May 23, 2026

When the full-scale war began on February 24, 2022, six families – the women and children of those families at least fled the city.  People left for differnt countries throughout the world.  The men in the church who were left, continued to care for those who were left..  They helped with medicines, food, and spiritual support, driving around the city even as it was being shelled to bring physical help and spiritual hope. The service in the church premises also continued and weekly online meetings were also broadcast. We made many trips to the villages surrounding Mykolaiv to help them as well, and as soon as Kherson was liberated in November 2022, Andrey and his brother began travelling to Kherson, an hour away, to help their church, which had been surviving under russian occupation until that time.

By God’s grace and in the midst of War, Andriy was ordained as the Pastor of the Mykolaiv Church in 2023. He continues to travel back and forth to Kherson, on very dangerous roads, twice a month to preach and administer the sacraments.   

Our women’s ministry also did not cease during the war, despite so many families leaving.  Thanks to donations through MTW, we have been able to provide a lot of humanitarian help in our city and beyond, especially after the russians destroyed the Kakhovka dam and caused catastrophic flooding. Many people from occupied regions and places that facing massive, daily shelling have fled into the surrounding villages. They often don’t have proper places to stay or any work to support themselves.  We continue to visit these villages and provide humanitarian help.