Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.
Download transcript (.srt)
0:14
0:18
0:24
0:34
0:45
0:50
0:56
1:03
1:08
1:14
1:24
1:33
1:39
1:46
1:49
1:56
1:59
2:06
2:16
2:22
2:28
2:34
2:41
2:48
2:53
3:01
3:09
3:18
3:30
3:38
3:45
3:52
4:04
4:34
4:39
4:56
5:08
5:19
5:29
5:32
5:38
5:41
5:46
5:57
5:58
6:00
6:06
6:19
6:22
6:25
6:28
6:30
6:33
6:35
6:40
6:42
6:45
6:48
6:50
6:52
6:55
6:59
7:02
7:05
7:08
7:10
7:12
7:15
7:22
7:25
7:27
7:30
7:32
7:35
7:41
7:45
7:49
8:01
8:02
8:05
8:09
8:23
8:29
8:42
8:46
8:49
9:02
9:05
9:14
9:22
9:31
9:39
9:47
9:56
10:04
10:11
10:20
10:28
10:36
10:49
10:54
10:58
11:03
11:07
11:14
11:23
11:31
11:39
11:40
11:47
12:19
12:27
12:34
12:43
12:52
13:00
13:07
13:11
13:15
13:23
13:29
13:39
13:43
13:47
13:51
13:56
14:03
14:10
14:18
14:27
14:35
14:39
14:47
14:49
14:58
15:04
15:16
15:20
15:24
15:32
15:40
15:45
15:47
15:51
15:55
16:21
16:36
16:40
16:49
16:56
17:13
17:24
17:27
17:38
17:49
17:58
18:02
18:15
18:25
18:32
18:50
19:01
19:11
19:18
19:26
19:30
19:39
19:43
19:50
19:55
20:01
20:07
20:11
20:18
20:22
20:27
20:30
20:34
20:37
20:45
20:51
20:54
20:56
21:02
21:06
21:09
21:13
21:16
21:19
21:24
21:28
21:31
21:36
21:43
21:48
21:52
21:58
22:02
22:12
22:16
22:22
22:30
22:34
22:38
22:42
22:45
22:49
22:52
22:55
23:02
23:07
23:10
23:13
23:15
23:17
23:22
23:28
23:37
23:41
23:46
23:52
24:02
24:07
24:12
24:16
24:19
24:27
24:33
24:49
25:02
25:07
25:10
25:18
25:25
25:28
25:36
25:41
25:47
25:50
25:56
26:03
26:08
26:11
26:18
26:25
26:29
26:51
26:58
27:03
27:08
27:11
27:18
27:21
27:25
27:29
27:32
27:35
27:39
27:42
27:46
27:50
27:55
27:58
28:04
28:09
28:12
28:19
28:23
28:24
28:31
28:36
28:44
28:46
28:48
28:51
28:53
28:56
28:58
29:01
29:06
29:09
29:15
29:24
29:29
29:34
29:37
29:38
29:41
29:45
29:49
29:55
30:01
30:08
30:13
30:15
30:20
30:25
30:26
30:29
30:35
30:40
30:46
30:50
30:54
31:00
31:05
31:08
31:12
31:17
31:20
31:26
31:35
31:43
31:52
31:56
32:04
32:09
32:14
32:19
32:24
32:27
32:36
32:42
32:47
32:51
32:58
33:01
33:05
33:08
33:11
33:16
33:22
33:28
33:33
33:42
33:47
33:53
33:58
33:59
34:11
34:16
34:18
34:26
34:30
34:34
34:42
34:43
34:43
34:52
34:56
34:58
35:02
35:06
35:08
35:11
35:17
35:25
35:27
35:33
35:39
35:44
35:48
35:52
35:59
36:02
36:14
36:16
36:19
36:22
36:26
36:29
36:38
36:42
36:45
36:50
36:56
37:06
37:15
37:18
37:27
37:31
37:40
37:46
37:53
38:01
38:08
38:20
38:28
38:35
38:47
38:55
39:02
39:07
39:13
39:21
39:26
39:35
39:45
39:47
39:57
40:08
40:15
40:21
40:26
40:33
40:36
40:42
40:51
40:59
41:04
41:14
41:24
41:33
41:37
41:42
41:49
41:55
41:59
42:02
42:06
42:12
42:17
42:19
42:22
42:24
42:32
42:38
42:41
42:45
42:48
42:53
42:58
43:01
43:08
43:13
43:17
43:23
43:31
43:34
43:54
43:59
44:11
44:15
44:21
44:28
44:31
44:37
44:41
44:45
44:48
44:54
45:00
45:07
45:14
45:15
45:16
45:20
45:23
45:27
45:30
45:35
45:41
45:44
