The month of October has always been a special month. Traditionally in the first half of October, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day (or Harvest Day). This is a day when we specifically focus on giving thanks to the Lord for all His bountiful mercies and generosity. As an illustration of God's magnanimity and care, the day before we usually prepare a special colorful display of various fruits and vegetables grown in our area. And this time, the process of preparing this display was very special when the children of our church actively participated in its creation. For them, it was an expressive display of creative activity, and they did it with great enthusiasm and excitement. Of course, adults participated as well, supervising the process and adding certain touches. As a result, the display turned out to be the largest and the brightest in recent years.
The holiday itself fell on October 12, and on this day there was a positive atmosphere of gratitude to our Lord and celebration of His love. We had many guests, and they were pleasantly surprised by what they saw and heard. After the worship service, our children gave a short presentation on the fruit of the Spirit under Olya's guidance. Their performance was a special reminder of the importance of the fruit of the Spirit, as the apostle Paul wrote in the Epistle to the Galatians (Gal. 5:22,23). The next part of our celebration was a group photo around the stand, for which many takes were needed, and it was sometimes very funny)). And in the end, we turned out quite beautiful…
Finally, we had a joint festive lunch, where we, together with our guests, could enjoy many delicious pizzas. And who do you think were the happiest to enjoy a yummy meal? Yes, that's right – our kids! )) And we washed all this down with tasty juices of Ukrainian production, made from vegetables and fruits, mostly grown in Ukraine. For dessert, we had Ukrainian sweets with tea and coffee. All of this was seasoned with good sincere communication, good mood, and gratitude, gratitude, and once again gratitude. Glory to the Lord!
There was yet another encouraging and joyful event for us this month. It is about the family of the wounded soldier Sasha. I have already mentioned to you that at the end of last year they were able to buy a larger apartment with the funds provided by the state for people with war-related disabilities. However, it took them almost a year to fix up the apartment and make the necessary repairs. And finally, it happened: in mid-October, they were able to move in, and we were the first to be invited to their new home!
We were glad and happy not so much about the invitation itself, as about the fact that they are already in a place with more light, more space, and a completely different atmosphere. In the old apartment, the space was very limited, the passages narrow, it was very cramped, and for Sasha, in his condition, it was much harder to move around. Most probably this alone put a lot of psychological pressure on him, because at that time he often had a gloomy mood and felt unwell. We were really hoping that in the new apartment, thanks to better conditions and more space, this could change his mindset. Now that we saw his happy disposition we made sure it was true. We have visited them several times in their new home, and we really see improvements in Sasha's condition. May the Lord continue to bless and restore him! We continue to help them and support them in every possible way, both spiritually and materially.
As to our ministry in assisting displaced persons, thanks to your support, we continue to do this while sharing with them the testimony of Christ and the hope of the Gospel.
Overall, in October, more than a hundred families of displaced people received assistance from us with food packages, hygiene products, medicines, clothing, footwear, and other necessities.
Additionally, special packages for babies were received by 20 IDP families with young children.
I hope that the attached photos will serve as a good illustration of everything written.
We sincerely thank God and you for your love, sacrifice, and support! By the way, more and more often we hear prayer requests and gratitude from displaced people for you and your loving care. Last Sunday, once again the prayers were initiated and expressed by them, and we prayed together for you and your compassionate participation. May the loving Father abundantly bless all of you!!!
In our Lord’s love,
Oleksandr Kolosha
