The people of Ukraine have always amazed me. After my first trip to Ukraine in 1996, I told friends that I was amazed that the believers did so much with so little (while we Americans seem have so much and do so little)! In 2014, I witnessed first-hand, the resiliency of the Ukrainian people. From November 2013 until the end of February 2014, thousands of people stood day and night in below freezing temperatures to protest their corrupt pro-Russian government. The more the government sent troops to beat the people, the more people came out in the streets to protest. It was amazing to see. After the protests, when Russia took Crimea and then attacked in Donetsk and Lugansk, the Ukrainian people responded by volunteering to fight (since Ukraine had no army then) and wealthy men in Ukraine paid the volunteers to fight. Every grocery store collected money and food to help feed the soldiers. This group of volunteers held off the pro-Russian forces over the last 9 years while Ukraine formed a standing army.
Even more impressive were the actions of believers. Christians throughout Ukraine responded immediately with many becoming chaplains to share the gospel with soldiers and others beginning to help with humanitarian efforts. People opened their homes to refugees and helped them to be resettled in Kyiv and as far away as L’viv. This was during a time that the Ukrainian currency fell from 8:1 to 24:1 (triple loss) and inflation rose to over more than double. Still Ukrainians kept giving and sharing and caring for others. Most of all, during this time, believers rallied together to form new churches and new outreaches to refugees so that the gospel would continue to go forth. This has continued and even increased in the face of the current Russian invasion.
All of this reminded me of the ending of the Book of Acts: “Now Paul stayed two full years in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching things about the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.” Likewise, in spite of all these difficulties, the gospel in Ukraine continues to be spread – unhindered.
In Acts 28, we see the Apostle Paul continuing to minister and share the gospel in spite of all kinds of difficulties. As Acts 28 begins, Paul has been arrested and has appealed to Caesar. The ship he was on has been shipwrecked and they are on the island of Malta. Paul had been faithful in sharing the gospel, but now he was a prisoner possibly headed to his death in Rome. But rather than complaining about his suffering and circumstance, Paul was continuing to minister and share the gospel.
In Acts 28:1-11, we see Paul continuing to minister in spite of difficulties. He had survived the shipwreck only to be bitten by a poisonous snake. But God protected him so that he could minister to one of the leading men on the island. After healing the man’s father, Paul continued to minister to others on the island until they were able to leave on another ship. Even in difficulties, he continued to minister. I praise God that this is what Ukrainian believers are doing right now – ministering even in great difficulties.
Then in Acts 28:12-16, we see Paul continuing to minister in spite of discouragement. Advancing the gospel can be very difficult at time. But it is not just difficult – it can be discouraging! Paul must have had many moments of discouragement during this time (he talks about some of the discouragements in 2 Corinthians). I would guess that, as he drew closer to Rome, his thoughts of discouragement might have increased as he thought about the possibility of his dying at the hands of Caesar. But God provided other believers to encourage him! Paul was encouraged by other believers. Luke writes, “And from there the brothers and sisters, when they heard about us, came as far as the Market of Appius and the Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.” Ministry is hard. And it is even harder in difficult circumstances. But we need to encourage one another during those times of difficulty. We are trying to keep up with friends in Ukraine, not only praying for them but trying to be encouraging also. Ministry is always hard – It becomes especially discouraging when you feel you are ministering alone with no end in sight. Take time to encourage others who are involved in ministry. They need your encouragement!
But Paul not only faced many discouraging times; he also continued to minister in spite of opposition. In verses 17-20, Paul calls together some of the leaders of the Jewish community so that he could share with them. Some responded positively; others did not (vv. 21-27). In fact, Paul quoted to them from Isaiah 6 where God tells Isaiah about the ministry that He was calling Isaiah to. It would be a ministry where results would not be easy to see. It would be a ministry where people would “keep on hearing and will not understand.” It would be a ministry where people would close their ears and close their eyes. But Isaiah was called to keep on sharing even though many would not listen. That was Paul – he would keep on sharing the gospel, in spite of difficulties, discouragement, and even opposition.
Finally, in Acts 28:30-31, we see Paul continuing to minister in spite of hinderances. Chapter 28 is the final chapter in the Book of Acts. But it is not the final chapter for the gospel! Acts is not about Paul – it is about the gospel. Acts does not focus on the difficulties or opposition – it focuses on the advance of the gospel. The gospel continues – unhindered. Paul was under house arrest awaiting trial. But even that did not stop him from ministering. Acts 1:8 begins with the promise: “But you shall receive power and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Acts ends with Paul in prison – but with the gospel still advancing – in spite of difficulties, opposition or suffering. Why? Because the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).
