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.
Most of you, my friends, who know me well, would probably have not seen me crying in my life before the war. But since the war started I cried a lot during the first two weeks, then again around Briana’s birth and I cried on the night when Briana came home and we were in our bomb shelter listening to explosions outside and I saw Sasha leaning over the baby crib and crying…
I haven’t cried for over a week but today I couldn’t hold back tears again.

Nick convinced me to go to the suburbs of Kyiv where Sasha has her flower farm. We haven’t been there since the war started and Nick has been itching to go. Sasha’s flowers in the greenhouse needed rescuing from under agro fiber that had been piled in the corner of the greenhouse from last fall, on top of the daffodils bed. Flowers also needed watering but that couldn’t be helped. Last fall Nick planted some fig trees that he covered for the winter as well. It was time to free those trees.

So today finally Nick and I went for this “adventure drive” that once used to take 30 min and is much longer now. When Sasha and Nikita were still studying in the States they decided that they wanted to buy land in Kyiv suburbs for a house and flower farm. They really liked Bucha area, but it was way too expensive. Today Bucha lies in ruins from russian barbaric attacks, people who evacuated from there are telling hair-raising stories of horror.

The land that Sasha and Nikita ended up buying has not been contaminated by russian aggressors’ presence. But as we were driving there our hearts ached to see our beautiful city spiked with antitank hedgehogs, multiple checkpoints barricading the streets and roads. At times the air was revibrating with explosions, the road “signing” sadly as the car tires went over the “scars” on asphalt left by tanks, the signs of “landmines” warnings along the edge of the forest look menacing. There was no farm work on the fields, the villages were dead quiet. All that felt like such a violation! It hurt! I can only imagine what people will feel returning to Bucha, Irpen, Brovary, other towns and villages in the suburbs of Kyiv that got destroyed by russian horde.

Russians are killing our people, they are destroying our cities, they are raping our land – day after day. In Mariupl every single building is ruined. There are still about 200,000 people who can’t get out. It’s genocide, it’s inhumane crime that is ongoing! The French President is concerned that Putin may get offended by being called a butcher and a war criminal! I think he is concerned about the wrong thing!
When people talk to me about forgiving russians I want to ask them to pray that there will be a day when we can start that process. But right now there is too much pain and russian orces continue to cause suffering and sow terror.

We shall overcome this evil, just like Sasha’s daffodils were able to start blooming even with agro fiber crowding and shadowing them, even without any watering. It was good to see the blooms. It was sad to spend only an hour on the land. This spring was supposed to be a busy time of planting and house construction. We know eventually, we will get to that. But today we will just focus on surviving another night of war.

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30: 5)

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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