Further live updates from the work OCI ministries are doing to assist the crisis unfolding in Ukraine.Your help will bless many. Donate to the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund here: https://outpostcenters.org/ukraine

Further live updates from the work OCI ministries are doing to assist the crisis unfolding in Ukraine.Your help will bless many. Donate to the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund here: <a href="https://outpostcenters.org/ukraine" target="_blank">https://outpostcenters.org/ukraine</a>

Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.

Outpost Centers International

Ukraine Live Reports

Steve Dickman

OCI Ukraine Live Report 1

I'm president for the Outpost Center's international organization based in Appleton, Tennessee We have ministries scattered across the world 220 ministries in almost 70 countries of the world the recent crisis in Ukraine has become an opportunity for us to respond as a group and to look for ways to help in this crisis.

The focus at this point is on helping refugees and helping the ministries that exist in these countries to maintain and be successful and as they help the refugees.

We have ministries in Romania, Poland, and Moldova as well, bordering countries where many thousands of refugees are streaming from Ukraine and trying to find a place for safety for their families.

This morning we're going to give you a brief report about what's happening there on the front lines.

We have several individuals here with us on Zoom today, and so we're going to just ask a few questions of them and have them respond as we look towards how the Lord would lead us to work together to bring awareness of the need and to give you an opportunity to get involved.

Alexei is from Our Home Ministry in the country of Ukraine.

Alexei, tell us how is our home responding and what's happening there?

A week ago we ended our last session and we still had some patience on the morning of February the 24th when the war started.

And we never expected, you know, what we would be doing in times of war, but all of a sudden people started calling us, first our former patients, and then other people who we don't even know.

And they asked to come and to stay with us and or to spend a night as they travel from east to west and so so far during this week we've taken 400 people some of them are staying with us, and some of them just had a overnight stay with us.

And as the food shortage is growing, There is a need of food, there is a need of literature, spiritual literature to give to each person who arrives at our home.

There is a need in medications to be able to help people.

We also have on the line with us this morning Dr.

Nic Dan, who is at Hergelia, 1 of our other lifestyle centers there.

Nic, can you talk to us just a little bit now?

You're not in the country of Ukraine, you're adjacent, you're in the country of Romania.

How are things developing there and how is Romania being impacted by what's happening in Ukraine?

Here at Hergelia in Romania, as well as in Speranza in Moldova Republic, we have full session, 48 patients, 45 patients, but we started to open for receiving refugees and more refugees will come as, you know, tens of tens of thousands of them are coming in the country every day.

That means that besides the almost 50 patients we have, there will be another 50 refugees and that means that we will need support to be able to feed those people, to keep the rooms heat and so on.

We are keeping also in touch with the church and with Adra.

They've been there from the first day of the war and working with the government, both in Romania and Moldova, and they are there.

And so we are offering every help we can, and we try to coordinate their needs with our rest resources and our medical help.

You know, the magnitude of this humanitarian crisis is unbelievable.

Out of about 150, 000 people who came in Romania and the same number in Moldova, about 40-50, 000 of people, they are staying in these countries and about 20, 000 of them are under the age of 18.

So many women with their children and they need help, especially in Moldova Republic where the level of poverty is much higher.

People don't have resources to heat their houses And after they put them in their houses, they begin to fill their churches and it's cold.

And they just don't have those resources.

So they will need help to sustain this effort for the refugees.

And we will need, all of us will need to work on that.

Yuri operates a clinic actually inside the country of Ukraine and has recently had to even move his clinic to maintain some sense of things there.

Yuri, talk to us just a little bit about what's happening there in Ukraine on the front lines with serving the medical needs of the people there.

A week ago, we started wake up in Kiev from the sounds of explosions.

We didn't expect that it would be in reality.

The brain is not ready to accept this kind of reality.

But when the US government told us months ago that it will be a high possibility of we develop a plan ABCD, how to act in case of risk of invasion, if invasion will be and if it will be artillery or bombing.

So we moved from plan B to plan C and during the first day of war, because of bombing, active bombing of Kyiv, because our clinic is situated in Kyiv.

So we split the team, most of the team moved to Western Ukraine to work with refugees.

And Now after 5 days we have started this work.

We are also transferring refugees using our transportation, sending bread and fuel to Kiev, supporting with medications and small resources which we have.

Our small team of doctors and nurses in Kiev.

And the Lord is good, we are blessed with his blessing.

