for the Lord’s provision and timing to purchase one.
Please continue to pray for our paperwork to return to Ukraine. We have a few more details to work out, which is being done with Pastor Alexei, who is the only man who can help us with our paperwork at the current time. His exemption status was granted but is expiring soon. He has filed for another extension, and we are prayerfully waiting for an answer. Our trip will be VERY difficult without him. Please pray that the recruiter’s office will grant another three-month extension.
In my last letter I announced that Benjamin, my son, had surrendered to serve the Lord in Ukraine and was preparing to go to Bible Institute. It was an emotional experience for him. I misunderstood his exact intentions amidst the emotion. He was only talking about surrendering to the Lord’s will in general. He is still praying about the Lord’s will involving missions. I’m very happy that he experienced the joy which only comes from total surrender to the Lord. I would be happy for any of my children to serve the Lord with us on the field…IF that is His will. Please continue to pray for him that the Lord’s will be clear to him.
Please continue to pray for the following top-of-the-list requests: 1) the Lord’s protection on our upcoming trip to Ukraine; 2) God’s provision for a gas generator, and for a well to be drilled; 3) our paperwork; 4) God’s comfort, wisdom, and safety for our church in Ukraine, especially for the men who are fighting; 6) the growth of those recently saved; 7) our study of the Ukrainian language; and 8) for the war to end. 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.
That Ukraine May Know Him,
Christopher Rue
Phil. 3:10