45:49
45:57
46:00
46:06
46:11
46:12
46:14
46:19
46:24
46:26
46:33
46:35
46:41
46:44
46:48
46:51
46:53
46:59
47:00
47:04
47:09
47:12
47:20
47:24
47:27
47:30
47:36
47:42
47:48
47:58
48:03
48:06
48:11
48:15
48:19
48:26
48:28
48:34
48:39
48:47
48:48
48:49
48:52
48:54
48:58
49:02
49:07
49:10
49:12
49:19
49:24
49:28
49:32
49:36
49:40
49:43
49:47
49:51
49:55
49:59
50:02
50:09
50:14
50:18
50:27
50:33
50:37
50:40
50:45
50:47
50:48
50:51
50:54
50:57
51:01
51:04
51:14
51:18
51:20
51:31
51:33
51:41
51:46
51:51
51:54
52:00
52:06
52:10
52:15
52:22
52:26
52:30
52:32
52:35
52:36
52:46
52:52
52:59
53:02
53:07
53:09
53:12
53:15
53:16
53:22
53:27
53:30
53:33
53:40
53:42
53:47
53:48
53:50
53:56
54:00
54:03
54:05
54:07
54:14
54:17
54:20
54:25
54:28
54:33
54:33
54:39
54:43
54:47
54:48
54:50
54:54
54:57
54:59
55:00
55:01
55:05
55:11
55:13
55:18
55:21
55:23
55:35
55:38
55:41
55:43
55:46
55:51
55:53
56:02
56:06
56:08
56:12
56:17
56:21
56:26
56:32
56:36
56:44
56:45
56:51
56:59
57:03
57:09
57:13
57:18
57:21
57:29
57:33
57:38
57:43
57:48
57:49
57:54
57:58
58:02
58:05
58:09
58:12
58:17
58:20
58:25
58:28
58:31
58:34
58:39
58:42
58:49
58:59
59:02
59:12
59:15
59:24
59:31
59:36
59:41
59:50
59:52
59:58
1:00:03
1:00:08
1:00:12
1:00:17
1:00:19
1:00:29
1:00:30
1:00:32
1:00:40
1:00:46
1:00:52
1:00:54
1:00:58
1:00:58
1:01:01
1:01:06
1:01:10
1:01:12
1:01:22
1:01:25
1:01:28
1:01:32
1:01:37
1:01:38
1:01:45
1:01:47
1:01:51
1:01:55
1:01:58
1:02:04
1:02:08
1:02:11
1:02:14
1:02:20
1:02:30
1:02:34
1:02:37
1:02:41
1:02:45
1:02:49
1:02:52
1:02:55
1:03:00
1:03:04
1:03:07
1:03:09
1:03:15
1:03:18
1:03:23
1:03:29
1:03:33
1:03:41
1:03:44
1:03:49
1:03:53
1:03:55
1:04:00
1:04:03
1:04:07
1:04:10
1:04:12
1:04:17
1:04:19
1:04:22
1:04:24
1:04:27
1:04:32
1:04:36
1:04:41
1:04:44
1:04:47
1:04:53
1:04:55
1:04:56
1:04:58
1:04:59
1:05:07
1:05:10
1:05:14
1:05:17
1:05:20
1:05:30
If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.
Thank you for joining us today.
All right, so thank you for coming out here tonight. And I think we're in for a special evening.
My wife and I, we like to, we often will pray before we get on a flight.
And we just pray that we'll have good conversation with whoever we sit next to.
And so we're on a flight to Colorado. My grandmother, who was 103, passed away,
but she lived a good, good, long life. But that was back in November of last year.
And so as we were flying out to Colorado, we met, we started talking with the guy next to us
and to learn that he was a pastor from the Ukraine. And we just had a great conversation
and we have kept in touch over this past year a little bit. And Pastor Dmytro,
he likes to be called Dima, is back in the States here. He's going to be,
he was here for a week. There was a big Ukrainian pastors conference in Philadelphia.
