“I was overwhelmed, to be honest, in the very beginning. I did not know what to do. There’s so much death, destruction, and pain. I never thought a war like this would exist in my lifetime again.”

I founded a ministry called 99 for the 1. In Romania, our calling is to feed the people, clothe them, give them shoes, build relationships with them, and lead them to the Lord. When the war started in Ukraine, it was not a matter of if we would get involved, but how. We started praying, talking to people, and making phone calls. That is how we met Pastor Yuri.

Pastor Yuri has a heart for the people in his city and is fearless in doing what God has called him to do. On December 12, 2023, we were with him in a high-conflict zone, with bombings going on all day. All of a sudden we hear an incoming mortar. It landed 15 meters from us. We ran to the vans and fled back to Pastor Yuri’s church. Without a word, Pastor Yuri loaded his personal vehicle and returned to the exact area where the bomb had landed, to serve the people we hadn't reached. This is the heart of the pastors who remain—fearless because they know God has called them to serve their local communities in these times.

There is so much death, destruction, and pain in Ukraine right now, but God is showing up in amazing ways. The church in the conflict zones is growing like never before. The light shines brighter than the darkness that surrounds it. God is reshaping and restructuring, laying a new foundation for the future of the church in Ukraine.

We were in a village outside the Kharkiv region, and brought bread. I gave this loaf to a woman. She held it up, smelled it, and began to cry. She told us that she has not seen bread in over two months. Hearing this moved me deeply. God led us to start baking in Ukraine. We bought wood-fired bread ovens and now have seven locations, five on the front lines, where we bake bread. Three times a week people come to receive bread, build relationships, and many of them have come to know the Lord. . Through this simple act of giving them their daily bread, we introduce them to the Bread of Life.

“When Christians all over the world pray for us, it is a tremendous support for us. We feel the closeness of brothers and sisters, that they are not indifferent to what is happening. But for us, just one minute, one minute a day of prayer for Ukraine, if we gather one million people, that will be a million minutes of prayer to our Almighty God in just one day. God answers prayers. We invite you. Let's unite and pray.”