You know, we see it on every step, even the crossing checkpoints in the calls of the people.

For example, this morning a lady called to me.

I don't know where she found my cell phone number.

She just asked, Yuri, somebody gave me your number.

So we started a conversation and 5 minutes after she understood that I am Adventist, an Adventist person and she started to cry because she's a former Adventist person.

She visited church a long time ago, but she left, and when she understood that it's a real possibility to be evacuated from Kiev, she started to cry, and you know, it was a very good conversation with her.

And a lot of small miracles we have during this with this very long but very fast week you know so God is good we are developing mental health support combining with spiritual support because you know mortal modern world is trying to solve their spiritual problems with psychology and psychotherapy, but it's not effective without true Christian fundamental beliefs and this culture of Christian approach to their real happiness and sense of life and we're trying to last all of this 6 years of existing of our clinic.

We're trying to be in, be his hands, Lord's hands, Lord's eyes and I believe that Lord will provide the next activities.

Though we are refugees by our own selves, we moved, we moved from, with our families, from our homes and you know it's, it's very difficult experience especially in our team.

We have a 55 members of our team, we have a 6 members of our team, and so accountant, 2 nurses, 1 of our manager, they moved previously 8 years ago from eastern Ukraine, where the rebels territory and the first revolution and military activity has started.

They are still on our small team and they are working very well.

Even our dental doctor, she is doing dental services there.

And a lot of people, this morning our manager, he is from Eastern Ukraine as well, he is distributing bread on the street outside of the clinic, and he sent me a short video with a lady who came and she's so happy that she opened the Bible when she received the bread.

She opened the Bible and started to read the Psalms, the book of Psalms.

And you know it's very you know, they're spiritual needs, so they're so hungry now.

And it's maybe it's hard to say, but it's a blessing of war when we become very close to the Lord.

So We will be so thankful that you will continue to pray for us.

I know you're working inside Ukraine there.

We're praying for you and the team there.

May God just protect and sustain your team as they continue to minister through the medical needs, the spiritual needs, and food as well, and transportation.

Amazing stories of helping to evacuate people from Kiev there.

And Brock, the Lord has called you to a special mission there.

Talk to us a little bit about how that's developing there in the Ukraine.

OCI Ukraine Live Report 2

I'm Steve Dickman, President for Outpost Centers International, and this is a live update from what's happening in the Ukraine and some of the refugees there and the crisis that we're facing and how you can be helpful.

I have on the line with me this morning, first of all, Marcus Ault.

Marcus is on the front lines from Adventist Help Organization.

And Markus, tell us what's happening there and some of the challenges you're facing and what your needs are.

At the moment, I'm in Theragomores and looking at the medical bus that we had operational in Greece.

It's all empty, it needs to be furnished, it needs to have equipment.

We need some medical material put in, some gurneys, some apparatus, oxygen.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving for the border with some friends that have worked there before.

So I have some contacts already and then I'll make my way down towards, into Moldova, down towards Odessa, and see where we can set up the clinic.

Later, we will need volunteers and of course the funding to operate all this.

So if you're interested, get in touch with us.

Appreciate that, Markus, with your work there on the front lines.

Alexei is our OCI field vice president for this region and it's being severely impacted.

And Alexei, tell us what's happening there.

Our home Lifestyle Center has been hosting refugees from eastern part of Ukraine.

They are refugees from hot spots from the cities of Kharkiv, Kyiv and others and they are coming there to stay, not just to have an overnight layover on the way to Western borders.

So we have about 50 adults and 20 children at the moment, and they will be staying some 10-15 days and some for indefinite time.

Thanks to the donations provided so far, they've been able to get some food and some other necessary items and to support the staff.

But there are several groups of people that need help.

They are those who are refugees in the outside countries like neighboring countries, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, and other countries.

They estimate that about a million and a half to 2 million Ukrainians left Ukraine and they're staying in these countries.

So many people internally displaced in Ukraine, they are staying in western part of Ukraine.

And they also need help, psychological help, spiritual help, and there are also humanitarian needs in hot spots.

I appreciate that report from what's happening there on the front lines and some of the ministries and the huge needs there.

And again, we're inviting those who are watching this to participate and helping to provide for those needs.

Osta, tell us what's happening with Build and Restore and some of the efforts to coordinate work there.

We've been able to organize and help coordinate groups that are traveling to Ukraine.