And he's going to go out to Cincinnati, has some connections out there,
before he heads back to the Ukraine on Monday. But what we're going to do tonight, thanks for
coming out, because I think it's going to be a very informative night. I think it's going to be a
night that we find out what our brothers and sisters are going through in the Ukraine,
other believers. And we can learn how to pray for them and understand what their life is like.
So we're going to have a time of worship here. Andrew's going to lead us in a couple songs.
And then Dima is going to share from the word of God, something that God put on his heart
here for tonight. And then he's going to share a little bit about himself, share some slides here,
and then we're going to have a question and answer time. So have your questions ready. I'm sure
if you're like me, you know there's a war going on. It's in the news very often, but most of us
don't know somebody from the Ukraine or from Russia. And so we have somebody here that can
answer some questions for us. After that question and answer time, I want to stop by about 8.05
in an hour. And Dima has four specific prayer points, and then we're going to join together
in prayer for some of those things. So let's just pray, and then we'll have a time of worship.
Lord God, we just thank you for tonight. Praise you, God, that you're not just a God of the
and you love us, and you want us united, Lord God. We pray that what happens tonight
will be part of this uniting of your church. And the world will know that you are God,
as we love each other and are united. So we pray that that happens tonight. We just
invite you here tonight in Jesus' name, amen. You can feel free to sit or stand or worship, however
you want. Let's sing, so I throw up my hands.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah. O my words offshore, I got nothing new.
How could I express all my gratitude?
I could sing these songs as I often do
That every song must end
And you never will do
So I throw up my hands
And praise you again and again
Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah
And I know it's not much
Got nothing else fit for a king
Except for hearts singing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
So come on my soul
Oh don't you get shy on me
Lift up your soul
And you've got a lie
And it's not out of those arms
Get up and praise the Lord
Hey
Oh come on my soul
Oh don't you get shy on me
Lift up your soul
And you've got a lie
And it's not out of those arms
Get up and praise the Lord
Hey
Come on my soul
Oh don't you get shy on me
Lift up your soul
And you've got a lie
And it's not out of those arms
Get up and praise the Lord
Come on my soul
Oh don't you get shy
And we lift up your soul
And you've got a lie
And it's not out of those arms
Get up and praise the Lord
So I throw my hands
And praise you again and again
Cause all that I have is Hallelujah
Hallelujah
I know we've got hearts
Nothing else fit for a king
Except for hearts making Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Except for hearts making Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Except for hearts
Except for hearts singing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
I can't wash away my sin
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
I can't make me all again
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Oh, gracious is the flow
That make me white as snow
No other founts at home
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Holy precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow
No other founts at home
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
I can't make you cleanse me from my sin
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Oh, Lord, I'm so grateful
For your blood
For your blood
No other founts at home
No other founts at home
No other founts at home
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Oh, Lord, I'm so grateful
Oh, precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow
No other founts at home
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
You are worthy of it all
You are worthy of it all
For from you are all things
And to you are all things
You deserve the glory
You are worthy of it all
You are worthy of it all
For from you are all things
And to you are all things
You deserve the glory
That's Jesus, all the glory is yours God
You deserve the glory
You deserve the glory
You deserve the glory
You deserve the glory
Day and night, night and day
Day and night, night and day
Day and night, night and day
Day and night, night and day
Day and night, night and day
You are worthy of it all
You are worthy of it all
For from you are all things
And to you are all things
You deserve the glory
You are worthy of it all
You are worthy of it all
Only you are worthy
For from you are all things
And to you are all things
You deserve the glory
Demas had a long day. He's we were out on the road at 6 o'clock this morning. We went to Lancaster to the YWAM piece where my daughter's at and got to join in with their worship time out there.
And they were praying for Ukraine there. So that was pretty neat.
And let's see. I've enjoyed getting Demetra. He stayed overnight last night and just enjoying getting to know him better.
He prayed in English for the first time last night. So that was pretty cool.
And so he's an associate pastor of New Life Church in a town called Ivano Frankes, which is about five hours west of Kiev.
So let's give it up for Pastor Demetro and Drusov.
Hello there Church.
I'm really glad to be here and thank God that gave me the possibility to stay here and share what God is doing in Ukraine during this war.
So a few words about me. So my name is Demetro and I'm from Ukraine. I'm an associate pastor at New Life Church in one of Frankivsk.
