CBC board member and freelance journalist Pete Wooding frequently travels to Ukraine to report on the work of a Christian charity there called Mercy Projects. Here he looks back on his most recent trip to the Donetsk region where he shares the story of a remarkable Pastor called Vadim:
Each morning usually after very little sleep the night before, Pastor Vadim drinks coffee at his kitchen table and reads His Bible and then asks God to help him through another day without his wife who died from cancer last September.
While caring for his blind elderly mother who lives with him now in his home as well as dealing not only with the loss of wife but also his father, Pastor Vadim remains determined to stay in the Donetsk region. That’s even as fighting intensifies nearer and nearer to his home with many people talking about evacuating.
Then each Sunday he opens the doors to his church even while air raid sirens and explosions can be heard nearby. Numbers have dwindled with many of his members serving on the frontlines and many have died to protect their country. He has conducted many funerals for his fallen volunteers. But a determined remnant remains who worship God and soak up Pastor Vadim’s passionate preaching of the word of God clinging to hope that God will eventually bring peace back to this region.
Peter Wooding along with some of the frontline soldiers in Ukraine and a chaplain he prayed with.
“My wife would want me to continue in my ministry which is why I keep going. After serving my church for 28 years I can’t just leave them.
“When I lost my wife in Spain where she was receiving treatment many people couldn’t understand why I would go back to East Ukraine. But I need to be here now.”
When asked how we would feel if we ever had to evacuate he says: “It would be very hard. Not just to leave my church, but also the memories of my home which we built together as a family. I look back on the happy memories of the children playing in our yard while my wife did the gardening which she loved.”
For several years Mercy Projects has supported Pastor Vadim’s ministry and during a recent visit Jeff Thompson was able to bring a message of encouragement to his church.
“We are here to help practically. But many people, particularly many elderly people who haven’t left feel forgotten. So they are so appreciative that we come to be just here and be with them.
“And we have been honored to support Pastor Vadim’s ministry for several years now. And even though his wife passed away he refuses to abandon his flock. Those who are not evacuating. He is committed to living his faith on the frontlines because unfortunately the frontline has moved and now is very close to this town. He’s forced to reckon with ‘what do I do as a pastor? Should I still be here? Is it safe to be here?’ But it’s a blessing to be around people of faith like Vadim who elect to stay in danger zones to serve the Lord.”
And it’s clearly evident after the church service that ministry continues in this difficult region as one elderly man asks Jeff for pray as he has cancer. Military chaplains are also busy outside the church as our team offload aid supplies from our van so they can take them to the frontlines while also being a spiritual support to the volunteers.
And round the clock Pastor Vadim’s home acts as a ministry hub with a constant flow of people coming to him for fellowship, advice and prayer including many soldiers from the frontlines.
Please continue to pray for God’s protection and peace over Pastor Vadim and his church at this challenging time.
The team pray with Pastor Vadim in Ukraine.
Click to find out more about Mercy Projects.
Also read: Join us in Praying For Christian Broadcasting with Jonathan Ford
