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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Maia’s Update:

The night is coming.
The 23rd day of war is drawing to an end. Today we had 8 air raids during the day. We are all becoming more and more careless. At the beginning of the war when air raid sirens started you could see streets emptying in a few minutes. Not anymore. During the daytime people don’t rush to bomb shelters, they just become more focused and more attentive to the sounds around. We have a tram line on our street. That tram coming on a now quiet street sounds like a plane, especially in the early hours of the morning. Really annoying! Yesterday I was standing in a long line to a drug store during the air raid and at one point there was a truck on the street that made a loud noise and the whole line turned heads nervously in the direction of the sound. You could see in the body language the tension of a wound spring.

Kyiv is living under tension from day 1 of the war. Russian threats are ongoing. Russian planes and rockets keep getting shot in the sky by air defense and often the debris end up causing damage to residential areas. Our carelessness about air raids is not very smart. Every time air raid sirens warn us about the real danger that is falling somewhere in our big city on the heads of civilians. But 8 air raids (or more!) a day is annoying. How can one get anything done!? And so we ignore air raids during the daytime. I am sure many Ukrainians ignore them during the nighttime. My 75-year-old father is one of those people.

I read a long article today that was looking for an explanation for the intensity of russian bombings and rocket strikes at night, around 4am and 5am in particular. The bottom line is it brings maximum casualties and maximum terror.

Nick and I went today to see the buildings in our area that were hit by debris of russian ballistic rockets two nights ago. It’s far from casual curiosity. Every Ukrainian who looks at the damage from russian bombs is making a very personal application. Every one of us is asking ourselves if this hit my building, would my place of shelter have saved me?

Tomorrow most likely our granddaughter will come home from the hospital (we are beyond excited about finally meeting her in person!) and we hope our bomb shelter will be a safe place for her. I pray that none of you, my friends, will ever wonder about that for your kids and grandkids.

Our prayers tonight are with Psalm 46:1-6
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

(The photos are of the buildings that were hit in our area by the debris of russian ballistic rocket a couple of nights ago and a video clip can let you experience the sound of air raid that we are becoming numb to.).

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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