And I have been married to my wife Natalia for 18 years. And God has blessed us with four kids.
And also I will talk more about it a little bit later.
But before I tell you a little about our Church, I want to share what God put in my heart.
And I propose you to read John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35.
Chapter 13, verses 34 and 35.
Jesus says,
So these words are very important. Jesus said them shortly before he went to the cross. Think about this.
If you knew that in a few days you were going to die, what would you say to the people closest to you?
Probably something very important. You would not waste your time talking about small things.
And here, shortly before the cross, Jesus tells his disciples, love one another.
I believe we can see three important things in these words.
The first, Jesus makes love a command.
First Jesus says,
Jesus does not say, it would be good if you would love one another.
And he does not say, love each other when it's easy.
He calls it a command. And command is not an option.
As Christians, we take the commands of Jesus seriously.
Here Jesus gives us a very clear command, love one another.
And this is not always easy. It is easy to love someone who is kind to us.
It is easy to love someone who agrees with us.
But what about someone who disappoints us?
What about someone who thinks differently?
What about someone who hearts us?
Jesus still says, love one another.
So love is not only something we feel, love is also something we choose.
So second, Jesus does not only tell us to love, to love.
He shows us how.
How we should love one another.
He says, I have loved you, so you must love one another.
This is the standard.
We should love people the way Jesus loved us.
And how Jesus loves us.
His love was sacrificial.
His love was not based on his mood.
His love was not based on whether people deserved it.
Jesus served people. Jesus forgave people.
Jesus gave his time to people.
And finally, Jesus gave his life for us on the cross.
Jesus, before this conversation, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.
He was their Lord, but he served them.
He even knew that people would deny him.
He knew his disciples were not perfect, but he loved them.
This is the kind of love Jesus is talking about.
Christian love is not only a feeling, it is decision to follow the example of Jesus.
So, and the last one.
Love between the disciples, disciples of Jesus, has a purpose.
Jesus says, why does everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another?
Notice that Jesus speaks about everyone.
He is talking about people outside the church too.
People are watching how Christians live.
They are watching how we treat each other.
They are watching how we respond where there is conflict.
They are watching where we forgive.
They are watching whether we care for each other.
And Jesus says that our love can show people that we belong to him.
Two thousand years ago, people could see Jesus with their own eyes.
They could see how he treated people.
They could see his kindness.
They could see his compassion.
They could see his love.
Today, Jesus is not physically walking through our city and streets.
But people can still see something of Jesus through his disciples.
Through us, when we love, when we forgive, when we serve, when we care for one another.
Our love becomes a testimony.
So, before I finish, I want to leave us with one simple question.
When people look at my life, can they see something of Jesus?
Not only in what I say, not only because I go to church, but in the way I treat other people.
Jesus said, by this everyone will know that you are my disciples.
If you love one another.
So, maybe not only speak about Jesus.
May people see the love of Jesus through our life.
Amen.
Now, I want to share with you a little bit about my church, New Life Church.
And before I share this information, I want to show you some short movie that explains why our church called it New Life.
Is it possible? Yeah.
New Life is more than just words.
It's the story of each of us.
It reflects God's work in the lives of people who met in one place to fulfill their calling together by following Christ.
For some, New Life began with moving to a new city because of the war.
It was difficult, uncertain, and lonely.
But right there, God gave new hope, a new community, and a new home, both in the heart and in life.
Some started families, found their other half, received God's blessing through marriage,
and a New Life began no longer alone, but together in unity with God.
Others were blessed with children, and that too was New Life.
A new responsibility, a new understanding of love, a new ministry given by the Lord.
And for some, the most important moment was when they repented and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Their hearts changed, their thinking changed, and they found meaning and eternal hope.
That is true New Life, the one that begins with God.
Those who returned from war were changed inside, having experienced pain and loss.
Yet here, in Christ, they found healing, peace, and New Life filled with meaning and hope.
So, New Life is not just a beautiful name.
It's a testimony, a calling, a promise, and a reality in which we live and to which we invite others.
Yeah, this is a short video about our church, New Life Church, in one of Frankivsk.
So, a few words about my family.
So, you can see the picture.
So, this is my family.
So, there is my wife, Natalia, and my four kids, two daughters and two sons.
So, like, balance.
Yeah, I have two daughters, older daughters, Polina and Zlata.
Polina, she is 17 years old.
Zlata, she is 15 years old.
