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War in Ukraine

August 1, 2015

The news of the conflict in Ukraine has died down in most western news outlets, but the reality on the ground has not improved. In Eastern Ukraine, cities are paralyzed by the fighting, with even basic commodities becoming rare. The dedicated workers in the Project Rescue program are working against unbelievable odds to rescue Jewish people and help them come home to Israel.

The trips to bring people out of the war-torn regions can take 36 hours or more, when normally the same distance would take 5–6 hours. Road blocks, armed dissidents, and military commandos interrupt the trips. On a recent trip one of our drivers was held up at gunpoint while the family in the van helplessly looked on. Thank the Lord for His deliverance. After paying a bribe, they were released. It has become impossible to move about without paying bribes to a variety of official and unofficial people who block the way. Each side is blaming the Jews for their problems. What’s new? In this part of the world, anti-Semitism has always existed—sometimes under the surface and other times flagrantly in the open.

Following are some short reports and prayer requests from some of the Project Rescue workers in Donetsk and Lugansk—war torn areas.

—Donetsk, Ukraine: “The system of permits for going in and out of the region is very complicated. It’s almost impossible to get out of Donetsk. The roadblocks on the main roads out of Donetsk are completely corrupt. We travel a lot to and from the war zone where the roads are destroyed and dangerous; our transport often breaks down. Glory to God we are still alive and can bring repatriates out of the war zone. Pray that the Lord will open the doors. Pray also for wisdom, direction, health and strength for our team. Pray for God’s strength and protection for us and our vehicles!”

—Lugansk, Ukraine: “The border with Ukraine is closed and we have to travel through Russia taking 24–36 hours to get to Kharkov from Lugansk. We have to go through 4 customs crossings and the queues can take a long time. We are bringing families—young and old. Pray that the Lord will open the way! The Consul in Kharkov is asking for a lot of papers and that’s very difficult for people from Lugansk. We brought 8 families out of Lugansk and took them to Mayak near Dnepropetrovsk. Three of these families had their homes destroyed by shelling. In Lugansk they are still not paying pensions and salaries. There are no medicines and very few doctors.”

Now the eyes of the Russian separatists are on Odessa, a port city in southwest Ukraine. There are 40,000 Jewish people living in Odessa. It is becoming increasingly difficult to move the people out of this area. In some places the roads were so broken up after the winter that travel was greatly hindered, drivers could only go 45–50 km (28–31 miles) an hour. It means that the journeys take twice as long. In one short period of time there were more than 20 terror attacks. It is undermining the work of our volunteer workers. One volunteer was hit by 5 bullets at the entrance to his home. He is in serious condition in hospital. One of our workers said, “A couple of days ago we had heavy rain. And then I heard something crash. At first I thought it was thunder but then realized it was something else. In the morning I looked in the computer and saw that there had been an explosion near my home. Someone put a bag of explosives on a windowsill. Windows were smashed and also doors. Even in the house next door window panes were smashed. It has become dangerous to walk in the streets at night with a lot of criminal activity.” Now is the time to help the 40,000 Jewish souls in Odessa to come to Israel.

Mel Hoelzel who heads up Ezra Foundation, our sister ministry, told me a couple of weeks ago that he is convinced that the time of the “fishers” has ended and now it is the time of the “hunters” (Jer. 16:14–16). NOW is the time to help the Jewish people from Ukraine come home.

With your help we have been bringing them!  This year there was an 89% increase in the number of Jewish people immigrating to Israel from Ukraine over the previous year. We helped 95% of them! Each person and family has individual needs so we help financially with transportation, housing in safe areas until they get on the plane, food, proving their Jewish ancestry, paying for visas, passports and more.

Your gift can help save lives! Don’t wait—tomorrow may be too late for some of these precious children of Abraham. The prophet Isaiah told of this day when he said, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up My standard for the peoples; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders” (Isa. 49:22). This is talking about us—Christians from the nations who are literally bringing the Jewish people home. Please help broaden our shoulders with your financial gifts. We need to speed up the process and bring as many to Israel as we can before it is too late. We value your partnership with us in prayer and financial support.

Blessings from Israel,
Rebecca J. Brimmer
International President and CEO