Jerry's Trip to Ukraine

 Hi friends!

We're sorry it's been a few days since we last updated you - last week Jerry arrived home safe from Ukraine after a short trip to Vinnytsia to take humanitarian aid to a partner ministry there, along with 3 other PdF staff members. We're thankful to have him home safely again and we were all very happy to see him!

It was a little bit unnerving to find out that only 4 days after Jerry left Ukraine, the city of Vinnytsia came under Russian fire and there were air strikes on the outskirts of the city. Thankfully the ministry partners Jerry met in Ukraine are safe and their centre was not affected. Please continue to pray for them as they continue their ministry to refugees fleeing other parts of Ukraine.

Jerry filmed some video clips while he was in Ukraine and rather than explain his impressions in writing we thought we'd put together a video of Jerry's thoughts along with an interview he conducted with the missionaries in Ukraine describing their experiences since the war began. In the video he addresses our home church in Winnipeg, Riverwood Church Community, but the message is, of course, for all of you who are following our journey and supporting PdF's work with Ukrainian refugees through prayer and financial support. We hope you'll take a few minutes to watch.

If the video embed doesn't work, please CLICK HERE to watch the video.

Once again, we are SO grateful for all your prayers, kind messages, and financial support. Jerry, Ebbe, Florin and Ciprian from PdF were able to take over 5 thousand Euros of food, clothing, shoes, hygiene items and other supplies to the ministry centre in Vinnytsia. The team there will use these items to support the displaced Ukrainians who have fled there from places like Mariupol and other cities in eastern Ukraine, and they'll also distribute items to citizens in the nearby villages whose access to basic items has been cut off because of the war. 

Thank you also for your prayers for Jerry's health while he was away - his health remained stable while he was in Ukraine and when he arrived home he was able to see a doctor again and get better treatment. He's feeling much better now and we're so thankful he's healthy again. 

Please continue to pray for the refugees fleeing Ukraine. We continue to receive refugees at PdF, although the number of refugees has decreased and the demand for places to stay has slowed a little bit. We expect there will continue to be refugees needing assistance as the war continues, and we are eager to help in any way we're able.

The Spring Mission Bible School (which begins THIS WEEKEND!) will also be assisting with supporting refugees. One of the regular outreach opportunities for the students is with a group of 25 refugees staying long-term at a Christian camp just down the road from PdF. The students will be doing a weekly outreach event there and we look forward to finding other ways to support these families as the semester unfolds. Please pray for the upcoming Bible School semester and for the Bible School staff team as they work hard to prepare!

L-R: Christina (PdF's new Bible School Registrar/Assistant), Ana and Lukas (RAs), and Jerry

Jerry is also involved with helping to recruit and put together a team of volunteers to join the PdF staff to assist with the refugee efforts. We are connecting with a few former Spring Mission Bible School students, a couple of whom speak Ukrainian and Russian, and we're praying for the possibility of their help with translation, organizing and caring for the refugees who come to PdF, and help with practical tasks like housekeeping and meal preparation. Please pray for the right volunteers to come, and in God's timing. 

Please continue to donate if you are able. We know there's no shortage of reputable organizations accepting donations for Ukraine at the moment, but if you would like to be a part of the work PdF is doing to support war-affected Ukrainians in this corner of the world we'd be most grateful.

To cover PdF's costs for hosting Ukrainian refugees we've set up a special fund with Great Commission Foundation (our Canadian Mission Organization). Americans and Canadians can donate to this fund and the money will be sent directly to PdF's designated fund for Ukrainian Refugee support.

All funds raised will go directly to support war-affected Ukrainians here in Romania as refugees, at the border, and in Ukraine.

For CANADIANS: If you would like to donate to help cover the costs of PdF’s refugee support, please visit https://gcfcanada.com/torchbearers-romania/

**Please choose “Torchbearers Romania Ukraine Relief” as the designation.**

For AMERICANS: please visit https://friendsgc.com/torchbearers-romania/ to donate

**Please choose “Torchbearers Romania Ukraine Relief” as the designation.**

If you want to read about what PdF is doing in even more detail, feel free to check out PdF's 'Open Doors' Ukraine Blog here: https://www.pdf.ro/en/support-ukraine/

If you have any questions for us please reach out and contact us anytime. We'd love to hear from you!

Jerry - jerry.baker@pdf.ro

Chrissie - chrissiebaker@hotmail.com