And also, I have two sons.
My older son is Yorama, or Jeremiah.
He is 12 years old.
And also, the youngest son is Denis.
He is 18 months old.
So, Denis is probably the happiest one in our family.
He is always smiling.
So, the next slide shows you that this New Life Church.
Yeah, we are a young and growing community of about 50 peoples.
Most of our people are young adults and families.
So, we love God, we love people, and we want to help people to find new life in Jesus.
So, our church in one of Frankivsk is western Ukraine.
The next slide.
Our city is far from the front line, but the words still affect our lives.
Many people have moved to our city from other parts of Ukraine because of the war.
So, we want our church to be a place where people can find God, community, support, and hope.
So, our mission.
Our mission is very simple.
Leading people to new life in Jesus Christ.
The next slide, please.
And we try to live this mission through three things.
Serving people, building relationships,
and reaching generation.
For us, church is not only what happens on Sunday morning.
Church happens when we enter people's lives.
When we sit with someone who is struggling, when we invest a child, when we spend time with teenagers,
when we help a family, when we build a relationship with people who may never come into church building on their own.
Because ultimately, our goal is not simple to bring people to church.
Our goal is bring people to Jesus.
So, let me give you a little context about our church.
Next slide.
New life church was planted in 2022.
So, today we have around 50 people.
And so, there are not a huge number, but we have learned something.
God can do a lot through a small group of people who are willing to serve Him.
Especially during these difficult years in Ukraine, we have seen people came with different needs.
Some needs practical help, some needs community, some needs someone just listen to them.
But behind many of these needs, there is even deeper need.
People need hope.
And we believe the real hope is found in Jesus Christ.
That is why serving people has become such an important part of our church.
Next slide.
We especially focus on several groups.
We work with children and teenagers because we believe that investing in the next generation
is one of the most important things that church can do.
We work with young people creating place where they can build relationship,
ask honest questions, and hear about Jesus.
And we also serve people who are going through difficult circumstances.
Sometimes ministry looks like preaching, but sometimes it looks like sitting at the table.
Sometimes it looks like youth meeting, sometimes it looks like helping someone with food.
Sometimes it's simply being present.
And all of these things give us opportunity to say,
we care about you because Jesus cares about you.
We know that we cannot change people.
We cannot change people's lives by ourselves, but we believe God can.
Our job is simple, to be faithful, to love people, to serve them, and to point them to Jesus.
So it's a short presentation about our church, our ministry.
And also we have a time for questions and answers.
So, yeah, let's just have a question time here.
And, you know, your city's not on the front lines,
but Dimitro said that just a couple of days ago you had some drone strikes in your city.
So it's a real threat.
And so I'm sure many of you have questions about what's going on,
and how's that affect your church, and how do you do outreach, and so on and so forth.
So raise your hand.
I'll come to you, and we're going to ask your questions.
How has this affected the draftable age man and your congregation?
In other words, do man as soon as they graduate get drafted into the armed forces,
or is it not that serious?
So, just for clarification, how war affect congregation?
Yeah, called into the army.
Are your young men called into the army right away?
Does that affect your church?
Yeah, so it's a good question, thank you.
Now, we have a difficult situation with men in Ukraine,
because all men in Ukraine should go to the army,
and it leads a lot of challenges for the church,
because many leaders had to go to the army,
and many churches live without leaders, the first one.
But we have a privilege for pastors, for example,
because pastors in Ukraine have a reservation,
so pastors in Ukraine have a possibility that they don't go to the army.
So it's like a reservation.
And also, like men, like family, that has three and more kids, not adults,
also like reservists, not go to the army.
So, yeah.
So if you talk about how the situation affects churches,
yeah, it's a big challenge, because first of all, leaders,
church does not have leaders, like has leaders,
but understand me, yeah, sometimes it's pretty difficult.
Yeah, first one.
Thank you.
Yeah, thank you.
I think Russia and the war thing, it's gotten really fast.
Now it's like two or three years.
Is there any end to this war, or what conditions have to be spelled out
in order for this war to end?
So, yeah, I didn't get it.
Can you predict an end to the war?
What are Ukrainians saying?
I have no idea how to answer this.
Could you please repeat again?
I have a phrase to this question.
From my understanding, Russia and the war think it would be pretty easy.
And to their mistaken, it was not easy.
In fact, it's a difficult war for both Ukraine and Russia.
