Ukraine Update: The Gospel by Candlelight

Despite increasingly difficult circumstances and creative power solutions, TWR Ukraine team members continue to minister to the people of their war-torn nation. [ Image courtesy of TWR Ukraine ] 

The TWR Ukraine studio was illuminated by candlelight. Power banks were charged, and a battery was ready that would allow a program to be broadcast for one hour on a cellphone. 

“This is now one of the most basic tests of our work, as there are at least 12 out of 24 hours of power outages per day,” wrote Alexander Chmut, director of TWR Ukraine.

Speaking gospel truth through media during wartime already had been a challenge for Chmut and his team, as they temporarily evacuated the capital city of Kyiv and produced programs out of whatever spaces they could find.

They had long been back in the capital city of Kyiv when a wave of missile strikes hit the capital and elsewhere on Oct. 10. TWR Ukraine’s talented crew had to improvise to work their way through power outages. A new live program called Between Two Walls was launched, shot in the unfinished basement of Chmut’s home when missile strikes were expected.

The difficulties may have been compounded on Tuesday, Nov. 15, when Ukraine was widely attacked again. Around 7 million households were without power in the Kyiv region and across the country, the BBC reported. It’s not immediately known how the TWR Ukraine team may have been affected. Please pray for them.

God’s divine hand seems to be upon Chmut and his team. A report by the Kyiv-based Institute for Religious Freedom claims that at least 270 religious buildings or sites in Ukraine were damaged by attacks from Feb. 24-July 15 and at least 20 Ukrainian religious figures were “illegally imprisoned.” But the TWR Ukraine studio in Kyiv has stood and all in the team have remained safe.

God has worked in miraculous ways, Chmut wrote.

“He sees when we badly need electricity for the live recordings and it is not gone, though according to the schedule it should have been,” he explained. “With God it is possible to go through the valley of the shadow of death indeed. We are grateful to all who prayerfully walk this path with us.”

Prayer Points:

• Praise God for his hand of protection on the TWR Ukraine team and granting them the resources to continue to share words of truth and hope with the people of their country.
• Please continue to faithfully pray on behalf of the TWR Ukraine team. “We are working in mortal danger,” Alexander Chmut wrote.
• Please continue to remember our contacts in Belarus and Russia as well. Their countries are not under attack, but they’ve been greatly impacted by the war.
• The TWR Ukraine team is raising money to provide warm clothing, along with audio Bibles and the devices to play with them and Bible studies to soldiers on the front lines. Please support these efforts with your prayers.