The following is copied and shared with permission and reflects a deeply personal  perspective forged amid the daily suffering and sacrifice caused by the war in Ukraine.  This update is offered to inform and encourage your prayerful support for all who are affected by this tragedy.

If you would like to help us with humanitarian aid efforts you can donate through our  website https://ipministry.org/donate/. The needs are growing as we keep helping thousands of people to move west within Ukraine and also helping those who want to leave the country temporarily. We need funds most of all for gas, but also for food and various supplies (medical, bed linens, mattresses, etc). Thank you.                        

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Update from Maia:

The 100th night of the ruzzian invasion is here.

• 100 days of heartbreak.
• 100 days and nights of air raids.
• 100 days and nights of Ukrainians being killed and injured on our own land, Ukrainian homes being destroyed, millions of women and children uprooted and fleeing the war, and hundreds of thousands on occupied territories tortured, intimidated, and persecuted.
• 100 days of Evil showing new, unimaginable faces, revealing itself in more inhumane ways.
• 100 days of people’s values being put to test in the most extreme ways – we discovered a lot about ourselves and about those who are around us, close and far.
• 100 days of our defenders doing what the whole world believed impossible – keeping this barbarian horde from advancing, from taking over Ukraine, and moving to invade other countries in Europe.
• 100 days of gratefulness for being still alive and for Danny being safe.
• 100 days filled to the brim with the strongest degrees of experiencing hope and despair, courage and fear, love for our people and hate for the enemy, inspiration and discouragement, strength and helplessness, energy and exhaustion, joy and pain.

We became grandparents on the 21st day of war! Our granddaughter hasn’t lived even a day under a peaceful sky, not even one day or one night without air raid sirens. Hopefully, we will live long enough to say, “These were the Best of Times, and the Worst of Times”

Ukraine has the misfortune to neighbor a terrorist country that invades, destroys, kills, and steals at the whim of their home-grown dictator. The horrors of this war expressed in numbers might sound too dry, but there is immense human suffering and loss behind each of these numbers:

•  Ukraine suffered $600 billion in direct losses from this invasion.
•  Ukraine lost 35% of its GDP.
•  More than 44 million square meters of homes were destroyed.
•  23,800 kilometers of roads and 6,300 railroads are damaged.
•  41 bridges have been destroyed.
•  1,123 educational institutions were ruined.
•  3,600 towns and villages have been occupied, and 1,000 of those have been  liberated.
•  R1,6 million Ukrainians were deported by force to ruzzian territory, 16% of those   were children.
•  More than 5 million Ukrainians fled from war to other countries, and 12 million people   are internally displaced.
•  The number we do not know is how many Ukrainian lives have been lost in this war-   how many soldiers and civilians were killed. Knowing that number might be  more   than we can handle these days. We know the daily sacrifice in lives  is huge. God,   please, stop this horde of Evil, destroy the invaders, and protect our people and land!

Praying Psalm 56 for Ukraine:
Be merciful to me, my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
all day long they press their attack.
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;
in their pride many are attacking me.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words;
all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
hoping to take my life.
7 Because of their wickedness do not[c] let them escape;
in your anger, God, bring the nations down.
8 Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll[d]—
are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
when I call for help.
By this I will know that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I am under vows to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.

PS. Comment on the photo. Yesterday was the first thunderstorm we have experienced since the start of the war. I can tell from personal experience thunderstorms are going to be scary for a while – not the sight of lighting but the sound of roaring thunder – it sounded too much like an explosion.

While I was writing this post the whole map of Ukraine was lit up with air raid warnings. All regions marked in red were hearing air raid sirens. The only regions not marked in red were Kherson region and Crimea that are currently occupied by ruzzian nvaders.

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Please share these updates with others. I have added direct links to our email, our website, and to the IP Ministry Journal on YouTube to the bottom of this page. Your prayers are precious to us. Thank you!

In Christ,
Brandy Ezzell
International Partnerships