Now, do you see any end to this war knowing what's going on?
I mean, it seems like it doesn't serve anybody right now.
It's a tough question.
I cannot understand it because I don't have a whole view how it's going on.
Sorry.
Nobody really knows, is what you're saying.
Nobody knows.
Yeah, maybe another question.
Sorry.
Do you have any trouble receiving or getting goods and services or food?
Is there any scarcity in what you need?
Yeah, it depends on the city.
So, Ivana Frankivsk is located in western Ukraine.
So, there are not any troubles with food and any troubles.
But if you're talking about frontline cities like Zaporizhia and other, there are some troubles, but it's not critical.
So, every time food provision goes to the city and provisions are there.
So, it's a problem, but it's not critical.
So, sometimes Ukrainian government drive, provide food for the city.
So, this one, it's not a problem.
So, last year, we had a problem with electricity because a lot of bombs were in Ukraine.
Russia bombed a lot of cities in Ukraine, not only Kiev, but also western city as well.
We had a problem with electricity, but Ukrainians managed it.
We bought a big energy safe, a cumulator.
We were able to leave without electricity.
But now, everything, thank God that everything is so key at the time, not critical.
What other religions are there? Is there a lot of Catholic religions in the area?
Yeah, it's mostly Orthodox. Orthodox Church is a major religion in Ukraine.
Also, Orthodox has two branches, Orthodox and Orthodox with Greek Orthodox.
And if you're talking about western Ukraine, Greek Orthodox, major religion.
If you're talking about the center of Ukraine and east of Ukraine,
the major religion is Orthodox, just Orthodox.
And how did you come to know the Lord?
Through my brother. I have an older brother.
When I was young, when I was a kid, I heard a lot about God, about Jesus.
I believe that Jesus and God exist, but I was not a believer.
My older brother came to Jesus first and told me about Jesus, but I answered,
okay, it's your choice.
But then I went to Ukrainian army, so I was serving in Ukrainian army one year.
And then I went back home, so I had a lot of free time because I was looking for a job,
just an adaptation after serving the army, also took a lot of time, like months.
And I didn't want to waste time at home, I asked my brother,
please take me to the church.
And God touched my heart and I decided to follow Jesus.
It's an interesting story.
I noticed that 84 or 86% of the country is Catholic.
Was there any opposition towards the Christian churches?
84, not Catholic, I said Orthodox.
What about Christian churches like Protestantism?
The percentage is very less, like 7% of Ukrainian churches are baptized,
or other kind of confession of Protestantism.
Is there persecution for your kind of church? Is there opposition?
Yeah, I'm sorry.
New Life Church is a Baptist church.
We belong to Baptist unity and our church is like,
yeah, Protestantism church, but this confession is like Baptist.
Evangelistic Baptist church.
A two-part question.
How do you, and walk me through this,
how do you express healing to the people from war-torn country,
like in Kiev and in Harkov?
I have some friends there.
And how do you minister to that and how do you see healing?
The reason I ask that question is,
sometimes I do not know how to pray for them because I've never been in that situation.
As an example, what do you do when people come to you that are dire straits?
How do you minister to them?
What are the effects of the war that they walk through,
so I can understand better how to pray?
Yeah.
So it's Kiev and Harkiv that you mentioned.
This city, I really bomb it.
A lot of risks there, a lot of buildings were destroyed.
Yeah, and people, be honest, people lost hope
and a lot of questions to God.
For example, why it's happened with Ukraine?
Why do you do this with our kids?
Because a lot of kids also died, killed by Russians.
And I would ask to pray for these people that God give open them hope, real hope.
Yeah, because these situations that we have in Ukraine really demotivate a lot of people.
And a lot of people don't want to believe in God because they see this situation.
If you're talking about spiritual,
but if you're talking about physically,
a lot of people lost a job because of many businesses were closed
because of the war, a lot of risks.
And also many clients from foreign countries,
for other countries like Europe, United States,
also break contract because of the risks.
And many people lost their jobs,
and we have now this problem.
It's a challenge for other people now.
So you're saying that in light of those people that come from the West,
there is total despair and the lack of even hope in their heart?
Yeah.
Okay, all right.
So then how do you deal with that?
Yeah, it's also a challenge for us
because we try to organize different events for them,
for families, for kids, for young people,
and we try to show them love of God.
