Today is the second update about the staff at the Ukrainian Bible Institute. Last week, I shared with you about two staff members who have left their work at UBI. Today I want you to hear directly from our current coworkers. I know you will be encouraged by what you hear.
Ludmilla Torshina
Ludmilla is our accountant and office manager. She evacuated to Poland during the first days of the war and has remained there until now.
I am living in Sopot, Poland. In some ways, I am doing much of the same work I did in Kyiv only I do it remotely. I continue to prepare all kinds of paperwork for the institute. I keep track of our current students and their records. I am in charge of making payments from UBI's bank account in Ukraine. I have to prepare and submit reports to various authorities for taxes and other things.
Here in Sopot, I am busy with many other things. I serve as a proctor for the UBI students who are in the area when they need to take tests. I teach women's classes at the church. I help put on different events, including birthday parties for our refugees and get-togethers like a recent pajama party for the teens. I help our older sisters when they need to arrange urgent care, I take them to doctor's appointments, and I translate for them. And, from time to time, I also help our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who are refugees in Warsaw.
Sergei Voitsehovskiy
Sergei has been over correspondence studies and in charge of IT at UBI. He and his wife evacuated to western Ukraine towards the beginning of the war. From the time we began classes again in the fall, he has been in charge of keeping our online classes running smoothly.
My main job for UBI right now is to monitor the online classes. I make sure every class period is recorded. This is vital for our students right now because of the frequent blackouts due to the constant missile attacks on infrastructure. Each day I upload that day's lessons to YouTube so that the students who weren't able to watch them live are able to watch them when they get back online. Also, I am constantly converting our tests so that students are able to take them online from wherever they are.
Besides my work with UBI, I am serving the congregation in the city of Chernivtsi (in western Ukraine). We care for Christians who have had to leave their homes, some arriving with absolutely nothing. We help these families with food, medicine, pillows, blankets and, more recently, by distributing thermal underwear. Over the last nine months, we have helped share the gospel with over 600 families.
I'm also working part time with Dima Grishuk's "Volunteer Brothers" ministry. I help with the staffing and organization of the warehouse where the humanitarian aid is kept.
Recently we were blessed with twenty generators with heaters, so for the past few weeks I've been helping pack, load, and deliver them to various congregations around Ukraine. It is an honor to be a part of the church and have the opportunity to serve God and people!
Sasha and Natasha Maliuga
Sasha Maliuga is one of our full-time teachers as well as the preacher at the congregation in the Poznyaki district of Kyiv. He has remained in Kyiv since the war began. Natasha, his wife, has been our Dean of Adminstration for many years.
I was working in Sopot for many months, but I have returned to Kyiv for the time being. Sasha continues to lead the congregation in Poznyaki, and we serve the church and the community in any way we can. We are involved in a lot of benevolent work in Kyiv right now, including helping a children's home and a children's hospital.
As time has gone on, many people have returned to Kyiv (or evacuated to Kyiv from the east), and because of this our Sunday gatherings continue to grow in number. We are even moving ahead and planning to put on our annual holiday play.
Besides the regular work with UBI, I am heavily involved in developing and organizing the different programs UBI has in partnership with the Sunset International Bible Institute and their Global Relief Missions fund. UBI and Sunset have been working closely with the Poznyaki congregation to provide food and humanitarian aid to many congregations east of Kyiv. These congregations then use that help to care for their members and their own local communities.
We feel very blessed to know that God can use us at such critical time for Ukraine to help our own country men. We hope that through our ministry God's kingdom in Ukraine will grow.
The Price Family
This past summer, Katie and I came to terms with the fact that we would not be able to return to Kyiv anytime soon. And so we had to ask ourselves a question: If we can't go home to Kyiv, where do we want to settle until we can? After a lot of discussion, prayer, and seeking advice, we made the decision to settle in Košice, Slovakia.
Košice is right on the border with Ukraine, and there is a small congregation there that is excited to have us. They have space available in their building where I can set up an office. From there, I will continue my full-time work with the institute: growing the school's online program while also continuing to help coordinate the humanitarian aid work we have been actively involved in since the war began.
Košice is only an hour-and-a-half away from the border of Ukraine. Being that close will allow me to go into western Ukraine for short trips as needed. We also look forward to seeing how we can serve the Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia.
Growing Our Family
We have been in the States since the beginning of October. We came to visit our sponsoring congregation and so I could speak at several events.
What we didn't know on October 7th when we arrived to the States was that on October 14th there would be a baby born who needed a home. And so, our short, three-week trip to the States has turned into a three-month long adoption adventure.
We are pleased to announce that we are now the proud parents of a sweet baby girl. The story of her adoption is a beautiful display of God's grace and goodness, and I encourage you to read more about it from our family's personal prayer update email here.
Because of this welcome setback, we are in the States until early January. At that point, we will make our move to Slovakia and begin setting up our life there. I am looking forward to getting back to a friendlier time zone for my online work with the institute.
Looking Forward
I am proud of our staff at UBI. Despite their own very real trials, they continue to work hard serving the church and people wherever they are.
I invite you to write notes of encouragement to these servants. If you have direct contact with them, send them a note right now while you're thinking about it. If you don't have contact with them, reply to this email with your words of encouragement and I will pass them along.
In a few days, I will introduce you to our new staff members. I'm excited about their skills and passion for helping UBI in the present, and in the future to come.
Until then,
Brandon Price