The people of Ukraine are facing great suffering, opposition and difficulties right now. What has been their response? To keep on ministering, to keep on sharing, to keep on being faithful to the gospel – no matter what the cost to them personally. We do not know what will be the outcome of this war. But we know that whatever happens, the gospel will continue to go forth – unhindered.
On our website, we have posted some links to ministries we know about that are helping people in Ukraine. You can find those links at https://teachingresources.org/2022/03/03/help-for-ukraine/.
Teaching …
While I am not currently teaching, I have been able to be involved in a number of ministries. Last month, University Baptist Church hosted a Simeon Trust Conference on expository preaching. It was a great conference and a good opportunity to meet with a number of pastors for some fellowship and encouragement. Also, I have enjoyed being able to spend some time with the pastoral interns here at the church. Hopefully I can be an encouragement to others who are starting their pastoral ministries.
Also, Katya had the blessing of being able to attend the Womens Conference at UBC. The topic was the Book of Habakkuk and learning to wait on the Lord during times of difficulty when you cannot see what God is doing. The teaching was very relevant for the war in Ukraine right now. What a blessing to have such good biblical teaching!
Ministry Possibilities …
We are continuing to pray about what the Lord would have us to do in our next stage of ministry. We continue to hope that we can return to Ukraine in some capacity. But we realize that the window of opportunity for us to serve in Ukraine is closing. But we are still hoping and praying!
While we are here, we are trying to make connections with Ukrainians in NW Arkansas and see if we can be involved in some ministry here. Last month, we attended a special celebration of Ukraine on the University of Arkansas campus, and it was great. There, we met a few Ukrainians and make some connections. There were even a couple of people who had recently evacuated who did not even speak any English. Most of all, Katya was able to meet and talk with a number of Ukrainian ladies and we are hoping to be able to follow up with some additional contacts with them in the future. We are not sure what the Lord will provide but we are hoping we can be useful in ministry to Ukrainians here while we are here in NW Arkansas.
Additionally, the house where we are living is right across the street from the main campus of the University of Arkansas and the family there regularly ministers to a number of internationals. One family living here is also the campus director for Intervarsity. So, we have been able to meet a number of internationals and even had a wonderful international lunch on the deck one Sunday after church. (Katya’s borsch was a great hit!).
So, there are many opportunities for ministry here. Right now, our main concern is finding out where we will settle more permanently so we can find out how we can best minister during our time here. Hopefully after we get resettled at the end of the summer, we will have some more clarity about how we can be most helpful during our time here in the states. Pray for wise use of the time that we have and for wisdom about what we can be doing in ministry while we are here.
I am most interested in helping with training pastors and church planters. There are a number of possibilities in working with pastoral interns, teaching seminary classes or doing training for church planters and missionaries. I am talking with some of these organizations now. These would all be non-salaried ministry opportunities so I would help with training but still need to rely on support through Teaching Resources.
Resettling …
We continue to work on resettling here in Arkansas. Many of our needs are being met and the Lord has taken care of us. We continue to be blessed as we are trying to find clothing for our family. We have had a couple of ministries donate some clothing for the girls. One ministry (Beautiful Lives) had helped Katya with some clothes when we first arrived. But they only had women’s clothing – none for children. But they called us and said that someone dropped off some girl’s clothing for ages 6 and 8 and we could have them for free. Amazingly, almost everything fit!
We also needed to find some dresses for a family wedding that we need to attend next month in California. Joy recommended Lonoke County Safe Haven Thrift Store in Cabot because they had lots of prom dresses. But when we looked, there were no sizes that fit for Katya and the girls. When we were ready to leave, Becky Benefield came out from a meeting and asked what we needed. She said they had some things in the back that had come in that they had not processed yet. It was amazing – they had the perfect dresses for Katya and the girls and just the right sizes! Once again, we were amazed at God’s timing and provisions!
Our biggest need right now is for some housing after the summer. As we mentioned above, we are staying in the basement of a family here, but we will need to find something by the end of the summer. So, pray with us about this. Also, please continue to pray that our regular support levels will continue for at least another year. We will need this while we are trying to make our transition to the states. We will also need additional funds to replace everything that we have lost in the evacuation too. But we are not certain exactly what we will need at this point.
