There’s no easy way to put it: what’s happening in Ukraine today is tragic, confusing, and heartbreaking.
But the good news is that we have a God that is ever-present in our time of need and that we can lean on during this time of uncertainty.
It’s Christ's love that comforts us, but it’s also Christ's love that compels us into action.
In a time when it would be easy to let uncertainty paralyze us, Christ's love actually compels us to take a step towards the uncertainty. To lend a hand. To steward well the resources that God has given us to help those that are most vulnerable and in desperate need of help.
This is where you come in.
God has entrusted each of us with time, resources, skills, and means. While you cannot solve this crisis alone, together we can participate in something so much bigger than ourselves! In this season, many of us wish we could do more, but we can do something!
Let’s ask ourselves this question: “What can I do to bring hope right now?”
SERVE:
In the upcoming months, it is estimated that 80,000 Ukrainian women will give birth without access to critical maternal health care.
In response to this great need, we invited our community to come together on Saturday, April 30th to help assemble 3,000 baby care kits for Ukraine.
Together, we packed 3,000 baby care kits and filled a 40’x8’ shipping container in two hours!
This container will be transported directly from our port here in Wilmington to a Convoy of Hope distribution center in Poland! These care kits will be delivered to help provide immediate relief to women and families in need.
We are so grateful to come together as a community to send tangible hope and care to those in need!
PACKING DAY RECAP:
OUR PARTNER:
Love in action.
It is our honor to partner with an incredible organization like Convoy of Hope. For decades they’ve proven to be trustworthy, knowledgeable, compassionate, generous, strategic, and effective in the midst of world crises. Convoy of Hope shows up in the midst of conflict, and they stick around until situations and the people affected are in stable conditions. Convoy of Hope response to the War in Ukraine is no different.
Providing Tangible Hope.
Within the first few weeks of the conflict, Convoy had already transported resources to strategic partnerships throughout Europe to help them overcome the ever-present logistical challenges, providing tens of thousands of refugees with relief. Since then, team members from Convoy of Hope’s global headquarters have traveled to Poland and facilitated relief efforts throughout Ukraine and seven adjacent countries.
Carrying Each Other’s Burdens.
For many, the situation in Ukraine is incredibly dire. For some, life-or-death decisions are a daily routine. But Convoy’s team members and partners throughout Europe will continue to meet people where they are in this crisis by providing food, water, sheltering supplies, hygiene items, emergency lighting, generators, shoes, socks, clothing, and resources for both transportation and accommodations.
GIVE:
TOGETHER FOR UKRAINE
On April 25th, our church announced that, in addition to our regular financial partnership with Convoy of Hope, we were committing an additional $20,000 to further support their work to provide relief to Ukrainians across Europe.
We opened an invite for the people in our church to individually contribute and within the next few weeks, our church rallied together to raise $111,567.50 to contribute to refugee relief!
While we celebrated this act of generosity from our church, we also recognize that there is still so much work needed to support millions of Ukrainian refugees throughout Europe. This is why we, as a church, financially support organizations like Convoy of Hope regularly! So when you give to our church, you help make it possible for us to continue funding efforts like this in Ukraine and around the world.
In our giving campaign, there were a handful of large donations. However, the average donation was under $100, with many people giving $5, $10, or $20. This is a reminder that you don’t have to make a huge contribution to make an impact! We would encourage you to begin or continue giving today.
It’s about giving what you can where you are right now.
LOVE GIVES.
PROCESS:
How do we process the war in Ukraine in a way that invites God to open our eyes and form our hearts?
Processing what is happening in Ukraine is hard and different for everyone.
Most are heartbroken, some know someone personally affected, many feel anger that something like this could happen, and others aren’t sure what to do with the discomfort the subject brings. All these feelings and others are okay and normal.
