Here in the USA, Last Bell spent the third anniversary of the war with our friends at Mission to Ukraine, praying and worshiping together. Many of you prayed at home.
In observance of this occasion, we’ve put together this Q&A with directors Andrey, Oksana, and Yulia about the ministry team’s current experience with the war.
Q.
What has changed in the experience of war over the last couple of years?
Andrey: Our experience of war only truly began after the full-scale invasion. We learned how to hide in bomb shelters, plan food and fuel supplies, and later, how to provide our families and orphans with heat or electricity.
It was a heavy blow when we learned friends had died in the war. We found ourselves in constant worry and prayer. It was mentally exhausting.
In the first weeks and months of war, we helped many in the Last Bell community who left Ukraine and became refugees. Eight staff members also left.
Oksana: Now in our Stop the Cycle community there are already two widows. One husband lost his leg in the war, and some brothers have died. The moms are very anxious, especially when soldiers are out of touch. Out of guilt, some moms won’t attend meetings or even camps. Family relationships also suffer due to soldiers’ trauma. We’ve already seen a few divorces.
Andrey: More than 30 boys in the Educational Outreach program are fighting, and five of them have already fallen.
To summarize, the terrible war shattered our reality, shocked us, pushed us to adapt to a new normal, and eventually brought us to a place of exhaustion.
Yulia: We’ve learned to live with air raid alerts, bad news, and power outages.
Oksana: This is a normal, habitual part of life.
Andrey: But thanks to God’s support, we live and help others. Mutual support is crucial.
Yulia: We continue to seek joy and create meaningful events for students, young moms, and their children no matter what. We value each day.
Andrey: 80% of the refugees from our community came back, though eight million Ukrainians remain abroad. But God was faithful and increased our staff with 11 new people. Now we have 19 committed servants!
Q.
What has changed in Last Bell’s ministry since the war began?
Yulia: New members have joined the team, bringing new ideas and opportunities. New orphaned students have appeared with new problems and challenges, and displaced people who survived the horrors of war in eastern Ukraine. There are more students with constant anxiety.
Living conditions have worsened, and more people need both material and emotional help.
Andrey: Ministry has become even more important. Many people have left, and the burden has fallen on the shoulders of those who remained. We all feel fatigue, pain, stress, and sometimes even fear.
Oksana: We miss our American friends coming. This is by no means a reproach, but it was extremely joyful to carry out projects with American teams. We miss that.
Andrey: One of our staff who evacuated was returned to us for ministry – Katya, who is now doing incredible work. More orphans were drafted, more people from our churches were drafted, a few people were buried already because of the fighting.
Compared to peacetime, there is a greater need to serve those who serve. If we lose our ministers, we lose the hands and hearts that do God’s work. These people bear many responsibilities under the difficult conditions of war. For example, men are often harassed by military enlistment officers. Pressure from the news, economic pressure, power outages – all disrupt plans. But we’re constantly learning to serve effectively in this reality!
Q.
What are the biggest events of the last couple of years?
Andrey: The biggest achievement is that we still exist, and we’re growing and developing. God is faithful, and His will is being fulfilled. God is guiding the ministry and providing resources; this is a great testimony of His support.
Yulia: We were given a large country house for retreats, camps, and meetings. We’d dreamed about such a place.
Andrey: A great miracle! We named it Cozy Ranch.
Yulia: We also purchased a new Day Center.
Andrey: The team has grown, and the scope of our work has expanded. We keep holding team retreats, regardless of circumstances, because it’s crucial for our team to be together and grow in relationships.
Yulia: For the first time in the history of the organization, we held a winter camp.
Andrey: In 2024, we organized five camps for youth, mothers, and children. Large celebration events with students, mothers, and their children took place, gathering hundreds of visitors who belong to the Last Bell Community.
God added Andriy B. to our team as the Operations Director, a position we’d prayed about for over five years.
Oksana: And after six months of prayer, Marguerite joined the American team as our new Executive Director.
Andrey: Oksana and I were able to visit the USA after four years of separation due to Covid and the war. This was a miracle from God, because I was supposed to be mobilized to the front. But Oksana’s disability—a source of suffering before the war—freed me from the obligation to serve in the military.
All of this happened against the backdrop of the terrible events of the war, when we cried from the loss of our boys, and from the pain in our hearts that many couldn’t spend time with us, but instead communicated when they needed military aid.
Q.
What are we celebrating now?
Oksana: We’re celebrating the baptism of orphans we serve, despite the difficult circumstances.
Yulia: We celebrate that we’re alive, that ministry hasn’t stopped but has instead expanded, with the arrival of new leaders and volunteers. We celebrate the involvement of new educational institutions in the program. The number of students has increased. We’ve built strong new relationships with social services. We’re grateful for material support from our donors.
Andrey: We’re joyful seeing how God helps orphans through our ministry—a significant contribution to both their present and their future. This love and support is extended to them through the basic necessities of life. We celebrate how they transform and grow. We experience the greatest happiness when they reconcile with God and attend church.
Sometimes, we celebrate simply being alive. That there were no alarms during the night. That our loved ones and friends are alive. We’re just happy to be awake in the morning. We rejoice that God is with us, that we have family, friends, and church. We rejoice to still feel love.
Oksana: And we celebrate the birth of every new baby! This is so important for our country.
Q.
What are we looking forward to in the coming years?
Andrey: Above all, we are waiting for victory and a just peace. For our people to stop dying at the front and for civilians to stop suffering. We eagerly await and dream that the restoration of Ukraine will begin.
Additionally, we’re looking forward to developing better strategies to reach orphans in our region for Christ—engaging youth in Young Life clubs and Zhytomyr churches to help them grow spiritually. To that end we’re planning to open the new Day Center in the summer of 2025. This is vital this year, because we anticipate an even greater number of new students. We’ll be ready to mentor them and ultimately tell them how much God loves them. Our churches wait for them. We look forward to seeing positive changes in them, especially baptisms.
Oksana: During the war, we see God’s work very clearly.
Yulia: We look forward to expanding the ministry to more trade schools and colleges, and attracting new team members. We look forward to broadening our reach.
As the war increases the cost of living and the numbers of people coming to us, we’re truly in need of your help. Your generosity provides vital services for orphaned youth and displaced persons, and allows us to “serve those who serve.” You can give online here.
Thank you, friends, for praying with us through these difficult three years. We hope you’ll keep our directors’ words in mind as you pray over the next weeks and months.