We try to show them what is this true hope.
Yeah, what God can do for them.
But not all people are open to this conversation,
but many people are open for listening what God prepared for them.
Yeah, so it's a challenge,
and we can separate Ukrainians for two groups.
One of them is open to God,
another one is not open,
and we try to work with them,
but it's very hard, but we try.
Are there halfway houses and provisions through your church
to help people get established in the local community,
or do you traffic them through to the West, to Poland, and to other countries?
What do you mean?
Well, do any of the refugees take heart
and begin to live as community with you,
or do you primarily are a feeding stream to send them west?
Yeah, it also depends.
If family has a possibility to live country,
for example, I have a possibility to live country
because I have three kids,
and I can live country without permissions.
So many families choose this way, live country whole.
But we also have another kind of families,
like when my husband is serving in the Ukrainian army,
and wife and children stay in Ukraine,
because to be closer to each other.
But we also, yeah, it depends.
Not all, but many people also choose to live country
and live in Poland or other countries of Europe.
Yeah, but also we have another challenge that family is under the pressure
because we have another way when wife and children left Ukraine,
but husband stayed in Ukraine.
And it's like family separated.
And it's also a big challenge because when you, without family,
one year, two years, it's like a big challenge.
And we also work with this type of families.
We try to build their relationship, how they can manage it.
And also, yeah.
And last question, those that stay or are approximate to you,
have you been able to provide jobs and income with them
and place them in some type of credible work environment?
Sorry, I didn't get it.
Okay, no, that's fine.
In bringing the families in, obviously,
it is a financial drain on your church.
And second of all, those people that have whole families,
are there opportunities for these people to work their way through
and have jobs or is there nothing as an opportunity
from transferring from west to east?
Do they begin to bring in,
are they able to bring income in after they get established?
I'm not sure that I totally understand you, sorry,
because my brain is not working.
What do the men and the women do for money once they arrive?
Can they work?
Yeah, it's also a challenge for those families
because when a family arrives to western,
we try to find some work for them.
But it's not easy because in western,
we don't have much type of work.
For example, when a husband was a teacher,
it's very hard to find the same job in western
because this husband should go to constructions,
and it's a challenge.
But we try to help them to find work
and settle down in western.
I was just wondering,
what was the overall impact of the war
on people spiritually?
Did it actually cause them to see their need for God more
or did it actually have a negative impact
and make them say,
this is God's fault, I'm going to blame him for this?
What was the impact of the war?
Yeah, let me just say we have two parts of people,
so one of them is open to hear,
but other part of people don't want to hear about God
because they blame that God always happens.
Also, I want to say young people,
it's very hard to work with young people
because young people are more close to God,
if you're talking about young people.
For example, we have some small group with older people
that came from east of Ukraine,
and these people are very open to hear about Jesus.
Also, they're really open
because a small group happens one per week,
and many older people came to church.
We think that we have two reasons.
The first one, this community.
When older people came to a new place,
it's very difficult to find community.
Church is open,
and many people came to church,
and we have great conversation.
We read the Bible,
and those people are very open to hear about Jesus.
They make some gift for each other.
It's really good for them.
I'm wondering, do you provide any housing for these people,
and where would you go for safety?
Do you have an underground church?
Do you have underground housing?
What kind of facilities do these people live in?
I've been a realtor for 50 years.
Yeah, yeah.
If you're talking about schools, for example,
each school has a shelter,
a basement,
and this basement is...
Some shelter, let's say.
Some shelter under the basement of the school.
If you're talking about church,
we don't have this possibility,
because we ran a place,
and we don't have this opportunity.
But I want to say,
in one of Frankivsk,
we did not have a case
when we had an air alarm during Sunday morning service.
Yeah, it's a big blessing for us.
One other question.
Do they understand that God gives man free will
and that a lot of the destruction is caused
because of man's will and not God's?
A lot.
What do you mean a lot of destruction by cause of man?
Could I please repeat or phrase your question, please?
Do they blame God for the occurrence of war?
Instead of man.
They should be blaming man
because God gives us the will to be good
or the will to be bad.
Do they understand?
Yeah.
I know people that are mad at God,
but then when I do an exercise or discussion with them,
we find out it was lack of God that made the man do what he did.
So then they're able to let God in their heart
and understand that God is getting him through this.
Do they understand that, do you think?
So we are talking about,
should God support that man go to the army?