We live in a world that is broken. This brokenness is revealed in both the destruction we see and in those doing the destroying. There is hurt and pain in places near and far as well as beauty and goodness. How do we continue with our daily lives but intentionally work to feel the weight of what is happening and simultaneously not let it debilitate us? We enter into the emotions we feel. We pour out our hearts to God, who is our refuge. (Psalm 62:5-8) We weep with those who weep but resiliently trust God who is in all and above all. (Romans 12:21) We lean in to trust and rest in the peace that comes from God alone. (John 16:33)
As believers, we are daily continuing to grow in our humble dependence on God. We must worship, seek, and trust His authority and His work in the world around us, even when it is difficult to understand. We must pray and process, and then step in obedience.
PROCESSING WITH KIDS AND STUDENTS:
Give kids basic, age-appropriate information about the war and be willing to allow them to direct the conversation. Be honest, reassuring, and hopeful in God’s authority. Start by asking what kids know about the war or what they have heard. Don’t assume how they feel, but allow your kids to share their fears, worries, and questions and then encourage them to do something with those emotions. (Example: pray, give, rally friends, journal, etc.)
Preschool and elementary kids:
Conversations should be concrete and low in detail. Avoid graphic images and assure safety. Share the good and emphasize stories of God’s work through everyday heroes. Limit media exposure at this age. Connect what is happening to a relatable Bible story such as Jesus’ friends and disciples feeling hopeless when Jesus died. Explain that we know God was at work because Jesus rose from the dead and we can trust that God is working in Ukraine too.
Middle and high schoolers:
At this age kids start to differentiate from their parents’ voices and their own ideas. It is a great opportunity for deeper conversations and to allow your children to feel heard. Spend less time talking and more time listening to how the news of Ukraine and other global issues are affecting their hearts.
PRAY WITH US:
Pray for pregnant women in Ukraine and their children.
According to the United Nations, “80,000 Ukrainian women are expected to give birth in the next three months while oxygen and medical supplies, including for the management of pregnancy complications, are running dangerously low.”
Pray for God’s provision of healthcare for the women and their children.
Pray for these women as they bear unimaginable weights at this time. Pray for their physical, emotional and spiritual strength.
Pray the church in these receiving countries would care for the vulnerable and provide the tangible and spiritual needs they have.
Pray that this generation of children born in the midst of this war will be shown love by the church and they would become leaders of the Church of Christ in the next generation.
Pray for the Dorigo Family
In 2009 Port City Community Church sent the Dorigo’s out as missionaries to do church planting in Italy.
As the war in Ukraine broke out, the Dorigo’s were strategically placed to be able to help through their church planting network, called Acts 29.
The Dorigo’s have stepped in to help with brining supplies and support to other local churches located in Romania, Moldova & Poland.
In March, our church contributed an additional $3,000 to support them in their relief efforts throughout Europe.
Pray for the local churches in these areas to receive the refugees with grace, humility and love.
Pray the Gospel would be shared and that as these men, women and children cross the border that they would receive the love of Christ.
Pray for the Dorigo’s for strength and endurance and they serve in this new way and parent their 4 children.
Visit their website to learn more about the Dorigo’s work in Italy and serve Ukrainian refugees: https://www.awakenitaly.com
Pray For The Murphy Family
Back in 2017 Port City Community Church began to partner with Terry and his family as they served through Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in Ukraine where they have served for over 20 years.
Since the war has broken out, Terry and his family have evacuated to Romania for safety but also as a strategic way to support those fleeing the violence.
Pray for Terry and his family as they share hope in Christ to those crossing the border.
Pray specifically for Terry’s elderly mother who lives with them. For her health and well-being as they seek to minister.
Pray for the basketball team Terry used to coach in Ukraine. For their safety and hearts.
Pray for sustained energy as their family tirelessly serves those crossing the border.
Follow Terry and his family’s story here: https://www.facebook.com/murphytrukraine
Remember: our “war is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, again the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Therefore, let us pray for Vladimir Putin specifically.
Let us be on our knees that he might perhaps encounter God in the same way Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel 4. Where he is humbled and brought low by God.
Pray that he would end this bloodshed and recognize Jesus as true Lord.
Pray boldly that God would stop him in his tracks and bring reconciliation between he and God.
Pray for our hearts to be more like Jesus’ to actually have His love for those who persecute others.