December 2022 Update

 

Friends, family, kind strangers – it has now been 310 days since Russia’s invasion and the start of full-scale war in Ukraine. Christmas has come and gone, we’ve grieved and celebrated, and now we look forward. ** please do not share anything from this letter publicly without my permission.

Personally, I’m a big fan of holidays and structured milestones. They encourage us to pause and take note. Note our progress, note our blessings, note our loses. It gives us an opportunity to celebrate or regroup. I know most of you also have a lot to process as we move into the new year. You have overcome a lot, you have learned even more.

we play in the dark most afternoons due to the power outages.

A lot of you have made the active decision to come alongside me in this challenging year, and for that, I am incredibly thankful. You have not only made this year possible through your generous giving, you made it worthwhile through your prayer and encouragement. Please don’t let the impact of supporting a missionary become lost on you. One of the scariest parts of stepping into my calling in Ukraine this year was not knowing where the needed funds would come from, but God sent you and you said yes. Thank you.

So I wanted to take a moment of your time to celebrate with you some of the things we’ve accomplished this year… I made approximately 90 trips to the local orphanage to spend time with the same 30-35 children. And 7 of those children were either adopted or reunited with their families! There were about 112 packages of diapers delivered to the orphanage.  $12,000 was directed to displaced families here in Ukraine and abroad to help them resettle after being forced from their homes.  We bought a generator for a local orphanage. $750 worth of diapers were sent to an institution for children and adults with special needs. $15,500 went towards fuel for evacuations and aid delivery across Ukraine.  $1,000 went towards renting a semi-truck to get needed aid to the front lines. $6,500 purchased life-saving gear for men and women serving on the front lines. $4,000 purchased groceries for vulnerable families.  $2,000 went towards Christmas gifts for displaced, vulnerable, or foster families.  $4,000 helped purchase a vehicle for a foster family.

This isn’t everything, but I wanted to give you an idea of how your generosity has made an impact this year. The funds also help cover fun items for the children I work with, my visa and residency process, trips to pick up aid, my availability, and more!  I never expected to be able to help like this, it never even crossed my mind. I simply wanted to be able to purchase a car (thank you for the special gift for my jeep – you know who you are!!), be able to make trips to the orphanage, and provide for the needs of the children. That was my prayer – but look at how you and God showed up!!  Incredible.  As we enter into the new year, know that I’m still here and we are still making an impact. We all agree it’s nearly unbelievable this terrible war is still happening. But it is. The needs are still real and still urgent. If you have funds to direct for end-of-year giving, please consider my ministry! We have a long way to go.  I'll be starting the new year with some excitement. On Monday I head east with a team to deliver aid and Christmas gifts to a town recently liberated from Russian occupation. I feel very ready to see the reality of this war for those in the east with my own eyes. This will be the first time I’ve left the buffer of safety we have here in the western regions. I thank you in advance for the prayers of safety for the team of 10 and for divine appointments as we make our way across the country. I likely won’t be giving real-time updates, but I will be sharing on my Instagram as I can.  Thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement, and friendship. I am deeply blessed and I know that!

with love, Lina