Some are traveling through Poland and other neighboring countries to get to the border of Ukraine and cross over.

The main focus has been to connect volunteers with locals, help coordinate and organize transportation, and financially support those that are purchasing food, supplies, traveling to and fro different cities.

My uncle is on the ground, transporting people out of Kiev, and then bringing food back into Kiev.

And we're also working with a group in Poland that has been supplying medicine and medical supplies to the border.

And So we've been sending them funds to purchase and to find in local pharmacies in Poland medications that are needed, send them over through small transport groups across the border and then into Ukraine.

And I know the logistics are huge and it's an opportunity for us to work with people like yourself that know the on-ground situation, have people there on the ground.

Corey, talk to us a little bit about what you're doing there and how the Lord is blessing the work that you're doing.

So yes, I'm from Ardmore, Oklahoma, and a friend of ours from Ukraine actually asked us if we would be doing anything for Ukraine, because he knows that we do disaster response.

And so we thought, well, that'd be a little bit out of the usual for us, because normally we do natural disasters.

We haven't done conflict zones before, so we really had to put it to the Lord a lot before coming out here, but He really opened the doors for us to come here.

So, been blessing us to be able to stay in the classrooms.

You can see the letters up on the wall for the school kids just to be with them.

They found that to be very valuable and meaningful that God would lead someone to be with them in this time of struggle.

Now I know that 1 of the major things you're doing is putting literature out in the hands of people.

Tell us about a story of somebody whose life was apparently impacted by some of that literature.

Actually, when we went to the train station, it's a major hub here in Lviv, We gave out literature there.

We gave it out with water because we want to meet their needs as well.

And there was actually a number of people that would say that they didn't need the water, but they wanted the water of life.

Yesterday we met a young woman and she was traveling with several elderly ladies and she explained how she was kind of taking care of them.

She expressed how she wasn't sure how she could afford to do that, and especially, you know, onward moving into a new country, kind of long term.

And she was trying to take care of her family back in Kyiv as well.

And we asked her if she was, you know, a believer in God and she said, well, you know, some of my family members are, but she didn't have that connection.

And she said that her sister was reading the Bible and she asked her sister, why was she reading the Bible?

And her sister said she found it very comforting, very helpful.

So we said, well, maybe in time you may read the Bible as well.

She said, maybe in time I come to Christianity as well.

And we said, maybe now is the time for you to have the blessing of Jesus.

So she said she was happy to get the Bible and planned on reading it as well.

There's really not that many of us, and we don't have the might of men, as it were, to turn the gears.

And so we thank God, and we give God all the praise that he's moving on people's hearts and minds in his church and otherwise to support the efforts out here in Ukraine.

We prayed for a million glow tracks, gospel literature tracks to hand out, And we got a phone call saying that someone had donated the money necessary for that.

And so we, our, our prayers have been answered big time.

So now we just have to get it here and give it out.

People often wonder, you know, what do people need in times of crisis?

You know, do they need food, water, medical?

And yes, of course, they need those things, but I tell you, what people need the most, the most beneficial is the hope that we have in Christ.

There is nothing else that can help people like Christ does, like Jesus does.

He is omnipotent, and so Jesus says if we confess him before men that he will confess us before the Father.

So don't undervalue the gospel and the practical help that the gospel is to people in crisis.

God bless you and your work there, and may He keep you safe, and may it be a productive time in sharing the good news with those who are in crisis.

Barack, if you're available there, you can speak to us a little bit about what's happening with Gideon Rescue Team on the ground and some of the challenges that you're facing there.

We have a team in Lviv, which is in the Western side of Ukraine, they're at the Adventist Church headquarters.

And the Adventist Church headquarters there is doing an amazing job at feeding and giving shelter to refugees that are coming through.

Upwards of 50, 000 refugees are coming through the train station in Lviv every single day, and so it's an unprecedented opportunity to practically demonstrate the love of Christ, but also to share in printed form something for the people to hang on to.

And so our mission has been to try to get literature into Lviv and that God has provided wonderfully for the rush printing of a million glow tracks that we have right now.

Part of them on a train down to the border and then our team is picking up some more from the publishing house in Poland.

Our prayer and our efforts are still to try to get the printed word into the hands of people as fast as we can because opportunities like this won't come around again very often.

Thank you so much, Brock, for sharing with us today.

It's good to have you on with us today and appreciate you taking some time.