Katya’s mother and grandmother were able to be evacuated and made to California. However, a couple weeks after arrival, they were told they needed to return to Poland to get their final documents processed there. So, they did. Katya’s grandmother’s documents were ready, and she was able to return to California in a few days with all her immigration documents completed! Katya’s mother is still in Poland awaiting the final processing of her documents. She is staying with our friends from Poland while waiting for the documents to be completed. Pray that this will happen quickly – she wants to be able to go to the wedding in California in May!
We are also trying to get all of Katya’s documents done. All of her paperwork has been submitted so now we are waiting for the processing of her documents. We might need to have some interviews also to complete her immigration. Pray that all of this will go quickly so she can get established here. Also, be praying for her as she will be taking her driver’s license test in a month so that she can start driving here too.
We are still looking for regular doctors here. This is important because many doctors don’t take new patients. Those that do, put new patients on a long waiting list. For example, I made a much-needed appointment with a cardiologist back in March. The first available appointment for new patients is in June! Fortunately, we do have a friend here in NW Arkansas that is a family doctor, and he has been willing see us whenever there is an opening.
Family …
Spring has fully arrived here in Arkansas and the flowers are starting to bloom everywhere. The girls are enjoying playing outside our apartment on a rock wall that is surrounded by flowers and flowering trees. We are really blessed to have this place to stay while we are here. Please be praying for more permanent housing for us. We need to move by the end of the summer since another missionary family will be coming in the fall. We are so grateful for the Stillwells providing this place for us to stay while we are trying to get resettled.
I have been so blessed to have Katya as my wife and partner in ministry. During our time here, she has been helping with all the things we need to do for relocation here and teaching homeschool daily. While here, we also got to celebrate her birthday! Since we have been here in Fayetteville for everyone’s birthday (except mine so far), we have started a tradition of going to the Buttered Biscuit for a special breakfast. So, we celebrated Katya’s birthday with just our family for breakfast there. In the evening, Sean and Meredith took us to Bonefish Grill for special birthday meal!
Probably the hardest thing is missing being home in Ukraine. When I need some tool or item, I constantly find myself saying, “I have that in Ukraine!” The girls are missing their friends and toys and Katya is missing her homeland. And our hearts are breaking over what we see happening in Ukraine. We are beginning to realize that we might not be able to return to Ukraine any time soon. And even if we can in the future, it will not be the same as the Ukraine we left. So, we are adjusting but still so homesick.
Medically, I am doing much better. But I am still having some heart problems. I spend a day in the ER with some heart issues and then had a stress test. I’ll know the full results next week, but it looks like I might have some bradycardia (low pulse rate) and some irregular heart rate. Hopefully we can get this taken care before it gets more serious.
Pray for Ukraine …
Please continue to pray for Ukraine and for the people of Ukraine. The focus has shifted away from Kyiv, but the Russian forces have left a trail of devastation in their departure. And they continue to bombard Kyiv and other major cities through Ukraine from the air. And Russian forces appear to be building up for major attacks in the East and South. It is clear that, win or lose, Putin intends to destroy all that he can of Ukraine!
Pray for Ukrainian believers who are continuing to minister there even with great risk to their own lives. Pray for their safety as they try to evacuate people from occupied areas and pray for them as they distribute humanitarian needs. Pray that the gospel message will be received by those they are helping. And pray for our soldiers who are tirelessly defending the country against this invasion.
We continue to be so grateful for all the humanitarian help given to Ukrainians fleeing the war zone. Poland and the Polish people have been especially generous with food, shelter and care for Ukrainians. They remember when both Russia and Germany divided Poland and tried to eliminate Poland as a country, just as Russia is trying to do today to Ukraine. Pray for these countries that are helping Ukraine and especially for Christian workers who are not only helping with aid but also sharing the gospel.
Also please pray for the people of Russia. Pray that their eyes will be opened to what is really going on in Ukraine. Also, pray that Christians in Russia will boldly speak out about the war, and that believers there will continue to faithfully share the gospel in Russia.
But especially pray for Ukraine and believers there. I am amazed at all they are doing in some of the most difficult situations possible. But, in spite of all, they are continuing to share the gospel and the love of Christ – unhindered!
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
Also, some have asked about how to support us. You can send checks to Teaching Resources International, PO Box 1025, Cabot, AR 72023 or pay through PayPal on our website. Just put “#1000 Ehrhard” in the memo so our treasurer knows where to allocate the funds. If you want to help with our relocation to the US – just put Relocation in the memo. Our needs now are not great, but we know that we will need much more help in the months ahead.
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