Easter offering to Ukraine via Radstock Ministries

Hopefully you're aware that our Easter offering has gone to support the work of Radstock Ministries in Ukraine (Radstock.org).

Here's a brief update on the work they're involved with:

Anthony Adams and Brian Jose from Radstock recently visited Radstock partners churches in Poland who are serving refugees. Here are the headlines from their visit.

Overwhelming Need: There are about 2 million Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Many are women and children without husbands and fathers, who joined the army. Beyond the practicalities of food and shelter, there is a huge emotional need. When asked about her husband, one young mother simply showed us a photo she had received overnight - pitch black night with a large orange explosion across the bottom of the image. She just looked at us with pain and fear in her eyes. She had no words.

Rapid And Effective Response By Local Churches: The Polish people have responded with generosity, and local churches are doing profound work.

Commercial vehicles generally won't go into Ukraine and so food and medicines are being delivered by private vans, buses returning after dropping off refugees and smaller private-hire trucks. For those in Poland, beyond housing and food, the churches are providing Polish lessons, facilitating school registration for children, operating free clothing rooms, helping with emigration for those seeking to join family elsewhere and providing friendship and fellowship.

Where Are Your Gifts Going: Radstock has collected $58,500 / £45,000 / CAD$74,000 so far.

Thank you for this amazing generosity! Here's how it is being used:

1. Five 22 tonne shipments of food and other relief supplies are being delivered from Spain

2. We are supplementing local hosts for some of their costs: Radstock is giving help for food, heating costs and electricity bills of the hosts of refugees.

3. Bed and basic kitchen items for those fleeing Mariupol: 25 beds and basic cooking kits (portable cookers, pots and pans, utensils), along with food and hygiene supplies have gone to a church in Love, Ukraine, which is housing displaced people from the city of Mariupol, still in the news for being under siege and almost totally destroyed.

4. Polish Lessons: Many of the women are finding work (cleaning, supermarkets, etc) and so the language lessons help. Finding legitimate work also protects them from the dangers of Trafficking.

And finally, it was amazing to see the way the Ukrainians were integrated into church life - teaching Sunday school, singing in the worship team, giving a testimony. The evangelical population of Poland (0.3% before the war) is now estimated to be perhaps 1.5% because of so many Ukrainian believers - and increase of 500%. About 20% of Ukrainians identify as evangelical Christians. Some have said that perhaps God will use this horror to send Ukrainians across Europe with the gospel. An intriguing thought.

Give to the appeal

The total offering so far for Easter is £1855 including gift-aid. This gift offering has now closed, however if you would still like to give to the Ukraine appeal you can do so at Radstock.org.