OCI Ukraine Live Report 3

Hi, my name is Steve Dickman, president for Outpost Centers International.

We're partnering with many organizations, including ASI and many of the organizations you'll hear reporting today.

Just a live update, a report from Ukraine, what's happening on the ground, how you can be helpful, how you might get to be a part of helping some of the refugee families that are fleeing and supplying some of the needs there in the country of Ukraine.

First of all, I'm going to go this morning to Joel Gideon, a rescue group there.

And Joel, just give us a report about your angle and what's happening there and some of the needs.

We're here in Lviv, Ukraine, which is close to the Polish border.

And so we've been going to the train station every single day and passing out thousands of pieces of truthful literature.

There's also a lot of medical aid and other things and humanitarian aid that's being offered.

And we thought that our part could be to meet that spiritual need to help them with the hope of Jesus and to answer questions like, if God is love, Why does he allow suffering and what happens after death and things like that?

And so we're excited to be a part of that.

There's 2 great needs that I would say that we've noticed here in Lviv.

The first 1 is education out of the 3 million people that have escaped the country, 1 million are children.

And so we have been coordinating with the local conference to create a teacher volunteer program.

So if you're a retired teacher student, we would love your help.

And then the second need, we see a great need for transportation of goods, medical things on the front lines.

I caught and talked to someone this morning out in East Ukraine and close to Kiev where the bombings are and people babies are dying due to lack of baby formula.

Very few people that are willing to make those trips and there are some of us that are willing but we're in need of a van and transportation and medical supplies.

And so we're really just praying that God would lead.

And so if you would like to help out with the teacher project, and would like to volunteer maybe an hour of your time every day or several times a week, or you'd like to donate or pray or help in any way with the medical needs and transportation and helping people escape through vans, the website to go to is GideonRescue.org.

Thank you guys so much and I appreciate your prayers and we're excited to partner with you in the Lord's ministry.

So friends, if you can teach an English class and you don't have to go there to do that, you can do that online.

And we'll put up those links so you can be aware of where to go to engage with that.

Ostap, I know that you're with us here today.

Just talk to us a little bit about what's happening there with Build and Restore and how things are moving forward.

We have been busy collecting supplies, both medical baby formulas and other supplies that are needed for the efforts in Ukraine.

We have 3 locations, Washington near Seattle, Dallas, Texas near Fort Worth, and also in Sacramento, California.

The supplies are then distributed, some with volunteers that are going over there.

On the ground in Ukraine, we have a few team members that are driving vehicles and distributing food, also bringing out refugees from areas that are hot zones.

The biggest need that I think we have is for people to continue to pray for this effort.

We have a Amazon wish list that if you would like to purchase something or contribute in that way, you can go to Amazon and find build and restore international wish list and then through our partners we will distribute that accordingly.

Thank you for all of your support and all your prayers.

We'll continue to update you as the work continues.

What a blessing to have that coordination taking place on the front lines.

Alexei is ministering there just outside of Ukraine but has strong connections at our home inside.

Alexei, what is the greatest need there right now and how are things going on the ground?

Our home has received close to 700 refugees.

So we have about 80 people staying with us 10 days or more.

And we still receive some people just for a day or 2.

Tonight we are expecting a new group of 20 people coming.

They have been able to provide food and room and board there.

Just let them know they're in our prayers and we're praying that the Lord will open the windows of heaven to supply their needs day by day.

Marcus is on the ground there looking for and helping to establish a mobile medical clinic there.

It's amazing how I was led to the right people at the right time and to make it short we have a nice site.

We have a place where there is more than 100 tents ready to pick up refugees coming across from the Ukraine.

It's right in the south, near Jelesti, about a few hundred meters away from the Ukrainian border and a few hundred meters away from the Romanian border.

I was with the mayor last night, I was with the vice mayor, we talked to the emergency coordinator, the fire chief, they all are very happy that we come.

I think we found the right place, there's no other NGO there at the moment and we expecting quite an influx of refugees when the war gets more intense in the south.

So we are organizing now, we're trying to find out what's the best option.

We have a bus, a medical bus or should we have a container or should we put up a tent.

What we also would like is an ambulance, preferably 4 by 4.

The medical system here is stretched beyond what they can actually cope with And now they have all these refugees coming as well.

They try their best, but they just can't.

Series

Ukraine Live Reports

OCI Ukraine Live Report 2

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