Ukraine Update: Serving in the Rubble
UPDATE: MAY 5, 2022
The TWR Ukraine team spends time cleaning up the rubble of the war-torn Irpin Bible Seminary near Kyiv. [ image courtesy of TWR Ukraine ]
As war continues around them, members of TWR Ukraine are continuing to speak hope to others in their country through radio programs and social media.
They’re doing even more than that.
Team leader Alex Chmut narrated a video posted on Wednesday on TWR Ukraine’s Facebook page. It shows team members on a visit to Irpin Bible Seminary.
Irpin is a community that’s about 16 miles northwest of the capital city of Kyiv. It has a strong evangelical presence and is in fact known as the “Wheaton of Ukraine,” according to Christianity Today.
Its website shows Irpin Bible Seminary to be located in a residential neighborhood, a solid, two-story building with a bright green roof.
It looks nothing like that in the video the TWR Ukraine team posted. The seminary was struck during the war effort. Thank God, no one was in the building at the time. But the level of damage, as in so much of Ukraine, was catastrophic.
In the video, Chmut at first stands outside the building. He’s wearing a beige-colored baseball cap, a yellow USA sweatshirt and heavy work gloves. Windows are blasted out and rubble lies next to what’s left of the building. Inside, a hallway is relatively intact. But inside a large room, debris is everywhere. It’s an enormous task, but Chmut and his colleagues are busily cleaning, beginning the process of bringing life back to the building.
“Our team came to serve,” the English translation of the post reads, “because in peaceful times, the seminary servants helped Trans World Radio.”
These are not peaceful times. Our contacts with TWR Europe report that the Ukrainians are worried because Russia has announced major attacks. Their programs are prerecorded because the internet and electricity might be shut off at any time.
TWR Europe also is asking prayer for our contacts in Russia and Belarus, both of which are facing difficult times of their own.
The good news is that the gospel still is being heard throughout the region, including through recently added shortwave broadcasts in the Ukrainian language from KTWR on the Pacific island of Guam.
Radio hobbyists frequently send messages to TWR transmitting sites reporting that they have received our shortwave broadcasts. One such report came from a gentleman in Moscow, whose name we’re withholding for obvious reasons. In addition to the technical details, the man wrote that he does not support the war effort. He added, “These broadcasts may be heard in Moscow very well. Ukrainian and Russian languages are similar, and I enjoyed the beautiful songs, excellent quality of reception and suitable time of broadcasting.”
Will you pray with us?
- Ask that many in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus will hear our broadcasts and respond to the hope that comes only through Jesus Christ.
- Praise God with us that all of our TWR partners and contacts in the region are alive and in good health. Please pray for God’s continued protection and sustenance for all during these perilous times.
- Please pray for Irpin Bible Seminary, that it might be able to rebuild or relocate and continue its good work.
- Pray for leaders who have the opportunity to change the course of events and bring the war to an end, that they might hear God’s voice.
Images: (middle, right) TWR Ukraine Director, Alex Chmut, walks down a dimly-lit hall inside Irpin Bible Seminary, (bottom, left) TWR Ukraine team members help clear rubble from the ruins of Irpin Bible Seminary. [ images courtesy of TWR Ukraine ]
