Ukraine Update: A Meaningful Gift
Last Monday, a thousand power banks arrived at the TWR office in Bratislava, Slovakia. Soon, they’ll be in the hands of Ukrainian refugees for whom they will be meaningful gifts.
If you’re not familiar with power banks, they are portable devices used to recharge cellphones and other gadgets when no electrical outlet is available. They must be charged themselves at some point, but depending on their capacity can recharge a cellphone as many as four times.
The power banks that are about to be distributed are in the middle range, said Frank Stephenson, communications director for TWR Europe, and are conveniently pocket-sized. TWR is providing them in partnership with Operation Mobilization (OM), whose U.S. offices are in Georgia. One side of the power bank features links and a QR code to connect people with TWR Ukraine. The other has similar information for OM. The two agencies are splitting the costs down the middle.
It’s an exciting example of how two organizations that share an overarching mission of bringing Christ to the world but through different means can increase their impact with a combined project.
Imagine what it might mean to a refugee with limited access to electrical outlets to have the use of one of these devices. On top of that, the refugee is provided with information that could lead her to more help, materially and spiritually, in the name of Jesus.
We know that there is spiritual hunger in Ukraine. TWR makes the Bible available online in various languages through the Digital Bible Library. It can be accessed 5,000 times a day from our sites before a cap goes into effect. About a month ago, the Ukrainian language was added. David Creech, TWR360 operations manager, immediately noticed he was getting daily warnings that the cap was being reached.
He researched the cause and found that more than 3,000 people a day were accessing the Ukrainian Bible, Creech said. He has placed an emergency request to double the capacity.
The urgency of presenting the gospel at this time is reflected in the ongoing work of the TWR Ukraine team despite the difficulties they face. They were very active in May, communicating on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, online radio and on middle-wave (AM) radio frequencies.
“We mourn the ongoing disaster in our country,” TWR Ukraine Director Alex Chmut wrote in his May summary (translated into English). “Every day death takes the lives of dozens and possibly hundreds of Ukrainians. … It is so that such people have the opportunity to be reconciled to God that we fill all possible public platforms with the preaching of God's Word.”
Will you pray with us?
- Let us continue to pray for the Lord to intervene and for peace to return. The war continues to be intense in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine. The staff are all safe, to our knowledge.
- Please ask the Father that these power banks might be distributed to the places and people where they will do the most good.
- Please ask that many in Ukraine will hear the Word of God and respond positively.
- Praise God with us for the ongoing work of our contacts in Russia and in Belarus. Radios were distributed in Belarus last month, and 40 programs were produced.