Yeah, please.
Yeah, I think the question is,
the general public,
are they blaming God for this
or do they realize that it's humans that are causing the problems?
Do people want people?
Are people angry at God?
It's a tough question because we have two opinions.
We can separate people from two groups.
So one of them is blaming that it's a problem
because we have not good leaders, for example,
and leaders made bad decisions
and we have a result, we have a war.
But other people blame that God is cause of this war.
Yeah, I cannot answer this question because it's like discussion
and we have many thoughts about it.
We cannot answer this question.
We, as a church, we believe that the war because of this thing,
because all humans, all peoples,
it's a sin and now we have this result.
But we also understand that it's a miracle
that Ukraine is still independent.
We believe this, that God saved Ukraine.
So it's my face.
I understand it and because if you want,
because before the war, everyone in the world
saw that Ukrainian will not stand alone.
Yeah, it just will stand three days, two weeks, for example.
Yeah, but Ukraine is still independent.
It's a miracle for me.
And I believe that God will provide us
this totally independent from Russians.
And yeah, I believe this.
But it's very difficult question, but we cannot answer this.
We have different opinions.
Thank you for sharing tonight.
And I realize that this conflict is still ongoing for you.
So I appreciate you coming and sharing.
I can't imagine that it's very difficult.
My question to you would be is that from an outsider perspective,
us in the United States or around the world,
what is something that we wouldn't understand
or what's something that you would want the outside world to know,
or something that we get wrong,
that you know being there on the ground about the conflict?
Yeah, thank you for this question.
If you're talking about church,
I would say that for the world,
God still working in Ukraine
and church still preaching
and do this work that church is responsible for.
Yes, it's preaching and rich people.
And I also want to say
it's very hard for leaders of the church.
It's very hard for pastors of the church
because it's very difficult to encourage people.
It's very difficult to give them hope, real hope,
because a lot of people lost this hope.
Yeah, and if you would like to pray for Ukraine,
I would like to ask you to pray for leaders of the church,
pastors, leaders of the church,
and people that open their hearts for God.
Yeah, sorry, maybe.
And we're going to do that in just a few minutes,
pray for a lot of these things that are on your heart.
You just kind of said what I was...
I just wanted to let you know that every day at 5 o'clock,
I have an alarm that goes off
and I stop what I'm doing and I pray for you.
Thank you.
And I pray for the war.
And I'm blown away that you came here and ministered to us.
We should be ministering to you and lifting you up.
And I guess my question to you is,
how can we as a church body lift you up today?
And he's going to have some prayer points
of how he can pray for you.
Yeah, I prepared a few prayer points with prayer needs
and you can join to pray for Ukraine,
for our needs, for pastors,
I think a little bit later I will introduce those points
and you will pray for us.
But it's what I would ask.
So please pray for Ukraine and churches in Ukraine.
It's very important for us
because when we understand that some churches pray for us
in the other part of the earth,
it's really encourage us and it's really motivate us
that we are not alone.
We have like believers that pray for us
and we also believe that pray has a big power
and like more than any sources,
any resources in the earth, pray it's a big power
and we ask you if you have a possibility,
pray for Ukraine, for Ukrainian churches
and the leaders in like pastors
and the leaders of some ministers in Ukraine.
Yeah.
Jesus said to love your enemy also,
do you take time to talk with your church
and pray with your church for the Russians as well
because they're your enemy
and that's what Jesus loved us when we're enemies.
So yeah, good question, good question.
We sometimes pray for Russians
that God open eyes,
their eyes that they do
because the Russians understand that they do bad things,
that invention of Ukraine is a bad thing
and we pray God open eyes
for that they do bad things.
It's our prayer now.
If you're talking about forgiveness,
it's really tough question
and like if you're talking about forgiveness
like for Russians,
it's really tough questions
and we decided to talk about it a little bit later,
at least after the war
because now it's like really tough,
very tough question.
So it's now we have the situation
because many people lost children,
lost husbands, lost wives,
how we tell them love enemies.
It's very tough.
So and we decided don't talk about it
until the war is ended.
All right.
Hey, well, thank you so much.
Yeah. Thank you.
Let's go to those prayer points.
So, yeah.
Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church
as we praise God and discuss His Word.
Don't forget to join us for Worship Lives Sunday mornings
at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube.
Be blessed and have a great day!
Thank you.