I want to begin by thanking you for your encouragement, prayers, and friendship to this ministry.
As ministry partners, Co-Founder Yuri Yakovlyev and I are in touch every day discussing how we can meet the needs of our families. We have been overwhelmed with the generous support to our UKRAINE: FAMILY EMERGENCY FUND. So far, we have coordinated successful evacuations, sent food deliveries, and delivered medicine to thousands of people. We continue to provide for immediate needs that arise while preparing for the overwhelming tasks ahead, such as transition housing and repairing and rebuilding homes and lives.
As you read this update, I hope you will see how your prayers make a difference and will want to join us in expanding our prayer efforts for those living in the midst of this unthinkable invasion and crisis of war.
Gratefully,
Deneen Turner, Co-Founder
Today, Yuri and I especially thank you for your prayers for the Chali family. Weeks ago, I shared that we hired an evacuation organization to rescue this family from the Russian-occupied town of Borodianka. Borodianka is 15 miles away from Bucha, the town that’s suffered atrocities that have been exposed these past few days.
March 11 was the day this dangerous evacuation was to take place, and for the next 25 days we tried daily to contact the Chalis, their neighbors, and the evacuation group. We were not able to get in touch with anyone. There were reports of continued fighting and shelling and no electricity or food as humanitarian corridors remained closed for weeks. We were heartsick with concern for the Chali family.
On April 2, it was reported that brave Ukrainian soldiers had taken back control of the cities north of Kiev, including Borodianka. Yuri tried each day afterwards to contact the Chali family and their neighbors. No connection was made. Once it was safe to enter the city, Yuri contacted another humanitarian team to go and check on them and bring food in the event they were still there. I can now report with much relief and great joy that Yuri has confirmed that the Chali family is safe! They sheltered in place during the horrific attacks on their city. They survived on the water from the well we dug on their property, the little food they had stored, and the new wood-burning stove and oven we began installing in our 2021 homes. A further miracle is that their HopeHouse Home was not damaged!
Throughout these weeks, many of you reminded me that you were praying for them. I cannot tell you what that meant to the Chali family, Yuri, and our team members both here and in Ukraine. The Chali family’s testimony is that PRAYERS SUSTAINED THEM, and they want to thank you – EACH ONE who prayed for them.
It is for testimonies like this that we want to provide the opportunity to encourage other brothers and sisters suffering through this crisis of war. Adding to the many prayers that have already been gathered, we invite you to write a specific prayer to be read by our HopeHouse Families in Ukraine. That is something we can all do to breathe words of life and encouragement into the darkness of what they are going through.
All submitted prayers (identified by your first name and the state in which you live) will be gathered and sent digitally to our HopeHouse Families, Team, Pastors, and Churches throughout Ukraine.
Also, we are expanding our prayer team and invite you to join us in lifting up our HopeHouse Families by name, using the format of our monthly prayer calendar and specifying where in Ukraine these families live.
Our son Drew, who is a staff member of HopeHouse International, shared this with friends today: “Yesterday morning at the end of our devotional, we prayed for our HopeHouse Families highlighted on our April Prayer Calendar. It was so hard to know how to pray for specific needs for our HopeHouse Families who are in shelters, have fled, or are in different parts of Ukraine now. As I was praying for their safety, God’s protection, strength, and wisdom, I got emotional when looking at their pictures – photos taken during happy times – and wondered what it must be like for them today.
As a Ukrainian who was adopted and raised in America, I am so proud of my Ukrainian brothers and sisters who are fighting with incredible valor. I know that people all over the world are praying, and their small and big victories show me that prayer matters. I know that God hears the prayers of His Children. I know He grieves like all of us. I also know that even in the midst of a brutal war, God has a purpose. We may not know what it is right now, but we ‘pray continually,’ and we trust.”
