The Reality of War
Markiyan Klepach was born near Lviv, Ukraine, in a village called Matsoshyn. The Russian invasion has been a challenge for Markiyan and his family, but by God’s grace he has helped and supported thousands of people and continues to work in ministry and with youth.
He shares, “At the start of the war my wife was due to give birth to our son. We didn’t know how it was going to work out here. At the time, a lot of people were leaving the country. There were terrible traffic jams, and a lot of people were at the border. We made a difficult decision for my wife Mariia to go to our friends abroad in Poland and to give birth there. It took us a very long time to go through all the lines from one checkpoint to another, and it was a miracle that we got there in the evening because sometimes people were stuck there for three days, five days, and so on. The line of cars was more than twenty kilometers long. Some people walked to the border; some had strollers. Our stroller got stolen. That made it quite difficult.”
He continues, “For three months, we were separated. Our son, his name is Lev, was born in Poland, and I was able to see him in person when he was two months old. So it was quite difficult for me personally.”
The Church’s Response
Markiyan attends a Pentecostal church in the village of Matsoshyn in the Lviv district. This is a small village with about a thousand or so residents with various religious denominations. His church has about 100 people, he shares, “As a church community we share, pray, and support those who are mobilised and their families, their wives, and children, but we also help them and try to provide emotional, moral support and tangible things as needed.”
For the church, the invasion also brought many challenges. He shares, “We began to lose people who either had the opportunity to emigrate legally or were drafted into the army. In my circle, many people did; my friends, acquaintances, relatives, both members of evangelical communities have been in the army for many months. That’s how it’s been for the church. On top of that, large numbers of people started coming, and we allowed them to live in our homes, on the church premises, which were converted for this purpose, as much as possible.”
He continued, “Later we settled on a slightly different approach. We met them, ferried them, and since there were so many people in Lviv, the simple journey from the train station to us, which is just over thirty kilometers away, took four hours or more because of the highway. We literally had to go in the morning to meet these people and sometimes, it took us almost until the evening to bring them back. Our sisters from our church made food for them, and we gave them a place to rest. We provided whatever assistance was needed”.
Practical, Emotional and Spiritual Support
Markiyan with his friends, established a foundation for the organisation, New Breath, with its purpose to serve, minister, and to help Ukraine and Ukrainians during the war. They were able to take in almost four thousand people who stayed with them. He shares, “One of the very first days, over three hundred people were fed three times a day and provided with a place to sleep and do laundry.”
Not only is Markiyan involved in his local community, but he is the Youth Department Leader of the Ukrainian Church of Evangelical Christians in the Lviv region. He continues, “Before the war we had more than a thousand people registered, then as of the end of this summer, we are missing about thirty percent of the people…the lack of personnel for a particular ministry or responsibility is extremely noticeable. Almost all of our work is exclusively volunteer work. And given that the economic situation of Ukraine and young people in Ukraine is sinking, it is getting worse. Even those who were ready to volunteer, they are lacking financially, looking for new opportunities, and have an uncertain future.”
Blessed Resources
Langham Partnership supports and invests in contextually relevant resources for the Ukrainian Church, like the Slavic Bible Commentary and Tackling Trauma. Markiyan shares, “The Slavic Biblical Commentary’s conciseness is very helpful right now. It compensates for the lack of time, opportunities, and personal experience. And I often hear similar sentiments from colleagues, friends, those who are either starting out in preaching or those who have been preaching for quite some time, they still refer to the Slavic Bible Commentary, and I know for sure that they use it very actively.”
He continues, “The book Tackling Trauma, is also very relevant. There are some chapters that are of utmost interest to us because the Ukrainian realities are somehow close and alike. It is a miracle that such a book is available right now in the Ukrainian language, when we are still in the midst of war. And I think that we should not only read it, but share it with others, and do educational work.”
Prayer Points:
Thank God for Langham resources that have been a blessing to the church in Ukraine.s what Langham has done.”
Thank God for Markiyan and his ministries and for the thousands of people that they have been able to help practically, emotionally and spiritually
Pray for the war to cease in Ukraine and for people to find hope in Jesus
Prayer Points
- Thank God for Markiyan and his ministries and for the thousands of people that they have been able to help practically, emotionally and spiritually
- Pray for the war to cease in Ukraine and for people to find hope in Jesus
- Thank God for Langham resources that have been a blessing to the church in Ukraine.